If you feel that your measurement systems are not resulting in the behaviours your organisation desires, Business performance management: When not to measure, provides some ideas on why this might be the case and what you can do about it.
We asked Dr Chris Ford FCA, who has previously set up his own business, to draw on his extensive, industry-based research to help finance professionals develop control and measurement systems which drive organisational performance
The report covers five main areas where measurement may be more of a hindrance than a help and provides some practical alternatives.
Maintain intrinsic motivations
Harness intrinsic motivation to achieve organisational goals.
Control system types – from transactional to relational
Understand the risks of building a highly transactional performance management system and counterbalance with a more relational approach.
Control for both stability and innovation
Explore ways to promote and manage innovation with a controlled approach.
Whole-system analysis and the accountability audit
Are your formal and informal accountabilities working against each other? Investigate the relationships in a systematic way.
Systems lifecycles
Investing in a major new project or joint venture, ensure you take a life cycle perspective on measurement and control system design.
About the author
Dr Chris Ford is a lecturer in Accounting and Management at Lancaster University, a fellow of the ICAEW, and an academic advisory member of the Business and Management Faculty Committee. His accounting career began in corporate recovery in Deloitte, first in London then Leeds, before he moved on to establish his own international adventure travel business. Chris returned to academia in 2010 to complete an MBA, then a PhD, at Lancaster University, working with Distinguished Professor David Otley. He is currently working closely with leading bioscience organisations in the UK and US to study the complex issue of performance management in multi-stakeholder innovation settings. In particular he is looking at the challenges faced by governments, corporate sponsors and those who wish to create new ecosystems for the benefit of science, the economy, and society. As part of an ICAEW group looking to build stronger connections between ICAEW and academia, Chris is open to being contacted about any aspect of this report — you can contact him directly on c.ford@lancaster.ac.uk, or through the Lancaster University Management School website.
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Business performance management: When not to measure
Read the report (February 2017)
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