ABSTRACT
The most fundamental question facing an organisation that is setting up appraisal is what the aim of the exercise is to be. Get this bit wrong, and you can bet that whatever else follows, the appraisal system will not run smoothly – if it runs at all. To be sure, it is not hard to think up a number of aims that appraisal may serve, but the main problem is setting up a realistic and achievable agenda.
