[rismay]

That isn't true all the time. Goldman Sachs uses an even "worse" review process. It's called a 360 review: your employees that report under you, co-workers at the same management level and your managers all rate you. The reviews are bell curved and the worst performers are asked to leave. It just so happens that Goldman Sachs has some of the smartest and people on Wall Street. I think it says a lot because a ton of "failed" Wall Streeters leave and completely destroy the perspective industry they go into afterwards. I don't think this type of system encourages crappy workers, but it does encourage a very ruthless company culture - which might not be the best to encourage collaboration.

[etler]

I think it depends on the kind of worker you want to create. With engineering and development, it's an inherently creative process, and creativity needs collaboration to prosper. I don't know enough about Wall Street, but it seems to me that a ruthless employee works better there since you're competing with other companies at almost the same thing.