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The attitudes of twenty-nine managers toward performance appraisal and toward their organization were used to predict differences in mean ratings and measures of discrimination among ratees and performance dimensions. Substantial multiple correlations were obtained for all three dependent variables (between 32 and 46% of the variance in each measure was explained), and several individual correlations were statistically significant. Raters who showed low levels of confidence in the appraisal system, high levels of discomfort, or high levels of instrumental commitment were more likely to provide ratings that were unusually high or that did not discriminate well among ratees and/or dimensions. Raters who showed higher levels of attitudinal commitment or who perceived more risks associated with distorting ratings tended to provide lower ratings and to discriminate among ratees and/or dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lack of concrete guidance provided by managerial moral standards and the ambiguity of the expectations they create are discussed in terms of the moral stress experienced by many managers. It is argued that requisite clarity and feelings of obligation with respect to moral standards derive ultimately from public discussion of moral issues within organizations and from shared public agreement about appropriate behavior. Suggestions are made about ways in which the moral dimension of an organization's culture can be more effectively managed. This is the third in a research series of three papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent events have generated considerable interest, but little empirical evidence, in Russian management. This observation study of a sample of managers (N=66) in a large textile factory in Russia used the same definitions, methodology and procedures as a stream of research conducted by Luthans and his colleagues on U.S. ‘Real Managers’ (see Luthans, Hodgetts and Rosenkrantz [1988]). Similar to American managers, the Russian managers in this factory were observed, in order, to perform traditional management, communication, human resources and networking activities. Also similar to the managers studied in the U.S., the Russian managers' networking activity generally related to their success. The relationship between the Russian managers' various activities and their effectiveness was less clear, but, like the American managers, the communication activity was a significant predictor across analysis techniques. The implications these findings have for Russia's transition to a market economy are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]