Performance appraisal system of senior civil servants in China and the United States:A comparative perspective

Purpose-This paper aims to shed light on commonalities and differences of performance appraisal system of senior civil servants in China and the United States, given that strengthening performance evaluation and accountability is a common trend in the management of civil servants in various countries. Design/methodology/approach-The paper conducts solid and thorough policy analysis of the different policies conducted in the two countries. Findings- The paper reveals that, although there are differences in the conceptual scope between the cadres of Chinese party and government leadership and senior American civil servants, their assessment systems are still comparable in terms of assessment standards, assessment methods, and application of assessment results. In China, the central government has proposed to give full play to the incentive role of cadre assessment and evaluation, to improve the cadre assessment and evaluation mechanism, and has successively formulated and implemented comprehensive assessment and evaluation methods for the party and government departments and county-level government leading cadres. In the United States, strategic anchoring, leadership and knowledge management, result orientation, and strengthening accountability have become the basic principles of government department performance evaluation, and a human capital evaluation and responsibility system have been established. In terms of assessment content, the assessment of party and government leading cadres highlights indicators such as party spirit cultivation, political standards, moral quality and mental state, which embodies the characteristics of"special indicators". The assessment of senior civil servants in the US federal government emphasizes the more operational and evaluative description of actions, which embodies the style of"behavioral indicators". Originality/value- The paper contributes to research by demonstrating not only differences in performance appraisal systems between China and the United States, but also many common problems and common tools and methods to improve its assessment scientifically.