Giving Appropriate Performance Feedback. to Managers: An Empirical Test of Content and Outcomes

Associations between three types of feedback content and three appraisal outcomes were examined for two managerial levels. Results showed that performance improve ment emphasis, corporate goal emphasis, and salary information each played some role in enhancing motivation and appraisal objectivity for both groups. However, sig nificantly higher correlations were found for middle than for upper-level managers on three relationships: Performance improvement emphasis—appraisal objectivity, perfor mance improvement emphasis—personal goal instrumentality, and corporate goal emphasis—personal goal instrumentality. These results seem to be consequences of middle managers'greater needs for clarification of performance goal bases, perfor mance expectations, and reward contingencies.