Showing papers on "Performance management published in 2003"

Identifying factors for job motivation of rural health workers in North Viet Nam

Abstract: BACKGROUND: In Viet Nam, most of the public health staff (84%) currently works in rural areas, where 80% of the people live. To provide good quality health care services, it is important to develop strategies influencing staff motivation for better performance. METHOD: An exploratory qualitative research was carried out among health workers in two provinces in North Viet Nam so as to identify entry points for developing strategies that improve staff performance in rural areas. The study aimed to determine the major motivating factors and it is the first in Viet Nam that looks at health workers' job perception and motivation. Apart from health workers, managers at national and at provincial level were interviewed as well as some community representatives. RESULTS: The study showed that motivation is influenced by both financial and non-financial incentives. The main motivating factors for health workers were appreciation by managers, colleagues and the community, a stable job and income and training. The main discouraging factors were related to low salaries and difficult working conditions. CONCLUSION: Activities associated with appreciation such as performance management are currently not optimally implemented, as health workers perceive supervision as control, selection for training as unclear and unequal, and performance appraisal as not useful. The kind of non-financial incentives identified should be taken into consideration when developing HRM strategies. Areas for further studies are identified.

Measuring Performance in Public and Nonprofit Organizations

Abstract: Tables, Figures, and Exhibits. Preface. The Author. Part 1: The Management Framework for Performance Measurement. 1. Introduction to Performance Measurement. 2. Developing Effective Performance Measurement Systems. Part 2: Methodological Elements of Performance Measurement. 3. Identifying Real Outcomes and Other Performance Measures. 4. Clarifying Program Goals and Objectives. 5. Defining Performance Indicators. 6. Analyzing Performance Data. 7. Reporting Performance Data. 8. Processing Performance Data. Part 3: Strategic Applications of Performance Measurement. 9. Using Performance Measures to Support Strategic Planning and Management. 10. Incorporating Performance Measures into the Budgeting Process. 11. Supporting Performance Management Systems. 12. Improving Quality, Productivity, and Customer Service. 13. Using Comparative Measures to Benchmark Performance. Part 4: The Process Side of Performance Measurement. 14. Implementing Effective Measurement Systems. References. Index.

Business performance measurement – past, present and future

Abstract: Business performance measurement (BPM) is a fast evolving and diverse research field which features highly on the agenda of academics and practitioners from functions including general management, accounting, operations research, marketing, and human resources. Utilizing a citation analysis this paper identifies the following challenges for the field of BPM. The balanced scorecard seems to be the most influential and dominant concept in the field. Researchers are encouraged to further test and discuss its theoretical foundation and research methodology. The second challenge is to create a cohesive body of knowledge in the field of BPM.

Supply‐chain linkages and operational performance: A resource‐based‐view perspective

Abstract: In order to improve performance at the operational level, more and more firms are developing explicit linkages with suppliers and with customers. While the question of “what beneficial impact do linkages with suppliers and with customers have for a firm” has been addressed in numerous studies, the equally important question of “why” this beneficial impact arises deserves further discourse and explication. This paper borrows and applies the Resource‐Based View of the Firm, a theoretical perspective prevalent in the strategic management literature, to develop a conceptual framework to describe, explain, and predict the advantages of a firm's linkages with entities in its supply chain on its internal operations. The proposed framework can be used to justify decisions to develop, strengthen, and protect relationships with suppliers on the upstream side and with customers on the downstream side. The framework can also be used to evaluate practices implemented to link a firm to its suppliers and customers and to provide a decision roadmap for firms to better understand how to maximize operational performance benefits from these supply chain linkages.

Conceptual frameworks for health systems performance: a quest for effectiveness, quality, and improvement

Abstract: Issues. Countries and international organizations have recently renewed their interest in how health systems perform. This has led to the development of performance indicators for monitoring, assessing, and managing health systems to achieve effectiveness, equity, efWciency, and quality. Although the indicators populate conceptual frameworks, it is often not very clear just what the underlying concepts might be or how effectiveness is conceptualized and measured. Furthermore, there is a gap in the knowledge of how the resultant performance data are used to stimulate improvement and to ensure health care quality. Addressing the issues. This paper therefore explores, individually, the conceptual bases, effectiveness and its indicators, as well as the quality improvement dynamics of the performance frameworks of the UK, Canada, Australia, US, World Health Organization, and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Results. We see that they all conceive health and health system performance in one or more supportive frameworks, but differ in concepts and operations. Effectiveness often implies, nationally, the achievement of high quality outcomes of care, or internationally, the efWcient achievement of system objectives, or both. Its indicators are therefore mainly outcome and, less so, process measures. The frameworks are linked to a combination of tools and initiatives to stimulate and manage performance and quality improvement. Conclusions. These dynamics may ensure the proper environment for these conceptual frameworks where, alongside objectives such as equity and efWciency, effectiveness (therefore, quality) becomes the core of health systems performance.

