Performance Measurement Approach
�Evaluation of Performance Management System at Accounting, Inc.�,
Refer back to the information presented in Case Study 7-1.
1)What other types of data should be collected to assess the effectiveness of the system and how would
this contribute to the effectiveness of the system?
2)User satisfaction is important, but what does that mean?
3)An employee could be dissatisfied with being assessed due to personal or cultural reasons.
4)Should we develop a system that focuses on increasing satisfaction or reducing dissatisfaction?
5)To what extent does training of the raters, and possibly those being rated, influence satisfaction?
6)Does the data being collected influence satisfaction � what happens when its beyond the rated
employee�s power to control?
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Employee motivation is one of the yardsticks that lead to the success of a company. Good
performance enables an organization to attain its objectives and achieve organizational
sustainability. Managers often use different performance measurement tools to assess employee
performance, and gauge their level of motivation. It is paramount to measure performance so as
to reward outstanding performance, recognize and correct failure as well as provide a way
forward towards the achievement of company objectives (Bititci et al., 2012 pg 76).
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the performance measurement system adopted by
Accounting, Inc. The paper provides types of data that can be collected to assess the performance
measurement system. On the same note, give the kind of information that each measure provide
as well as the rationale for implementing each type of measure.
There are quite some tools and techniques managers employ to measure the performance
of employees. The practice of measuring employee performance involves the use of statistical
data and modeling (Taticchi et al., 2012 pg 123). The accounting field is governed by stringent
rules and code of conduct that must be adhered to at the workplace to maintain professionalism.
Accounting, Inc can adopt the balanced scorecard approach to measuring employee performance.
A balanced approach can enable managers at Accounting, Inc to get a complete look at
employees work performance. This goal is achieved by measuring employee behaviors,
processes, actions, and also the outcome of employees at work (Taticchi et al., 2012 pg 104). By
using a balanced scorecard approach to measure employee performance, the management can
collect data relating to customer perspectives, and internal business perspective (Micheli et al.,
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2012). On the same note, measure financial perspective and growth perspective so as to assess the
effectiveness of the system.
The customer’s perspective: Managers at Accounting, Inc can know if the company is
satisfying customer needs. Managers can achieve this goal by circulating questionnaires to collect
data relating to customer satisfaction.
The internal business perspective: It is paramount to for managers to obtain information
relating to internal operations that can enable them to satisfy client needs. The organization need
to collect data relating to the ratio of protest sustained through general accounting board, to
determine if the organization has an active control system.
Financial Perspective: managers should collect data such as sales ratio, purchases so as to
determine the return on investment.
Growth and sustainability: managers can rate the performance measurement system by
collecting data such as employee satisfaction on the work environment, professionalism, values,
culture and empowerment.
After processing the data obtained from the four perspectives obtained using the balanced
scorecard, the information can be used by the top managers to evaluate the organization
performance. The information will give the managers a comprehensive view on the organization
process and results measures. Information from the data based on a balanced approach to the
employee performance system is useful on a comprehensive outlook on employee work
performance and manage resistance to change. On the same note, the information is critical to
developing a good reward system that rewards success and avoid rewarding failure without
intention.
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Such information is also important to offer a comparison that effectively gauges the
degree of change in performance over time. Finally, the information collected is valuable to
measure accomplishments, not just the work performed.
By and large, each measure has a rationale behind. Measuring customer satisfaction is
important to understand if the clients are fully satisfied with the quality, responsiveness,
communication skills and cooperation of the employees. The management should also measure
the internal satisfaction to understand all the operations in the organization and how employees
work together as a team in ensuring employee satisfaction (Micheli et al., 2014 pg 66).
Information regarding the financial perspective is necessary for the company to understand the
financial position of the organization and align the financial management policies with the
company’s policies. The growth perspective is needed to understand the extent of reliable
management information (Cassel et al., 2014 pg 142). And ensure that employees are meeting
mandatory qualification standards. Therefore, collecting information regarding the different
perspective enables the managers to assign to scores regarding employee satisfaction without
being biased. Consequently, it helps in efficient allocation of rewards, according to performance.
Further, each measure contributes to the ranking of the department’s performance to determine
the units that stood out.
In conclusion, for the employee performance system adopted by Accounting, Inc to be
effective, data from different sectors of the organization should be collected. Such data should
encompass data relating to the customer perspective, internal business perspective, financial
perspective, and growth and performance perspective. Analyzing such data is important to
provide critical information that managers can use to evaluate employee performance effectively.
And develop a reliable rewards system that rewards performance rather than results.
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References
Bititci, U., Garengo, P., Dörfler, V., & Nudurupati, S. (2012). Performance measurement:
Challenges for tomorrow*. International Journal of Management Reviews, 14(3), 305-
327.
Taticchi, P., Balachandran, K., & Tonelli, F. (2012). Performance measurement and
management systems: state of the art, guidelines for design and challenges. Measuring
Business Excellence, 16(2), 41-54.
Micheli, P., & Mari, L. (2014). The theory and practice of performance
measurement. Management accounting research, 25(2), 147-156.
Cassel, C. K., Conway, P. H., Delbanco, S. F., Jha, A. K., Saunders, R. S., & Lee, T. H. (2014).
Getting more performance from performance measurement.New England Journal of
Medicine, 371(23), 2145-2147.
