Performance Management – Key Strategies and Practical Guidelines
Author: Michael Armstrong
Price: 25
Publisher: Kogan Page
Pages: 216
ISBN: 0-7494-4537-8
The timing of this book is perfect, as the shift from appraisal schemes to performance management is hitting its stride. The old reliance on an annual system is rapidly making way for 24/7 performance management (and rest assured this is not micro-management), so any book by a reputable and experienced author such as Michael Armstrong must be welcome.
Armstrong is a fellow of, and chief examiner for, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, as well as an independent management consultant.
I was disappointed that the book does not deliver hard on the practical guidelines promised in the title. University and college lecturers will love the book for its academic style – lots of data and research referencing – but the busy manager would rather have an in-your-face tome that can be consulted as a manual.
If the reader has not attended further or higher education, the presentation of this book could be off-putting. If you are comfortable with the type of book recommended in education, then this could be a good buy. The information is there, presented so it can be studied (and I think its market is the classroom) rather than picked out and used immediately.
Browse the book before parting with your money. It may be brilliant for you, or you may need something else to advise you on performance management schemes.
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Useful? Four stars
Well-written? Four stars
Practical? Two stars
Inspirational? Two stars
Value for money? Three stars
Reviewed by Keith Lawson, training and development consultant
