360-Degree Feedback

The Development of 360-Degree Feedback Systems

The development of these systems grew out of research that tried to establish the construct validity of traditional performance appraisals. These studies compared ratings from appraisals generated by supervisors with ratings from appraisals generated by peers and subordinates, using a framework known as the multitrait–multimethod matrix. This framework examines ratings of common traits provided by raters who have different relationships with the ratee (e.g., peers and supervisors), as well as ratings of these common traits by raters who have the same relationship with the ratee. This approach also considers ratings of different traits provided by raters who have the same relationship with the ratee as well as those provided by raters who have different relationships with the ratee. Subsequent analyses of ratings search for convergence among ratings of common traits, provided by different sources as evidence of construct validity (as well as divergence among ratings of different traits provide by different groups of raters). But in many cases, the researchers failed to find the convergence that was critical for the demonstration of construct validity, which suggested that these ratings may not be valid at all.

Fortunately, some scholars argued that the failure to find convergence among ratings from different sources could be attributed to these different groups of raters observing different behaviors and interpreting those behaviors differently, based on the relationship they had with the ratee. This would suggest that each type of rating had some validity in its own right, but that each of these different ratings actually provided somewhat unique information about the ratee's performance. This suggestion was a major impetus for the development of 360-degree feedback. In addition, multisource feedback was used in several organizational change interventions as a tool to “unfreeze” the managers and make them more accepting of the need to change.

Eventually, these sets of efforts led to the fairly widespread use of 360-degree feedback systems in organizations in the United States. These systems grew in popularity, both in the United States and [Page 810]around the world, and were the subject of many books and articles in the popular and practitioner literature, but the academic community paid little attention to them. Slowly, the academic community began investigating 360-degree feedback systems and began raising questions about potential problems. The practitioner community also became more critical of these systems, especially noting their use in decision making, despite the recommendations that they be used for feedback purposes only. Because these systems remain popular, it is important to understand the potential problems and limitations involved in their use and how to best use 360-degree feedback systems to minimize the problems and maximize the advantages.

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