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Three rating instruments (Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales, Numerically Anchored Rating Scales, and Trait Ratings) were compared to an external criterion of police patrolman job performance. The external criterion was five vignettes of hypothetical patrolmen's job behavior based on an inclusive job analysis. Each of the five vignettes was rated by 28 first-level supervisors using each of the three instruments. Rater perceptions of each instrument's relevance for various organizational purposes were also gathered. Analysis of the three rating instruments centered on their respective criterion sensitivity. Results indicated that the three comparison instruments were approximately equal in terms of their resistance to the errors of leniency and central tendency. None of the three instruments was shown to be resistant to halo error. The NARS instrument was preferred for applied usage. Explanations for the results center on scale ambiguity, rater opportunities to observe behavior, and the nature of rater perceptions of performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The utility of ability, effort, and direction of behavior to predict performance was examined in an experimental simulation where emphasis was placed on the conceptualization and measurement of key variables. Sixty people were hired to work on a 1-week job. Strong support was found for a linear combination of the variables to predict overall performance. Task difficulty was shown to moderate the relationship between ability and performance and the usefulness of the multiplicative combination of the predictors. The importance of considering the demands of the task in future research is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Role ambiguity and role conflict were hypothesized to be negatively related to employee satisfaction and performance. Previous research, however, had revealed that these two types of role perceptions were not always negatively related to satisfaction and performance. Furthermore, when the predicted negative relationships were found, the magnitudes of the relationships varied widely. In this study employee ability was hypothesized to reduce the negative relationships between role perceptions and satisfaction and performance. In addition, the effect of ability was hypothesized to be moderated by organization level. The results generally failed to support the hypothesized relationships. There were, however, two significant interactions that partially supported one hypothesis. Employees with high ability were less affected by role ambiguity than employees with low ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extensive empirical research has been concerned with job performance and performance change, but virtually nothing has been done to develop a broader conceptual framework which might be useful in giving direction to further research. Toward this end, a number of diverse and previously unrelated empirical findings relevant to job performance are shown to converge on one generalization which accounts for all. The central theme of this generalization pertains to the changing nature of performance across time. The applicability of this generalization beyond the job performance setting is shown by various findings from psychological testing and animal learning research. The increased use of this inductive approach is suggested as one possible way to alleviate the widely recognized shortage of theory in industrial-differential psychology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]