Business Performance Measurement

Rating:
Summary: A Brilliant Achievement by Neely and His Associates
Review: Edited by Andy Neely who also co-authored five of the 21 essays provided, this volume provides a wealth of information about the theory and practice of one of the most important and yet least understood dimensions of organizational operations: performance measurement. By now most decision-makers have realized the truth of the observation (source unknown to me) that "you can't manage what you can't measure." However, few of them possess the skills (not the talent nor the desire) to do that well because it requires a solid understanding of how to complete functional analyses, based on theoretical foundations, within frameworks and using methodologies which have practical implications, guided and informed by specific measures even when having to accommodate emerging trends and issues. Re-read that last sentence and you have within it an explanation of how the material in this volume is so carefully organized.

In my opinion, any one of the essays (all by itself) is worth far more than the cost of the book but I strong recommend that it be read within the sequence of the essays which begins with "Measurement perspective: The accounting perspective" (David Otley) and concludes with "Measuring eBusiness Performance (Neely, Bernard Marr, Chris Adams, and Neha Kapashi) because, although the essays focus on a specific component of business performance measurement, they are interdependent in much the same ways that a 1,000-piece picture puzzle are. Also, there are recurring themes, core concepts, and points of emphasis which an astute reader can -- and must -- correlate.

The reader's next challenge is to determine the nature and extent of HOW this wealth of information and counsel can be effectively implemented within her or his own organization. Hence the importance of the four essays which comprise Part IV: "What really goes on in the name of benchmarking?" (David Mayle, Matthew Hinton, Graham Francis, and Jacky Holloway), "Measuring market performance: Which way is up?" (Tim Ambler and Flora Kokkinaki), "Loosely coupled performance measurement systems" (Thomas Ahrens and Chris Chapman), and "Redefining Government performance" (Ken Ogata and Rich Goodkey). Who will derive the greatest benefit from this book? In one respect, my first reply is any decision-maker within any organization (regardless of size or nature) who currently lacks the skills to conduct accurate and appropriate business performance measurement.

However, I am inclined to suggest that senior-level executives will find the material most valuable. In recent years, when working with the CEOs of a variety of different corporate clients, those to whom I have recommended this book, their tendency is to purchase multiple copies and then ask their COO to focus (at least initially) on all of Part I, directing their CFO to Chapters 1, 4, and 18 and their head of marketing to Chapters 2, 4, and 14. Make no mistake about it: This is a daunting book which deserves, indeed requires but will generously reward more than one careful reading and frequent re-visits. For me, Chapter 10 is one of the most thought-provoking because Elsbeth Murray and Peter Richardson explain the importance of those whom they characterize as "the critical few [who are] first among equals as parameters of strategic effectiveness." Of course, other readers will find other chapters of greater interest and value. Fair enough.

I hope these brief remarks have helped those for whom they were written to gain a sense of what this volume offers to them. Caveat redux. Challenging as the material certainly is, the reader's most difficult work will begin only after having read, re-read, absorbed, and then digested the material: determining the nature and extent of HOW this wealth of information and counsel can be effectively implemented within her or his own organization.


Rating:
Summary: Informative and coherent collection of papers
Review: This book is a collection of papers that are divided into five parts, all addressing a specific aspect of business performance measurement. The parts and each paper contained in this book are as follows:

Part I. Functional Analyses: 1. Measuring performance: the accounting perspective, 2. Measuring performance: the marketing perspective, 3. Measuring performance: the operations perspective, 4. Finding performance: the new discipline in management.

Part II. Theoretical Foundations: 5. A conceptual and operational delineation of performance, 6. Anomalies of measurement: when it works, but should not, 7. Does pay for performance really motivate employees?, 8. Superior managers? tolerance to dysfunctional behaviour: a test.

Part III. Frameworks and Methodologies: 9. Performance measurement frameworks: a review, 10. The critical few: first among equals as parameters for measuring strategic effectiveness, 11. Auditing measurement systems, 12. Why measurement initiatives succeed and fail.

Part IV. Practical Applications: 13. What really goes on in the name of benchmarking, 14. Measuring marketing performance: in practice, 15. Loosely coupled performance measurement systems, 16. Redefining government performance.

Part V. Specific Measures: 17. Customer satisfaction and business performance, 18. Linking financial performance to employee and customer satisfaction, 19. Measuring innovation performance.

Part VI. Emerging Issues and Trends: 20. Measuring knowledge work, 21. Measuring ebusiness performance.

Each paper is written by an acknowledged expert in his or her field, and each covers their respective topic in depth. I found each paper to be highly readable and informative, and attribute that to the editor's (Andy Neely) hard work in giving this book a consistent and coherent feel instead of just a collection of disparate articles. If you're a business systems analyst in IT, a member of a process improvement or reengineering team, or a business process owner who is seeking to understand the finer points of business performance you will find this book to be thought provoking and full of ideas.

Rating:
Summary: Informative and coherent collection of papers
Review: This book is a collection of papers that are divided into five parts, all addressing a specific aspect of business performance measurement. The parts and each paper contained in this book are as follows:

Part I. Functional Analyses: 1. Measuring performance: the accounting perspective, 2. Measuring performance: the marketing perspective, 3. Measuring performance: the operations perspective, 4. Finding performance: the new discipline in management.

Part II. Theoretical Foundations: 5. A conceptual and operational delineation of performance, 6. Anomalies of measurement: when it works, but should not, 7. Does pay for performance really motivate employees?, 8. Superior managers' tolerance to dysfunctional behaviour: a test.

Part III. Frameworks and Methodologies: 9. Performance measurement frameworks: a review, 10. The critical few: first among equals as parameters for measuring strategic effectiveness, 11. Auditing measurement systems, 12. Why measurement initiatives succeed and fail.

Part IV. Practical Applications: 13. What really goes on in the name of benchmarking, 14. Measuring marketing performance: in practice, 15. Loosely coupled performance measurement systems, 16. Redefining government performance.

Part V. Specific Measures: 17. Customer satisfaction and business performance, 18. Linking financial performance to employee and customer satisfaction, 19. Measuring innovation performance.

Part VI. Emerging Issues and Trends: 20. Measuring knowledge work, 21. Measuring ebusiness performance.

Each paper is written by an acknowledged expert in his or her field, and each covers their respective topic in depth. I found each paper to be highly readable and informative, and attribute that to the editor's (Andy Neely) hard work in giving this book a consistent and coherent feel instead of just a collection of disparate articles. If you're a business systems analyst in IT, a member of a process improvement or reengineering team, or a business process owner who is seeking to understand the finer points of business performance you will find this book to be thought provoking and full of ideas.