Email this article 
Performance Management as an Alternative Tool for Local Governance: Evidence from Ghanaian Local Government Sector
Abstract
The benefit of performance management is to have value for money and make local authorities more responsive to the needs of the grassroots. Therefore, the study addresses the perceived challenges which have been taken-for-granted in institutionalising performance culture at the local level in the context of sub-Sharan Africa. The purpose of this research is to investigate the progress and challenges affecting the institutionalisation of performance management in local government authorities to understand how these impediments impacts on performance culture in local governance. Using two major secondary data sources from Local Government Service, the study analyzes the contents of four key performance areas and the performance rating of local government authorities in Ghana . The study finds evidence to support that performance management may be an alternative tool to enhance the performance of local authorities. However , insufficient resource allocation, the absence of performance improvement programs and involvement of employees remains a challenge.
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Adei, S. & Boachie-Danquah, Y.(2003). The civil service performance improvement programme (CSPIP) in Ghana: Lessons of experience. African Journal of Public Administration and Management, 14(1), pp.10–23.
Aguinis, H., Joo, H. & Gottfredson, R.K. (2012). Performance management universals: Think globally and act locally. Business Horizons, 55(4), pp.385–392. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2012.03.004.
Akudugu, J.A. (2013). Inducing Local Government Performance in Ghana: the Case of the District Development Facility. International Journal of Asian Social Science, 3(6), pp.1402–1417.
Ammons, D.N. & Rivenbark, W.C. (2008). Factors influencing the use of performance data to improve municipal services: Evidence from the North Carolina Benchmarking Project. Public Administration Review, 68(2), pp.304–318.
Ammons, D.N. & Roenigk, D.J. (2015). Performance Management in Local Government: Is Practice Influenced by Doctrine? Public Performance & Management Review, 38(3), pp.514–541. Available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15309576.2015.1006461.
Annan-prah, E. and Ohemeng, F.L.K. (2015). Improving Productivity through Performance Management in Public Sector Organizations in Ghana : Is Change Management the Answer ? Lecturer and PhD Candidate Department of Management Studies School of Business College of Humanities and Legal Studies Univer. In Birmingham.
Armstrong, M., & Baron, A. (1998). Performance Management: The New Reallistic., London: Institute of Personnel and Development
Ashdown, L.(2014). Performance Management, London: Kogan Page.
Ayee, J.R.A. (2001). Civil Service Reform in Ghana: A Case Study of Contemporary Reform Problems in Africa. African Journal of Political Science, 6(1), pp.1–41.
Babbie, E. (2013). The Practice of Social Research 13th ed., Canada: WadsWorth, Cengage Learning.
Baird, Kevin & Schoch, Herbert & Chen, Q. James. (2012). Performance management system effectiveness in Australian local government. Pacific Accounting Review, 24(2), pp.161–185.
Bawole, J.N. et al. (2013). Performance Appraisal or Praising Performance? The Culture of Rhetoric in Performance Management in Ghana Civil Service. International Journal of Public Administration, 36(13), pp.953–962. Available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01900692.2013.773030.
Biron, M., Farndale, E. & Paauwe, J. (2011). Performance management effectiveness: lessons from world-leading firms. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 22(6), pp.1294–1311.
Ter Bogt, H.J. (2008). Recent and Future Management Changes in Local Government: Continuing Focus on Rationality and Efficiency? Financial Accountability Management, 24(1), pp.31–57. Available at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-0408.2008.00442.x/full.
Bouckaert, Geert & Halligan, J. (2008). Managing Performance: International Comparisons, New York: Routledge.
Bourne, M. et al. (2014). Emerging issues in performance measurement. Management Accounting Research, 25(2), pp.117–118. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mar.2013.07.002.
Bourne, M. (2005). Researching performance measurement system implementation: the dynamics of success and failure. Production Planning & Control, 16(2), pp.101–113.
Brignall, S. & Modell, S. (2000). An institutional perspective on performance measurement and management in the “new public sector.” Management Accounting Research, 11(June 1999), pp.281–306. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1044500500901367.
Caillier, J.G. (2014). Does Public Service Motivation Mediate the Relationship between Goal Clarity and both Organizational Commitment and Extra-Role Behaviours? Public Management Review, 9037(February 2015), pp.1–19. Available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14719037.2014.984625.
Cavalluzzo, K.S. & Ittner, C.D. (2004). Implementing performance measurement innovations: evidence from government. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 29(3–4), pp.243–267. Available at: http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0361368203000138.
