Browsing by Author "Micheli, Pietro"

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    Acting on information: Performance management for the public sector
    (2006-07-01T00:00:00Z) Neely, Andrew; Micheli, Pietro; Martinez, Veronica
    This briefing examines how public sector organisations can use performance data more effectively to support decision-making and produce improvements in organisational performance. In particular it looks at the challenge of converting performance data into insights and then acting on those insights. Drawing on the academic literature, as well as some notable case studies from the private sector, we have identified five key ‘best practice’ lessons for organisations that want to extract greater insight from their performance data and to ensure that those insights are acted
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    Drivers and purposes of performance measurement : an exploratory study in English local public sector services
    (Cranfield University, 2007-06) Micheli, Pietro; Kennerley, Mike
    This dissertation focuses on the interactions between local public sector organisations and institutions in the development of performance measurement (PM) targets and indicators. The research is grounded in the performance measurement and management literature and adopts a joint new institutional and resource dependence perspective. Empirically, the research, which is qualitative and theory-building, consists of case studies undertaken in local public sector organisations in England. The iterative comparison of theory and data has enabled the investigation of a number of relevant themes. In the last decade, the British Government has placed great emphasis on the consistency of objectives, targets and indicators from national to local levels with the aim of enhancing performance, transparency and accountability, and of driving behavior. However, this research shows that the influence of several organizations and the co- existence of various PM initiatives generate confusion and overlaps locally. Moreover, in the cases considered the unmanageable number of indicators and the lack of clarity regarding the drivers and purposes of PM have led to confused massages and counter- productive approaches to the measurement and management of performance. From a theoretical view-point, the favourable comments expressed by interviewees regarding the current PM regime contrast with critics of New Public Management. Furthermore, legitimacy-seeking and efficiency-enhancing rationals have emerged as intertwined and loosely coupled. This is in opposition to what is maintained by early new institutional theorists. In line with resource dependence theory, PM systems were found to be significant components of power systems in organisations. Through the examination of the roles of PM and the investigation of relevant concepts such as 'golden thread' and performance culture, this research aims to make an impact on policy-making and to improve the ways in which targets and indicators are set and used, hence having a positive effect on the services delivered.
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    How could knowledge of sensemaking during organizational change contribute to the investigation of how sense is made of organizational perfomance
    (Cranfield University, 2011-08) Allen, Richard; Micheli, Pietro; Bourne, Mike
    Managers and organizational stakeholders are confronted by a range of stimuli, emotions, events, data, paradoxes and ambiguities in endeavouring to understand and make sense of change and the performance of their organizations. However, there is virtually no literature available on sensemaking within organizational performance. Historically sensemaking literature has focused on unusual events, disasters and high reliability settings but there is now a sizeable body addressing sensemaking in strategic organizational change. This literature has been systematically reviewed because of its proximity to organizational performance and in order to assess how sensemaking in organizational performance could be in investigated. Sensemaking in individuals is triggered by the unusual and confounding and is concerned with how people construct meaning from this. While sensegiving is about the role played by leaders, or stakeholders, in generating, articulating and “selling” a construction or interpretation of events emerging from their own sensemaking process. “Mindfulness” can be thought of as how sensemaking is realised and is about responding rather than reacting while using information, attentiveness and clues to make sense of what is happening. The sensemaking studies reviewed are dominated by work with middle managers who are seen by the authors as key organizational change agents. Organizational actors come to sensemaking through mental maps, or schemata that can be re-configured through the sensemaking process often as a way of addressing paradox or equivocation. The view of sensemaking as inter-subjective, discursive and narrative dominates giving scope to managers to facilitate the process. Sensegiving and sensemaking intertwine dialectically in a process which sees sensemaking informing sensegiving and vice versa. There is insufficient information on mindfulness and change to be able to assess it. In conclusion there are sufficient similarities between the processes of organizational change and organizational performance management to warrant its investigation from an inter-subjective, discursive and narrative sensemaking perspective.
