Perceived fairness of and satisfaction with employee performance appraisal

210 Pages·2017·1.5 MB·English

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LLSSUU DDiiggiittaall CCoommmmoonnss
LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School
2003
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Marie Burns Walsh
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College
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Walsh, Marie Burns, "Perceived fairness of and satisfaction with employee performance appraisal" (2003).
LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 3380.
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PERCEIVED FAIRNESS OF AND SATISFACTION WITH
EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL

A Dissertation

Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the
Louisiana State University and
Agricultural and Mechanical College
in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy

in

The School of Human Resource Education and Workforce Development

by
Marie Burns Walsh
B.S., Louisiana State University, 1981
Master of Engineering, Louisiana State University, 1985
December, 2003
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My sincere thanks are given to each of my committee members for their participation
in my academic efforts. Through the years I have learned from them and appreciated the
opportunity they have afforded me in pursuing this degree. I am particularly thankful to Dr.
Michael Burnett for his unfailing patience and guidance during the research and preparation
of this dissertation. He shared his love of knowledge and research with me along with his
time to help ensure successful completion of my academic journey.
My family has offered me unconditional love and support through the years that it has
taken me to complete this degree. My children, Catharine, Elizabeth and Matthew, have
endured late meals, countless frozen pizzas and learned the fine arts of housekeeping and
laundry while I attended night classes and worked on my research. I have been blessed with
my husband, Michael, who kept the home-fires burning, drove carpool and attended endless
school activities and sporting events, often without me. I truly cannot express my
appreciation for his love and the complete support that he has unselfishly given to me.
My family and friends have also proved time and again their willingness to lend a
hand when needed. I thank my parents for their constant love and initial encouragement of
my academic pursuits. My sister-in-law, Maud Walsh, also deserves special thanks. She
never failed to volunteer her time to help us out and didn’t flinch when asked to use her
editorial review skills. Finally, I thank our life-long friends, the Frosts. A continuation of
our family, I could not have hoped for better friends during these many years. My heartfelt
gratitude to all of you. I look forward to beginning the next step in the journey.

ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS

page

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . . . ii

LIST OF TABLES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv

LIST OF FIGURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix

ABSTRACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x

CHAPTER I STATEMENT OF PROBLEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

CHAPTER IV RESULTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

CHAPTER V SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

APPENDIX A SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

APPENDIX B FOLLOW-UP POSTCARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

APPENDIX C CO-VARIANCE MATRIX FOR CONFIRMATORY
FACTOR ANALYSIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

VITA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

iii
LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

1 Content of Multi-Item Scales Measuring Perceptions
Of Fairness of Performance Appraisal for the Systemic
(Structural-Procedural) Justice Factor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

2 Content of Multi-Item Scales Measuring Perceptions
Of Fairness of Performance Appraisal for the Configural
(Structural-Distributive) Justice Factor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

3 Content of Multi-Item Scales Measuring Perceptions of
Fairness in Performance Appraisal for the Interpersonal
(Social-Distributive) Justice Factor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

4 Content of Multi-Item Scales Measuring Perceptions of
Fairness of Performance Appraisal for the Informational
(Social-Procedural Justice Factor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

5 Multi-Item Scales for Reactions to Performance Appraisal. . . . . . 68

6 Age of Employees of Selected State Funded Agencies
Employing Civil Service Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

7 Ethnicity of Employees of Selected State Funded Agencies
Employing Civil Service Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

8 Job Classification by EEO Categories of Employee of
Selected State Funded Agencies Employing Civil Service
Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

9 Number of Years Working for the Department of Employees
of Selected state Funded Agencies Employing Civil Service
Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

10 Number of Years in the Current Job of Employees
of Selected state Funded Agencies Employing Civil Service
Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

11 Highest Level of Education of Employees
of Selected state Funded Agencies Employing Civil Service
Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

iv
12 Factor Loadings for Items Representing Reactions Toward
Your Last Performance Rating for Employees of Selected
State Funded Agencies Employing Civil Service Workers . . . . . 86

13 Summary of Reactions Toward Your Last PPR Performance
Rating Of Employees of Selected State Funded Agencies
Employing Civil Service Workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

14 Factor Loading for Items Representing Reactions to the
PPR for Employees of Selected State Agencies Employing
Civil Service Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

15 Summary of Reactions to the PPR of Employees Of Selected
State Funded Agencies Employing Civil Service Workers . . . . . . 89

16 Factor Loading for Items Representing Reactions Toward
Your Supervisor of Employees of Selected State Funded
Agencies Employing Civil Service Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

17 Summary of Reactions Toward Your Supervisor of Employees
of Selected State Funded Agencies Employing Civil Service
Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

18 Factor Loading for Items Representing Perceptions of Setting
Expectations of Employees of Selected State Agencies
Employing Civil Service Workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

19 Summary of Perceptions of Setting Performance Expectations
of Employees of Selected State Funded Agencies Employing
Civil Service Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

20 Factor Loading for Items Representing Perceptions of Rater
Confidence of Employees of Selected State Agencies
Employing Civil Service Workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

21 Summary of Perceptions of Rater Confidence of Employees
of Selected State Funded Agencies Employing Civil Service
Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

