Performance Appraisals and the Impact of Forced Distribution: An Experimental Investigation

A real effort experiment is investigated in which supervisors have to rate the performance of individual workers who in turn receive a bonus payment based on these ratings. We compare a baseline treatment in which supervisors were not restricted in their rating behavior to a forced distribution system in which they had to assign differentiated grades. We find that productivity was significantly higher under a forced distribution by about 8%. But also in the absence of forced distribution, deliberate differentiation positively affected output in subsequent work periods.performance measurement, forced distribution, motivation, experiment

Managerial Incentives and Favoritism in Promotion Decisions: Theory and Field Evidence

This paper investigates the effects of managerial incentives on favoritism in promotion decisions. First, we theoretically show that favoritism leads to a lower quality of promotion decisions and in turn lower efforts. But the effect can be mitigated by pay-for-performance incentives for managers who decide upon promotion. Second, we analyze matched employer-employee survey data with detailed firm level information on managerial incentive schemes and find that perceived promotion quality is indeed substantially higher when managers receive performance-related pay or participate in gain sharing plans.incentives, favoritism, nepotism, tournaments

Incentives and Cooperation in Firms: Field Evidence

We empirically investigate the impact of incentive scheme structure on the degree of cooperation in firms using a unique and representative data set. Combining employee survey data with detailed firm level information on the relative importance of individual, team, and company performance for compensation, we find a significant positive relation between the intensity of team incentives and several survey measures of cooperation. Moreover, higher powered team incentives are associated with lower degrees of absenteeism while this is not the case for individual incentives.incentives, cooperation, teams, helping effort

Alternativen zum Arbeitsmarkt

"Es muß damit gerechnet werden, daß aus Gründen, die vornehmlich mit anhaltender Wachstumsschwäche einerseits, technologischer Arbeitslosigkeit andererseits zusammenhängen, die die Wirtschaft der Bundesrepublik Deutschland kennzeichnende Beschäftigungskrise andauern wird. Drei Antworten auf eine Situation, in der ein Mangel an Beschäftigung herrscht, ohne daß das Sozialprodukt wesentlich geschrumpft ist, sind denkbar: die erste Antwort sieht die Arbeitslosigkeit teils als unvermeidlich, teils als insoweit hilfreich an, als sie lohnregulierende Funktionen übernimmt; die zweite Antwort hält an dem Ziel der Vollbeschäftigung fest und erachtet Wirtschaftswachstum als nach wie vor geeignetes Mittel der Arbeitsplatzbeschaffung; die dritte Anwort versucht, die Bedeutung der Lohnarbeit als "Quelle des Lebensunterhalts" herabzumindern. Vier Strategien, dieses Ziel zu erreichen, werden als gangbare Wege einer Ökonomie skizziert, die ein noch nie dagewesenes Niveau der Entfaltung der Produktivkräfte erreicht hat. Alle vier Strategien eröffnen zum Arbeitsmarkt alternative Formen der Produktion und Verteilung des Reichtums." (Autorenreferat)Arbeitsmarkt, Alternativökonomie, Zukunft der Arbeit, Wertorientierung, Alternativbewegung

Heterogeneous Contestants and Effort Provision in Tournaments - an Empirical Investigation with Professional Sports Data

We empirically investigate if tournaments between heterogeneous contestants are less intense. To test our hypotheses we use professional sports data from the TOYOTA Handball-Bundesliga, the major handball league in Germany. Using either differences in betting odds or rankings to measure ability differences, our results support standard tournament theory as we find a highly significant negative impact of the matchup's heterogeneity on joint teame efforts. However, further analysis shows that this overall decrease in efforts is almost entirely driven by the reaction of the ex-ante favorite team

X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy: Clinical, biochemical and pathogenetic aspects

AbstractX-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD) is a clinically heterogeneous disorder ranging from the severe childhood cerebral form to asymptomatic persons. The overall incidence is 1:16,800 including hemizygotes as well as heterozygotes. The principal molecular defect is due to inborn mutations in the ABCD1 gene encoding the adrenoleukodystrophy protein (ALDP), a transporter in the peroxisome membrane. ALDP is involved in the transport of substrates from the cytoplasm into the peroxisomal lumen. ALDP defects lead to characteristic accumulation of saturated very long-chain fatty acids, the diagnostic disease marker. The pathogenesis is unclear. Different molecular mechanisms seem to induce inflammatory demyelination, neurodegeneration and adrenocortical insufficiency involving the primary ABCD1 defect, environmental factors and modifier genes. Important information has been derived from the X-ALD mouse models; species differences however complicate the interpretation of results. So far, bone marrow transplantation is the only effective long-term treatment for childhood cerebral X-ALD, however, only when performed at an early-stage of disease. Urgently needed novel therapeutic strategies are under consideration ranging from dietary approaches to gene therapy