Performance Measures and the Rationalization of Organizations

Abstract: This article focuses on rationalization, its dimensions, the possibilities of reasoned justification in the public sphere, and the technologies that would operationalize this. It does so through an analysis of the introduction of performance measurement in the Provincial Government of Alberta, Canada. We argue that performance measurement represents twin dimensions of rationalization: the pursuit of reason in human affairs, that is, the process of bringing to light the justifications by which actions and policies are pursued; and rationalization as the increasing dominance of a means-end instrumental rationality. The article illustrates how an initial enthusiasm by managers for the performance management initiatives was replaced with scepticism and cynicism. We show how the potential for reasoned justification was frustrated in practice, through a growing disparity between a discourse of reasoned justification and the practical operationalization of mechanisms of business planning and performance measurem...

Management control and performance management: whence and whither?

Abstract: This paper is a personal account of the author's involvement with management control research over the past 35 years. The development of management control as a research area is briefly reviewed, culminating with its transition into performance management. However, the basic issues involved have remained remarkably unchanged over this period, as is illustrated by a number of anecdotes and examples. Some suggestions are made concerning potential topics for future research, together with some final comments on appropriate research methods.

The economics of performance management in nonprofit organizations

Abstract: This article analyzes whether and how private-sector notions of performance management apply to nonprofit organizations. To this end the author shows that each concept of performance management used in the private sector is based on a specific economic theory of the firm and its environment. Before transferring concepts and tools derived from a certain model of the firm and its environment to nonprofit organizations, one must determine whether the assumptions underlying this model are also adequate for nonprofit organizations. Otherwise, one must first adjust those assumptions and analyze whether the derived concepts and tools are still meaningful in the new context; if not, one must determine how to modify them accordingly. The analysis elaborates on the differences between for-profit and nonprofit organizations that are important for applying performance management concepts. Moreover, the author discusses the practical implications for the use of balanced scorecards in nonprofits.

Performance management for cluster based Web services

Abstract: We present an architecture and prototype implementation of a performance management system for cluster-based Web services. The system supports multiple classes of Web services traffic and allocates server resources dynamically so to maximize the expected value of a given cluster utility function in the face of fluctuating loads. The cluster utility is a function of the performance delivered to the various classes, and this leads to Differentiated Service. In this paper we use the average response time as the performance metric. The management system is transparent: it requires no changes in the client code, the server code, or the network interface between them. The system performs three performance management tasks: resource allocation, load balancing, and server overload protection. We use two nested levels of management mechanism. The inner level centers on queuing and scheduling of request messages. The outer level is a feedback control loop that periodically adjusts the scheduling weights and server allocations of the inner level. The feedback controller is based on an approximate first-principles model of the system, with parameters derived from continuous monitoring. We focus on SOAP-based Web services. We report experimental results that show the dynamic behavior of the system.

Factors that play a role in “managing through measures”

Abstract: Organisations devote time and effort to the development of strategic performance measurement (SPM) systems. Many articles have been written on how to design and implement this type of system. However, few studies have addressed the issue of why some organisations are better able to “manage through measures” than others. Why do some organisations struggle to ensure that action follows measurement, whilst others systematically use their metrics to inform their decision‐making processes, and their subsequently actions? Specifically, it is unclear what critical factors play a role in enabling organisations to effectively use their SPM system. To gain an understanding of these factors, 24 practitioners were interviewed. This paper presents the analysed evidence from those interviews and its implications for practice.

Changes in Workers, Work, and Organizations

Abstract: Demographic changes and increasing cultural diversity in the workforce, globalization, the rapid advance of technological improvements, and the Internet are three broad changes that have combined to alter dramatically the characteristics, beliefs, and attitudes of workers over the past several decades. In addition, seamless webs of communications media enable virtual teams and various forms of telework arrangements to function effectively. Work anytime, anyplace is now a reality, as work and organizations have become global, with an emphasis on speed. This has led progressive organizations to develop new strategies for attracting and retaining talent. The chapter reviews a number of such strategies, and concludes that to be beneficiaries, rather than victims of such changes, organizations need to reexamine their human resource management systems—recruitment, staffing, performance management, training and development, compensation and reward systems—to ensure that they are attracting the kind of talent and encouraging the kinds of behavior that are consistent with their overall strategy. Likewise, individuals need to reexamine their assumptions and skill sets in order to retain their marketability. This implies commitment to lifelong learning and skill development, viewing diversity as an opportunity, and maintaining networks of contacts to tap for job leads as the need arises. Keywords: diversity; globalization; Internet; modular organizations; psychological contract; technology; telework

