ABSTRACT

Many administrative decisions, of necessity, are based upon evaluations of performance. These evaluations, involving judgments concerning individuals or groups, are usually formalized as performance ratings. Some factors which influence performance ratings, such as the “halo effect,” “errors in central tendency,” and “judgments of leniency,” have been identified, 1 and various methods have been proposed to reduce the effect of these factors. Few studies, however, have directly investigated the effect of the interpersonal relationship between the superior and his subordinates upon the former's ratings of the latter's performances.