The Officer Fitness Report as a Performance Appraisal Tool

Abstract

Performance evaluation is an important tool for effective management. Much of the recent literature has focused on the efficacy of civilian performance appraisal systems. As a result, there is a knowledge gap with respect to military appraisal systems in general, and those of the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps in particular. The 1978 Civil Service Reform Act spawned several performance appraisal systems within each of these agencies; the USMC utilizes five separate systems in the evaluation of civilian and military personnel; the Navy has adopted three separate appraisal mechanisms. This article specifically examines the device used to evaluate senior military staff in the Navy and Marine Corps—the fitness report. Because this particular appraisal methodology differs radically from its federal civilian counterparts, a rather detailed descriptive section serves as an orientation for the reader. The approach is intended to supplement John Pelissero's article on performance evaluation in the Department of the Army (Pelissero, 1984).

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