Performance-appraisal beliefs of Chinese employees in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta

Working adults from Hong Kong (HK; N=102) and the Pearl River Delta (PRD; N=96) participated in a Chinese-language, 20-item, structured interview. The interview addressed five topics: performance criteria, implementation of the appraisal, factors attributed to performance, methods of feedback, and concerns about the use of performance appraisal (PA) at work. Results indicated that most respondents believe that PA facilitates communication between superiors and subordinates, that effective performance is a function of each individual's internal attributes (which may include aspects external to the workplace), and that feedback should be direct and frank, communicated by someone with authority and power. These results are consistent with the beliefs of people living in societies characterized as high in Confucian dynamism. We discussed implications of the findings for the use of PA in Chinese enterprises in HK and PRD.