This study mapped the development of performance appraisal in UK universities and assessed the initial impact of appraisal in four case study institutions. University staff felt that appraisal has had little impact on their motivation, efficiency and performance. One reason for this may be the ambiguity surrounding the intentions of staff appraisal in universities: it is neither a management tool, nor is it wholly focused on staff development. If appraisal is primarily concerned with assessment, it must be linked to promotion and merit pay awards. The current arrangement of using agreed summaries from the appraisal interviews in promotion procedures is not entirely satisfactory and requires further consideration. If, on the other hand, appraisal is intended for the purposes of staff development, this aim should be explicitly stated and backed up with adequate resources and effective procedures designed to ensure that identified training needs are met. While universities have responded to the need to develop appraisal schemes there is very little sense in which appraisal has been given a coherent function in relation to other aspects of management. If appraisal is to promote change in universities, it must be incorporated in university and departmental planning.
