A new measure of Machiavellianism, the Machiavellian Personality Scale (MPS), was developed and validated over two studies. Machiavellianism is conceptualized as one's propensity to distrust others, engage in amoral manipulation, seek control over others, and seek status for oneself. Study 1 developed and tested the factor structure of the scale, whereas Study 2 provided evidence for the convergent, divergent, and criterion-related validity of the MPS. The results of these studies supported the a priori factor structure of the MPS and indicated that it is a valid predictor of such outcomes as job satisfaction, task performance, and counterproductive work behaviors.

Performance appraisal research over the last 10 years has begun to examine the effects of the social context on the appraisal process. Drawing from previous theoretical work, we developed a model of this process and conducted a systematic review of the relevant research. This review of over 300 articles suggests that as a field we have become much more cognizant of the importance of the social context within which the performance appraisal process operates. First, research has broadened the traditional conceptualization of performance appraisal effectiveness to include and emphasize ratee reactions. Second, the influence that the feedback environment or feedback culture has on performance appraisal outcomes is an especially recent focus that seems to have both theoretical and applied implications. Finally, there appears to be a reasonably large set of distal variables such as technology, HR strategies, and economic conditions that are potentially important for understanding the appraisal process, but which have received very little research attention. We believe that the focus of recent performance appraisal research has widespread implications ranging from theory development and enhancement to practical application.

The current study tested a model that links perceptions of organizational politics to job performance and "turnover intentions" (intentions to quit). Meta-analytic evidence supported significant, bivariate relationships between perceived politics and strain (.48), turnover intentions (.43), job satisfaction (؊.57), affective commitment (؊.54), task performance (؊.20), and organizational citizenship behaviors toward individuals (؊.16) and organizations (؊.20). Additionally, results demonstrated that work attitudes mediated the effects of perceived politics on employee turnover intentions and that both attitudes and strain mediated the effects of perceived politics on performance. Finally, exploratory analyses provided evidence that perceived politics represent a unique "hindrance stressor." We thank Brad Kirkman and the three anonymous reviewers for their helpful insights. We would like to note that the first two authors contributed equally to this project. We would like to thank Rosalie Hall for her helpful comments on an earlier version of the article. We are also grateful for the assistance of Michelle Matias and Jessica Junak in preparing our manuscript.

Managers are increasingly being held accountable for providing resources that support employee development, particularly in the form of feedback and coaching. To support managers as trainers and coaches, organizations must provide managers with the tools they need to succeed in this area. This article presents a new tool to assist in the diagnosis and training of managers in the area of feedback and coaching: the Feedback Environment Scale. This article also discusses the theoretically based definition of this new construct and the development and validation evidence for the scale that measures this construct. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the a priori measurement model, and assessment of relationships proposed in a preliminary nomological network provide initial support for the construct validity of the scale. Results also show evidence for the internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and discriminant validity of the facet scores of the Feedback Environment Scale.

The current article tests a model of proactive personality and job search success with a sample of 180 graduating college students. Using structural equation modeling, the authors tested a theoretical model that specified the relations among proactive personality, job search self-efficacy, job search behaviors, job search effort, and job search outcomes. Job seekers were surveyed at 2 separate points in time, once 3-4 months prior to graduation and once 2-3 months following graduation. The results suggest that proactive personality (a) significantly influenced the success of college graduates' job search, (b) was partially mediated through job search self-efficacy and job search behavior, and (c) was independent of self-esteem and conscientiousness. The findings are discussed in terms of their general implications for understanding the nature of the process through which distal personality factors, such as proactive personality, affect the nature and success of an individual's job search.

The relationship between participation in the performance appraisal process and various employee reactions was explored through the meta-analysis of 27 studies containing 32 individual samples. The overall relationship (p) between participation and employee reactions, corrected for unreliability, was .61. Various conceptualizations and operationalizations of participation and employee reactions also were discussed and analyzed. Overall, appraisal participation was most strongly related to satisfaction, and value-expressive participation (i.e., participation for the sake of having one's "voice" heard) had a stronger relationship with most of the reaction criteria than did instrumental participation (i.e., participation for the purpose of influencing the end result). The results are discussed within the framework of organizational justice.Performance appraisal is frequently performed in organizations for a variety of purposes, including administrative decisions (e.g., raise, promotion), feedback and development, and personnel research. Thus, performance appraisals are among the most important human resource systems in organizations insofar as they represent critical decisions integral to a variety of human resource actions and outcomes (Judge & Ferris, 1993). Because of its prevalence and importance in organizations, performance appraisal is also one of the most widely researched areas in industrial/organizational psychology (Murphy & Cleveland, 1995).Of great concern to scientists and practitioners has been the issue of appraisal effectiveness and its measurement.

In this study, the authors attempted to comprehensively examine the measurement of performance appraisal reactions. They first investigated how well the reaction scales, representative of those used in the field, measured their substantive constructs. A confirmatory factor analysis indicated that these scales did a favorable job of measuring appraisal reactions, with a few concerns. The authors also found that the data fit a higher order appraisal reactions model. In contrast, a nested model where the reaction constructs were operationalized as one general factor did not adequately fit the data. Finally, the authors tested the notion that self-report data are affectively driven for the specific case of appraisal reactions, using the techniques delineated by L. J. Williams, M. B. Gavin, and M. L. Williams (1996). Results indicated that neither positive nor negative affect presented method biases in the reaction measures, at either the measurement or construct levels.

The 21st century has been marked by a focus on employee development and continuous learning to engage and retain employees. To stay competitive, organizations must to move away from a one-size-fits-all approach to employee development. Organizations are challenged to understand the unique needs and motivators of each individual. Effectively using performance feedback in a way that addresses individual differences can be a competitive advantage to support engaging work environments. Given the impact of the feedback recipient on the feedback process, it is important to understand individual differences in how people respond to feedback. Feedback orientation, a construct proposed by London and Smither, is an individual’s overall receptivity to feedback. The current research developed and validated a multidimensional measure of feedback orientation. This new instrument will be a valuable tool for researchers and practitioners to better understand individual differences in the feedback process.