360 Degree Feedback

In chapter 9, the concept of 360 degree feedback was introduced. 360 degree feedback is made up of anonymous, goal oriented reviews of fellow employees. Trust is the key behind this type of feedback because the work environment must be supportive in writing these types of reviews. The goal of 360 feedback is to review the performance rather than the personality of a person, and having this type of constructive feedback is very effective in any work environment. Another goal is to motivate employees to improve their performance by using the suggestions provided. Sometimes directly telling somebody what you think them or their performance is difficult, especially in a corporate environment and many organizations. 360 degree feedback provides a method of providing feedback which is not only based off of constructive criticism, but also applauding successes.

In another article I found on EBSCO, discussed whether or not 360 degree feedback, or really any type of employee feedback, should be simply used for development of employees, or whether it should be tied to administrative decisions such as compensation or work hours. Recently, the amount of firms which use employee feedback tied to these types of decisions has been increasing. It is questionable whether standard feedback systems are even good; that is, managers who review employees below them, a top down approach, rather than having every mixed level employee revies. One idea is combining the feedback outcomes, making them develop employee performance levels, as well as tying the feedback to salary and other job design factors.

Kreitner, Robert. Organizational Behavior. 9th ed. Vol. 1. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2010.

Maylett, Tracy. "360-Degree Feedback Revisited: The Transition From Development to Appraisal." Compensation & Benefits Review 41.5 (2009): 52-59. Business Source Complete. EBSCO. Web. 1 Mar. 2010.