Managing Research, Development, and Innovation: Managing the Unmanageable, Third Edition

10.1. SOME NEGATIVE CONNOTATIONS OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL

The problem may lie in the negative connotations of the words "performance appraisal." Appraisal implies evaluation and making judgments as to the quality and quantity of an individual's productivity. To make such an evaluation or a judgment, a certain yardstick has to be available to ascertain whether the individual has measured up to the performance level envisioned by the evaluator. How is one to compare the performance of one individual who has clearly exceeded the low standards he set for himself versus another individual who failed to meet the rather difficult standards she set for herself? Dimensions associated with the yardstick are variable, and procedures available to evaluate ...