22 Factor Loading for Items Representing Perceptions of
Seeking Appeals of Employees of Selected State Agencies
Employing Civil Service Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

v
23 Summary of Items Representing Perceptions of Seeking
Appeals of Employees of Selected State Agencies Employing
Civil Service Workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

24 Factor Loading for Items Representing Perceptions of
Clarifying Performance Expectations of Employees of
Selected State Agencies Employing Civil Service Workers . . . . 100

25 Summary of Perceptions of Clarifying Performance
Expectations of Employees of Selected State Funded
Agencies Employing Civil Service Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

26 Factor Loading for Items Representing Perceptions of
Providing Feedback of Employees of Selected State
Agencies Employing Civil Service Workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

27 Summary of Perceptions of Providing Feedback of
Employees of Selected State Funded Agencies Employing
Civil Service Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

28 Factor Loading for Items Representing Perceptions of
Explaining Rating Decisions of Employees of Selected State
Agencies Employing Civil Service Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

29 Summary of Perceptions of Explaining Rating Decisions
of Employees of Selected State Agencies Employing Civil
Service Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

30 Factor Loading for Items Representing Perceptions of Accuracy
of Ratings of Employees of Selected State Agencies Employing
Civil Service Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

31 Summary of Perceptions of Accuracy of Ratings of Employees
of Selected State Agencies Employing Civil Service Workers . . . 108

32 Factor Loading for Items Representing Perceptions of Concern
Over Ratings of Employees of Selected State Agencies
Employing Civil Service Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

33 Summary of Perceptions of Concern Over Ratings of Employees
of Selected State Agencies Employing Civil Service Workers . . . . 111

vi
34 Factor Loading for Items Representing Perceptions of Respect
in Supervision of Employees of Selected State Agencies
Employing Civil Service Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

35 Summary of Perceptions of Respect in Supervision of Employees
of Selected State Agencies Employing Civil Service Workers . . . . 113

36 Factor Loading for Items Representing Perceptions of Sensitivity
in Supervision of Employees of Selected State Agencies
Employing Civil Service Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

37 Summary of Perceptions of Sensitivity in Supervision of
Employees of Selected State Agencies Employing Civil Service
Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

38 Summary For Perceptions of Fairness Scales as Applied to
Performance Appraisal by Employees of Selected State
Funded Organizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

39 Correlation Coefficients For Perceptions of Fairness in
Performance Appraisal and the Independent Variable Age . . . . . . 117

40 t-Test of Means for Respondent’s Perceptions of Fairness of
Performance Appraisal by Gender. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

41 t-Test of means for Respondent’s Perceptions of Fairness of
Performance Appraisal by Race . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

42 Correlation Coefficients of Perceptions of Fairness of
Performance Appraisal with Years in the Department . . . . . . . . . . 121

43 Correlation Coefficient of Perception of Fairness of
Performance Appraisal with Years in the Current Job . . . . . . . . . . . 122

44 Correlation Coefficient of Perception of Fairness of
Performance Appraisal with Educational Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

45 Analysis of Variance for Overall Means of Respondent's
Perceptions of Providing Feedback by Educational Level. . . . . . . . . 123

46 Group Mean Comparisons of the Perceptions of Fairness of
Performance Appraisal As Measured by “Providing Feedback”
Scale Responses by Educational Level of Employees of Publicly
Funded Organizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

vii
47 Analysis of Variance for Overall Means of Respondent's Perceptions
of Respect In Supervision by Educational Level. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

48 Group Mean Comparisons of the Perceptions of Fairness of
Performance Appraisal As Measured by “Respect in Supervision”
Scale Responses by Educational Level of Employees of Publicly
Funded Organizations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

49 Comparison of the Perceptions of Fairness of the Performance
Appraisal System by the Subscales Representing Justice by Job
Classifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

50 ANOVA for Subscale Means of Respondent’s Perceptions of
Respect in Supervision By Job Classification. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

51 Group Mean Comparisons of the Perceptions of Fairness of
Performance Appraisal As Measured by “Respect in Supervision”
Scale Responses by Job Classification of Employees of Publicly
Funded Organizations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

52 ANOVA for Subscale Means of Respondent’s Perceptions of
Providing Feedback by Job Classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

53 Group Mean Comparisons of the Perceptions of Fairness of
Performance Appraisal As Measured by “Providing in
Feedback” Scale Responses by Job Classification of Employees
of Publicly Funded Organizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

54 t-Tests for Means of Respondent’s Perceptions of Fairness of
Performance Appraisal by Supervisor Responsibility. . . . . . . . . . 129

55 Fit Indices for Competing Models of Justice As Applied to
Perceptions of Fairness of Performance Appraisal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

56 Comparison of Nested Models of Alternative Factor Structure
For Justice Perceptions Applied to Performance Appraisal. . . . . . . 136

57 B-Values for Structural, Informational and Interpersonal
Model Representing Factor Structure of Perceptions of Fairness
of Performance Appraisal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

viii
LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page
1 Greenberg's (1993b) Taxonomy of Justice Perceptions
(in Thurston, 2001). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2 Greenberg's (1993) Taxonomy of Justice Perceptions
Applied to Performance Appraisal (Thurston, 2001). . . . . . . . . . 45
3 Description of Competing Models Compared in Nested
Confirmatory Factor Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

ix