IMPLEMENTING A PERFORMANCE STANDARDS APPRAISAL SYSTEM: THE ELEMENTS OF AN ORGANIZATION'S STRUCTURE AND LEADERSHIP STYLE WHICH INFLUENCE ITS ABILITY TO ADAPT TO INNOVATION.

摘要

This study considered the organizational structures and leadership styles of 22 divisions of a county government to determine which of these characteristics led them to adapt more readily to a change. The change in this case was a new performance appraisal system which was mandated by the County Commission.; The results of this study showed that the divisions which were less formalized and had less routine tasks, were better able to adapt to the new performance appraisal system.; Since the environment of the divisions studied and the implementation method of the change were consistent, the study provided a good comparative measure of structure and leadership style. Because the functions of the divisions were widely diverse the study provided a broad range of responses for each of the variables considered.; The new performance appraisal system itself created a substantial change in the manner in which the divisions were operated, as it required more rigorous evaluation of performance and assignment of pay on the basis of performance scores.; The implications of this study for management include the necessity for considering organization structure when beginning to implement new performance appraisal systems.