Formal Performance Appraisal as an Intervention for the Management of Performance and Quality of Work Life.

The function of Performance Appraisal PA is conceived as the integration of the individual and the organization. Integration is achieved in two potential ways 1 by bringing an individuals performance in line with that needed by the organization and by creating organizational experiences that fulfill the needs of the individual. Quality of Work Life QWL is the degree to which an individuals needs are fulfilled. The paper investigates how PA experiences can affect both performance and QWL, by characterizing the PA event as having a quality performance to the appraisee. Path analysis is used to see how these characteristics of the PA event intervene in, and change, the overall job performance and QWL of the Appraisee. The feedback of the managers appraisal is found to have considerable impact on the appraisees view of hisher performance, achieving a higher integration of managements and the individuals views of performance. The quality of the PA for the appraisee is found to not only directly affect hisher overall QWL but to also be positively related to improvements in appraisee performance as seen by both the appraisee and hisher manager. Thus, the quality of PA promotes integration of the organization and the individual by both improving performance and by increasing QWL. This implies that the quality of the PA process is at least as important an integrative agent as the feedback of appraisal content. Author