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    An organisation theory perspective of performance measurement systems in public sector organisations
    (2004-08-27) Micheli, Pietro; Kennerley, Mike
    This dissertation presents a systematic review of the literature (SLR) about the use of two organization theories (OT) - new institutional and resource dependence - in the study of performance measurement (PM) in public sector organizations. The SLR confirmed the findings of a scoping study, namely that two categories of papers exist in this field - theoretical and applied. The majority of papers are applied: they address primarily the practical aspects of PM, but often lack a strong theoretical grounding. Theoretical contributions, on the other hand, rarely deal with practical aspects and the authors seem unconcerned about the relevance of their studies to practitioners. Nevertheless, it is believed that, by creating new knowledge that is firmly grounded in theory and at the same time relevant to practice, it is possible to bridge the gap between the two bodies of literature and further the knowledge of this field. Furthermore, this dissertation shows that the subject of PM could strongly benefit from the use of the two suggested theories, which, despite their dissimilarities, could be conjointly used. The systematic character of the review means that transparency and traceability to the researcher’s decisions and criteria is maintained. The SLR proved to be very relevant in relation to the researcher’s wider subject of interest - the examination of the interactions between institutions and public sector organizations belonging to the same organisational field in the development of PM systems. In this sense, very significant themes emerged from the material included in the SLR. These include the types of strategic responses to institutional pressures and the importance of various concepts drawn from the two bodies of literature, e.g. efficiency, effectiveness, legitimacy, isomorphism, loose coupling, institutionalization and power. Finally, interesting reflections were identified regarding research methods, methodologies and levels of analysis.
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    Performance measurement and management: a system of systems perspective
    (Taylor & Francis, 2017-11-20) Bourne, Mike; Franco-Santos, Monica; Micheli, Pietro; Pavlov, Andrey
    Despite changes in tools and practices, the conceptual foundations of performance measurement and management (PMM) are still predominantly rooted in control systems research. While PMM approaches have delivered significant organisational benefits, including creating alignment, supporting monitoring and control, and enabling prediction and optimisation of resource allocation, this paper argues that this paradigm is not capable of responding to increasingly complex and highly uncertain organisational environments. Drawing on ideas emerging in the literature on systems engineering and complex systems, we propose a novel perspective that considers PMM from a ‘system of systems’ (SoS) point of view, whose essential characteristics are autonomy, belonging, connectivity, diversity and emergence. After identifying the assumptions underpinning existing PMM approaches, we outline a SoS-based paradigm to PMM and conclude by articulating the main implications for the practice of PMM and setting out a research agenda.
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    Public sector innovation : The role of commercial partnerships
    (Cranfield University School of Management, 2010-10) Baxter, David; Schoeman, Magnus; Goffin, Keith; Micheli, Pietro
    The global economic situation is putting increasing pressure on public sector funding and so innovation is now being recognised as an essential mechanism for maintaining the quality and scope of services whilst reducing costs. This report describes new research into a specific type of public sector innovation – commercialisation: partnerships between the public sector and commercial organisations which enable new or enhanced services to be developed. A crucial aspect of such partnerships is that they can lead to the development of new services which create new value. This enables financial and other benefits for both the public sector and commercial partners. The research conducted for this report consisted of a survey of civil servants’ views on commercialisation and two case studies of successful innovation—the Public Sector Broadband Aggregation (PSBA) in Wales and the Met Office Healthy Outlook ® service. The survey enabled barriers to commercialisation to be identified, such as lack of guidance and support, lack of clarity in the remit of the public sector, and inadequate awareness of the opportunities. The two case studies enabled the key characteristics of commercialisation to be determined, particularly the need to start early discussions with potential commercial partners, to gain board level sponsorship for projects, and to ensure that the value of the innovation is shared. Contrasting the results of our research to the way innovation is managed in the private sector, allows us to make four main recommendations on maximising the value of commercial partnerships: - The focus of public sector innovation must go beyond service efficiency, and the exploitation of internally generated ideas. To gain the maximum value from public sector assets, suitable discussions need to be held with potential commercial partners. - Discussions with the commercial sector have the potential to create innovative ideas for new services. The public sector will need to become adept at conducting early stage discussions with commercial organisations, if it is to gain the maximum value from public assets. Suitable partners need to be identified, where the capabilities of the commercial sector complement the unique expertise and assets of the public sector. Making such partnerships work will require trust on both sides and sharing of the value generated from the innovation developed. - Managers in the public sector urgently require more guidance and support on how to apply the concept of commercialisation and achieve the benefits. - Public sector innovation is very different from innovation in the commercial sector. Therefore, although there are some points to be learned from the commercial sector, appropriate tools need to be developed for the public sector and these need to be disseminated to civil servants.
