ABSTRACT
Everyone wants to know how they are getting on – it's natural. Therefore, feedback becomes part of the interaction between the subordinate and the superior. Knowing 'where you stand' and 'if you are on the right lines' are part of everyday work and, as such, informal appraisal is continuous and part of daily life. That an organization would want to turn this process into a formal system is quite rational. Each part might be 'on the right lines' but is the whole? An appraisal system attempts to ensure some continuity of purpose by checking the validity of individual goals in terms of organization goals. However, everyone not only wants to know how they are getting on, but to know this in relation to others. Again, perfectly natural, but potentially problematic for a system. It would be obvious to use an appraisal system to rate employees for promotion, but in doing so it may introduce a note of ambiguity in the way the system is perceived by both managers and workers. To illustrate the point, if a worker comes to an interview thinking that its purpose is to discuss the development of skills, he or she might tell of personal weaknesses. This would not be in their interests if the appraiser considered the purpose of the interview to be to decide on pay in relation to others! All appraisal systems have the potential to disrupt in this way.
