The need for appropriate performance measures and management has been Essay

The need for appropriate performance measures and management has been a recurring theme in management and accounting over the la - Essay Example Current paper focuses on the examination of the need for appropriate performance measures and management for organizations operating in the healthcare industry; reference is made especially to the UK National Health Service. The review of the literature published in the specific field led to the assumption that the performance measures and the management policies currently used by managers in NHS cannot respond to the organization’s needs – as identified through its daily activities. Moreover, it has been made clear that the above failure is related not only to the external but also to the internal organizational environment – referring to employees of all levels. It is suggested that measures are taken for the improvement of these policies trying to keep close control on the resources engaged and the time required. 2. Performance measurement and management of hospitals and other healthcare organizations The understanding of the criteria used for measuring the pe rformance of healthcare organizations requires the reference to the characteristics and the needs of performance measurement – as a strategic tool for checking the level of achievement of organizational goals. At the same time, reference should be made to the challenges that managers face within modern organizations, as these challenges can negatively affect the quality and the effectiveness of the relevant management practices. All these issues should be also taken into consideration when evaluating the performance measurement and the management policies of NHS. 2.1 Performance measurement and management – overview, role One of the key characteristics of performance measurement is the fact that the specific activity has different forms across firms of different size and culture. This fact is made clear in the study of Taticchi (2010). In the above study emphasis is given on the limited scope of performance measurement in SMEs – implying that the effectiveness o f performance measurement in large enterprises is expected to be higher, probably because of the support provided to the individuals involved (Taticchi 2010). On the other hand, the potential barriers that performance measurement systems and plans face in SMEs cannot reduce the value of these systems as key strategic tools. Of course, in large organizations the resources available for the development of advanced management and performance measurement plans are significant; thus, in organizations of such size the effectiveness of performance measurement methods is expected to be high, a fact that will be taken into consideration further on where the effectiveness of the performance measurement systems used in NHS will be discussed. At this point it would be necessary to refer to the characteristics of performance measurement – as part of the strategic process of organizations in all industries; in accordance with Rose (2005) ‘performance measurement is the language of pr ogress for the organization’ (Rose 2005 in Taticchi 2010, p.3). In each organization, performance measurement needs to be combined with appropriate management techniques –