E-Book Overview
We live in an era of governance by performance management, awash in performance data that supposedly will create superior efficiency and accountability. Proponents of the performance management movement argue that this abundance of information is the panacea that can solve all the problems of bureaucracy, from strategic planning through desired results. The few critics have called attention to the many complexities ignored by the movement. Donald Moynihan focuses on the ambiguity inherent in much of the performance information gathered and analyzes how this information is actually interpreted and used in state and federal agencies. Moynihan traces the development of performance information systems in the U.S. and probes when, how, and by whom this information is used. He considers the ways that different actors use them, considers their institutional interests, and assesses the varying potential for learning from the data in different contexts. Although critical of performance management, this book offers evidence of where and how performance information can be profitably used, given a more realistic set of expectations about the difficulties involved and the types of success possible.
E-Book Content
The Dynamics of Performance Management
Public Management and Change Series Beryl A. Radin, Series Editor Editorial Board Robert Agranoff Michael Barzelay Ann O’M. Bowman H. George Frederickson
William Gormley Rosemary O’Leary Norma M. Riccucci David H. Rosenbloom
Titles in the Series Challenging the Performance Movement: Accountability, Complexity, and Democratic Values beryl a. radin Charitable Choice at Work: Evaluating Faith-Based Job Programs in the States sheila suess kennedy and wolfgang bielefeld The Dynamics of Performance Management: Constructing Information and Reform donald p. moynihan The Greening of the U.S. Military: Environmental Policy, National Security, and Organizational Change robert f. durant How Management Matters: Street-Level Bureaucrats and Welfare Reform norma m. riccucci Managing within Networks: Adding Value to Public Organizations robert agranoff Measuring the Performance of the Hollow State david g. frederickson and h. george frederickson Public Values and Public Interest: Counterbalancing Economic Individualism barry bozeman Revisiting Waldo’s Administrative State: Constancy and Change in Public Administration david h. rosenbloom and howard e. mccurdy
The Dynamics of Performance Management Constructing Information and Reform
DONALD P. MOYNIHAN
Georgetown University Press / Washington, D.C.
Georgetown University Press, Washington, D.C. www.press.georgetown.edu © 2008 by Georgetown University Press. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Moynihan, Donald P. The dynamics of performance management : constructing information and reform / Donald P. Moynihan. p. cm. — (Public management and change series) Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-1-58901-194-6 (alk. paper) 1. Performance—Management. 2. Organizational effectiveness. 3. Administrative agencies—United States—Management. I. Title. hf5549.m69 2008 352.6'6—dc22 2007020696 This book is printed on acid-free paper meeting the requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence in Paper for Printed Library Materials. 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 First printing
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Printed in the United States of America
Dedicated to my parents, Donie and Joan Moynihan
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Contents
List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Acr