Measurement Madness: Recognizing and Avoiding the Pitfalls of Performance Measurement - Hardcover

Gray, Dina; Micheli, Pietro; Pavlov, Andrey

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1119970709 ISBN 13: 9781119970705

Publisher: Wiley, 2014

Synopsis

A clearer, more accurate performance management strategy

Over the past two decades, performance measurement has profoundly changed societies, organizations and the way we live and work. We can now access incredible quantities of data, display, review and report complex information in real time, and monitor employees and processes in detail. But have all these investments in collecting, analysing and reporting data helped companies, governments and people perform better?

Measurement Madness is an engaging read, full of anecdotes so peculiar you'll hardly believe them. Each one highlights a performance measurement initiative that went wrong, explains why and – most importantly – shows you how to avoid making the same mistake yourself.

The dangers of poorly designed performance measurement are numerous, and even the best how-to guides don't explain how to avoid them. Measurement Madness fills in the gap, showing how to ensure you’re measuring the right things, rewarding the behaviours that deserve rewarding, and interpreting results in a way that will improve things rather than complicate them. This book will help you to recognize, correct and even avoid common performance measurement problems, including:

• Measuring for the sake of measuring
• Assuming that measurement is an instant fix for performance issues
• Comparing sets of data that have nothing in common and hoping to learn something
• Using targets and rewards to promote certain behaviours, and achieving exactly the opposite ones.

Reading Measurement Madness will enable you to design a simple, effective performance measurement system, which will have the intended result of creating value in your organization.

About this title

About the Author

DINA GRAY, PhD is a Strategic Business Consultant lecturing on Cranfield University's Executive Education programmes, and she is also Chair of the Regional Advisory Boards for the Innovation Group plc. advising on strategic performance implementation.

PIETRO MICHELI, PhD is Associate Professor of Organizational Performance at Warwick Business School. As a management consultant, he has worked with over 30 organizations, private and public. As a researcher, he has published widely on the subjects of performance measurement and innovation.

ANDREY PAVLOV, PhD is a Lecturer in Business Performance Management at Cranfield School of Management and Director of the Executive MSc in Managing Organisational Performance at Cranfield. He is a regular speaker at conferences around the world, and his work has been published in numerous industry and academic journals.

From the Back Cover

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 appear to be a little strange. Employees start to act as if only what they are measured on matters. The number and length of reports increase, but madness ensues as these reports paint a picture of improvement, while overall results start to drop. Sound familiar? If so, Measurement Madness is the book for you.

This book is not another guide on how to implement performance measurement systems; there are already countless books on the subject. However the unintended consequences and dysfunctional behaviours associated with measurement are becoming evermore widespread, as the introduction of performance measurement pervades all organizations and walks of life.

Measurement Madness is an engaging read, full of anecdotes so peculiar you'll hardly believe them. Each one highlights a performance measurement initiative that went wrong, explains why and most importantly shows you how to avoid making the same mistake yourself.

It turns out that performance measurement often fails for quite simple reasons. Managers might choose to measure what is easy to measure rather than what is important; or they might decide to quantify something assuming it won't affect what people do; or they may believe that measurement will give them objective data, whereas they end up triggering even more subjectivity and personal judgment. These avoidable pitfalls have been distilled and addressed in Measurement Madness, so that you may learn from others' mistakes.

The dangers of poorly designed performance measures are numerous, and even the best how-to guides don't explain how to avoid these pitfalls. Measurement Madness will help you understand whether you're measuring the right things, rewarding the behaviours that deserve rewarding, and whether you are interpreting results in a way that will improve things rather than complicate them. This book will help you to recognize, correct and even avoid common performance measurement pitfalls, including:

• Measuring for the sake of measuring
• Assuming that measurement is an instant fix for performance issues
• Comparing sets of data that have nothing in common and hoping to learn something
• Using targets and rewards to promote certain behaviours, and achieving exactly the opposite ones.

Reading Measurement Madness will enable you to confidently design a performance measurement system, after accounting for the unintended consequences that the system may engender.

From the Inside Flap

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 appear to be a little strange. Employees start to act as if only what they are measured on matters. The number and length of reports increase, but madness ensues as these reports paint a picture of improvement, while overall results start to drop. Sound familiar? If so, Measurement Madness is the book for you.

This book is not another guide on how to implement performance measurement systems; there are already countless books on the subject. However the unintended consequences and dysfunctional behaviours associated with measurement are becoming evermore widespread, as the introduction of performance measurement pervades all organizations and walks of life.

Measurement Madness is an engaging read, full of anecdotes so peculiar you'll hardly believe them. Each one highlights a performance measurement initiative that went wrong, explains why and – most importantly – shows you how to avoid making the same mistake yourself.

It turns out that performance measurement often fails for quite simple reasons. Managers might choose to measure what is easy to measure rather than what is important; or they might decide to quantify something assuming it won't affect what people do; or they may believe that measurement will give them objective data, whereas they end up triggering even more subjectivity and personal judgment. These avoidable pitfalls have been distilled and addressed in Measurement Madness, so that you may learn from others' mistakes.

The dangers of poorly designed performance measures are numerous, and even the best how-to guides don't explain how to avoid these pitfalls. Measurement Madness will help you understand whether you're measuring the right things, rewarding the behaviours that deserve rewarding, and whether you are interpreting results in a way that will improve things rather than complicate them. This book will help you to recognize, correct and even avoid common performance measurement pitfalls, including:

• Measuring for the sake of measuring
• Assuming that measurement is an instant fix for performance issues
• Comparing sets of data that have nothing in common and hoping to learn something
• Using targets and rewards to promote certain behaviours, and achieving exactly the opposite ones.

Reading Measurement Madness will enable you to confidently design a performance measurement system, after accounting for the unintended consequences that the system may engender.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1119970709
• ISBN 13: 9781119970705
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240