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

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.