ABSTRACT
Performance appraisals might add to the pressures on managers’ time, and they might be a source of disappointment or discontent for employees who feel they are treated unreasonably. Managing people and performance has always been a challenge for organisations and managers. Performance planning and review should focus on performance. Performance appraisal systems that gather data for decisions about remuneration, training, promotion and career development are probably trying to do too much: they might end up doing none of these things very well. Simply changing the name and emphasis will not be enough unless performance planning and review is central to the organisation’s total approach to performance management. Performance planning and review should be part of a total approach to performance management. It might have been appropriate once to describe performance appraisal as ‘simply an attempt to think clearly about each person’s current performance and future prospects against the background of the total work situation’.
