Any properly functioning bureaucracy institutes performance improvement plans so that there will be a paper trail for firings. Indeed any not-entirely-dysfunct

Any properly functioning bureaucracy institutes performance improvement plans so that there will be a paper trail for firings. Indeed any not-entirely-dysfunctional bureaucracy has this. Also, being on a performance improvement plan means they want to fire you. Sometimes this doesn't happen -- I know a guy who was subsequently elevated to middle management after having been on a PIP as a junior employee, but it delayed his advancement by at least 5 years. Edit: typo