Abstract
Given the prevailing emphasis on agency performance, customer focus, stakeholder's interests and other methods of assessment under new public administration and prevailing managerialism in many public sectors around the world, administrative practitioners have taken to benchmarking as an instrument for assessing organizational performance and for facilitating management transfer and learning from other benchmarked organizations. The introduction of benchmarking into the public sector is still in its early stages. Technical problems, scepticism about usefulness and the appropriateness of transferring putative private sector competencies into public administration and the resistance in accepting organizational change as a necessary consequence of benchmarking exercises in the public sector, prevent the widespread acceptance and use of benchmarking in public sectors, arguably "punch-drunk" with systemic change. Nevertheless, there are some encouraging examples of benchmarking within the public sector. This paper critically analyzes these examples in order to establish the vulnerability points of such measurement instruments which, possibly, need more research in order to establish the specific leaning dimensions to benchmarking and to illustrate the importance of such benchmarking and learning within the highly risky, information technology (IT)-driven experiences of systems development and failure.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 121-144 |
| Number of pages | 24 |
| Journal | International Journal of Public Sector Management |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Apr 1999 |
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Keywords
- benchmarking
- information technology
- learning
- performance assessment
- quality assurance
- self-assessment
Cite this
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Benchmarking and performance measurement in public sectors. / Kouzmin, Alexander; Löffler, Elke; Klages, Helmut; Korac-Kakabadse, Nada.
In: International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 12, No. 2, 01.04.1999, p. 121-144.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - Benchmarking and performance measurement in public sectors
AU - Kouzmin, Alexander
AU - Löffler, Elke
AU - Klages, Helmut
AU - Korac-Kakabadse, Nada
PY - 1999/4/1
Y1 - 1999/4/1
N2 - Given the prevailing emphasis on agency performance, customer focus, stakeholder's interests and other methods of assessment under new public administration and prevailing managerialism in many public sectors around the world, administrative practitioners have taken to benchmarking as an instrument for assessing organizational performance and for facilitating management transfer and learning from other benchmarked organizations. The introduction of benchmarking into the public sector is still in its early stages. Technical problems, scepticism about usefulness and the appropriateness of transferring putative private sector competencies into public administration and the resistance in accepting organizational change as a necessary consequence of benchmarking exercises in the public sector, prevent the widespread acceptance and use of benchmarking in public sectors, arguably "punch-drunk" with systemic change. Nevertheless, there are some encouraging examples of benchmarking within the public sector. This paper critically analyzes these examples in order to establish the vulnerability points of such measurement instruments which, possibly, need more research in order to establish the specific leaning dimensions to benchmarking and to illustrate the importance of such benchmarking and learning within the highly risky, information technology (IT)-driven experiences of systems development and failure.
AB - Given the prevailing emphasis on agency performance, customer focus, stakeholder's interests and other methods of assessment under new public administration and prevailing managerialism in many public sectors around the world, administrative practitioners have taken to benchmarking as an instrument for assessing organizational performance and for facilitating management transfer and learning from other benchmarked organizations. The introduction of benchmarking into the public sector is still in its early stages. Technical problems, scepticism about usefulness and the appropriateness of transferring putative private sector competencies into public administration and the resistance in accepting organizational change as a necessary consequence of benchmarking exercises in the public sector, prevent the widespread acceptance and use of benchmarking in public sectors, arguably "punch-drunk" with systemic change. Nevertheless, there are some encouraging examples of benchmarking within the public sector. This paper critically analyzes these examples in order to establish the vulnerability points of such measurement instruments which, possibly, need more research in order to establish the specific leaning dimensions to benchmarking and to illustrate the importance of such benchmarking and learning within the highly risky, information technology (IT)-driven experiences of systems development and failure.
KW - benchmarking
KW - information technology
KW - learning
KW - performance assessment
KW - quality assurance
KW - self-assessment
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0005008710&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1108/09513559910263462
DO - 10.1108/09513559910263462
M3 - Article
VL - 12
SP - 121
EP - 144
JO - International Journal of Public Sector Management
JF - International Journal of Public Sector Management
SN - 0951-3558
IS - 2
ER -