Effective Phrases for Performance Appraisals: A Guide to Successful Evaluations(10th Edition) [Plastic Comb]

James E. Neal (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1882423100 | ISBN-13: 978-1882423101 | Publication Date: February 2003

With the assistance of this guide, now in its tenth edition, every manager can effectively appraise employee performance. Contains over 2000 professionally written phrases which will clearly describe job performance. Spiral.

Product Details

• Plastic Comb: 224 pages
• Publisher: Neal Publications (February 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1882423100
• ISBN-13: 978-1882423101
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 4.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #331,433 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

72 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Essential guide for written performance appraisals, July 31, 2000

By 

E. A. Lovitt "starmoth" (Gladwin, MI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Effective Phrases for Performance Appraisals: A Guide to Successful Evaluations (Paperback)

"Effective Phrases for Performance Appraisals" is the equivalent of a "Roget's Thesaurus" for supervisors and managers who have to evaluate employee performance on a regular basis. It organizes effective phrases under headings such as 'Communicative Skills" and "Leadership". You pick the most appropriate phrase to describe your employee's performance, e.g. "optimally utilizes all channels of communications", and write the review. Even if you don't want to use phrases out of this book, I've found that it is a good pattern book for brainstorming my own phrases.

The only omission (in my opinion) in "Effective Phrases for Performance Appraisals" is the lack of phrases for below average performance. Try "The Definitive Performance Writing Guide" by Douglas L. Drewry for your below average performance appraisals.

51 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best guide to "filling in the blanks" on perf. reviews!, August 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Effective Phrases for Performance Appraisals: A Guide to Successful Evaluations (Plastic Comb)

I've been writing performance reviews for five years now, and found this to be the best guide ever to help fill in the blanks. Almost every appraisal form requires analysis and precise commentary about the employee's behavior, and this book is well-organized and chock-full of helpful phrases to adapt for just about every performance situation. I also used this book as a resource for a class I teach, How to Conduct Effective Performance Appraisals.

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Useful For New Managers, February 20, 2003

By 

A.Trendl HungarianBookstore.com "What should ... (Glen Ellyn, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Effective Phrases for Performance Appraisals: A Guide to Successful Evaluations(10th Edition) (Plastic Comb)

New to management? Have to give a performance review and you don't know how to approach it? This book will get you there.
"Effective Phrases for Performance Appraisals: A Guide to Successful Evaluations" by James E. Neal isn't the snappiest book you'll read, and it is not the best value.

It is alphabetically organized by main topic terms, from 'accuracy,' ' achievement' and 'administration' to 'versatility' 'vision' and 'writing ability.'

You'll find 25,000 phrases under 58 such topics. For 'accuracy' there are 24 phrases, like "expects perfection" and "meets precise standards."

The drawback is twofold: the layout wastes space, and the content is easily found in other, more substantive books. It could easily be reduced to a 50 pages booklet.

There are guidelines for appraisals spread across several short appendices.

Useful for the new supervisor, or as a refresher for an experienced middle manager, but not the best of its field. Try "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Performance Appraisals" by Adele Margrave instead. You'll get more bang for the buck.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com