The Impact of Culture on Performance Appraisal Reforms in Africa

This article explores the impact of administrative culture on performance appraisal reforms in Uganda’s civil service. Data gathered from 147 questionnaires, 29 interviews and various documents indicates that administrative culture sabotages the actual conduct of performance appraisals and undermines its institutionalization. The study supports the use of power distance and uncertainty avoidance. The additional dimensions of political (neutrality) biasness and ethnicity are a highly relevant addition to the literature on administrative culture and its linkage to instruments of management. Thus, for the successful introduction of performance appraisals, culture matters because the performance appraisal is imposed from abroad and requires a compatible host administrative culture in order to take root. In this case, the host administrative culture was not compatible in many respects with the values underlying the appraisal reforms. Although the Ugandan government introduced appraisal reforms, incompatibility between the values embedded in the appraisal and the host administrative culture watered down the reform

Business · Civil service · Economics · Government (linguistics · Institutionalisation · Linkage (software · Management · Order (exchange · Organizational culture · Performance appraisal · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Public service · Service (business · Accounting and Organizational Management · Global and Cross-Cultural Management · Law · Organizational Strategy and Culture · Public Administration · Finance · Marketing

• Performance appraisal systems — equity perceptions of mathematics teachers

  Michael Kainose Mhlolo•Journal of Psychology in Africa•2014

  Incluir item

• Why Most Developing Countries Should Not Try New Zealand's Reforms

  Allen Schick•The World Bank Research Observer•1998

  Incluir item

• Administration in Developing Countries

  Fred W Riggs•Administration in Developing…•1964

  Incluir item

• Cultural implications for the appraisal process

  Open Access•Stefan Groeschl•Cross Cultural Management An…•2003

  Incluir item

• Neopatrimonialism Revisited

  Open Access•Gero Erdmann, Ulf Engel•SSRN Electronic Journal•2006

  Incluir item

• Electoral Participation in Bangladesh

  Harald Baldersheim, Ishtiaq Jamil et al.•Commonwealth and Comparative…•2001

  Incluir item

• Satisfaction with a performance appraisal system and appraisal discussion

  Open Access•Michael K Mount•Journal of Organizational Behavior•1984

  Incluir item

• Sifarish, Sycophants, Power and Collectivism

  Open Access•Nasir Islam•International Review of…•2004

  Incluir item

• Africa

  Patrick Chabal•Africa•2009

  Incluir item

• The Challenge of Ethnic Conflict

  Open Access•Donald L Horowitz•Journal of democracy•1993

  Incluir item

• Personalizing Power in Uganda

  Open Access•Andrew M Mwenda•Journal of democracy•2007

  Incluir item

• Patronage politics, donor reforms, and regime consolidation in Uganda

  Andrew M Mwenda•African Affairs•2005

  Incluir item

• Hofstede's Model of National Cultural Differences and their Consequences

  Open Access•Bill Mcsweeney, Brendan McSweeney•Human Relations•2002

  Incluir item

• A moral economy of corruption in Africa

  Open Access•J P Olivier De Sardan•The Journal of Modern African…•1999

  Incluir item

• Rebuilding Organisation Capacity in Uganda Under the National Resistance Movement

  Open Access•E A Brett•The Journal of Modern African…•1994

  Incluir item

• Ethnic Conflict in the World Today

  Open Access•Stanley J Tambiah, J Tambiah•American Ethnologist•1989

  Incluir item

• Do We Need a Concept of Culture

  Open Access•Gustav Jahoda•Journal of Cross-Cultural…•1984

  Incluir item