Managing Complexity in the Public Services

Abstract: This text is an introduction to complexity theory and its application to public services management. In a clear and comprehensible manner it: argues that the complexity of the public policy process limits the usefulness of the 'new public management' approach; challenges management techniques used in key areas of the public sector, such as performance management, staff development leadership, strategic management and the use of IT; and proposes alternative approaches that are based on a correct understanding of the disorder in the policy process. The difficult concepts of complexity theory are presented in an accessible manner that explains the central concepts in this new approach to social science. The relevance of emerging theories like knowledge management, emotional intelligence and risk management, are also explored. It is for public service managers and professional in all areas, MBA and postgraduate students in public service management and public policy, undergraduate students in applied social science, policy and politics.

Work motivation in the context of a globalizing economy

Abstract: Contents: M. Erez, U. Kleinbeck, H. Thierry, Preface. M. Erez, D. Eden, Introduction: Trends Reflected in Work Motivation. Part I:Work Motivation--The Individual Level. U. Kleinbeck, M. Erez, Introduction. E.A. Locke, Self-Set Goals and Self-Efficacy as Mediators of Incentives and Personality. R.E. Wood, J. George-Falvy, S. Debrowski, Motivation and Information Search on Complex Tasks. J. Wegge, U. Kleinbeck, K-H. Schmidt, Goal Setting and Performance in Working Memory and Short-Term-Memory Tasks. D. Eden, Means Efficacy: External Sources of General and Specific Subjective Efficacy. Z. Millman, G. Latham, Increasing Reemployment Through Training in Verbal Self-Guidance. M. Frese, Personal Initiative (PI): The Theoretical Concept and Empirical Findings. A.N. Kluger, Feedback-Expectation Discrepancy, Arousal and Locus of Cognition. A.K. Korman, Self-Enhancement and Self-Protection: Toward a Theory of Work Motivation. W. Van Eerde, H. Thierry, VIE Functions, Self-Set Goals, and Performance: An Experiment. H. Thierry, The Reflection Theory on Compensation. Part II:The Group Level. U. Kleinbeck, Introduction. D.R. Ilgen, L. Sheppard, Motivation in Work Teams. U. Kleinbeck, J. Wegge, K-H. Schmidt, Work Motivation and Performance in Groups. J.A. Algera, Performance Management of Self-Managing Teams and Organizational Control Systems. G.B. Graen, C. Hui, Approaches to Leadership: Toward a Complete Contingency Model of Face-to-Face Leadership. Part III:The Organization Level. H. Thierry, Introduction. B. Schneider, D.B. Smith, M.C. Paul, P-E Fit and the Attraction-Selection-Attrition Model of Organizational Functioning: Introduction and Overview. A. Rafaeli, Employee-Organizational Relationships in Employment Ads. K.J. Klein, Creating a Strong, Positive Climate for Technology Implementation: Organizations Should, But Often Don't...Why? L.W. Porter, G.A. Bigley, Motivation and Transformational Leadership: Some Organizational Context Issues. K.A. Hanisch, C. Hulin, S.T. Seitz, Temporal Dynamics and Emergent Properties of Organizational Withdrawal Models. M. Koslowsky, Some New Organizational Perspectives on Moderators and Mediators in the Stress-Strain Process: Time Urgency, Management, and Worker Control. Part IV:The Cultural Level. M. Erez, Introduction. K. Leung, Different Carrots for Different Rabbits: Effects of Individualism--Collectivism and Power Distance on Work Motivation. S. Ronen, Self-Actualization Versus Collectualization: Implications for Motivation Theories. P.C. Earley, Understanding Social Motivation From an Interpersonal Perspective: Organizational Face Theory. N. Nicholson, An Evolutionary Perspective on Change and Stability in Personality, Culture, and Organization. Part V:Summary. M. Erez, Introduction. M.H. Bond, Surveying the Foundations: Approaches to Measuring Group, Organizational, and National Variation.

Towards a value‐based view on operations and maintenance performance management

Abstract: Most of the North Sea oil companies have recognized the need to adjust their management processes, including those concerned with operations and maintenance, to the changed and changing business conditions in industry at large, particularly due to the volatile oil price. This has been a rationale to review organizational operations and maintenance policies by many. This paper describes findings from a research study on operations and maintenance performance conducted in the emerging operating environment with close cooperation of leading oil and gas organizations in the Norwegian continental shelf. An attempt has been made to develop an architecture for effective management of operations and maintenance performance linking results to performance drivers. This has further been extended to apply the balanced scorecard concept. The papers emphasize on the value rather than the cost of operations and maintenance in the emerging business environment, and stresses that there is a need to move from a plant‐based policy to a more or less long‐term business‐oriented approach.

