Examples of poor management via measurement are increasingly showing up
in the press, from GPs’
dementia diagnosis, to police
under-recording crimes, to the MPs’ expense scandal and the demise
of the banking sector. Although targets and rewards have long resulted
in bizarre behaviours, these recent examples have moved measurement,
reward and behaviour to the forefront of business management once again.
Measurement Madness presents a level-headed approach to
performance management, helping leaders avoid the often-bizarre,
unintended consequences of KPIs. Using real life examples of measurement
gone wrong, this book details how each particular behaviour could have
been foretold and demonstrates what managers need to consider when
creating measures and performance measurement systems.
Co-author Dr Pietro Micheli notes “It’s an all-too familiar tale: a
well-meaning manager introduces a performance measurement system to
motivate employees, increase accountability and improve results. At
first, everything seems to be going fine but before long things start to
look a little strange. Employees start to act as if only what they are
measured on matters. The number and length of reports increase but they
appear to make little sense. And madness ensues as these pointless
reports paint a picture of improvement, while overall results drop.”
Measurement Madness uses management and organisational
theories to analyse a unique mix of examples from the UK, the US and
around the world. Each chapter concludes with guiding principles that
will help readers avoid the many pitfalls of well-intended performance
management.
Written by a world-leading Business Performance team, this book will
help managers:
•Measure what's useful, not just what's easy to measure
•Learn how over-emphasising targets can hinder progress and performance
•Set the right targets and reward the right behaviour
For the manager longing for useful metrics and more accurate reports, Measurement
Madness contains theoretical and practical help to address
issues surrounding performance management and clear guidance towards a
new strategy.
"This book is about what happens when we start believing that
organisations can be engineered according to our desires and that
metrics and targets can give us the ultimate control over what happens
tomorrow " - Dr Andrey Pavlov, Lecturer in Business Performance
Management from Cranfield School of Management.
Measurement Madness: Recognizing and avoiding the
pitfalls of performance measurement is available where
books and e-books are sold.
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