David Antonioni

The relationship between rater affect and three sources of 360-degree feedback ratings:

We investigated whether rater affect has a similar effect on the leniency of ratings from three of the sources of 360-degree feedback (downward, upward, and peer) and whether there is an interaction between a rater’s affect and the time he or she has spent observing the ratee. The findings indicate that the influence of rater affect on the leniency of ratings was significantly greater in upward and peer feedback than in downward feedback and that the influence increased as raters’ observation time increased.

Improve the Performance Management Process Before Discontinuing Performance Appraisals

T dissatisfaction with performance ap. he praisal systems has reached a critical stage. In one recent survey I conducted of 297 managers from Midwest companies, 32% rated their performance appraisals as &dquo;very ineffective,&dquo; while only 4% reported that performance appraisals were &dquo;effective to a large extent.&dquo; Another survey, of 181 Midwest manufacturing and service organizations, revealed that 11 % have stopped using annual appraisals, while another 25% plan to discontinue them within the next two years. Any analysis of the performance appraisal process uncovers a host of problems. Many systems, say the critics, encourage mediocrity by rewarding those who set easily attainable goals. Moreover, supervisors can make a wide range of errors when using rating scales to evaluate staff. Also, the common practice of assigning merit raises based on a forced distribution automati-

TWO STRATEGIES FOR RESPONDING TO STRESSORS: MANAGING CONFLICT AND CLARIFYING WORK EXPECTATIONS

The ability to take personal control of stressors may help reduce the effects of stress. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the use of two stress management strategies, conflict management and clarification of work expectations, can predict reductions in stressors—role conflict, role ambiguity, quantitative work overload, and time pressure—as well as overall stress reactions. The four stressors were selected because of their relevancy to middle managers whose companies had downsized. One hundred and twenty middle managers from midwestern companies participated in the study. Results indicate that the two stress management strategies do significantly predict lower scores on both the specific stressors tested and on levels of overall stress reactions.