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The purpose of this paper is to analyse hospital dashboards’ visibility of information at different management levels to improve quality and performance in an acute general hospital.

Data were generated via 21 semi-structured interviews across different management levels.

All management levels had greater visibility of information, could make informed decisions, and registered performance improvement. Specifically, waiting time improved, however since introduction of hospital dashboards was work-in-progress at time of study, managers could not record improvement in terms of cost reductions, clinical effectiveness, patient safety and patient satisfaction. Different managerial levels had different visibility with top management having the greatest.

In single case studies, where only one context is used, the findings cannot be reproduced in different contexts; even though most of the results could be matched with the current literature.

The need to have balanced key performance indicators that take into account other facets of improvements, apart from time, has been emphasised. Furthermore, if middle and departmental managers have greater visibility, this would allow them to work towards a strategic fit between the departments that they manage with the rest of the hospital.

There is scant literature regarding performance dashboards’ enhancement of visibility of information at different management levels. Furthermore, according to the authors’ knowledge, no other paper has tried to identify and discuss the different levels of information, which should be visible from bedside to board namely to management, clinicians and public.

This paper aims to examine the effects of hotel general managers’ transformational leadership (TLS) and department managers (DMs)’ organizational commitment (OC) on their department’s performance in upscale hotels in Australia.

Data were collected by surveying DMs in four- and five-star hotels. The survey instrument included measures of comprehensive sustainable performance, TLS and OC adapted from the literature. The data were analyzed through factor analysis and regression with a resampling method of bootstrapping.

The findings indicated that TLS influenced hotel departments’ non-financial as well as social and environmental performance dimensions directly and indirectly through OC. However, the mediation effect of OC did not exist for financial performance.

The key theoretical contribution is the use of performance assessment based on critical success factors of hotel businesses and the bootstrapping regression model.

Senior managers should pay attention to TLS qualities when appointing core managers, provide on-going structured TLS training and concentrate on leading performance dimensions for performance assessment.

This study responds to the call for leadership research to move beyond its emphasis on individual performance and to address performance more holistically by considering its multidimensionality and the processes underlying effective performance.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of performance measurement systems as technologies of government in the operationalisation of smart city programmes. It answers the research question: how do the development and use of performance measurement systems support smart cities in the achievement of their goals?

This paper presents a longitudinal case study that uses an interventionist approach to investigate the possibilities and limitations of the use of performance measurement systems as technologies of government in a smart city. Interpretations are theoretically informed by the Foucauldian governmentality framework (Foucault, 2009) and by public sector performance measurement literature.

The findings address the benefits and criticalities confronting a smart city that introduces new performance measurement systems as a technology of government. Such technologies become problematic tools when the city network is characterised by a fragmentation of inter-departmental processes, and when forms of resistance emerge due to a lack of process owners, horizontal accountability and cooperation among involved parties.

This paper is based on a case study of a single smart city, and outlines the need for both comparative and multidisciplinary analyses in order to analyse the causes and effects of smart city challenges.

This paper offers a critical understanding of the role of accounting in the smart city. The ineffectiveness of performance measurement systems is related to the multiple roles of such technologies of government, which may lead to a temporary paralysis in the achievement of smart city goals and programmes.

The objective of this paper is to gain an understanding of the multiple ways companies are using performance measures throughout the organization in the areas of strategic planning, monitoring operations, and evaluation of employees work and satisfaction with the company and suppliers.

A survey was developed and distributed to internal auditors to gather information on how their companies used performance measures.

The results suggest that most companies tend to have an internal focus when using performance measures and place less value on benchmarking with competitors and suppliers.

Based on the results of the survey, performance measures are used throughout the organization for numerous reasons from the determination of whether strategic goals are being met to evaluation of suppliers.

This paper investigates the extent to which externally led benchmarking may have facilitated performance management design and use in Malaysian local authorities.

A longitudinal qualitative study of local authorities in Malaysia was undertaken, comprising interviews with key officers during the introduction of process-based key performance indicators (KPIs), and following the imposition of benchmarking (i.e. relative performance evaluation) on local authorities. Complexity theory was used in the analysing and theorising of data.

External benchmarking mechanisms facilitated only operational performance management, with strategic performance management merely ceremonially adopted. As the focus was on mainly operational KPIs, strategic goals were not translated into detailed action plans and outputs at departmental level. In addition, operational and strategic performance management packages were decoupled. Thus, the efforts of external actors resulted in operational controls suppressing rather than facilitating strategic processes.

There is a need to transition from purely externally led benchmarking to internally driven benchmarking in local government, whereby benchmarking forms part of the interactive performance management mechanisms that lead to institutional learning and improvement.