Employee development and organizational performance: a review of literature and directions for future research

Abstract: This review of literature examines the relationship between employee development and organizational performance. The research supports the commonly held belief that employee development programs make positive contributions to organizational performance. However, there continues to be limited information beyond this basic relationship. From an HRD perspective, research on employee development seems an area of high importance. Employee development means more than helping employees become continuous learners, regardless of the requirements of the organization. To be beneficial for both individual employees and organizations, research on employee development should seek greater understanding about the wide range of conditions within which employee development programs exist in organizations. Undertaking the three proposed research directions would do much for improving organizational performance in the long term.

Modelling project management performance

Abstract: This paper presents an argument that it is appropriate to develop a model of project management (PM) performance from models for assessing quality management. The paper presents a model, labelled the project management performance assessment (PMPA) model, based upon the EFQM business excellence model. The model proposes six criteria for assessing PM performance: project management leadership; project management staff; project management policy and strategy; project management partnerships and resources; project life cycle management processes; and project management key performance indicators. Using data from an empirical study of PM practice in UK organisations, the paper uses PMPA as a framework to explore variations in the character of PM performance. It is concluded that there are variations in attitudes and behaviour in each of these areas and that these variations may be used to help measure levels of PM performance.

Computer system for managing performances of storage apparatus and performance management method of the computer system

Abstract: In a computer system with a DBMS running thereon, management of the performance of a storage apparatus is executed by using a performance indicator provided by a user job so as to simplify the management of the performance. For this reason, a management server employed in the computer system monitors an operating state of each system element, a response time onto a job and other information. A method for estimating a processing time is given to the management server, which issues a setting modification command based on an estimated processing time.

Personnel Selection and Employee Performance

Abstract: This paper is organized around a model of job performance in which personality and ability constructs (KSASOs) are seen as leading to procedural and declarative knowledge and motivation which, in turn, lead to task proficiency and contextual and adaptive behavior. These latter individual performance variables are thought to have implications for a set of distal variables, many of which can be conceptualized as organizational level constructs (e.g., social responsibility and litigation). Our sense is that job analyses are means of developing performance models. Some important and relatively new developments in this area include the job information tool known as O*NET. Adding distal variables to a performance model means that we must consider levels of analysis issues. Literature on applicant reactions to selection procedures and the implications of those reactions is discussed as is the notion that withdrawal behavior is a general concern that includes tardiness, absenteeism, counterproductive behavior, and turnover. Still other new developments include the use of technology in measurement, use of our procedures in other cultures, and the critical consideration of time in our analyses of the relationship of various variables with individual differences. Finally, the notion that performance itself is multidimensional is being addressed as a result of recent theorizing about its nature. Keywords: adaptive performance; contextual behavior; customer satisfaction; individual differences; knowledge; performance; test reactions; withdrawal behavior

Behavioral factors important for the successful implementation and use of performance management systems

Abstract: This paper examines the role behavioral factors play in the successful implementation and use of performance management systems that are based on critical success factors, key performance indicators and the balanced scorecard. Case study research was performed which identified 18 individual behavioral factors to be important. The research also showed that the use stage in a systems implementation project has to be performed well in order to assure a regularly used performance management system.

Human resource management systems and organizational performance: an analysis of the Spanish manufacturing industry

Abstract: This study analyses the relationship between human resource management systems and firm performance, using the Miles and Snow’s typology (1984). The hypotheses set forth to this respect are tested ...

Program performance management system

Abstract: A Program Performance Management (PPM) system enforces consistency in feedback and coaching to employees across the organization lower attrition through improved morale and job satisfaction. Employees are empowered because they can review their status and thus feel that they have more control over their ratings. Consistency in performance data is maintained across an enterprise. Management insights are gained by comparisons made across projects, programs, and Business Units on standardized measures, thereby enabling accountability at all levels. Integration of quantitative information and qualitative assessments of Customer Management System (CMS) agents performance is summarized and plotted in an intuitive fashion, with feedback acknowledgements and reviews tracked for management. Team leaders have a scorecard interface to efficiently supervise their team members. Agents have access to a dashboard that provides up to date and intuitive indications of their performance and that of their fellow team members.

