The use of quantitative measures of performance : a comparative study of the public sectors in the UK and Ireland

• Main Author: McGeough, Francis Gerard
• Published: Queen's University Belfast 2013
• Subjects: 336.39
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.602465

The responsibilities of the state increased hugely over the course of the 20th century and this resulted in a massive expansion in state expenditure. However, from the 1970s onwards, there was a questioning of the role of the state in a modem society. This questioning was given the name 'New Public Management' (NPM); with one of the key changes brought about by NPM was an increased emphasis on management as opposed to administration. Reforms were introduced into a number of countries (including the UK and Ireland). However, the speed and intensity of reform varied. It is argued that this is due to a number of factors and these include motive, opportunity, the political system and the culture of the country. A review of the UK showed a wide-range of reforms being introduced over a sustained period; whereas in Ireland the reforms started later and was less intense. UK Executive Agencies were researched because their work is more readily measured and these were matched with their Irish equivalents. A combination of document analysis, semi-structured interviews and two case studies were used to determine the key elements of a Performance Management System. The research shows that for the UK organisations the PMS is given visibility through published documents and is embedded into the organisations. However, in Ireland there is a gap between the rhetoric of reform and the reality. Furthermore, there is limited visibility given to performance information in the published documents and there were different views as to whether the PMS was embedded into public sector organisations; with the delivery managers suggested that they had a comprehensive PMS but the overseers/commentators disagreed with this. The evidence from the Irish case study (the Property Registration Authority (PRA) would suggest a thorough PMS but it is suggested that the PRA is an outlier.