Actionable Performance Measurement

Measurement is absolutely essential for any organization or company, functional area, department, business unit, project, or individual. Companies must know how their processes are performing, how well they are meeting customers’ needs, how targeted improvements are being achieved, and how management is doing. Accurate performance measures tell companies where they are, and to take action if they are not on track or if performance does not meet expectations.Actionable Performance Measurement presents many different methods to help readers develop metrics and performance measures. To aid in corporate measures development and strategic, tactical and/or business planning, a quick and effective method of identifying specific key results areas is outlined and explained. Both customer and employee focuses are presented: how to measure each, and how to develop good surveys. In addition, Howell explains several methods for setting realistic-but-stretch targets, as well as a technique for measuring “apples and oranges.”Readers will be able to measure employee and customer satisfaction, and be prepared to capably lead or be a member of a corporate or business unit measurement team to assess existing performance indicators effectiveness.Included is a student workbook to be used as a teaching tool in conjunction with the books.

From Business Strategy to IT Action gives companies of all sizes the tools to effectively link IT to business strategy and produce effective, actionable strategies for bottom-line results. The authors present CEOs, CFOs, CIOs, and IT managers with a powerful and accessible resource packed with such useful material as: * The Strategy-to-Bottom-Line Value Chain, which integrates the management practices relating to planning, prioritization, alignment, and assessing a company's entire IT budget * Methods for using IT Impact Management to establish IT culture and performance models for the business/IT connection * The IT Improvement Zone, which quickly identifies where a company can focus its energies for maximum results * And much more

Organizations want--and need--to track the changes in their overall performance. And the divisions, units, teams, and individuals within these organizations engage in similar success measurement. Performance Measurement explains the importance of regularly monitoring your group's performance and introduces formal measurement practices. You'll learn to Apply a disciplined process to performance measurement Set targets and communicate data effectively Use performance management as a coaching and development tool Meet Your Mentor Robert S. Kaplan is Baker Foundation Professor at the Harvard Business School and Chairman of the Practice Leadership Committee of Palladium, Executing Strategy. He has authored or coauthored 14 books, 18 Harvard Business Review articles, and more than 120 other papers. The Pocket Mentor series offers immediate solutions to the challenges managers face on the job every day. Each book in the series is packed with handy tools, self-tests, and real-life examples to help you identify strengths and weaknesses and hone critical skills. Whether you're at your desk, in a meeting, or on the road, these portable guides enable you to tackle the daily demands of your work with greater speed, savvy, and effectiveness.

Which performance measures should you use? The obvious answer is that it depends on what you want to achieve, which someone else should never define for you. After all, it is your organization, your department, or your process. But once you are clear about what you want to accomplish, how do you sort through a variety of possible metrics and decide which are best? Then, given the list of metrics you believe are useful or necessary, how do you define them in more detail to ensure that the right data are gathered at the appropriate frequency and that the resulting information gets to the right people so that they can make proper decisions? This book provides a clarifying perspective for those who know that metrics need to be developed but are unsure as to the steps to follow in developing and deploying them. It focuses on making sure that the metrics selected will guide people and processes in the direction the organization wants to go, and allow continual evaluation of success. Every highly effective organization is unique in some strategic way, and the metrics used should reflect these differences. Studying high performers can be useful from a learning standpoint, but simply adopting what someone else is doing is likely to take you off your track and put you on theirs. The concepts in this book will put you on the correct track and give you the tools to stay on it.

In recent years, a commitment to increased accountability and improved performance has become essential in both governmental agencies and nonprofit organizations. To help managers and executives in their ongoing quest for greater accountability and improved performance Theodore H. Poister, offers a comprehensive resource for designing and implementing effective performance measurement systems at the agency level. The ideas, tools, and processes in this vital resource will help organizations develop measurement systems to support such results-oriented management approaches as strategic management, results-based budgeting, performance management, process improvement, performance contracting, and employee incentive systems. Using this book as a guide, public and nonprofit organizations can accurately measure outputs, efficiency, productivity, effectiveness, service quality, and customer satisfaction, and use the resulting data to strengthen decision-making and improve agency and program performance. Read a Charity Channel review: http://charitychannel.com/publish/templates/?a=36&z=25

You can�t understand, manage, or improve what you don�t measure While every smart executive now knows the truth of those words, perhaps more so than anyone, it was Jerry Harbour who turned that adage into a science. Originally published in 1997, The Basics of Performance Measurement helped pioneer the science of performance measurement and continues to serve as an industry standard. Yet, despite the book�s continued relevancy, Harbour is once again stepping ahead of the curve to fully update his little yellow book. In addition to adding the wisdom of lessons learned over the past decade, he adds two new chapters to this second edition. One of these chapters discusses units of measurement. The other introduces ways to better interpret what has been measured and then translate those measurement-related interpretations into actionable knowledge. Harbour provides a six-step method for developing a performance measurement system. He shows how to design performance measurement families and how to build hierarchies tailored to different levels within an organization. He also covers collection and distribution, as well as the value of performance measure displays. When you finish this book, you will be able to undertake performance measurement with new confidence. You will also come away knowing how to present your findings with an authority that will convince stakeholders of the importance and accuracy of your results.

Effective Operations and Performance Management is a multi-author volume, written by practitioners and academics in their respective fields of expertise including Andrew Mayo, Subir Chowdhur, Andrew Cox and Leslie L. Kossoff providing coverage in all aspects of operations and performance within a company. The book addresses measuring and managing operational issues, providing you with a solid platform from which to develop strategies and grow your business. It includes over 30 chapters covering the management of operations and performance. It offers you a rich vein of thought leadership and best practice and practical step-by-step guides on methods to improve operational robustness and measure performance. There are a range of Checklists including Performing a Skills Gap Analysis, The Triple Bottom Line, Using and Understanding Financial Ratios for Analysis, Applying Stress-Testing to Business Continuity Management plus much more...