The gender and racial composition of the American workforce is rapidly changing. As more women in particular enter the workforce and as they enter jobs that have traditionally been dominated by men, issues related to sex and gender in work settings have become increasingly important and complex. Research addressing sex and gender in the workplace is conducted in several distinct disciplines, ranging from psychology and sociology to management and economics. Further, books on gender at work often reflect either a more traditional management perspective or a more recent feminist perspective; rarely however, are these two orientations on women and work acknowledged within the same text. Thus, the principle goal of the book is to communicate a variety of social psychological literatures and research on gender issues that affect work behaviors to upper-level undergraduate and graduate students in applied psychology and business.

The gender and racial composition of the American workforce is rapidly changing. As more women in particular enter the workforce and as they enter jobs that have traditionally been dominated by men, issues related to sex and gender in work settings have become increasingly important and complex. Research addressing sex and gender in the workplace is conducted in several distinct disciplines, ranging from psychology and sociology to management and economics. Further, books on gender at work often reflect either a more traditional management perspective or a more recent feminist perspective; rarely however, are these two orientations on women and work acknowledged within the same text. Thus, the principle goal of the book is to communicate a variety of social psychological literatures and research on gender issues that affect work behaviors to upper-level undergraduate and graduate students in applied psychology and business.

Based on a previous book by the same authors, Understanding Performance Appraisal delineates a social-psychological model of the appraisal process that emphasizes the goals pursued by raters, ratees, and the various users of performance appraisal. The authors apply this goal-oriented perspective to developing, implementing, and evaluating performance appraisal systems. This perspective also emphasizes the context in which appraisal occurs and demonstrates that the shortcomings of performance appraisal are in fact sensible adaptations to its various requirements, pressures, and demands. Relevant research is summarized and recommendations are offered for future research and applications. Graduate-level students, organizational development consultants and trainers, human resource managers, faculty and scholars, and psychologists in human resource management as well as other professionals who conduct research on performance appraisal programs will find this book not only interesting but also a valuable resource.