AGE BIAS IN JOB PERFORMANCE

THIS RESEARCH WILL DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING AND MARKETING AN OLDER-WORKER PRODUCTIVITY APPRAISAL TRAINING SYSTEM FOR PERSONNEL AND HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENTSIN BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY. PHASE I RESEARCH IS BASED ON THE HYPOTHESIS THAT THERE IS AGE-RELATED BIAS IN THE SUPERVISORYRATINGS OF OLDER EMPLOYEES THAT NEGATIVELY IMPACTS THE PRODUCTIVITY ESTIMATES OF OLDER EMPLOYEES. THE SYSTEM WILL BE DESIGNED TO REDUCE BIAS IN THE SUPERVISORY RATINGS OF OLDER WORKERS, THUS IMPROVING ESTIMATES OF THEIR PRODUCTIVITY AND ENHANCING THEIR PROMOTABILITY. ADDITIONALLY, THE SYSTEM WILL AID COMPANIES IN THE AVOIDANCEOF EXPOSURE UNDER THE AGE DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT ACT (ADEA). PHASE I RESEARCH WILL (1) EXPLORE THE NEED FOR THE PROPOSED PRODUCT, (2) CONSIDER THE TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING THE PROPOSED PRODUCT, AND (3) LAY THE GROUNDWORK FOR THE FORMAL TESTING OF STUDY HYPOTHESES IN PHASE II. THE NEED FOR THE PRODUCT AND THE TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY OF PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT WILL BE ESTABLISHED THROUGH A REVIEW OF EXISTING JOB PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL SYSTEMS AND LITERATURE ONAGE, JOB PERFORMANCE, AND PRODUCTIVITY, AS WELL AS AN ANALYSIS OF LAWSUITS INITIATED UNDER THE ADEA. INTERVIEWS WITH PERSONNEL OFFICIALS IN INDUSTRY TO DETERMINE THEIR PERCEPTIONS CONCERNING OLDER WORKER ISSUES AND INTEREST IN SERVING AS TEST SITES WILL BE INCLUDED. A PROTOTYPE INSTRUMENT FOR TEST DEVELOPMENT WILL BE UNDERTAKEN IN PHASE II.