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Purpose – In light of the recent report on regulation by the CMO of England and Wales and the subsequent Department of Health White Paper, this paper aims to consider the nexus between revalidation, appraisal and clinical governance. It provides a summary of the history of revalidation in the UK and explores how revalidation is linked to annual appraisal. It further considers the implications of this relationship and its potential impact on clinical governance and practise. Design/methodology/approach – This is a policy review related to revalidation and appraisal including primary sources from the Department of Health, the GMC, Fifth report of the Shipman Inquiry and published journal articles. Findings – Local clinical governance will be a significant part of the route to re‐licensing for the vast majority of doctors working in the NHS and many of the larger private sector hospitals. Although it will be used for two different purposes, it is generally accepted that the information collected by doctors for their annual appraisal will also form the basis of evidence for revalidation. If appraisal is to be effective, robust and consistent, it is important that the clinical governance framework within which it operates is appropriately designed for its increased role within the regulatory system. Originality/value – This paper is a valuable summary and introduction to the concept of revalidation in the UK, its history and its impact on clinical governance and regulation. It provides a timely review and analysis of the proposed changes to clinical governance at the local, SHA level and the strengthened connection between consultant appraisal and revalidation, contained in both the Department of Health White Paper – Trust, Assurance and Safety and the report – Good Doctors, Safer Patients, by the Chief Medical Officer for England and Wales.

The purpose of this study is to discuss the impact of performance appraisal on the productivity levels of professional and para-professional librarians in selected academic and research libraries in Ghana, namely, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Building and Road Research Institute, Crop Research Institute and the Forestry Research Institute of Ghana of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and the Kumasi Polytechnic.

Both primary and secondary sources of data were used for the study. The primary data involved the use of a structured questionnaire to 60 respondents, but 50 of them, representing 83.3 per cent, responded. This was supplemented by secondary sources such as records on file, journals, books and Internet sources.

The survey revealed that these institutions practice performance appraisal on an annual basis as a way of promoting team work, reducing grievances, identifying employees’ strengths and weaknesses and their training needs. It was observed that these institutions do not have a common appraisal format for appraising their staff. Furthermore, only the Head Librarians carry out the appraisals instead of the Line Mangers who are always in touch with these employees on a daily basis.

The paper will be of significant value to policymakers and administrators in academic and research institutions in the planning and implementation of performance appraisal systems. Challenges facing these institutions in implementing effective performance appraisal have been highlighted and appropriate recommendations have been made to ensure quality service delivery.

Reports findings from a research designed to investigate the main issues of the current human resource (HR) performance evaluation systems in over 150 UK‐based quality‐focused organisations. The study identified the main characteristics of HR performance evaluation systems currently conducting in total quality management (TQM)‐based organisations. The research approach consisted of a questionnaire survey in a sample of cross‐section organisations in different economic sectors with enough experience of quality management to reflect the widest possible range of characteristics in the HR performance evaluation practices. The survey results provide the most recent details of the performance appraisal systems currently conducting in TQM organisations and their effectiveness in improving and achieving TQM objectives. Also discusses implications of these findings for HR performance evaluation system in general, and a quality‐driven HR performance evaluation in particular.

Korean firms are in the process of transforming their human resource management (HRM) systems to compete effectively in the global market. Whereas the traditional HRM system emphasized group harmony and age norms, the “new HR policy” emphasizes a performance‐based system. Whether the new HR policy can achieve its objectives remains to be seen. This radical change from the traditional HRM system to a new one is likely to cause a variety of problems. Discusses, specifically, four potential problems in the case of Samsung.

Upward feedback surveys are a way to collect anonymous information from subordinates on management dimensions that are important to the organisation. In addition to being a source of information for development and performance appraisal, the information, when aggregated across managers, can be a needs analysis for establishing and updating a management curriculum – that is, a source of information about what development programmes managers need for improvement. Guidelines and issues in designing, administering, and evaluating a survey feedback process are focused on. Specifically, how to develop appropriate questions for a survey, administer the survey, feed back the information to managers, and evaluate the effectiveness of the process are considered.

Looks at Shell′s organization and at mechanistic and networking cultures. Discusses individual and organizational learning and gives pointers to the best methods, as practised by Shell′s planning specialists. Concludes that if a company is not a learning organization then it may find it difficult to become one. Its first priority needs to be to develop the quality of its organizational conversation.

This article focuses on the key research findings and challenges pertaining to evaluation and managing the employee performance in the context of quality management derived from the literature survey, questionnaire survey, and a semi‐structured interview survey. Topics include the generic criteria of the current HR performance evaluation systems, the main criteria of a quality‐driven HR performance evaluation system, and the extent to which HR performance evaluation systems have been adjusted to integrate TQM requirements. Thus, the goal of the article is to review the published literature and highlight the actual practices and trends in the HR performance evaluation in organisational environments with a quality orientation. It concludes that by highlighting where we have made progress, acknowledge critical gaps, and attempt to stimulate additional research.

The paper critically examines the program on Education for All (EFA) in India, namely Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) in a financing and development framework. In doing so, the paper identifies a number of policy and implementation gaps in the program. A fine-tuning of the existing matching shares by discriminating the matching shares in terms of need for, ability to provide matching shares and to strengthen the absorptive capacity could go a long way in attaining the horizontal equity in terms of every child completing elementary schooling in India. This would also ensure the other desirable principles of intergovernmental transfers such as predictability, transparency, and incentive mechanism besides improving utilization.

Further, it clearly emerges that only after ensuring the basic minimum levels in terms of physical and human infrastructure, and ensuring equal access to all the child population of age group of 6–14, quality is given priority. Thus, the challenge is both improving the qualitative and quantitative targets of UEE with enhanced resource allocation to education. Hence, Center is to ensure release of funding for SSA through special efforts as the program requires enormous funding and serious commitment of both central and state governments.

On the developmental aspects, the scheme not only widens social inequity but also perpetuates the declining quality of public provision by encouraging alternate schools and para teachers, besides the financing norms. These low-cost options will result in serious ramifications on equity, quality, balance, and sustainability of the basic education structure.

The number of companies attempting to benchmark the activities of their human‐resource department ‐ that is, to compare it with different organizations considered to be the best in their class ‐ is growing. Discusses best practice in the area of people management, based on a benchmarking study of five UK companies ‐ Elida Gibbs, Post Office Counters, the Nationwide Building Society, the National Westminster Bank and Bird’s Eye Walls.