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    Rethinking organizational performance management: a complexity theory perspective
    (Emerald, 2022-12-26) Pavlov, Andrey; Micheli, Pietro
    Purpose Traditional approaches to organizational performance management that emphasize objectivity, control and predictability are rapidly losing relevance in an environment characterized by increasing levels of complexity and dynamism. This paper draws on complexity theory to suggest a new paradigm for managing performance in organizations. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws on the common features of complex systems and the corresponding concept of emergence to revisit key themes in organizational performance management and propose a set of implications for research and practice. Findings Understanding organizations as complex systems and performance as an emergent property of such systems leads to a set of new research questions, the adoption of alternative methods and the formulation of novel propositions. It also has various implications for both academic research and managerial practice, from moving away from the traditional notion of organizational alignment to adopting a more explicit stakeholder-based view in the design and use of measurement systems. Originality/value The paper highlights the great potential of complexity theory for addressing contemporary issues in the field of organizational performance management and charting the landscape for its future development.
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    Towards a definition of a business performance measurement system
    (Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2007-08-01T00:00:00Z) Franco-Santos, Monica; Kennerley, Mike; Micheli, Pietro; Martinez, Veronica; Mason, Steve; Marr, Bernard; Gray, Dina; Neely, Andrew
    Scholars in the field of performance measurement tend to use the term business performance measurement (BPM) systems without explaining exactly what they mean by it. This lack of clarity creates confusion and comparability issues, and makes it difficult for researchers to build on one an each other's work. The purpose of this paper is to identify the key characteristics of a BPM system, by reviewing the different definitions of a BPM system that exist in the literature. This work aims to open a debate on what are the necessary and sufficient conditions of a BPM system. It is also hoped that a greater level of clarity in the performance measurement research arena will be encouraged. Design/methodology/approach--The performance measurement literature is reviewed using a systematic approach. Findings--Based on this research, a set of conditions of a BPM system has been proposed from which researchers can choose those which are necessary and sufficient conditions for their studies. Research limitations/implications--The analysis in this paper provides a structure and set of characteristics that researchers could use as a reference framework to define a BPM system for their work, and as a way to define the specific focus of their investigations. More clarity and precision around the use of the BPM systems phrase will improve the generalisability and comparability of research in this area. Originality/value--By reviewing the different definitions of a BPM system that exist in the literature this paper will hopefully stimulate a debate on the necessary and sufficient conditions of a BPM system and encourage a greater level of clarity in the performance measurement research arena.
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    The use of management control and performance measurement systems in SMEs: A levers of control perspective
    (Emerald, 2018-11-05) Pešalj, Biljana; Pavlov, Andrey; Micheli, Pietro
    Purpose The purpose of this paper is to respond to recent calls for understanding how multiple management control (MC) and performance measurement (PM) systems are used simultaneously for managing performance, particularly in the context of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach Data are collected during an in-depth case study of MC and PM and management practices in a Dutch SME using multiple data sources and elicitation methods, including interviews and participant observations. Findings This study identifies managerial practices that enable the interplay of the four control systems – beliefs, boundaries, diagnostic and interactive – helping the organization manage organizational tensions in relation to short- and long-term focus, predictable goal achievement and search for new opportunities, internal and external focus, and control and creativity. Research limitations/implications This paper advances the research on integrating multiple aspects of performance management, particularly technical and social. This research is based on a single case study; future qualitative and quantitative studies could explore the interplay between the four control systems in other settings and explore the relationship between control systems and leadership style. Practical implications Managing performance requires active and continuous use of all four control systems. This is particularly salient in SMEs where less formal controls play a key role and where balance needs to be ensured despite the lack of managerial processes and capabilities. Originality/value The findings advance PM and management theory and practice in the context of SMEs.
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    What is performance measurement for? Multiple uses of performance information within organizations
    (Wiley, 2017-12-20) Micheli, Pietro; Pavlov, Andrey
    Recent research in performance measurement has focused on the tension between two uses of performance information: ‘passive’, to ensure compliance, and ‘purposeful’, to improve services. This article presents an in-depth study of two public sector organizations in England and shows that the main tension may actually lie between a combined purposeful and passive use, and an exclusively passive one. This tension was most pronounced between organizational levels, where a combined use was dominant among senior managers, and an exclusively passive one was prevalent among middle managers and frontline staff. This split was not intentional—instead, it reflected how people interpreted the role of performance measurement, suggesting that simply promoting greater use of information may not be sufficient for linking measurement with service improvement. This study extends the theoretical understanding of the dynamics of performance information use in organizations and generates implications for using performance measurement to improve service delivery.
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    Why strategies fail to be executed
    (Cranfield University School of Management, 2011-09-01T00:00:00Z) Micheli, Pietro