Performance Measurement Paper

Performance Measurement Paper LaVonda Jones MGT/437 6/30/2010 Dr. Kemit Grafton Performance Measurement Paper Project managers use performance measurement to help plan, initiate, execute, and close projects that they work on. Using measures like evaluating, controlling, and budgeting helps project managers and team members monitor progress on the project. In this paper, one will compare and contrast the above measurements and discuss the importance of each within a project. Evaluating a Project Using the evaluating measure helps the project manager improve the performance of the team.They determine what the team needs so that the team may accomplish the goals set in the planning phase of the project. When the project manager evaluates a project, the manager makes sure that the goals for the project are clear. The strategies and objectives are coherent for the team to understand how they should complete a successful project. The project manager must work with the team and agree on a p lan for the project. The team will use all resources that are available to them when evaluating their project. Clarifying ground rules are necessary so that all team members are working together in the same direction.Negotiations are necessary by the team as a whole and documentation is necessary to keep written proof of project ordeals. For a project manager to efficiently evaluate their project, the project manager should keep track of past projects and use them to set the standard or determine if things are moving along on track for the new project. 2. To Control How can managers ensure their subordinates are doing the right thing. Today managers do not control their workforce mechanically (measurement of time-and-motion for control as during Taylor) However managers still use measures to control, while allowing some space for freedom in the workforce. Robert Kaplan & David Norton) Business has control bias. Because traditional measurement system sprung from finance function, the system has a control bias. Organisation create measurement systems that specify particular actions they want execute- for branch employess to take a particular ways to execute what they want- branch to spend money. Then they want to measure to see whether the employees have in fact taken those actions. Need to measure input by individual into organisation and process.Officials need to measure behavior of individuals then compare this performance with requirements to check who has and has not complied. Often such requirements are described only as guidelines. Do not be fooled. These guidelines are really requirements and those requirement are designed to control. The measurement of compliance with these requirements is the mechanism of control. 3. To Budget Budgets are crude tools in improving performance. Poor performance not always may change after applying budgets cuts as a disciplinary actions. Sometimes budgets increase could be the answer to improving performance.Like purchasi ng better technology because the current ones are outdated and harm operational processes. So decision highly influenced by circomstance, you need measures to better understand the situation. At the macro level, elected officials deciding which purpose of government actions are primary or secondary. Political priorities drive macro budgetory choices. Once elected officials have established macro political priorities, those responsible for micro decisions may seek to invest their limited allocation of resources in the most cost-effective units and activities.In allocating budgets, managers, in response to macro budget allocations (driven by political objectives), determin alloactions at the micro level by using measures of efficiency of various activities, which programs or organisations are more efficient at achieving the political objectives. Why spend limited funds on programs that do not guarantee exceptional performance? Efficiency is determined by observing performance- output and outcome achieved considering number of people involved in the process (productivity per person) and cost-data (capturing direct cost as well as indirect)