Christensen, T., Lægreid, P. & Stigen, I.M. (2006). Performance Management and Public Sector Reform: The Norwegian Hospital Reform. International Public Management Journal, 9(2), pp.113–139. Available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10967490600766987.
Conaty, F.J. (2012). Performance management challenges in Hybrid NPO/public sector settings: an Irish case. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 61(3), pp.290–309.
DiMaggio, P. J and Powell, W.W. (1983). The Iron cage Revisited : Institutional Isomorphism and Collective Rationality in Organizational Fields. American Sociological Review, 48(2), pp.147–160.
Dodoo, R. (1997). Performance standards and measuring performance in Ghana. Public Administration and Development, 17(1), pp.115–121. Available at: http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/(SICI)1099-162X(199702)17:1%3C115::AID-PAD908%3E3.0.CO;2-P.
Domfeh, K.A. (2004). Managing the environment in a decade of administrative reforms in Ghana. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 17(7), pp.606–620. Available at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/09513550410562275%5Cnhttp://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=868047&show=abstract.
Van Dooren, W. (2011). Better Performance Management. Public Performance & Management Review, 34(3), pp.420–433.
Favero, N., Meier, K.J. & O’Toole, L.J. (2016). Goals, Trust, Participation, and Feedback: Linking Internal Management with Performance Outcomes. In Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory.
Fryer, K., Antony, J. & Ogden, S.( 2009). Performance management in the public sector. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 22(6), pp.478–498. Available at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/09513550910982850.
Grizzle, G.A. (2002). Performance Measurement and Dysfunction: The Dark Side of Quantifying Work. Public Performance & Management Review, 25(4), pp.363–369.
Hakim, C. (1982). Secondary analysis in social research: A guide to data sources and methods with examples, Unwin Hyman: Allen and Unwin.
Hammerschmid, G., Van de Walle, S. & Stimac, V. (2013). Internal and external use of performance information in public organizations: results from an international survey. Public Money & Management, 33(4), pp.261–268. Available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09540962.2013.799803.
Heinrich, C.J. (2007). Evidence-Based Policy and Performance Management. The American Review of Public Administration, 37(3), pp.255–277. Available at: http://arp.sagepub.com/content/37/3/255.abstract.
Hoontis, P. & Kim, T. (2012). Antecedents to Municipal Performance Measurement Implementation. Public Performance & Management Review, 36(1), pp.158–173.
Hvidman, U. & Andersen, S.C. (2014). Impact of performance management in public and private organizations. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 24(1), pp.35–58.
Karuhanga, B.N. (2010). Challenges of Performance Management in Universities in Uganda. Service Management, (August), pp.24–27.
Kim, Yoon and Kang, M. (2016). The Performance Management System of the Korean Healthcare Sector : Development, Challenges, and Future Tasks. Public Performance & Management Review, 24(1), pp.297–315.
Koike, O. (2013). Institutionalizing performance management in Asia: looking East or West? International Journal of Public Sector Management, 26(5), pp.347–360. Available at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/IJPSM-05-2013-0066.
Kroll, Alexander and Moynihan, D.P. (2015). Does Training Matter? Evidence from Performance Management Reforms. Public Administration Review, 75(3), pp.411–420.
Kroll, A. & Proeller, I. (2013). Controlling the control system: performance information in the German childcare administration. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 26, pp.74–85. Available at: http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84872973696&partnerID=tZOtx3y1.
Lamothe, M. (2004). Issues of contract implementation and management: The case of performance contracting in Florida human services. International Review of Public Administration, 4659(January). Available at: http://www.kapa21.or.kr/data/data_download.php?did=1468.
De Lancer Julnes, P. (2006). Performance Measurement: An Effective Tool for Government Accountability? The Debate Goes On. Evaluation, 12(2), pp.219–235.
Latham, G.P., Borgogni, L. & Petitta, L.(2008). Goal Setting and Performance Management in the Public Sector. International Public Management Journal, 11(4), pp.385–403.
Lee, C.D. (2005). Rethinking the goals of your performance-management system. Employment Relations Today Wiley, 32(3), pp.53–60. Available at: http://simsrad.net.ocs.mq.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=18522874&site=ehost-live.
Local Government Service. (2015). Annual Progress Report -2015, Accra.
