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

Owner challenges on major projects: The case of UK government

Many studies agree that owner organisations are important for successful project organising, but they tend to focus on particular aspects of project organising rather than providing a holistic analysis of owners as organisations. Our objective is to collect evidence of the full range of challenges public sector owners face in managing their major projects. After reviewing the literature on owner organisations, we carry out a case survey of 26 major projects to identify the principal challenges using a content analysis of UK National Audit Office Value for Money reports. Our original contribution is that the findings provide the first comprehensive picture of the full range of challenges of project organising faced by owner organisations. These findings push us theoretically to extend the scope of research in project organising to identify an extended core set of dynamic capabilities for project owner organisations to address these challenges

Learning lessons from evaluating eGovernment: Reflective case experiences that support transformational government

Central Government strategy of e-inclusion is being manifested in the form of eGovernment. Given that it is the public purse that funds such investments, there is increasingly attention being paid to the evaluation of these investments, such that value for money and organisation learning can be realised. In this paper the authors report the findings from three interpretive in-depth organisational case studies that explore eGovernment evaluation within a UK public sector setting. The paper elicits insights to organisational and managerial aspects with the purpose of improving knowledge and understanding of eGovernment evaluation. The findings that are extrapolated from the case study analysis are presented in terms of lessons that gravitate around social factors, evaluation, adoption, ownership, prioritisation sponsorship and, responsibility. These lessons are extrapolated from the empirical enquiry to improve eGovernment evaluation practice. The paper concludes that eGovernment evaluation is an under developed area, with most work being developmental in nature and as a result calls for decision makers to engage with the eGovernment agenda and commission eGovernment evaluation exercises to improve evaluation practice such that transformational Government can realise its full potential. The paper ends by highlighting political, economic, technical and social issues as the drivers of the evaluation cycle

Civil Society Legitimacy and Accountability: Issues and Challenges

University education rarely focuses its attention and imagination on teaching students how to turn a vision into reality; how to design, develop, and lead social change organizations. The author co-created the Social Entrepreneurship Collaboratory (SE Lab) at Stanford University and then Harvard University as a model educational program designed to achieve this goal. The SE Lab is a Silicon Valley influenced incubator where student teams create and develop innovative pilot projects for US and international social sector initiatives. The lab combines academic theory, frameworks, and traditional research with intensive field work, action research, peer support and learning, and participation of domain experts and social entrepreneurship practitioners. It also provides students an opportunity to collaborate on teams to develop business plans for their initiatives and to compete for awards and recognition in the marketplace of ideas. Students in the SE Lab have created innovative organizations serving many different social causes, including fighting AIDS in Africa, promoting literacy in Mexico, combating the conditions for terrorism using micro-finance in the Palestinian territories, and confronting gender inequality using social venture capital to empower women in Afghanistan

One sport – the future course: independent review of athletics in Australia

This review calls for major governance reform, an overhaul of Athletics Australia’s high performance practices and for the sport to be united under one structure. Executive summary Following the recent 2014 Commonwealth Games, the Board of Athletics Australia Limited, in partnership with the Australian Sports Commission, commissioned an independent review of the design, delivery and administration of Athletics in Australia to gather and evaluate evidence about their strengths and weaknesses and provide recommendations to AA on how best to address them.  Media release ONE SPORT – The Future Course; Independent Review of Athletics in Australia has called for major governance reform, an overhaul of Athletics Australia’s (AA) high performance practices and for the sport to be united under one structure.   The review, chaired by former Australian cricket coach John Buchanan, was released today and highlighted significant issues facing the sport.   These included a lack of accountability and transparency in decision making at AA, poor board management, poor organisational culture and poor high performance systems.   “The situation that the sport of athletics finds itself in is not new. It has been a fragmented sport historically,” Buchanan said.   “Poor governance procedures are central to this lack of an integrated and coordinated delivery of the sport.   “The physical skills that an athletic program provides are fundamental to the health and well-being of all Australians.   “The opportunities for the sport of athletics are enormous if it can get its act together, i.e. ONE SPORT, junior and senior, to provide the range of fundamental physical skills that benefit all people across most sports and activities, whether they are recreational athletes or have a desire to pursue a high performance pathway.” The panel also comprised Melinda Gainsford-Taylor, Lynne Williams, Mark Bartels and Matt Favier. The review received 51 submissions and conducted 136 interviews across all states and territories. It made 16 recommendations, the bulk relating to governance and high performance reforms.   “While the review was comprehensive in its information gathering and extensive in its reporting and recommendations, the key to ensuring reforms of the sport are made is the implementation plan,” Buchanan said.   The plan includes the establishment of an oversight committee comprising representatives from the ASC, AIS and AA to meet on a monthly basis and monitor the progress of reform until the committee is satisfied of AA’s progress for at least 18 months.   It also recommended the ASC guarantee only 60 per cent of total funding to AA for 2015-16 with the balance to be provided when the oversight committee is satisfied with the progress made in implementing the recommendations.   AA has also been asked to report quarterly to all key stakeholders identified by the oversight committee of its progress against the recommendations.   &nbsp

Information technology and performance management for build-to-order supply chains

En las siguientes líneas se plantea un artículo de reflexión que tiene en cuenta parte del marco teórico que sustenta la investigación titulada “Prácticas pedagógicas que promueven la competencia argumentativa escrita (CAE) en niños campesinos de los grados 4° y 5° del Centro Educativo Municipal La Caldera, Sede Principal de Pasto”, desarrollada en el año 2012. En él se contemplan los aportes de las ciencias del lenguaje y la comunicación, la teoría de la argumentación, la didáctica de la lengua escrita y los géneros discursivos, que dan cuenta de la necesidad de desarrollar la capacidad crítica en los estudiantes a través de la argumentación, lo cual implica transformar las prácticas pedagógicas para que se alejen de la transmisión de conocimientos y den paso a la comunicación, para que la palabra escrita sea apropiada de manera significativa

A guide to implementing cloud services

The Australian Government’s policy on cloud computing is that agencies may choose to use cloud computing services where they provide value for money and adequate security, as stated in the April 2011 Australian Government Cloud Computing Strategic Direction Paper1 (the Strategic Direction Paper).   Readers new to cloud computing should read the Strategic Direction Paper which provides an introduction to cloud computing, a definition and an overview of its associated risks and benefits as they apply to Australian Government agencies. The guide supports the Strategic Direction Paper and provides an overarching risk-based approach for agencies to develop an organisational cloud strategy and implement cloud-based services. It is designed as an aid for experienced business strategists, architects, project managers, business analysts and IT staff to realise the benefits of cloud computing technology while managing risks