Perceived Fairness of the Mystery Customer Method: Comparing Two Employee Evaluation Practices

Springer Science and Business Media LLC - Tập 17 - Trang 231-243 - 2005
Yael Brender-Ilan1,2, Tamar Shultz2
1Department of Economics and Business, Academic College of Judea and Samaria in Ariel, Arie
2School of Behavioral Sciences, Netanya Academic College, Netanya, Israel

Tóm tắt

This study explores differences in the perceptions of fairness between two employee evaluation methods: one based on data collected using the mystery customer method and the other based on supervisor judgment. Fifty eight female sales clerks filled out a questionnaire which assessed their perceptions with respect to the fairness of the two evaluation methods and their job satisfaction. Given apparent differences in the evaluating agent, the extent of process consistency, the breadth of behaviors evaluated, and the extent of employees' awareness of the evaluation process, we hypothesize and find that evaluation procedures conducted by supervisors are perceived as more fair both procedurally and distributively than those conducted by means of the mystery customer method.The expected relationship between perception of fairness and job satisfaction was, however, foundonly in the correlations with supervisor evaluations and not in the correlations with the mystery customer evaluation method. Though the results are limited by the restricted sample, they shed an important light on the perceived fairness of the mystery customer procedure, and suggest that the choice of this procedure should take into account the fairness aspect of it when assessing its effectiveness and value.

