Why Managerial Performance Appraisals Are Ineffective: Causes and Lessons
Why managerial performance appraisals are ineffective: causes and lessons
Clinton O. Longenecker Graduate School of Management, The University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, USA
Claims that, in the quest for competitive advantage, modern organizations are making increasing demands on their change managers. Questions what organizations are doing to help managers develop the skills necessary to operate in a rapidly changing work environment. Suggests that systematic management development efforts at organizational level are vital to accelerate and sustain management change. Seeks to identify why managerial appraisals frequently fail and are ineffective as a management development tool. Proposes that, if an organization is going to rely heavily on the use of formal performance appraisals as a vehicle to foster managerial development (which many do) they had better employ an effective appraisal system.
Maybe it’s me but when I look at the process that a lot of organizations use to evaluate their managers I see an awful lot of problems that have a lot of negative consequences ... Hey, we all [managers] want to be evaluated fairly and in a meaningful way but we are not always so willing to do that for the managers that work for us ... It is a paradox for sure. (Observations of a Senior Manager – Fortune 500 Organization.)
Organizations around the world are currently caught up in a flurry of activities designed to enhance key performance variables such as productivity, quality, cost effectiveness, customer service and cycle-time reduction. To achieve improved results in these areas, organizations are employing a host of improvement strategies aimed at producing competitive advantage. These improvement initiatives frequently include re-engineering, technology upgrades, process redesign, employee empowerment efforts, value-added activity assessments, improved customer-supplier linkages and total quality management just to name a few. Organizations frequently state that
Clinton O. Longenecker Graduate School of Management, The University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, USA
Claims that, in the quest for competitive advantage, modern organizations are making increasing demands on their change managers. Questions what organizations are doing to help managers develop the skills necessary to operate in a rapidly changing work environment. Suggests that systematic management development efforts at organizational level are vital to accelerate and sustain management change. Seeks to identify why managerial appraisals frequently fail and are ineffective as a management development tool. Proposes that, if an organization is going to rely heavily on the use of formal performance appraisals as a vehicle to foster managerial development (which many do) they had better employ an effective appraisal system.
Maybe it’s me but when I look at the process that a lot of organizations use to evaluate their managers I see an awful lot of problems that have a lot of negative consequences ... Hey, we all [managers] want to be evaluated fairly and in a meaningful way but we are not always so willing to do that for the managers that work for us ... It is a paradox for sure. (Observations of a Senior Manager – Fortune 500 Organization.)
Organizations around the world are currently caught up in a flurry of activities designed to enhance key performance variables such as productivity, quality, cost effectiveness, customer service and cycle-time reduction. To achieve improved results in these areas, organizations are employing a host of improvement strategies aimed at producing competitive advantage. These improvement initiatives frequently include re-engineering, technology upgrades, process redesign, employee empowerment efforts, value-added activity assessments, improved customer-supplier linkages and total quality management just to name a few. Organizations frequently state that
References: Longenecker, C.O. and Gioia D.A., “Neglected at the top – executives talk about executive appraisal”, Sloan Management Review, Winter 1988. 2 Gioia, D.A. and Longenecker, C.O., “Delving into the dark side: the politics of executive appraisal”, Organizational Dynamics, Winter 1994. 3 Longenecker, C.O. and Gioia, D.A., “Executives need appraisal too”, Executive Development, Vol. 6 No. 1, 1993. 1 These are words to remember in approaching the entire process of managerial appraisal. [ 218 ]