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Performance Review (performance + review)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting57%
Humanities and Social Sciences28%

Selected Abstracts

The Presidency, the Bureaucracy, and Reinvention: A Gentle Plea for Chaos1

PRESIDENTIAL STUDIES QUARTERLY, Issue 1 2000
DAVID LOWERY
The relative influences of the unique and traditional elements of the Clinton-Gore National Performance Review (NPR) episode of bureaucratic reform are examined here as a means of exploring the underlying dynamics of executive-bureaucratic relationships. The first section of the article outlines the reinvention theory underlying NPR. This is followed by an analysis of how NPR deviated from that theory. The third section of the article considers what reforms might have been proposed by NPR had it taken reinvention theory more seriously. And fourth, the author discusses the deeper problems of presidential implementation of any reform not founded on enhanced hierarchical control of the bureaucracy by the White House. Finally, a unidirectional cycle of presidential reform is described, a cycle that seems impervious to and unconnected with scholarly work on management. [source]

Public,Private Partnerships: An International Performance Review

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REVIEW, Issue 3 2007
Graeme A. Hodge
Public,private partnerships are enjoying a global resurgence in popularity, but there is still much confusion around notions of partnership, what can be learned from our history with partnerships, and what is new about the partnership forms that are in vogue today. Looking at one particular family of public,private partnerships, the long-term infrastructure contract, this article argues that evaluations thus far point to contradictory results regarding their effectiveness. Despite their continuing popularity with governments, greater care is needed to strengthen future evaluations and conduct such assessments away from the policy cheerleaders. [source]

Reinvention As Reform: Assessing the National Performance Review

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REVIEW, Issue 6 2000
James R. Thompson
The conclusion of the Clinton Administration presents an opportune time to investigate the outcomes of the National Performance Review (NPR). Any such evaluation, however, is complicated by the nature of the objectives sought, many of which relate to subtle and elusive elements of organizational life: empowering employees, inducing a less risk-adverse culture, and enhancing the quality of service delivery. The strategy employed here as a means of gaining insight into such phenomena was to couple a broad review of government-wide survey results with an in-depth investigation into the impact of NPR on a single agency, the Social Security Administration. A conclusion is that many of the NPR's "higher-order" objectives have not been met on a systemic basis. While a variety of proximate explanations for this finding can be identified, a more fundamental explanation relates to a failure by the sponsors to adjust their strategy to account for basic differences between NPR and past reforms. [source]

Performance Management, Evaluation and Learning in ,Modern' Local Government

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, Issue 2 2001
Ian Sanderson
Public sector reforms throughout OECD member states are producing a new model of ,public governance' embodying a more modest role for the state and a strong emphasis on performance management. In the UK, the development of performance management in the context of the ,new public management' has been primarily ,top-down' with a dominant concern for enhancing control and ,upwards account-ability' rather than promoting learning and improvement. The development of performance management and evaluation in local government in the UK has been conditioned by external pressures, especially reforms imposed by central government, which have encouraged an ,instrumental,managerial' focus on performance measurement. The new Labour government's programme of ,modernizing local government' places considerable emphasis on performance review and evaluation as a driver of continuous improvement in promoting Best Value. However, recent research has indicated that the capacity for evaluation in local government is uneven and many obstacles to evaluation exist in organizational cultures. Local authorities need to go beyond the development of review systems and processes to ensure that the capacity for evaluation and learning is embedded as an attribute of ,culture' in order to achieve the purpose of Best Value. [source]

Challenges for donor agency country-level performance assessment: a review,

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & DEVELOPMENT, Issue 5 2003
Mark Ireland
This review of country-level performance assessment in donor agencies is primarily based upon the experiences documented by bilateral donors to developing countries. The review suggests that four emerging themes can be identified in the literature on country-level performance review: ownership, decentralisation and leadership, accountability and learning and complexity. The review considers the implementation of ,results-based' approaches used by a number of international agencies and examines their relationship with ,evidence-based' approaches. A key challenge, in the development of performance assessment, is bringing in a stronger evidence-based approach into the planning and evaluation of donor country-level programmes. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Using Immersive Simulation for Training First Responders for Mass Casualty Incidents

ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 11 2008
William Wilkerson MD
Abstract Objectives:, A descriptive study was performed to better understand the possible utility of immersive virtual reality simulation for training first responders in a mass casualty event. Methods:, Utilizing a virtual reality cave automatic virtual environment (CAVE) and high-fidelity human patient simulator (HPS), a group of experts modeled a football stadium that experienced a terrorist explosion during a football game. Avatars (virtual patients) were developed by expert consensus that demonstrated a spectrum of injuries ranging from death to minor lacerations. A group of paramedics was assessed by observation for decisions made and action taken. A critical action checklist was created and used for direct observation and viewing videotaped recordings. Results:, Of the 12 participants, only 35.7% identified the type of incident they encountered. None identified a secondary device that was easily visible. All participants were enthusiastic about the simulation and provided valuable comments and insights. Conclusions:, Learner feedback and expert performance review suggests that immersive training in a virtual environment has the potential to be a powerful tool to train first responders for high-acuity, low-frequency events, such as a terrorist attack. [source]