Benchmarking activities should be based on comprehensive analyses of performance management design and use. A reflective approach to continuously identify gaps or weaknesses in performance management systems will enable local government administrators to improve systems and processes in a timely manner to meet stakeholder needs.

This paper explains the impact of central government policy and benchmarking initiatives on other levels of government. We have built on previous literature by examining the connection between external benchmarking and internal performance management design and use in local government. In relation to this, and following calls for research on holistic performance management, the integration between operational and strategic performance management packages was also examined.

The main objective of the paper is to develop an investment model using data envelopment analysis (DEA) that provides a decision-making framework to allocate resources efficiently, such that the relative efficiency is improved within an available investment budget.

Firstly, DEA models are used to evaluate the efficiency of the departments relative to their peers and providing benchmarks for the less efficient departments. Secondly, the inefficiencies in departments are identified. Finally, for the less efficient departments, a decision-support system is introduced for optimizing resource allocation to improve efficiency.

Five of the 18 academic departments were determined to be inefficient, and benchmark departments were found for those departments. The most prevalent causes for inefficiency were the number of undergraduate students per faculty and the number of graduate students. Results from the investment model for department 12 suggest increasing the number of faculty by 2 units and H-Index by 0.5 units, thereby, improving the relative efficiency of the department by 6.8% (88%–94%), using $290,000 out of $500,000 investment budget provided.

When an investment budget is available, no study has used DEA to develop a decision-support framework for resource allocation in academic departments to maximize relative efficiency.

Examines the development of accountability for the Treaty of Waitangi in the New Zealand public sector. Considers how the nature of the accountability obligations arising from the Treaty have developed and how these differ from those that have developed generally in the New Zealand public sector. These obligations were made auditable through two accountability/review mechanisms: the reviews of service delivery to M \¯curr aori produced by Te Puni K \¯curr okiri and the “Delivering effective outputs for M \¯curr aori” review from the Office of the Auditor‐General. It was found that these accountability mechanisms gave increased visibility to M \¯curr aori concerns and perspectives within government departments. However, while there was a clearly developed obligation of departments to answer for their practices in relation to M \¯curr aori, there was no satisfactory accountability mechanism for Parliament to account to M \¯curr aori.

THE coining of the phrase “work study” implies that someone wanted, without a noisy grinding of axes, to give time and motion study, as practised, a boost. So “work study” was born, all the old techniques were dressed up in a “new look,” and the whole show was presented to industry as “different”—it was a box‐office hit.

This article seeks to assess how performance management in the public domain has evolved over the last several years both in terms of theory and practice in selected countries. The paper also aims to act as the editorial for the special issue of the journal.

Drawing on Bouckaert and Halligan as a framework for analysing performance management in the public sector, this paper reviews findings from their work (on the evolution of cases from six countries), a recent survey of seven countries from four continents, and three additional case studies at the micro, meso and macro levels of analysis.

The article finds that the evidence for progress towards a “performance governance” regime in the public domain is mixed, with little progress in countries outside the Anglo‐American or Nordic examples studied by Bouckaert and Halligan. Several reasons for this are suggested from the recent survey (in this issue), including the impact of public sector values and the role of elites. However, case studies of particular sectors in countries with limited progress on performance management in general (Portugal and Ireland) suggest that significant inroads can nevertheless be made along the trajectory proposed by Bouckaert and Halligan at micro and meso levels.

The paper draws together evidence from various examples of performance management in the public domain to critically assess and extend existing theory and to suggest alternative trajectories on the road to performance governance.

This case encourages students to consider how they would communicate and support the implementation of a company’s policy for annual performance reviews. Analysis may include considering how to build commitment from line management for the process and practice of colleague performance reviews and an exploration of the relationship between appraisals and performance management, human resources (HR) strategy and business strategy. Managers may perceive that performance reviews are taking them away from the more important and pressing tasks that directly relate to their own performance on the job – and not appreciate the strategic significance of the appraisal process.

Topics were identified as case preferences and a shopping list of questions were generated for field interviews. Two field interviews were completed. The company involved was not disguised, however the HR Director’s name (David White) is a pseudonym.

This case is suitable for third or fourth year undergraduate or postgraduate studies in hospitality management, human resource management or a human resource management course that specializes in strategic HRM, performance management, performance appraisal or employee engagement.

There has been a gradual shift from performance appraisal to performance management to reflect a more strategic approach to human resource management practice (Bach, 2005). A performance management system typically includes the following components: regular performance appraisal, mission statement and values statement, individual objectives, performance standards or competencies, unit objectives, company-wide objectives, performance-related pay, training and reward or recognition system (Armstrong, 2002). Collectively these components have a strategic focus and connect individual, team and organizational performance.