Roxanne,
I claim the tool is ok, but the managers who implement it need more
direction and guidance. You claim the tool itself is flawed. Then you go
on to say,
>Rol, this may be the most important issue where your perspective differs
>from that of many others who are trying to convey that the tools called
>performance ranking and performance rating are destructive tools that
>should be discarded. It is not simply a matter of training managers to
>use the tool more effectively. I believe that you are so convinced that
>you are "right" on this issue, that you have been unable to learn from
>the papers written by Robert Bacal and Fred Nichols and the many eloquent
>posts on the subject.
Steve E says the same thing, you must be talking off-line.
What I have observed and experienced is that managers with the appropriate
motivation use these tools effectively in the sense that virtually no one
is ever fired or feels severely bruised, people learn from the experience,
people grow, people actually get better at performing their work, or
occasionally they become qualified for more advanced work that pays more
money.
My somewhat more limited experience with non-appraisal systems did not
result in such a -- my opinion only -- healthy outcome.
These are not opinions, but observations. Not facts, either, of course,
and I do not claim they are. But they need to be accounted for by any
theory that claims performance appraisal systems are inherently
destructive. Why is it that some people can get good results, and others
cannot?
In any event, I have asked Steve to present me the opportunity, and you
can find it in another post. You are certainly welcome to respond as
well.
By the way, I accept your characterization of me. I promise you I will
think about it. I want you to reciprocate by acknowledging that people
really do make these sysems work very effectively. Even employee feedback
verifies this. Can you and Steve do that? Can you respond to the longer
memos I have sent recently, or can you only decide that I must be flawed?
I don't mean to diminish your behavior, but your statement feels a lot
more like characterization than it feels like you are dealing with the
issues I have raised. Please focus on the issues as well.
--Rol Fessenden
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>