Influences on Political Culture
Executives made it clear that if an organization was political, the appraisal process would reflect these politics: Some organizations are more aggressive and political than others, so it just makes sense that those things carry over into the rating process as well. . . . The organization's climate will determine, to a great extent, how successful any rating system will be, and it follows that if any organization is very political, the rating system will be political. . . .
Several factors were identified hy the executives as having a strong influence on the political culture in which the performance appraisal process operates. Perhaps the strongest was the extent to which the formal appraisal process was "taken seriously" hy the organization.
A plant manager in this study describes what it means for an organization to "take the process seriously": At some places the PA fperformance appraisal] process is a joke—just a bureaucractic things that the manager does to keep the
IR [industrial relations] people off his back.
At the last couple of places I've worked, the formal review process is taken really seriously; they train you how to conduct a good interview, how to handle problems, how to coach and counsel. . . . You see the things
[appraisals] reviewed by your boss, and he's serious about reviewing your performance in a thorough manner. . . . I guess the biggest thing is that people are led to believe that it is a management tool that works; it's got to start at the top!
This quote suggests another important factor that turns the appraisal process into a political process: the extent to which higher level executives in the same company use political factors in rating subordinates. A
"modeling" effect seems to take place, with managers telling themselves, "If it's okay for the guys upstairs