The performance of performance appraisal systems: understanding the linkage between appraisal structure and appraisal discrimination complaints

Abstract

Employee perceptions of the fairness of performance evaluations are critical to the success of any appraisal system. Research on performance management includes extensive studies on how bias emerges in the appraisal process. Despite this, there is no empirical evidence linking formal discrimination complaint filings – a key measure of bias - and performance appraisals. To close this gap, we conduct an empirical analysis using information on appraisal systems and discrimination complaints from the US federal government. Our findings suggest that agencies with better-designed appraisal systems will experience higher appraisal-related discrimination complaints, contrary to expectations. In particular, an expansion of training and voice opportunities are associated with an increase in appraisal discrimination complaints, while increased differentiation between performers is not consistently associated with complaints. For managers struggling with performance management, it may be better to spend time on improving performance-focused interpersonal communication rather than redesigning appraisal systems.     

Changing the U.S. Sugar Program into a Standard Crop Program: Consequences under the North American Free Trade Agreement and Doha

We analyze the impact of continuing the existing U.S. sugar program, replacing it with a standard program, and implementing the standard program with multilateral trade liberalization. Under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), duty-free sugar imports from Mexico could undermine the program's ability to operate on a "no-cost" basis to taxpayers as large public stocks of sugar could accumulate. The replacement of the current sugar program by one similar to other major U.S. crop programs would solve the problem of potential stock accumulation, accommodate further trade liberalization under a new WTO and future bilateral trade agreements, but would induce significant fiscal outlays through direct payments.     

The environmental benefits of changing logistics structures for fresh vegetables

The transport phase is one of the crucial stages that can be improved to reduce the environmental impact of the fresh fruit and vegetable supply chain. In this paper, we calculate the environmental impact of feasible logistic alternatives for the above-mentioned supply chain so as to identify the type of transportation that incurs the lowest environmental costs. Specifically, we consider the early potato supply chain as a case study, as it involves one of the main fresh vegetables exported from Italy. Consumers' willingness to pay for the environmental impact of different logistic chains was obtained through life cycle assessment. Our results show that rail transport could reduce environmental impact in terms of tons of oil equivalent, environmental loads, and fuel consumption while ensuring reasonable shipment times. Development of an efficient rail transport system would be positively considered by consumers, enhancing their preferences for Italian products.     

Significance of attitudes,passion and cultural factors in driver’s speeding behavior in Oman: application of theory of planned behavior

Abstract

Traffic accidents and related fatalities have become a major public health problem in the world. This study aims to identify the significant factors that play an important role in the speeding behavior of drivers. A comprehensive questionnaire was designed and conducted with the students and employees of the University of Nizwa. The questionnaire items were designed considering the theoretical background of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and local socio-cultural aspects of the driving environment. A total of 303 usable samples were obtained. The collected data were analyzed using factor analysis and structural equation modelling technique. The extracted factors of speeding passion and culture, speeding attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control are significant determinants of drivers speeding behavior in Oman. The driver’s speeding attitudes, speeding culture, and passion have positive association with the drivers’ speeding intentions and behavior, and driver’s perceived behavioral control forms negative relationship with the speeding behavior. This study confirms the application of the TPB in predicting the drivers’ speeding behavior in the context of Oman.     

Design Optimization of Current Transformers Using Robust Design Methodology

In this paper a cost effective system design of current transformer (100/5 A) through application of robust design methodology is proposed. The results show that with better performance, the market price of proposed current transformer can be much less than half the price of one of the famous current transformer brand in market. These results are obtained under vast environmental conditions of network frequency and temperature variations of Iran.     

The Doha Round of the World Trade Organization and Agricultural Markets Liberalization: Impacts on Developing Economies

We investigate the impacts of multilateral removal of all border taxes and farm programs and their distortions on developing economies, using a world agriculture partial equilibrium model. We quantify changes in prices, trade flows, and production locations. Border measures and farm programs both affect world trade, but trade barriers have the largest impact. Following removal, trade expansion is substantial for most commodities, especially dairy, meats, and vegetable oils. Net agricultural and food exporters emerge with expanded exports; net importing countries with limited distortions before liberalization are penalized by higher world prices and reduced imports. We draw implications for current World Trade Organization negotiations.     

