What is Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS)

Performance appraisal systems are very effective and invaluable tools for ensuring the smooth performance and progress of any organization. Human resources in any organization cannot be fully functional until their performance is evaluated. Robert Half has rightly said that there is something that is much more scarce, something rarer than ability, that is the ability to recognize ability. In this backdrop, this chapter gives a detailed account of what performance appraisal systems stand for apart from focusing on their importance and evolution across time. The traditional and modern methods of performance appraisal systems have been juxtaposed so as to get key insights regarding what way the appraisal systems should go ahead so as to survive the test of time. It has been recommended that researchers should gear their efforts for fine-tuning the appraisal systems in a way that proper indicators are brought into consideration so as to increase their efficacy as tools of organizational effectiveness.