Managing Performance

This book is about two concepts - performance and management. It is not about objectives, standards, feedback, or appraisals, although these are all important components of performance and are all discussed in the book. The book is about the relationships among these components and the ongoing process of managing performance. Too often, performance management is thought of as something that takes place at a point in time, when the objectives are set or when the feedback is given. The focus becomes improving the objectives, adjusting the performance appraisal format and giving good quality feedback - all very important activities but none by themselves manages performance. Performance management is not an event but a process. Performance management is continuous and action oriented with focus on improving performance by using objectives, standards, appraisals, and feedback. The distinction between the two approaches is subtle but critical. If managers are to be successful, their focus must be on improving performance and not on developing and implementing performance management systems.
The systems and procedures are the tools - of course they need to be the highest quality possible - but performance is the purpose and that must be the focus of management. The book includes theories and models which explain the concepts and uses cases from organizations to bring them to life. Also included in the text are questionnaires and tools to apply the concepts and models in organizations.