Managing customer profitability to improve corporate performance in PSF

The paper discusses issues related to cost accounting systems and customer profitability analysis in professional service firms (PSFs), which have rapidly increased in Europe during the last decade. Because few research studies on cost accounting and customer profitability in PSFs have been reported, one of the main paper’s contributions relies on exploring the informative advantages of activity-based costing (ABC) compared to the cost centre accounting system. The research methodology used is a case study in which it is possible to investigate the link between the PSF’s costs and pricing/value drivers through service attributes and customer profitability analysis. The main findings show that the ABC system strongly supports the management of the cost–value relationship.</jats:p

The Cost Accounting System in B-to-B Service Companies: Cost Centers or Activity-Based Costing?

Service business-to-business (b-to-b) companiesprovide a wide range of services characterized by a high level ofvariability and complexity, very often due to the so called ‘servicecustomization’. In this context, the need to manage the trade-offbetween customer satisfaction and cost control emerges:therefore the choice of the right cost accounting system acquiresan important role in order to identify and manage the linksbetween the services offered to the customers and the costs oftheir production processes. In this article the two main costaccounting systems are analyzed (cost centers system andactivity-based costing system), focusing in particular on the needto identify the final object of cost measurement (servicecomponent). The activity-based costing system together with theintroduction of new cost containers (cost destinations), allows toaccurately calculate the costs of the services provided and toidentify the causal relationships between costs and services. Thearticle analyzes the case of a b-to-b company which supplies ITservices to banks

Does pay for performance work in public organizations? Empirical evidence from Italy

The purpose of the paper is to investigate the relationship between pay-for-performance compensation and organisational performance in the setting of Italian local governments. Pay-for-performance systems have been introduced in the majority of the OECD’s countries as part of their performance management systems, but research on their effects is still in its infancy. This study contributes to filling this gap by using a sample of Italian local governments to empirically determine whether variable compensation translates into higher future performance. The research methodology uses a unique hand-collected database. The study uses the measures of the local governments’ performance defined along six key dimensions (standard of living, services and environment, employment level, law and order, population, leisure), over the period 2010-2013, provided by an independent source. Detailed data on managers’ compensation for each local government is obtained from Italy’s Treasury Department, and other variables on local governments were hand collected by official documents. A multivariate analysis is conducted on 398 observations. The main results show a positive association between future performance and the percentage of variable compensation granted to local managers. Moreover, additional analyses show that this result is not driven by managers’ total compensation but it depends on the composition of managers’ compensation. Overall, empirical evidence reported in this study suggests that public organisations might benefit from the introduction of pay for performance systems.</jats:p

Performance measurement in academic departments: The strategy map approach

This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in [include the complete citation information for the final version of the article as published in Public Money and Management in 2011 [copyright Taylor & Francis], available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/09540962.2011.586240."The purpose of the paper is the implementation of the strategic map model to an academic department. We use a qualitative methodology to identify dimensions of performance measurement suitable for application. After identifying the relations between the four perspectives and identifying the strategic maps, the case proposes a set of goals and measures which are suitable to satisfy the managerial needs a public service organization

La dimensione strategica nella riforma degli Enti Locali neozelandesi. Il caso del Christchurch City Council

La riforma del governo locale avviata in Nuova Zelanda, accanto agli elementi tipici del New Public Management, ha fatto emergere alcune specificazioni legate al processo strategico ed agli elementi di partecipazione della comunità locale. Il Christchurch City Council, in particolare, rappresenta una realtà che ha saputo coniugare in modo efficace tali elementi ben prima dell’entrata in vigore delle previsioni normative, in particolare sviluppando un processo strategico che si basa sulle relazioni critiche sia interne, nel rapporto tra politici e dirigenti, che esterne, ossia tra vertice politico e comunità locale. Esso rappresenta quindi un interessante caso per aspetti che da poco sono entrati anche nel contesto degli enti locali italiani

Il Business Plan delle intraprese di cooperazione sociale: alcune riflessioni

Il lavoro analizza le specificit\ue0 che caratterizzano l'applicazione del modello del Business Plan ad una realt\ue0 sociale, quale la cooperativa sociale

Network Approach: quali nuove specificita'\ua0 per il controllo di gestione strategico dell'Ente Locale?

Il pi\uf9 volte proposto modello del New Public Management sembra mostrare significative carenze per lo studio di numerosi aspetti dell\u2019Ente Locale, carenze che suggeriscono un pi\uf9 adeguato schema concettuale di analisi. Si tratta del Network Approach che, tra l\u2019altro, si focalizza sugli aspetti di collaborazione e di governo delle relazioni sulla base dei quali il Comune opera. Tali elementi influenzano in particolare l\u2019analisi del processi di definizione e controllo della sua strategia, portando ad interrogarsi su quali caratteristiche esso venga ad assumere all\u2019interno degli aspetti peculiari del Network Approach. Al di l\ue0 delle previsioni normative in merito, infatti, riteniamo che l\u2019idea di controllo di gestione strategico venga a trovare piena legittimit\ue0 anche nell\u2019Ente Locale, ma che sia necessario tentare di identificare quali nuove tipicit\ue0 emergano nei suoi elementi costitutivi, organizzativi, informativi e di processo

La comunicazione della strategia, la comunicazione come strategia: i siti dei grandi Comuni italiani

Partendo dall''approfondimento dei concetti di strategia utilizzabili da un Ente Locale e delle caratteristiche della sua attivit\ue0 di comunicazione istituzionale (nelle complessit\ue0 legate alla gestione del consenso, trasparenza della gestione, democraticit\ue0 dell\u2019azione), il lavoro propone un'analisi dei contenuti dei siti istituzionali dei comuni italiani - capoluoghi di regione- come canale di comunicazione della propria strategia