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Supervisors and Performance Management Systems

Author

Listed:
  • Frederiksen, Anders

    (Aarhus University)

  • Kahn, Lisa B.

    (University of Rochester)

  • Lange, Fabian

    (McGill University)

Abstract
Supervisors occupy central roles in production and performance monitoring. We study how heterogeneity in performance evaluations across supervisors affects employee and supervisor careers and firm outcomes using data on the performance system of a Scandinavian service sector firm. We show that supervisors vary widely in how they rate subordinates of similar quality. To understand the nature of this heterogeneity, we propose a principal-agent model according to which supervisors can differ in their ability to elicit output from subordinates or in their taste for leniency when rating subordinates. The model also allows for variation in how informed firms are about this heterogeneity. Within the context of this model, we can discern the nature of the heterogeneity across supervisors and how informed firms are about this heterogeneity by relating observed supervisor heterogeneity in ratings to worker, supervisor, and firm outcomes. We find that subordinates are paid significantly more, and their pay is more closely aligned with performance, when they are matched to a highrating supervisor. We also find that higher raters themselves are paid more and that the teams managed by higher raters perform better on objective performance measures. This evidence suggests that supervisor heterogeneity stems, at least in part, from real differences in managerial ability and that firms are at least partially informed about these differences. We conclude by quantifying how important heterogeneity in supervisor type is for workers' careers. For a typical worker, matching to a high rater (90th percentile) relative to a low rater (10th percentile) for just one year results in an increase in the present discounted value of earnings equivalent to 7–14% of an annual salary.

Suggested Citation

  • Frederiksen, Anders & Kahn, Lisa B. & Lange, Fabian, 2017. "Supervisors and Performance Management Systems," IZA Discussion Papers 10725, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10725
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Mitchell Hoffman & Steven Tadelis, 2021. "People Management Skills, Employee Attrition, and Manager Rewards: An Empirical Analysis," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 129(1), pages 243-285.
    2. Wouter DESSEIN & Desmond (Ho-Fu) LO & SHANGGUAN Ruo & OWAN Hideo, 2024. "The Management of Knowledge Work," Discussion papers 24044, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    3. Mihails Hazans & Jaan Masso & Per Botolf Maurseth, 2023. "Human values and selection into supervisory positions: Evidence from nine European countries," EGEIWP 01-2023, Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza - Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", revised Dec 2023.
    4. Enzo Brox & Michael Lechner, 2024. "Teamwork and Spillover Effects in Performance Evaluations," Papers 2403.15200, arXiv.org.
    5. Caliendo, Marco & Cobb-Clark, Deborah A. & Pfeifer, Harald & Uhlendorff, Arne & Wehner, Caroline, 2024. "Managers’ risk preferences and firm training investments," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    6. Cai, Xiqian & Jiang, Wei & Song, Hong & Xie, Huihua, 2022. "Pay for performance schemes and manufacturing worker productivity: Evidence from a kinked design in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    7. Jose Uribe & Seth Carnahan & John Meluso & Jesse Austin‐Breneman, 2022. "How do managers evaluate individual contributions to team production? A theory and empirical test," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(12), pages 2577-2601, December.
    8. Naveed Ahmad Khan & Andrija Mihoci & Silke Michalk & Kirill Sarachuk & Hafiz Ali Javed, 2022. "Employee Performance Measures Appraised by Training and Labor Market: Evidence from the Banking Sector of Germany," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-13, October.
    9. Johannes S. Kunz & Carol Propper & Kevin E. Staub & Rainer Winkelmann, 2024. "Assessing the quality of public services: For‐profits, chains, and concentration in the hospital market," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(9), pages 2162-2181, September.
    10. Stewart Kaupa & Sulaiman Olusegun Atiku, 2020. "Challenges in the Implementation of Performance Management System in Namibian Public Sector," International Journal of Innovation and Economic Development, Inovatus Services Ltd., vol. 6(2), pages 25-34, June.
    11. Philipp Barteska & Jay Euijung Lee, 2024. "Bureaucrats and the Korean export miracle," Discussion Papers 2024-11, Nottingham Interdisciplinary Centre for Economic and Political Research (NICEP).
    12. Ingrid Haegele, 2022. "Talent Hoarding in Organizations," Papers 2206.15098, arXiv.org, revised Mar 2024.
    13. Michael Rivera & Liangfei Qiu & Subodha Kumar & Tony Petrucci, 2021. "Are Traditional Performance Reviews Outdated? An Empirical Analysis on Continuous, Real-Time Feedback in the Workplace," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 32(2), pages 517-540, June.
    14. Kathryn L. Shaw, 2019. "Bosses matter: The effects of managers on workers’ performance," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 456-456, January.
    15. Abraham, Lisa, 2023. "The gender gap in performance reviews," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 214(C), pages 459-492.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    labor; personnel economics; principal-agent; performance management systems; supervisors; organizational economics;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M5 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics

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