The University of Zimbabwe (UZ) introduced a performance appraisal system (PAS) designed to improve performance indicators across the board in Public Service including academic/faculty staff at the University of Zimbabwe as part of a nation wide strategy. The Public service is a body responsible for all civil workers including academic staff, whose responsibility is to lecture to students, provide university to the community and conduct research activities. The objective of the study was to evaluate the impact of five years of PAS on productivity and job satisfaction of academic staff. A random sample of academic staff was studied using questionnaires and interviews. Job satisfaction and some indices of productivity decreased by half following introduction of PAS. A possible contributory factor for the decline in job satisfaction was that PAS was introduced without adequate preparation and when the socio-cultural environment was not conducive to its implementation. This study underpins the importance of community ownership of interventions targeted at performance management improvement prior to their implementation. (Contains 2 tables.)