Local Government Service. (2016a). Local Government Service 2015 Annual Performance Evaluation Report of Metropolitan , Municipal and District Assemblies ( MMDAs ), Accra.
Local Government Service. (2016b). Local Government Service 2015 Annual Performance Evaluation Report Of Regional Coordinating Councils ( Rccs ) 2015 Performance Contracts Between :, Accra.
Maley, J. (2014). Sustainability : the missing element in performance management. Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration, 6(3), pp.190–205. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/APJBA-03-2014-0040.
Mmieh, F. et al.(2011). Performance Management in Public Sector Enterprises: A Case Analysis of Employees’ Perceptions in the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG). Journal of African Business, 12(July 2014), pp.419–438.
Moynihan, D.P. (2013). Advancing the Empirical Study of Performance Management: What We Learned From the Program Assessment Rating Tool. The American Review of Public Administration, 43(5), pp.499–517. Available at: http://arp.sagepub.com.proxy1.ncu.edu/content/43/5/499.abstract.
Moynihan, D.P. & Lavertu, S. (2012). Does Involvement in Performance Management Routines Encourage Performance Information Use? Evaluating GPRA and PART. Public Administration Review, 72(August), pp.592–602.
Moynihan, D.P. & Pandey, S.K. (2010). The big question for performance management: Why do managers use performance information? Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 20(4), pp.849–866.
Newcomer, K.E. (2007). Measuring Government Performance. International Journal of Public Administration, 30(3), pp.307–329.
Nurkholis, Sani Mohamad, M.H. & Ismail, S. (2014). The effect of regulation and goal orientation on performance measurement utilisation: Evidence from Indonesian local governments. Asian Journal of Business and Accounting, 7(1), pp.81–105.
Ohemeng, F.L.. (2011). Institutionalizing the Performance Management System in Public Organizations in Ghana. Public Performance & Management Review, 34(4), pp.467–488.
Ohemeng, F.L.K. (2009). Constraints in the Implementation of Performance Management Systems in Developing Countries: The Ghanaian Case. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 9(1), pp.109–132.
Oliver, C. (1991). Strategic Responses to Institutional Processes. Source: The Academy of Management Review, 16(1), pp.145–179. Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/258610%5Cnhttp://www.jstor.org/stable/258610?seq=1&cid=pdf-reference#references_tab_contents%5Cnhttp://about.jstor.org/terms.
Pollitt, C., & Bouckaert, G. (2004). Public management reform: A comparative analysis., USA: Oxford University Press.
Public Services Commission. (2012). Performance Management Policy for the Public Services of Ghana, Accra.
Radin, B.A. (2006). Challenging the Performance Movement, Washington D.C: Georgetown University Press.
Rhodes, M.L. et al. (2012). Current state of public sector performance management in seven selected countries. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 61(3), pp.235–271.
Rogers, S. (1990). Performance Management in Local Government, UK: Longman.
Sanderson, I. (2001). Performance Management, Evaluation and Learning in “Modern” Local Government. Public Administration, 79(2), pp.297–313. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-9299.00257.
Simpson, S. & Buabeng, T. (2013). Performance Contract and Performance of Public Enterprises : A Study of the Implementation Processes. Journal of Public Administration and Governance, 3(2).
Taylor, A. & Taylor, M. (2014). Factors influencing effective implementation of performance measurement systems in small and medium-sized enterprises and large firms: a perspective from Contingency Theory. International Journal of Production Research, 52(3), pp.847–866. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2013.842023.
Upadhaya, B., Munir, R. & Blount, Y.(2014). Association between performance measurement systems and organisational effectiveness. International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 34(7).
Waal, A. A. De & Counet, H. (2009). Lessons learned from performance management systems implementations. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 58(4), pp.367–390.
Yang, K. & Hsieh, J.Y. (2007). Managerial Effectiveness of Government Performance Measurement: Testing a Middle-Range Model. Public Administration Review, pp.861–879.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5296/ijhrs.v7i3.11532
Copyright (c) 2017 Juliana Abagsonema Abane, Boon-Anan Phinaitrup, Juliana Abagsonema Abane
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
International Journal of Human Resource Studies ISSN 2162-3058
Email: ijhrs@macrothink.org
Copyright © Macrothink Institute
To make sure that you can receive messages from us, please add the 'macrothink.org' domain to your e-mail 'safe list'. If you do not receive e-mail in your 'inbox', check your 'bulk mail' or 'junk mail' folders.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
