Why Measure Performance?

                Performance measurement is intended to produce objective, relevant information on program or organizational performance that can be used to strengthen management and inform decision making, achieve results and improve overall performance, and increase accountability. Osborne and Gaebler point out in the book Reinventing Government, “What gets measured gets done” (1992, p. 146).

In other words, performance measurement tends to have an impact on—indeed, should be designed to have an impact on—behavior and decisions. Performance measurement tends to focus attention on what is being measured and on performance itself, and to motivate people and organizations to work to improve performance, at least on those dimensions that are being monitored.

                Harry Hatry, a longtime proponent of performance measurement at the Urban Institute, has for some time used a sports analogy to point out the need for performance measurement: “Unless you are keeping score, it is difficult to know whether you are winning or losing” (1978, p. 1). Performance measures help managers and others assess the status of their agencies’ performance and gauge their progress in delivering effective programs. Or, as Osborne and Gaebler state, “If you don’t measure results, you can’t tell success from failure” (p. 147). Furthermore, “if you can’t see success, you can’t reward it” (p. 198), and “if you can’t recognize failure, you can’t correct it” (p. 152). Thus, performance measures are essential for letting managers know “how things stand” along the way so that they can act accordingly to maintain or improve performance.

Source: Poister, Theodore H. (2003). Measuring Performance in Public and Nonprofit Organization. 1^st Edition. Unites States of America: Jossey-Bass.

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