Attitudes of US and European managers to supplier selection and assessment and implications for business performance

Abstract: As competition motivates firms to exploit their core competencies, outsourcing takes on greater significance. Increased reliance on supplier capabilities and technologies, however, increases the impact that supplier selection and assessment can have on the buying firm and in particular, its performance. While prior studies of supply management provide considerable evidence of the criteria used by firms to select and assess suppliers, they provide little insight into the relationships between selection and assessment and the buying firm's performance. This research describes an empirical study of attitudes towards supplier selection and assessment of American and European companies and their impact on business performance. Results illustrate that while both American and European managers consider objective selection and assessment criteria such as cost and price to be more important than subjective criteria such as supplier commitment, it is the more subjective criteria that have a greater impact on firm performance. Moreover, while for American companies there are strong relationships between attitudes towards supply management and performance, similar relationships do not appear to hold for European companies.

Moving from performance measurement to performance management

Abstract: This paper is about moving from performance measurement to performance management. It was presented at the 2003 Operational Research Society conference.

Performance Management:: Concepts, Skills and Exercises

Abstract: 1. The Performance Management Process: An Overview 2. Performance 3. Diagnosis 4. Evaluation 5. Feedback 6. Dealing with Feedback 7. Improving Performance Epilogue: Final Thoughts

Change management practices: Is a hybrid model a better alternative for public sector agencies?

Abstract: During the last two decades the public sector has come under increasing pressure to improve performance and demonstrate greater transparency and accountability. This pressure has resulted in public sector organisations facing shifts in ways of operating. Various corporate change strategies have been adopted by different public sector agencies, many of these cloning managerial practices from the private sector. These changes in public sector organisations have enormous significance for regional economic and social development. While there is a growing body of knowledge dealing with the management of corporate change there are still significant gaps in understanding the process. While there is much written on public versus private corporate change, there is little distinguishing between change in different types of public sector organisations. This paper analyses change management processes and seeks to determine whether a hybrid model of “new public management” delivers more favourable outcomes than a model focused on cost reduction and private sector prejudice for the bottom line.

Capacity, Management, and Performance Exploring the Links

Abstract: Amid the focus of public management reforms on improving the performance of public organizations and their managers, there has been little empirical attention to the links between performance and man - agement systems and activities; little attention has been paid to how and under what circumstances "management matters." This study reports data from the Government Performance Project (GPP), with information of all 50 states.The GPP model argues that fundamental management systems are not only amenable to comparison across states but can provide critical components of the capacity that is basic to longer term effectiveness and performance.This article considers the extent to which capacity facili- tates performance in financial management, analyzing the factors that contribute to the maintenance of rainy day funds (RDFs).The authors argue that arriving at positive performance for such indicators requires not only administrative capacity but also rules that shape political behavior that will support performance.

Success factors for implementation of the balanced scorecard in a NHS multi‐agency setting

Abstract: Even though the balanced scorecard (BSC) has become a highly popular performance management tool, usage in local public sector National Health Service (NHS) organisations is still rare. This paper conditionally outlines some grounds in supporting such usage. In particular underlying conceptual concerns with the BSC system and its implementation pitfalls require full consideration. This paper then outlines some factors to be taken into account for “successful” BSC implementation in a NHS multi‐agency setting. These findings emerged from a series of focus groups that took place with contributors drawn from all the key organisations within the Bradford Health Action Zone. Finally, this paper argues that if key criteria are met, successful implementation of the BSC may then proceed. However, “blind” BSC implementation without consideration of these factors may result in potential “failure”.

Linking the IT Balanced Scorecard to the Business Objectives at a Major Canadian Financial group

Abstract: The balanced scorecard (BSC) initially developed by Kaplan and Norton, is a performance management system that enables businesses to drive strategies based on measurement and follow-up. In recent y...

On the use of performance models to design self-managing computer systems

Abstract: Computer systems are becoming extremely complex. Complexity stems from the large number and heterogeneity of a system's hardware and software components, from the multi-layered architecture used in the system's design, and from the unpredictable nature of the workloads, especially in Web-based systems. Because of these reasons, performance management of complex systems is difficult and expensive when carried out by human beings. A new approach, called self-managing computer systems, is to build into the systems the mechanisms required to self-adjust configuration parameters so that the Quality of Service requirements of the system are constantly met. In this paper, we describe an approach in which analytic performance models are combined with combinatorial search techniques to de sign controllers that run periodically (e.g., every few minutes) to determine the best possible configuration for the system given its workload. We first illustrate and motivate the ideas using a simulated multithreaded server. Then, we provide experimental results , obtained by using the techniques described here, to an actual Web server subject to a workload generated by SURGE.