Performance Appraisal System

Abstract

The processes for appraising organizational performance have become more complex. However, studies have focused on specific stages in the development of Performance Appraisal Systems, disregarding their completeness. This research seeks to describe how the evolutionary stages of a Performance Appraisal System (PAS) develop in the Brazilian public port context. A one-year case study was carried out, during which time the System went through the stages of the Life Cycle proposed by Bourne et al. (2000). To develop the System, data was collected through semi-structured interviews with the decision-maker of a public port holding company, guided by the Constructivist Multi Criteria Decision Aid (MCDA-C) methodology. The results of this research show how a PAS is designed, implemented, used and updated, offering contributions to the field of research, which is criticized for the lack of evidence demonstrating the complete Life Cycle of PAS. The study also provides evidence on the construction of knowledge generated during the stages of the System Life Cycle. In this way, it was possible to contribute by providing the organization with a model capable of measuring and supporting management activities and decision-making. The combination of theoretical contributions with the knowledge derived from the illustrated empirical results corroborates the area of Performance Appraisal research on the validity of the PAS Life Cycle and contributes to leveraging the organization's performance.