EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - Management of municipalities

Management of municipalities

Introduction

Municipalities do not manage their organisation according to measurable performance.

Proposition

Are performance standards really used for businesslike results management, or is a more political form of management practiced?

Description

Mayors and Aldermen of Dutch municipalities often place emphasis on achieving concrete results and measuring performance in order to make the government organisations more 'businesslike'. But are these performance benchmarks really used for businesslike result management, or do they primarily serve a political goal? Do the results to be achieved have the highest priority or are other issues more important? The doctoral research by Willem Jan van Elsacker at the University of Groningen shows that the latter may be the case.

Conclusions

Results and performance are recorded and progress reports are drawn up, but the difference between the stated goal and reality is only sporadically used to manage the organisation. Only financial budgets are managed in a businesslike manner, and even then only in general areas;
The cases studied give the impression that a standard approach is utilised. Drawing up budgets, progress reports and accountability to the outside world are all central activities;
The technique most used to guide the organisation is to make amendments to future plans and budgets; work processes are rarely adjusted directly. Performance only becomes truly important if the policy area is politically sensitive or if there are political risks or opportunities involved. Performance standards are then used to report important developments and to adjust work priorities. This shows that direct result management is indeed possible in a political context;
Van Elsacker concludes that governments are primarily active in managing their employee's behaviour. Businesslike management, in which the results to be achieved are the priority, is very rare or nonexistent.

Contact info

University of Groningen
Willem Jan van Elsacker

Publication date

12/04/2007

Researcher

Willem Jan van Elsacker

Article info
ISBN: 9789036729529

Links

Dissertation 'Roles of performance measurement in local government'More information on the University of Groningen

Document type

research

Themes

Urban Policy

Keywords

Institutional characteristics
Academic/Research