How many of the 14 characteristics of an ideal system are present in the system you are evaluating? The Women's Resource Center at Southern Oregon University is currently using a performance management system that I believe has all 14 characteristics in place. As a small organization doing work that is personal on many levels, our performance management system is one of the most important processes of our work. Our work at the Women's Resource Center requires us to express ourselves, express our opinions and beliefs, stand up and fight for change, and engage emotionally in our work. Given the level to which we care about our work, evaluating our performance and getting feedback on the work we are doing is extremely important not only to our management but also to employees. Our individual goals must be aligned with organizational goals. Because the goal of our work is to improve the lives of women and girls, our organization wouldn't work if individual goals were anything other than that. Our work is deeply rooted in the passion and motivation of the employees and volunteers involved towards this goal. We work as activists who seek and create change and see no limits to the differences we can personally make in our community, region and even globally. (Aguinis, 2009) The system is thorough as each employee is evaluated every school term and all major job responsibilities are included in the evaluation. There are three steps to the system. The first step is a self-evaluation form that is filled out by the employee and serves as a self-reflection tool. The second step is an informal evaluation with the personnel manager. The final step is the formal evaluation with the coordinator......middle of the paper...bad idea to have a structured process. For our system to become more ideal we should develop a rating system that minimizes the subjectivity aspects and does not rely so much on human judgment. We should also develop a formal appeals process where the employee who believes a mistake has been made may be able to challenge unfair decisions and correct the errors. (Aguinis, 2009) I believe that managers and the coordinator should work together to develop the appeals process and then bring the process to staff to gather opinions and feedback. I believe the coordinator knows best how to make the process more efficient and effective, but I would also like to hear from the staff to make sure the process makes sense and is accessible from their perspective. This is a process that really needs to work on both ends of the organization for it to be effective.