The Annual Performance Review As A Positive Source For Employee Motivation?
Authors: Mathison David L. , Vinja Vils N. 
Published: February 2016

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Few places in management literature offer a greater divide between theory and practice than in the Annual Performance Review. Yes, academics have thoroughly researched what the ideal review should look like, yet these authors would argue, as educators and consultants, that we know little on how to really develop and effectively conduct a performance review that serves as a positive source for employee motivation. The purpose of this paper is to call for relevance&mdash;a challenge to move from theory to actual practice. Eighty-one practicing managers representing some 23 companies were asked to both assess their ongoing annual assessment and to evaluate a new model of assessment introduced in the present paper. The findings suggest that in the first decade of the 21<sup>st</sup> century, considerable skepticism remains over almost any model used in the performance review, and this includes skepticism concerning the newly introduced model.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span></p><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt; mso-pagination: none;"><em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">The paper concludes with the following three implications of the present study:</span></em></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt; mso-pagination: none;"><em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">&nbsp;</span></em></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0.75in; mso-pagination: none; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7pt &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span></em><em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">The harsh realities of the new workplace bring new challenges to employee appraisals.</span></em></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0.75in; mso-pagination: none; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7pt &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span></em><em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">The strength of the employee-supervisor relationship is far more important than the &lsquo;correct&rsquo; assessment method.</span></em></p><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><font face="Times New Roman"><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0.75in; mso-pagination: none; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7pt &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span></em><em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">Any effective motivating performance review must be conducted in a positive work environment marked by the application of best practices.</span></em></p></font></span></span><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0.75in; mso-pagination: none; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">&nbsp;</p></span>