it can force managers to get rid of valuable talent just to meet quotas. The review meeting starts with a discussion of the lower-level employees, whose performance is debated in front of higher-level managers. knowing that those who remain will determine their fates. Preparing is like getting ready for a court case, to avoid losing good members of their teams .which could spell doom they must come armed with paper trails to defend the wrongfully accused and incriminate members of competing groups. Or they adopt a strategy of choosing sacrificial lambs to protect more essential players. "You learn how to diplomatically throw people under the bus," said a marketer who spent six years in the retail division. "It's a horrible feeling."