Poister Theodore H. Aristigueta Maria P. Hall Jeremy L. - Managing and Measuring Performance in Public and Nonprofit Organizations

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Poister, Theodore H.

[Measuring performance in public and nonprofit organizations]

Managing and measuring performance in public and nonprofit organizations: an integrated approach / Theodore H. Poister, Maria P. Aristigueta, Jeremy L. Hall. Second edition.

pages cm

Revised edition of Poister's Measuring performance in public and nonprofit organizations.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-118-43905-0 (hardback)

1. Organizational effectivenessMeasurement. 2. Organizational effectivenessManagement. 3. Nonprofit organizations. 4. Public administration. 5. PerformanceMeasurement. 6. PerformanceManagement I. Aristigueta, Maria Pilar II. Hall, Jeremy L. III. Title.

HD58.9.P65 2015

658.4013dc23

2014021079

To my wonderful granddaughters,

Susannah Grace and Caroline Elizabeth Tusher

Who light up my life and make it all the more worthwhile.Ted Poister

To my husband, Don Coons,

For his unwavering love, patience, and support.Maria Aristigueta

To my niece, Kadence Olivia Dick,

Who brightens each day and always motivates me to perform at my best.Jeremy L. Hall

This is the second edition of Measuring Performance in Public and Nonprofit Organizations, a sole-authored book published in 2003. Over the intervening ten years, the emphasis on performance management in government has grown tremendously, and in the eyes of both its champions and its critics, it is clear that public and nonprofit organizations are operating in an era of performance. Performance management systems, which set clear goals and objectives and use systematic performance information to manage more effectively in order to achieve them, are ubiquitous in government at all levels in the United States and many other countries, and the adoption of such systems has proliferated rapidly in the nonprofit sector as well.

If the missions and goals of public and nonprofit organizations are worthwhileif they indeed add public value to the societies and communities they servethen performance is of paramount importance. And it is important to understand that high levels of performance do not just occur on their own, and there are many barriers to improving performance in most settings. Numerous stakeholders have a vested interest in performance management, including legislative bodies, other elected officials, chief executive officers, managers and employees, agencies in higher levels of government, customers and constituents, and relevant professional organizations. In the nonprofit sector, boards of directors, administrators, managers, employees, volunteers, customers and clients, advocacy groups, and funding organizations all have a stake in the effective use of performance measures to improve decisions, manage more effectively, and improve performance and accountability.

While the adoption of performance measurement systems has been pervasive in the public and nonprofit sectors, however, they are not always well conceived and constructed, these systems may not be used, and they are often not integrated into management and decision systems effectively. Moreover, the jury is still out regarding the extent to which performance management systems actually make a difference and help contribute to improved program and agency performance. It is not at all surprising, then, that performance management is a dominant topic in the current literature and research in the field of public management as well as in professional graduate education programs preparing students for careers as leaders in the public service.

The purpose of this book is not to promote performance management but rather to help readers understand what performance management systems are and how they function, and to design and implement them effectively. Although the title has been changed from the first edition to emphasize the broader focus on performance management itself rather than performance measurement as the central element of the process and two coauthors have been added, this book still bears a strong connection to the first edition in terms of approach, orientation, and organization. All chapters have been revised and updated extensively to reflect the substantial evolution and expansion of the field over the past ten years, the current context within which performance management is conducted, and newer approaches and practices aimed at making the enterprise more effective.

The organization of the book is similar to that of the first edition. The two chapters in concludes the book with a single summary chapter that discusses the design and implementation of effective performance management systems.

As with the first edition, this book is written with two audiences in mind. Although it is not explicitly designed as a textbook, it works well as a text or supplemental reading for primarily graduate courses in planning, public policy, and program evaluation, in addition to public and nonprofit management that have a performance-based orientation. It is also designed to serve as a resource to provide guidance for managers, professional staff, consultants, and others in designing and implementing effective performance management systems. The response to the first edition over the past ten years seems to indicate that it was useful for both the academic and practitioner communities, and we hope that will be the case with this edition as well.