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CULTURAL RELATIVITY IN ACTION: A COMPARISON OF SELF‐RATINGS MADE BY CHINESE AND U.S. WORKERS
Author(s) -
FARH JIINGLIH,
DOBBINS GREGORY H.,
CHENG BORSHIUAN
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
personnel psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.076
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1744-6570
pISSN - 0031-5826
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-6570.1991.tb00693.x
Subject(s) - psychology , social psychology , china , perception , action (physics) , job performance , sample (material) , job satisfaction , political science , law , chemistry , physics , chromatography , quantum mechanics , neuroscience
Using a sample of 982 leader‐subordinate dyads drawn from nine different organizations in the Republic of China (i.e., Taiwan), self‐ratings of performance were compared with supervisory ratings of subordinate performance. Results indicated that Chinese employees rated their job performance less favorably than did their supervisors (i.e., they exhibited a modesty bias). This modesty bias occurred relatively uniformly across gender, various educational levels, and age groups. These results are contrary to the typically reported U.S. finding that self‐ratings of performance are more lenient than are supervisory ratings. A further comparison of the means of supervisory and self‐ratings between this study and previous U.S. research revealed that the modesty bias appeared to be produced by the lower self‐ratings made by Chinese workers as compared to their U.S. counterparts. The findings suggest that culture plays a critical role in shaping workers' perceptions of their own work performance. Results of this study are discussed in terms of their implications for future research and practice in international human resource management.