Many nursing experts believe that evaluation is the most crucial part of employee development. A classmate states that evaluations, "when done appropriately, can be an extremely valuable tool" but that "the operative word in the previous statement is appropriately" (Whitehead, Weiss, & Tappen, 2007). This suggests that many evaluations are not done so, because they are not based on attainable goals with explicitly stated objectives. Yoder-Wise (2007) asserts that giving employees feedback on their performance is "one of the strongest rewards an organization can provide," and one classmate points out that evaluation can not only motivate staff but also strengthen the nurse's areas of weakness and result in a pay raise if the evaluation is good. On the other hand, evaluation has some drawbacks as well. As the latter classmate explains, it can create competition between staff members and may cause conflict between the manager and the employees. In addition, bad evaluations can result in a low pay raise or none at all, with the added disadvantage that the manager may focus solely on the negative aspects of the employee's work.
Although it must be recognized that feedback and employee evaluations are necessary and valuable components of employee development, like the fourth classmate, I do not believe they are the most important. I acknowledge the value in training, which this classmate ranked as most important, but I would contend that the most important component is an overall culture of employee development.
Royal and Masson (2009) indicate that some employers neglect training and career development activities when the economy lags, but their research suggests that giving employees the opportunities they need for personal development positively affect their engagement and commitment. At the Allstate Insurance Company, an employee-development-focused culture was established with outstanding results,
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