Democracy and competition: Vertical differentiation and labor in a general equilibrium model

We consider a general equilibrium model with vertical preferences and one or two firms, where workers and consumers are differentiated, respectively, by their sensitivity to effort and their preference for quality. The question in this paper is whether a decentralized choice through majority vote would lead to more or less competition. We compare the duopoly and the monopoly cases from the viewpoint of each individual, then we deduce the choice of the majority. We prove that, under concentrated ownership (where owners have a null density), duopoly is always preferred by the majority; while under egalitarian ownership (where firms are equally shared by all the population), the choice of the majority depends on the relative size of workers' and consumers' segments.     

PREDICTING NEXT TRADING DAY CLOSING PRICE OF QATAR EXCHANGE INDEX USING TECHNICAL INDICATORS AND ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORKS

Accurate prediction of stock market price is of great importance to many stakeholders. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) have shown robust capability in predicting stock price return, future stock price and the direction of stock market movement. The major aim of this study is to predict the next trading day closing price of the Qatar Exchange (QE) Index using historical data from 3 January 2010 to 31 December 2012. A multilayer perceptron ANN architecture was used as a prediction model with 10 market technical indicators as input variables. The experimental results indicate that ANNs are an effective modelling technique for predicting the QE Index with high accuracy, outperforming the well‐established autoregressive integrated moving average models. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt to use ANNs to predict the QE Index, and its performance results are comparable to, and sometimes better than, many stock market predictions reported in the literature. The ANN model also revealed that the weighted and simple moving averages are the most important technical indicators in predicting the QE Index, and the accumulation/distribution oscillator is the least important such indicator. The analysis results also indicated that the ANNs are resilient to stock market volatility. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The contribution of research and innovation to productivity

This paper examines the impact of investment in research and innovation on Australian market sector productivity. While previous studies have largely focused on a narrow class of private sector intangible assets as a source of productivity gains, this paper shows that there is a broad range of other business sector intangible assets that can significantly affect productivity. Moreover, the paper pays special attention to the role played by public funding for research and innovation. The empirical results suggest that there are significant spillovers to productivity from public sector R&D spending on research agencies and higher education. No evidence is found for productivity spillovers from indirect public funding for the business enterprise sector, civil sector or defence R&D. These findings have implications for government innovation policy as they provide insights into possible productivity gains from government funding reallocations.     

The Impact of Trade Barriers on Mandated Biofuel Consumption in Canada

A customized version of the deterministic Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) modeling system was used to assess the impacts of two alternative scenarios: (1) an increase in Canadian ethanol demand to 10% of domestic liquid fuel consumption by 2011 met through increased ethanol imports, and (2) the same increase in Canadian ethanol demand met only through increased domestic supply. The results reveal import barriers injure Canadian consumers by limiting their access to supplies offered for sale at lower prices by more efficient producers, particularly those located in subtropical regions. With freer trade, the domestic ethanol price would fall while the world price would rise due to the higher demand for ethanol in Canada. The results also show that import restrictions directly undermine the effectiveness and increase the costliness of a higher consumption mandate in Canada. The relatively less expensive ethanol is for the final consumer, the more likely they will use it as fuel over available alternatives. The implication is that restricting imports of ethanol is counterproductive to the policy objective of increasing domestic ethanol consumption. Nous avons utilisé une version adaptée du système de modélisation déterministe du Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) pour évaluer les répercussions de deux scénarios possibles : 1. une hausse de la demande canadienne d’éthanol équivalant à dix pour cent de la consommation intérieure de combustible liquide d’ici 2011 grâce à l’augmentation des importations d’éthanol; 2. la même hausse grâce, cette fois, à l’augmentation des approvisionnements intérieurs seulement. Nos résultats ont indiqué que les obstacles à l’importation lèsent les consommateurs canadiens en limitant leur accès à des approvisionnements offerts à faibles prix par des producteurs plus efficaces, en particulier ceux des régions subtropicales. En présence d’une libéralisation accrue des échanges, le prix intérieur de l’éthanol reculerait tandis que le prix mondial augmenterait en raison de l’accroissement de la demande d’éthanol au Canada. Nos résultats ont également indiqué que les restrictions à l’importation réduisent directement l’efficacité et augmentent la cherté du mandat visant à stimuler la consommation d’éthanol au Canada. Plus le prix de l’éthanol sera abordable pour le consommateur final, plus ce dernier sera enclin à l’utiliser comme combustible par rapport aux autres sources disponibles. Imposer des restrictions à l’importation d’éthanol fait plus de tort que de bien à l’objectif de la politique qui vise à accroître la consommation intérieure d’éthanol.