Tài liệu tham khảo

Adams, J. S. (1965). Inequity in social exchange. In Berkowitz, L. (Ed.), Advances in Experimental and Social Psychology, Vol. 2, 111–134. New York: Academic Press. Aiello, J. R.,& Kolb, K. J. (1995). Electronic performance monitoring and social context: Impact on productivity and stress. Journal of Applied Psychology, 80(3), 339–353. Banks, C. G.,& Murphy, K. R. (1985). Toward narrowing the research-practice gap in performance appraisal. Personnel Psychology, 38(2), 335–345. Becton, B. J.,& Schraeder, M. (2004). Participant input into rater selection: Potential effects on the quality and acceptance of ratings in the context of 360-degree feedback. Public Personnel Management, 33(1), 23–32. Bies, R. J.,& Moag, J. S. (1986). Interactional justice: Communicating criteria of fairness. In Lewicki, R. J., Sheppard, B. H.,& Bazerman, M. (Eds.), Research on Negotiation in Organizations, Vol. 1, 43–55. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press. Bies, R. J. (1993). Privacy and procedural justice in organization. Social Justice Research, 6, 69–86. Bies, R. J.,& Shapiro, D. L. (1988). Voice and justification: Their influence on procedural fairness judgments. Academy of Management Journal, 31(3), 676–685. Bohlander, G. W.,& Blancero, D. (1999). Organizational justice as determinants of member satisfaction: A teacher's association experience. Journal of Collective Negotiations in the Public Sector, 28(4), 281–287. Bozeman, D. P. (1997). Interrater agreement in multi-source performance appraisal: A commentary. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 18(4), 313–316. Brett, J. F.,& Atdwater, L. E. (2001). 360 Degree feedback: Accuracy, reactions, and perceptions of usefulness. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(5), 930–939. Brockner, J., Konovsky, M., Cooper-Schneider, R., Folger, R., Martin, C. L.,& Bies, R. J. (1994). The interactive effects of procedural justice and outcome negativity on the victims and survivors of job loss. Academy of Management Journal, 37, 397–409. Burke, R. J.,& Wilcox, D. S. (1969). Characteristics of effective employee performance review and development interviews. Personnel Psychology, 22, 291–305. Burke, R. J., Weitzel, W.,& Weir, T. (1978). Characteristics of effective employee performance review and development interviews: Replication and extension. Personnel Psychology, 31, 903–919. Cawley, B. D., Keeping, L. M.,& Levy, P. E. (1998). Participation in the performance appraisal process and employee reaction: A meta-analytic review of field investigation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 98(4), 615–621. Church, A. H.,& Bracken, D. W. (1997). Advancing the state of the art of 360-degree feedback. Group and Organization Management, 22(2), 149–161. Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavior Sciences. New Jersey: Earlbaum. Cohen-Charash, Y.,& Spector, P. E. (2001). The role of justice in organizations: A meta-analysis. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 86(2), 278–321. Colquitt, J. A. (2001). On the dimensionality of organizational justice: A construct validation of a measure. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(3), 386–400. Colquitt, J. A., Conlon, D. E., Wesson, M. J., Porter, O. L. H.,& Ng, Y. K. (2001). Justice at the millennium: A meta-analytic review of 25 years of organizational justice research. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(3), 425–445. Cropanzano, R.,& Ambrose, M. L. (2001). Procedural and distributive justice are more similar than you think: A monistic perspective and a research agenda. In Greenberg, J.,& Cropanzano, R. (Eds.), Advances in organizational justice, 119–151. Lexington, MA: New Lexington Press. Cropanzano, R.,& Folger, R. (1991). Procedural justice and worker motivation. In Steers, R. M.,& Porter, L. W. (Eds.), Motivation and work behavior, 131–143. New York: McGraw-Hill Dailey, R. C.,& Kirk, D. J. (1992). Distributive and procedural justice as antecedents of job dissatisfaction and intent to turnover. Human Relations, 45(3), 305–312. Deleon, L.,& Ewen, A. J. (1997). Multi-source performance appraisals. Review of Public Administration, 17(1), 22–36. Deming, E. W. (1986). Out of the Crisis. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Deutsch, M. (1975). Equity, equality, and need: What determines which values will be used as the basis for distributive justice? Journal of Social Issues, 31, 137–149. Dipboye, R. L.,& dePontbriand, R. (1981). Correlates of employee reactions to performance appraisals and appraisal systems. Journal of Applied Psychology, 66, 248–251. Douthitt, E. A.,& Aiello, J. R. (2001). The role of participation and control in the effects of computer monitoring on fairness perceptions, task satisfaction, and performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(5), 867–874. Eliezer, V. (1988). The Relationship Between Employees' Attitudes Toward a Shorter Work Week Schedule and General Job Satisfaction. Unpublished master's thesis, Tel-Aviv University, Israel. Farh, J., Werbel, J. D.,& Bedeian, A. G. (1988). An empirical investigation of self-appraisal-based performance evaluation. Personnel Psychology, 41, 141–156. Fedor, D. B. (1991). Recipient responses to performance feedback: A proposed model and its implications. In Ferris, G. R.,& Rowland K. R. (Eds.), Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, Vol. 9. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press. Finn, A.,& Kayande, U. (1999). Unmasking a phantom: A psychomteric assessment of mystery shopping. Journal of Retailing, 75(2), 195–217. Folger, R. (1987). Distributive and procedural justice in the workplace. Social Justice Research, 1, 143–159. Folger, R.,& Konovsky, M. A. (1989). Effects of procedural and distributive justice on reactions to pay raise decisions. Academy of Management Journal, 32, 115–120. Folger, R., Konovsky, M. A.,& Cropanzano, R. (1992). A due process metaphor for performance appraisal. In Staw, B. M.,& Cummings, L. L. (Eds.), Research in Organizational Behavior, Vol. 13, 129–177. