"Most managers hate conducting performance appraisal discussions. What's worse, few feel confident in their ability to accurately assess the performance of a subordinate. In "The Performance Appraisal Question and Answer Book," expert Dick Grote answers over 100 of the most common -- and most difficult -- questions about this vitally important but often misunderstood and misused tool, including:

* How should I react when an employee starts crying during the appraisal discussion . . . or gets mad at me?

* Which is more important -- the results the person achieved or the way she...

More than 30 years ago, Dick Grote developed a powerful, nonpunitive discipline system that turned a troubled Frito-Lay plant from a hotbed of employee sabotage and toxic relations into a productive, respectful environment--one where employees took personal responsibility for their behavior, and managers helped problem employees become productive players.

Grote's method spread to other companies, and gained national recognition with the 1995 release of the first edition of Discipline Without Punishment. The book has become a management classic, helping thousands of...