Performance management for dummies. Herman Aguinis. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2019, 351 pages, $29.99 paperback.

Abstract

Before discussing Herman Aguinis' book, Performance Management for Dummies, I would like to put the book into context. The For Dummies series has become a well-recognized series of books that are informative and concise. The series began with the publication of DOS for Dummies in 1991 and the book showed millions of people how understand their computer's operating system, and then the second book, Macs for Dummies, showed them how to use their new computers (Dummies.com, n.d.). At first, the books were inspired by the need for people to understand emerging technologies. But computer manuals were boring, technical, and just not very fun to read. The inspiration for the series was simple: To alleviate the anxiety and frustration people were experiencing at the time with technology by making challenging material entertaining. The formula was a success with over 150 million books sold on 1,000 titles, translated into over 30 languages. The topics are wildly varied and include lawn care, golf, women in the Bible, Excel, auto repair, wedding planning, digital photography, Sudoku, bathroom remodeling, and Sarbanes-Oxley to mention a few (Donadio, 2006). I realize that a lot of people do not take the Dummies books seriously. If you look at the history of the Dummies books, some bookstores refused to carry them when they were first introduced because of the title, and the garish yellow covers (Donadio, 2006). History also shows that they were wrong. Here is why: The books are written by experts who demystify complex subject matter. For example, Dr. Alan Rubin, a San Francisco endocrinologist, wrote Diabetes for Dummies, which is the No. 1 title in the Dummies health category. These books are no joke. The editors at For Dummies found a well-known expert in Herman Aguinis to write the book on performance management. One of Aguinis' main topics of research is talent management. He is one of the most influential business and economics researchers in the world. Performance management is one of the most challenging parts of a manager's job, and Aguinis' research, teaching, and consulting support that he knows how to do it right. 2 WHAT IS PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT AND WHY DOES IT MATTER? Performance management "deals with the challenge organizations face in defining, measuring, and stimulating employee performance with the ultimate goal to improve organizational performance" (den Hartog, Boselie, & Paauwe, 2004, p. 556). Aguinis clearly points out that part of the problem is that performance management and performance appraisal have become confounded, and he addresses this problem. For example, a table in Chapter 1 clearly shows the differences-performance management is every manager's job (not the HR department's job) and is strategic. It is about providing ongoing feedback rather than completing a form once a year. Performance management is past, present, and future. It is about employee development rather than documentation. This careful decoupling of employee development versus bureaucratic form completion sets the stage for the rest of the book. The For Dummies version provides practical guidelines that will help managers overcome their disdain for performance management.