Dynamics of performance measurement and organizational culture

This research paper aims to model the dynamic relationship between performance measurement, management styles and organisational culture, in order to develop a better understanding of the causal linkages between these three areas

A cost and technical efficiency analysis of two alternative models for implementing the basic package of health services in Afghanistan.

Since 2003, the Afghan Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) and international partners have directed a contracting-out model through which non-governmental organisations (NGOs) deliver the Basic Package of Health Services (BPHS) in 31 of the 34 Afghan provinces. The MoPH also managed health service delivery in three provinces under an alternative initiative entitled Strengthening Mechanisms (SM). In 2011, under the authority of the MoPH and Delegation of the European Union to Afghanistan, EPOS Health Management conducted a cost and technical efficiency study of the contracting-out and SM mechanisms in six provinces to examine economic trade-offs in the provision of the BPHS. The study provides analyses of all resource inputs and primary outputs of the BPHS in the six provinces during 2008 and 2009. The authors examined technical efficiency using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) at the BPHS facility level. Cost analysis results indicate that the weighted average cost per BPHS outpatient visit totalled $3.41 in the SM provinces and$5.39 in the NGO-led provinces in 2009. Furthermore, the data envelopment analyses (DEAs) indicate that facilities in the three NGO-led provinces scored 0.168 points higher on the DEA scale (0-1) than SM facilities. The authors conclude that an approximate 60% increase in costs yielded a 16.8% increase in technical efficiency in the delivery of the BPHS during 2009 in the six provinces

Research of Motivational Aspects for Marketing Support of Innovative Activity of Industrial Enterprises

The article is devoted to the theoretical grounding and development of practical recommendations for research and formation of motivational aspects for marketing support of innovative activity of industrial enterprises. Methodology of the research of marketing employees at industrial enterprises is revealed to clarify the motives of their behavior and the impact on existing businesses activity. Use of internal marketing is proposed to enhance the motivation of marketing employees for improving innovative activity of the enterprises. Application of motivational approach of the internal marketing is proved. This application is based on overcoming objections concerning innovation, study of internal incentives and opportunities for self-development and aims to result in a change and/or innovation, which is achieved through the formation of a balanced scorecard of marketing department, which is provides creation of preconditions to stimulate, support and development of innovation. Scientific and practical approaches are developed for the use of a balanced scorecard to determine sub-processes of marketing activities, as well as in assessing loyalty of the marketing employees

Benchmarking performance management systems

The Balanced Scorecard and associated performance management approaches, has become a widely practiced and popular management reporting method in recent times. Moreover, enabling technology, which assists in the delivery and personalisation of corporate performance information, is having a deeper and more rapid impact than ever before. This paper presents a brief comparative benchmarking study of leading enterprise performance management systems. Also, the author discusses the merits of bespoke internet technology development and out-of-the-box portal functionalities. An analysis of key business drivers and implementation risks of such approaches is highlighted via a case study example, and concludes the paper

Explorative study on performance measurement systems’ usage practices and outcomes

Objective of the study: This study explores how performance measurement systems are used in practice, and how satisfied users are with their systems. Further, the study focuses on assessing benefits and challenges that users of performance measurement systems are experiencing, as well as identifies specific usage practices that influence the experienced benefits and challenges. The context of the study is QPR Software’s customer base. Research method: The research project was conducted in two phases; first a survey was prepared and sent to contacts in QPR Software’s customer relationship management (CRM) database. The objective of the survey was to explore how sophisticated and strategic usage practices the users have, what are the systems mainly used for, and how satisfied they are with their systems. The survey also categorized the respondents’ according to their usage practices. In the second phase, a multiple case study was conducted with selected respondents from the most represented usage category found in the survey. In total, seven interviews were conducted with interviewees from five different organizations. The multiple case study’s objective was to further increase understanding on what the systems are used for, what sort of benefits and challenges the users are experiencing, as well as recognize usage practices affecting the benefits and challenges. Findings of the study: Majority of the respondents were found to belong to a category where the usage practices were seen as operational; they combined both financial and non-financial measurements, but hadn’t separated the measurements into a specific framework for strategic performance measurement. Among the cases, the systems were used for a variety of purposes when assessed in organizational context. However, although the usage practices among the category were not seen to reflect strategic usage, in most cases, the systems were also used for developing and implementing strategy. The main benefits of PM were found to be related to supporting in decision-making and control, enabling and increasing communication and transparency, and promoting learning. Particularly, appropriate balance between interactive and diagnostic use of controls, the use of cause-and-effect relationships, standardized measurements, standardized terminology, and benchmarking, were found to be usage practices contributing to the benefits. It was however found in the interviews, that the organizations’ context was seen to affect the way in which specific usage practices contributed to the benefits and challenges experienced among the case organizations. Common main challenges with performance measurement among the case organizations were for the most parts, related to ambiguity of performance measurement objectives, and data quality

Using the balanced scorecard as a performance management tool in higher education

This paper presents a critical review of the relevant literature on managerialism and performance management in higher education. Afterwards, it features an inductive research that involved semi-structured interview sessions with academic members of staff. The interpretative study relied on the balanced scorecard’s (BSC) approach as it appraised the participants' opinions and perceptions on their higher education institution’s (HEI) customer, internal, organizational capacity and financial perspectives. The findings have revealed the strengths and weaknesses of using the BSC’s financial and non-financial measures to assess the institutional performance and the productivity of individual employees. In sum, this research reported that ongoing performance conversations with academic employees will help HEI leaders to identify their institutions’ value creating activities. This contribution implies that HEI leaders can utilize the BSC’s comprehensive framework as a plausible, performance management tool to regularly evaluate whether their institution is: (i) delivering inclusive, student-centered, quality education; (ii) publishing high impact research; (iii) engaging with internal and external stakeholders; and (iv) improving its financial results, among other positive outcomes.peer-reviewe

The balanced scorecard of public investment in sport: proposal for change

Introduction – 1. Management tools for evaluating public initiatives – 2. Performance indicators for investment in sport – 3. Proposed indicators for public investment in sport – Conclusion – References

The influence of the environmental and organizational factors in the management accounting of the Portuguese hotels

This article presents an overview of the development of Management accounting (MA) in Portuguese hospitality industry. So, we have analyzed the MA techniques that are currently being used by different types of hotels. The sample includes 61 hotels, which were analyzed in the years 2010, 2011 and 2012. MA is a tool incorporated in the daily management practices of Portuguese hotels. However, we verified that the hotels have different behaviors in this area, which entailed a comprehensive study on the causes of this diversity. We applied the contingency theory to explain our findings, because this theory is based on the premise that the MA techniques are not used equally by all organizations. The findings indicate that the intensity of competition, perceived environmental uncertainty, decentralization, formalization and standardization influence the MA techniques in a hotel