Contemporary performance measurement systems: A review of their consequences and a framework for research

The main purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework for understanding the literature on the consequences of contemporary performance measurement (CPM) systems and the theories that explain these consequences. The framework is based on an in-depth review of 76 empirical studies published in high-quality academic journals in the areas of accounting, operations, and strategy. The framework classifies the consequences of CPM into three categories: people's behaviour, organizational capabilities, and performance consequences. This paper discusses our current knowledge on the impact of CPM, highlighting inconsistencies and gaps as well as providing direction for future research

Project leadership: skills, behaviours, knowledge and values

This research has sought to draw out project leadership competences from the perspective of practising project leaders, aspiring project leaders, heads of profession, project sponsors and clients. The aim of this research report is to help focus, develop and refine our understanding of project leadership so we can support continued capability building for project professionals and their organisations. To compile this report, the authors Sarah Coleman and Professor Mike Bourne conducted in-depth interviews with 38 individuals across five multinational organisations (BAE Systems, IQVIA, Jacobs, Shell and Siemens). These organisations were chosen because of their reliance on complex projects for the delivery of strategy and performance, and the individuals for their substantial knowledge and experience of project delivery, and their range of perspectives. The interviewees held and had experience of a wide variety of roles, from the aspiring leaders delivering smaller projects to the most experienced project leaders (responsible for £1bn+ budget major, complex projects), heads of profession, project sponsors and clients. Together, these individuals have over 500 years of project experience

Armed violence and conflict assessments

This briefing aims to clarify and highlight ways in which the spread, possession and (mis)use of SALW and related armed violence issues can be relevant in conflict assessments, and how they can be integrated better within such assessments. It employs the conflict assessment framework set out in DFID¿s conflict assessment guidelines, and thus aims particularly to assist people who may be: commissioning and developing terms of reference for a specific assessment; undertaking a desk-based and/or field assessment; and those taking forward the analysis to the development of programming responses. There already exists the potential for SALW issues to be addressed within DFID¿s existing conflict assessment guidelines, and thus this paper does not suggest that DFID¿s methodology has to change but rather `opened-up¿ to include SALW more fully within their analyses and the strategies they generate

Armed violence, governance, security sector reform, and safety security and access to justice

This briefing aims to highlight and clarify the importance of the availability and misuse of small arms and light weapons (SALW), and associated armed violence, for development programming in the areas of governance, security sector reform (SSR), and safety, security and access to justice (SSAJ). By doing so the effectiveness of governance, SSR and SSAJ programmes can be enhanced. Moreover, governance, SSR and SSAJ programmes can be developed to contribute more to the reduction of armed violence perpetrated with SALW and facilitated by their availabilit

Conflict diamonds: Roles, responsibilities and responses

In recent years consumers, NGOs, and governments alike have become increasingly concerned about the problem of `conflict¿ or `blood¿ diamonds in relation to on-going armed conflicts in Angola, Sierra Leone, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Allegations by NGOs, governments and the UN that many conflicts are fuelled by illicit exports of diamonds have begun to be acknowledged by the diamond industry. Diamonds, and the money they generate, have been used to purchase arms, ammunition, uniforms and other equipment, as well as to pay soldiers and to cultivate strategic alliances for those armed groups in control of territory rich in this lucrative resource. This has facilitated the intensification and protraction of violent conflicts in Africa. Additionally, the wealth to be gained from the illicit extraction and sale of diamonds has contributed to the prominence of economic agendas in many civil wars that motivate faction leaders to continue the conflict in order to protect their businesses.1 For example, the Angolan rebel group UNITA (União Nacional para a Inedepência Total de Angola) is believed to have received US$3.7 billion in a six year period during the 1990s - a far greater amount than the foreign aid received from patrons like the United States and South Africa during the Cold War. This money has both funded large scale arms purchases and swelled the personal coffers of UNITA leaders, thereby contributing to the intransigence of those leaders in agreeing and implementing peace and facilitating continued violence.2 In Sierra Leone the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) has funded its arms acquisitions with illicit diamond revenues and the extraction of diamonds is seen as one of the main factors behind the lack of implementation of the Lomé peace accord and the subsequent resurgence of violence. In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) both the government and rebel forces have financed their war efforts through the diamond trade, as have some of the intervening regional powers. As a result the fighting around diamond rich areas and trading centres has been particularly intense. For example, in spite of a unilateral ceasefire declared by Rwanda on the 29th of May 1999, it is believed to have sent 7,000 fresh troops to the DRC in June as the battle for the diamond rich area of Mbuji-Mayi escalated. However the prominence of `conflict diamonds¿ in the policy discourse related to these conflicts and their resolution has served to obscure a range of other issues which are equally, if not more, central to finding lasting solutions to these wars. In spite of the fact that the arms flows which sustain these conflicts are only partly financed by `conflict diamonds¿ they are often only mentioned as one aspect of the illegal diamond trade rather than as a core issue. Even more concerning, perhaps, is that the discourse of `greed¿ rather than `grievance¿ as the foundation and driving force of conflicts obscures the complexity of political, social, and other economic dimensions of these wars. Thus, while efforts to reduce the conflict diamond trade may be an essential element of the resolution of these conflicts, other factors of potentially greater import are pushed down the agendas of many of the governments and NGOs whose input into those processes may be the key to success. In short, therefore, the issue 2 of conflict diamonds is one aspect of the complex dynamics and processes of ongoing African conflicts, not vice-versa

Considering armed violence in the post-conflict transition: DDR and small arms and light weapons reduction initiatives

This briefing paper seeks to increase awareness of and review the linkages between disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) and small arms and light weapons (SALW) reduction in the context of post-conflict reconstruction (PCR). It is targeted at those working on poverty reduction at both the policy and programme level, particularly those with comparatively modest engagement in these areas. Its objective is to outline the types of activities that have been undertaken under these rubrics, the difficulties and constraints encountered at the level of implementation, and, in particular, to identify opportunities in linking SALW programmes and DDR. It also seeks to highlight the problems created by widespread arms availability and usage in PCR. This briefing paper is not intended as a comprehensive review of the state of DDR/SALW/PCR programming and policy, but rather an introduction to some of the core issues

Agri-food trade in GTAP-HET: Returns to scale in agriculture, and the Melitz model

Agricultural protection is almost always a highly sensitive issue in bi- and multi-lateral trade negotiations. The reasons for this are usually political, but it always means there is a high demand among policy makers for analytical tools which can assess the often complex impacts of liberalisation on farm viability, land use change, and consumer food prices. Since their inception, Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) models have made a rich contribution to this analysis. However, when standard assumptions of constant returns to scale and perfect competition are used, this can limit the ability of such models to answer the questions being asked by policy makers. Put simply, these questions often amount to “what are the opportunities, and what are the threats?” If returns to scale are not constant, or if other sources of productivity variation are present in a domestic farming system, the same liberalising policy may represent an opportunity to one farmer, and a threat to another, even if the two are producing the same commodity in the same country. Combining the macroeconomic width and rigour of a CGE model with the heterogeneity of domestic farm systems represents an exciting frontier in agri-food trade policy analysis. This paper will present the current evidence on returns to scale in agricultural sectors in selected countries – drawing on fixed and variable cost share data from the USDA, and European national Farm Business Surveys collated in the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN). Where the evidence for increasing returns to scale is clear, it follows that there is a clear case for the importance of making use of the Melitz model, or some alternative to the standard constant returns to scale assumption