Performance management in Canadian public organizations: findings of a multi-case study

Abstract

Purpose – Performance management (PM) is now clearly a well-established practice in public sector organizations. However, increasingly scholars have been questioning its efficacy in improving organizational performance. Research has shown that the presumed benefits remain questionable and that there are many barriers, challenges and problems in implementing PM. The purpose of this paper is to report and discuss the findings of a multi-case study that examines in more depth how five Canadian public sector organizations are implementing PM. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative multi-case study approach was used in this study. Structured interviews were carried out in each public sector organization and the interview data were analyzed using NVivo8. Individual case profiles were also written. A cross-case analysis was carried out using data from these five cases. Findings – The cross-case analysis of the data focussed on the major themes emerging from the data with respect to challenges and barriers, success factors, context and implications for practice for PM in public sector organizations. Three contextual factors are identified and discussed in explaining some of the findings. Conclusions are drawn for making PM more effective in achieving performance improvement in public sector organizations and future directions for research. Research limitations/implications – The research findings and implications for practice are based on five Canadian public sector organizations so may limit its generalizability to public sector organizations in other countries. Practical implications – Some practical implications are discussed with respect to implementing PM more successfully in public sector organizations. This included the better integration of PM to corporate strategy, leadership in developing a positive PM culture and employee buy-in and commitment to the process. Originality/value – This qualitative multi-case study of PM in Canadian public sector organizations has not previously been done. This approach allows for a more close-up look at PM in public sector organizations especially how it is implemented and the experiences of organizational members. The paper also presents new insights on context as an important variable in explaining the findings from the cross-case analysis and points to future new directions for research and in developing a contingency theory approach to PM.

Os Estudos Empíricos Internacionais No Setor Público Têm Feito Uso Dos Sistemas De Avaliação De Desempenho Em Sua Plenitude?

“…No início de 1990, a esfera pública passou por grandes mudanças. O incremento dos novos argumentos da administração pública impôs às organizações alterações na estratégia e estrutura dos serviços públicos, dando mais destaque à mensuração formal na maior parte dos setores públicos [3,12], bem como ao desenvolvimento de frameworks e modelos adaptados ao setor público ao longo do período analisado [2], em decorrência da insatisfação que assolava a busca pelo incremento de medidas não tradicionais aos Sistemas de Avaliação (GHALAYINI;NOBLE, 1996).…”

“…Também foi observada a presença de estudos que analisaram períodos maiores de tempo [44,45,43,1,25,36] e estudos voltados ao impacto tanto positivo, quanto negativo [7,6,11], dos SADs nas organizações públicas. Esses estudos apontam para a necessidade de uma visão holística sobre os SADs [4,14] O setor da saúde é o que mais se destaca em quantidade tanto em nível operacional [5,7,2,8,23,12], como em nível estratégico [32,16,27]. Os estudos dessa área mencionam que foram impulsionados principalmente pelas novas políticas públicas, buscando reduzir os custos, sem comprometer o fornecimento de serviços de qualidade.…”

Sistema de avaliação de desempenho para apoio à gestão da coordenadoria dos processos licitatórios de um Hospital Universitário

“…Há uma crítica constante quanto à qualidade dos serviços públicos oferecidos para a população (Mardale, 2015;Navarro-Galera;Ortiz-Rodríguez & López-Hernández, 2008;Patrucco;Luzzini & Ronchi, 2016;Ren, Kwaw & Yang, 2012;Srivastava & Agrahari, 2017;Tillema, Mimba & Van Helden, 2010). Frequentemente, aponta-se como causa a insuficiência de recursos financeiros e humanos (Goh, Elliott & Richards, 2015;Tillema et al, 2010). Esse fato também é observado no Brasil, onde 70% dos brasileiros encontram-se insatisfeitos com os serviços prestados (IPSOS, 2017), apesar do alto montante dispendido com as aquisições governamentais que, segundo o sistema de compras governamentais, o Comprasnet, demonstram que foram movimentados mais de 47 bilhões de reais em pouco mais de cem mil processos de compras durante 2018 (Painel de Compras, 2018).…”

Performance evaluation system to support the coordination of bidding processes management in a University Hospital

“…There is constant criticism regarding the quality of public services offered to the population (Mardale, 2015;Navarro-Galera;Ortiz-Rodríguez & López-Hernández, 2008;Patrucco;Luzzini & Ronchi, 2016;Ren, Kwaw & Yang, 2012;Srivastava & Agrahari, 2017;Tillema, Mimba & Van Helden, 2010). It is often pointed out as a cause of insufficient financial and human resources (Goh, Elliott & Richards, 2015;Tillema et al, 2010). This fact is also observed in Brazil, where 70% of Brazilians are dissatisfied with the provided services (IPSOS, 2017), despite the high amount spent on government acquisitions which, according to the Government procurement system, Comprasnet, demonstrates that more than 47 billion of reais were handled in just over one hundred thousand acquisition processes during 2018 (Painel de Compras, 2018).…”