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press. Greenberg, J. (1986). Determinants of perceived fairness of performance evaluations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71(2), 340–342. Houser Barclay, J.,& Harland, L. K. (1995). Peer performance appraisals, the impact of rater competence, rater location, and rating correctability on fairness perceptions. Group and Organization Management, 20, 39–60. Huuenstein, N. M., McGonigle, T.,& Sharon, F. W. (2001). A meta-analysis of the relationship between procedural justice and distributive justice: Implications for justice research. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 13(1), 39–56. Irving, R. H., Higgins, C. A.,& Safayeni, F. R. (1986).Computerized performance monitoring systems: Use and abuse. Communications of the ACM, 29, 794–801. Landy, F. J., Barnes-Farrell, J.,& Cleveland, J. N. (1980). Perceived fairness and accuracy of performance evaluation: A follow up. Journal of Applied Psychology, 65(3), 355–356. Landy, F. J., Barnes, J. L.,& Murphy, K. R. (1978). Correlates of perceived fairness and accuracy of performance evaluation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 3(6), 751–574. Latham, G.P.,& Wexley, K. N. (1981). Increasing Productivity Through Performance Appraisal. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Lawler, E. E. (1967). The Multi-trait multi-rater approach to measuring managerial job performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 51, 369–381. Leventhal, G. S. (1976). The distribution of rewards and resources in groups and organizations. In Berkowitz, L.,& Walters, W. (Eds.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 9, 91–131, New York: Academic Press. Leventhal, G. S. (1980). What should be done with equity theory? New approaches to the study of fairness in social Relations. In Gregen, K., Greenberg, M.,& Willis, R. (Eds.), Social Exchange: Advances in Theory& Research, 27–55. New York: Plenum Press. Levy, P. E.,& Williams, J. R. (1998). The role of perceived system knowledge in predicting appraisal reactions, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 19, 53–65. Mani, B. G. (2002). Performance appraisal systems, productivity, and motivation: A case study. Public Personnel Management, 31(2), 141–160. Mossholder, K. W., Giles, W. F.,& Wesolowski, M. A. (1991). Information privacy and performance appraisal: An examination of employees perceptions and reactions. Journal of Business Ethics, 10(2), 151–156. Mossholder, K. W., Bennett, N.,& Martin, C. L. (1998). A multilevel analysis of procedural justice context, Journal of Organizational Behavior, 19(2), 131–141. Murphy, K. R.,& Cleveland, J. N. (1995). Understanding Performance Appraisal: Social, Organizational, and Goal-Based Perspectives. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Nathan, B. R., Mohrman, A. M.,& Millman, J. (1991). Interpersoanl relations as a context for the effects of appraisal interviews on performance and satisfaction: A longitudinal study. Academy of Management Journal, 34, 352–369. Naumann, S. E.,& Bennett, N. (2000). A case for procedural justice climate: Development and test of a multilevel model. Academy of Management Journal, 43(5), 881–889. Nemeroff, W. F.,& Wexley, K. N. (1979). An exploration of the relationships between performance feedback interview characteristics and interview outcomes as perceived by managers and subordinates. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 52, 25–34. Roberts, G. E. (2003). Employee performance appraisal system participation: A technique that works. Public Personnel Management, 31(1), 89–91. Schminke, M., Ambrose, M. L.,& Cropanzano, R. S. (2000). The effect of organizational structure on perceptions of procedural justice. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(2), 294–304. Scolnic, E. (1987). The Working Hours System and Its Effects On Employee's Reactions, Unpublished master's thesis, Tel-Aviv University, Israel. Stanton, J. M.,& Barnes-Farrell, J. L. (1996). Effects of electronic performance monitoring on personal control, task satisfaction, and task performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81(6), 738–745. Shing, M., Ng Kwet,& Soence, L. J. (2002). Investigating the limits of competitive gathering: Is mystery shopping ethical? Business Ethics, 11(4), 343–349. Simons, T.,& Quinetta, R. (2003). Why managers should care about fairness: The effects of aggregate justice perceptions on organizational outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(3), 432–443. Stone, E. F.,& Stone, D. L. (1990). Privacy in organizations: Theoretical issues, research findings, and protection mechanism. In Ferris, G.,& Rowland, K. (Eds.), Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, Vol. 9, 349–411. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press. Sweeney, P. D.,& McFarlin, D. B. (1993). Workers' evaluations of the “ends” and the “means”: An examination of four models of distributive and procedural justice. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 55, 23–40. Tang, T. L.,& Sarsfield-Baldwin, L. J. (1996). Distributive and procedural justice as related to satisfaction and commitment. S.A.M. Advanced Management Journal, 61(3), 25–31. Thibaut, J.,& Walker, L. (1975). Procedural Justice: Psychological Analysis. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Tziner, A., Joanis, C.,& Murphy, K. R. (2000). A comparison of three methods of performance appraisal with regard to goal properties, goal perception, and rate satisfaction. Group and Organizations Management, 25(2), 175–190. Tziner, A.,& Latham, G. P. (1989). The effects of appraisal instrument, feedback and goal-setting on worker satisfaction and commitment. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 10, 145–153. Waters, J. A.,& Bird, F. (1989). Attending to ethics in management. Journal of Business Ethics, 8, 493–497. Whiddett, S.,& Galpin, M. (2002). Better by design: 360-degree feedback systems. Training and Management Development Methods, 16(3), 209–212. Wilson, A. M. (1998). The use of mystery shopping in the measurement of service delivery. The Service Industries Journal, 18, 148–163. Wilson, A. M. (2001). Mystery shopping: Using deception to measure service performance. Psychology and Marketing, 18(7), 721–734. Witt, L. A.,& Nye, L. G. (1992). Gender and the relationship between perceived fairness of pay or promotion and job satisfaction. Journal of Applied Psychology, 77(6), 910–917.