Performance Appraisal and the Creation of Training and Development Expectations: A Weak Link in MBO-Based Appraisal Systems

Abstract

The performance appraisal process, in its fullest development, can assist an organization in identifying areas in which its employees need improvement and in identifying individual strengths that can be developed. Based on a 1983 survey of Iowa public employees, this article examines the training and development needs identification aspect of the Iowa MBO/Performance Standards appraisal system, taking particular note of its relationship to perceptions of organizational success. Survey respondents were inclined to indicate that the performance appraisal process neither helped them develop plans for training nor aided them in receiving needed training. These attitudes, in turn, negatively affected perceptions of how fair the performance appraisal process itself was, and how successful the organization was felt to be.