1. Which purposes of performance management did the appraisals described in this case fulfill? Which purposes did they not fulfill?
2. How can managers and HR departments minimize the likelihood of disputes arising over whether employees are continuing to perform at the same level?
3. If you had been in the HR departments of the companies described in this case, and the employees had come to you with their concerns, what would you have done in each situation?

Based on her performance reviews at Merrill Lynch, Kathleen Bostjancic was amazing, at least for a few years. In one appraisal report, her boss said Bostjancic “continues to deliver top-caliber product,” and he wrote, “Her judgment is impeccable.” After three years, her pay more than doubled to reflect her apparent value to the company.
Then something changed; Bostjancic noticed the difference around the time she took a maternity leave. Her economist boss phoned and asked her to take on a newly created position, Washington policy analyst. But when she returned to work with a plan for the position, her plan was rejected, and tension grew. A year later, Bostjancic’s boss issued a memo advising her that her work must “improve dramatically.” Seven months later, she was told that she was being laid off in a downsizing effort; the company hired a replacement two months afterward.