The (un)intended outcome of public sector performance measurement

By A. Adcroft, R. Willis. 2005

206 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Purpose – To consider the extent to which regimes of performance measurement in the public sector are fit for purpose, and the likely outcomes for public services and public sector workers of such performance measurement systems.Design/methodology/approach – The article considers four key issues: the context and content of performance measurement in the public sector, the specific examples of health care and higher education, the limitations of performance measurement systems, and the likely outcomes of performance measurement systems.Findings – Current systems of performance measurement in the public sector are unlikely to have a significant influence on improving services. The most likely outcomes of these systems is further commodification of services and deprofessionalisation of public sector workers.Originality/value – The article builds on established literature and offers a systematic metaphor‐driven critique of performance management in the public sector, and discusses the implications of this.

Subfields: Health Information Management, Management Information Systems, Public Administration

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/c9b48ca262a243481a93204ed2346abf6ea6e809

Citations in the corpus

• Supervisor-nurse relationships, teamwork, role ambiguity and well-being: public versus private sector nurses (2011, unknown): “…inflexible scheduling, increased intensity of work, loss of work autonomy and increased accountability – especially in relation to increased record-keeping and data collection (Adcroft and Willis 2005; Brunetto and Farr-Wharton 2005, 2006, 2007; Buchanan and Considine 2002; Newman, et al 2002).”