Holding employees accountable for the accomplishment of organizational goals: The case of the u.s. federal government

Abstract

Aligned appraisal systems explicitly hold employees accountable for contributing to the accomplishment of organizational goals. Furthermore, appraisal alignment is consistent with both core bureaucratic expectations and New Public Management control regimes, but the efficacy of the policy and its substantive impact have yet to be considered in detail. Over the last decade, federal agencies were encouraged to revise appraisal systems and include alignment. Using the bureaucratic policy adoption literature, an empirical model assesses why agencies choose to adopt and/or implement alignment. The empirical analyses reveal that not all agencies adopting alignment in their appraisal systems fully implemented it for employees and managers. Organizational resources and ideology of political appointees influence adoption, while the strength of strategic program management efforts exhibits a weak association with implementation.