PERFORMANCE RATING ACCURACY - CONVERGENCE BETWEEN SUPERVISOR ASSESSMENT AND SALES PRODUCTIVITY

The role of seven variables in predicting supervisor rating accuracy w as examined. The study was conducted in natural settings, and the crit erion for rating accuracy was the rated salesperson's productivity in terms of sales. The predictors examined were the supervisor's gender, the amount of time the supervisor spent working with the subordinate, the length of the supervisor-subordinate relationship, depth of acquai ntance, the subordinate's sensitivity to expressive behavior in others , the ability to modify self-presentation and the subordinate's age. T he participants were 208 supervisors and 268 female salespersons. The results of a discriminant analysis showed that the variables predictin g accuracy-inaccuracy were different from those predicting overestimat ion-underestimation. Accuracy was best predicted by the length of the supervisor-subordinate relationship and by the supervisor's female gen der. The direction of the inaccurate ratings was best predicted by hig h acquaintance, which pulled the ratings in a positively-biased direct ion.