ABSTRACT
The traditional performance appraisal interview often involves a series of supposedly ‘constructive’ criticisms of past performance, from which the employee is expected to learn and gain motivation to do better in future. The main purpose of the performance discussion is to enable two people who ‘contracted’ for certain performance to take an overview of the outcomes of that contract, and to agree on what should happen in the time ahead. The choice of performance review methods ranges from simple ranking—which is concerned more with comparing employees than assessing their performance—through to complex procedures like Behaviourally Anchored Rating Scales and assessment centres. ‘Reliability’ and ‘validity’ have special meanings when we’re discussing the usefulness and effectiveness of performance assessment or measurement instruments. Employees are simply ranked in order according to the manager’s assessment of their overall performance or some aspect of that performance, or on their value to the organisation.
