A Los Angeles public school teacher killed himself after the Los Angeles Times recently published the database of  “value added analysis” for all LA public school teachers on which the teacher in question didn’t fare well. The “value added analysis” uses improvements in student test scores to evaluate teacher effectiveness. The analysis is designed to replace the tenure system with a performance system. Its critics use the teacher in question as proof of its flaws. This teacher was regarded by his students and colleagues as a good teacher. He tututored students before school started and stayed with them after school if necessary.

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Harvard is one of the most revered teaching and research universities in the U.S., usually ranked number one. Lately, the school has been teaching in a way it doesn’t like. Dr. Marc Hauser, Harvard professor and scientific researcher, is accused by the school of eight instances of scientific misconduct. Ironically, Hauser has been the leading scientist in the exploration of cognition and morality. Hauser’s quest to delve into issues of right and wrong in the minds of humans and animals has run off the rails. In addition to Harvard’s investigation, the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Office of Inspector for the National Science Foundation are investigating Hauser.

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Recently, I had a post wondering whether it was time to stop performance reviews. Then, I had a post making the case for stopping performance reviews. While reactions to such notions are always interesting, it’s quite unlikely that performance reviews are going away. This week’s tip: If you’re going to keep them (and I suspect most of you will), then at least evaluate the manner in which your supervisors do the evaluations. Part of the review of a supervisor should be how he or she evaluates subordinate employees. If you don’t do this, that’s another reason for the serious consideration of putting performance evaluations on the shelf to stay.

A Hooters waitress in Michigan claims that she’s been put on probation and told to lose weight if she wants to keep her job. The server, standing five feet, eight inches, and weighing 132 pounds, says she’s devastated and looking for a lawyer. Hooters says it imposes no weight restriction on its employees. “Our practice of upholding an image standard based on appearance, attitude and fitness for Hooters girls is both legal and fair. It is not unlike the standard used by the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders or the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes.”

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In the New York Times article referenced in my immediately preceding post, the new research on performance reviews spills over into the subject of proper supervision in the workplace. Most employment lawsuits have a supervisor or manager at their center. That doesn’t always mean that the supervisor has done something wrong, but many times, it means exactly that. Although HR generally shepherds the performance review process, supervisors and managers make the process work — or not. If a performance review is completed by a bad supervisor, it’s much more likely to get you in trouble than serve any useful purpose.

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Recently, I did a post wondering if it’s time to stop performance reviews at work. New research reported by the New York Times suggests that there’s no reason to wonder. They must be stopped — for the sake of worker efficiency, satisfaction and health. According to this research, it’s not just that performance reviews are ineffective and create the basis for employment lawsuits, they’re killing people.

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Susan Heathfield has suggested that employee performance appraisals don’t work. While others have said the same thing and some have advocated doing away with them altogether, my impression is that most employers still use performance reviews in one way or another. But should they? Is Susan Heathfield right? If so, then shouldn’t HR stop using them as one of its routine practices?

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The new musical The Addams Family has opened on Broadway. Based on Charles Addams’ New Yorker cartoons, it’s also influenced by the TV show which some of us remember. So far, the critics’ reviews have been scathing, but the musical has grossed an impressive $6.5 million in five weeks. The fact that the theatre and film star Nathan Lane plays Gomez can’t have hurt, but it’s the bizarre family led by Gomez and Morticia that keeps selling tickets.

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As reported by National Public Radio, while Major Hasan was at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (before being transferred to Fort Hood), he received a noticeable number of poor or questionable performance reviews. A few related to the conflict between his faith and the military, but most related to simply not doing his job.

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