Strategic Performance Management

Essay Public management:  

Strategic performance management:

A balanced approach to performance

management issues in local government

The traditional way of performance measurement concerned the inputs and the efficiency (costs); it was criticized because it had a limited ability to measure effectiveness or outcomes.

 Performance measurement should have also a multitude of dimensions.

 Government objectives stated in a non-financial terms, so we need a non-financial performance measurement.

The literature on performance measurement focused more on the individual performance rather than the individual and the organizational performance, it also focused on the process more than the context. researchers have made distinction between primary and secondary objectives, the primary objectives are the results which the organization is looking for  and the secondary objectives refers to the determinant and the strategic choices that the company should pursue to achieve its primary objectives.

 we can see in the recent performance models the importance of the stakeholder ; indeed, those models focus more on customer, suppliers, competitors, employees and the community.

the performance measurement systems coordinating role is to direct decision makers in order to make it clear for the employees and also the external stakeholders for determining what the organization is trying to achieve.

Performance measurement based on financial data don’t offer to the decision makers the range of information, they need to take decision, Kaplan and Norton came with balanced scorecard which is a complement for financial measure and not a replacement, this scorecard has perspectives which are financial, customer, internal business process, learning and growth.

Two main questions guided this research; the first one is how are the balanced performance management systems developed and integrated within local government organizations for managerial and accountability purposes? The second question is can a balanced model of effective performance management for Australian local government be developed?

The research was conducted using a qualitative methodology, In total more than 80 people participated in the interviews for this study.

Financial performance results:

Local government should provide adequate services without wasting limited resource and ensure affordable services, this means combining efficiency and effectiveness.

Financial performances are driven by explicit accountability to the community which includes transparency  in financial transactions, accountability and responsibility to council stakeholder, proper stewardship and probity in transactions should be apparent and quiet similar  in the provision of services across geographic areas and across social classes.