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1 ORE Open Researh Exeter TITLE Performane: Its meaning and ontent for today's business researh AUTHORS Folan, Paul; Browne, J.; Jagdev, Harinder JOURNAL Computers in Industry DEPOSITED IN ORE 07 May 2015 This version available at COPYRIGHT AND REUSE Open Researh Exeter makes this work available in aordane with publisher poliies. A NOTE ON VERSIONS The version presented here may differ from the published version. If iting, you are advised to onsult the published version for pagination, volume/issue and date of publiation

2 Performane: its meaning and ontent for today s business researh Paul Folan, Jim Browne and Harinder Jagdev Paul Folan Computer Integrated Manufaturing Researh Unit (CIMRU), National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland. Phone: Ext Fax: paul.folan@nuigalway.ie Jim Browne Computer Integrated Manufaturing Researh Unit (CIMRU), National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland. Phone: Ext Fax: jimmie.browne@nuigalway.ie Harinder Jagdev Shool of Informatis, University of Manhester, Sakville Street, PO Box 88, Manhester M60 1QD, United Kingdom. & Computer Integrated Manufaturing Researh Unit (CIMRU), National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland. Phone: Fax: harinder.s.jagdev@manhester.a.uk 1

3 Performane: its meaning and ontent for today s business researh Abstrat Performane, as a onept, is a subjet open to wide variability as it is a somewhat impreise word when it funtions as a plaeholder in researh. By using definitions from the Oxford English Ditionary and other researh disiplines, this paper provides a wideranging disussion of the meaning and ontent of the term performane in the business performane researh. The paper reviews numerous harateristis of performane, suh as its being a subjetive entity that is non-random in harater; while it is governed by its relevane to a partiular environment, and operates from a partiular objetive, by virtue of a set of hosen harateristis. It ontains elements that are both stati and dynami; and it is possible to haraterise via three states: unformed or random, formalised or systemati, and deformed or over-bureaurati. Also, an enapsulating model of performane, whereby performane ats as a frame around performane management, performane assessment and performane measurement is proposed. Studies of performane as a onept in itself are pratially non-existent in the business researh; the value of this paper, therefore, lies in its attempt to expliate previously undoumented models of performane. Keywords: Performane, Performane management, Performane assessment, Performane measurement 2

4 1. Introdution Performane is a fat of life. In work or in play, indeed in any ativity where we input even momentary attention, performane an be felt or, at least, dedued if neessary. Yet of all the onepts that reside in the business researh at the moment, the idea of performane itself is probably one of the least understood, or ertainly the one where the greatest leap of intuition is used, as the initial starting-point for the researher. We daren t assume that everyone understands what we mean when we say performane measurement, performane management, or performane assessment, or any other twoword onjuntion that inludes the word performane; however the variability is usually seen to reside in the seondary term and not in the word performane; this alone, we seem to suggest, needs no explanation whereas we may be at pains to differentiate the other variables. Performane we have ome to think, often unonsiously needs no introdution as everyone knows what performane is. But do they? Have we honestly stopped at any point to onsider the word performane and its meaning, and, more importantly, the ontent that eah researher has applied to the word? Do we know what our readers will understand when we use the word performane; in other words will they take it up in the orret sense that is, the sense in whih we have written it down? There is no way of knowing, and, as studies of the meaning of the word performane in a business ontext seem to be pratially nonexistent, this dilemma may be set to ontinue. 3

5 But is there really a ase to answer here? are we not making too muh out of the word performane and the impliations of its widespread appliation? Can we not blithely assume that the ontext in whih we use the term is obvious every time? Performane has been desribed by Lebas [1] as a frustrating term to define, with few people agreeing on what performane really means. When we onsider the meaning of performane for ourselves and try to find orrelatives for it, we very quikly run into intangibles, or a number of assoiated meanings that are not quite equivalent to eah other. Performane seems to imply both the immediate past, and the present simultaneously (i.e. performed and performing), although the word is frequently used to represent only one of these by many. Further, the use made of performane by non-english speakers is not widely known and may be having an un-assessed impat upon the English meaning. Past inquiries into the nature and sope of the term performane as represented viariously through the performane measurement literature (for example) an reveal an amazing, multi-faeted use of the term: from its having different levels (measurement for individual performane to group performane, or personal performane to impersonal performane, or speifi performane to vague performane), and different realisations (good performane and bad performane, improved performane et.), or different ontexts that an transform ontemporary performane into future non-performane. This kaleidosoping effet of performane has ontributed to a greater need to define its meaning, although this requirement is not widely reognised a perverse trik of the term itself it seems, whereby the apparent simpliity of performane as a term with an apparently obvious onnotation, means that it is usually passed over without omment. In the present limate, therefore, where the re-evaluation of previous-held performane 4

6 beliefs in measurement [2] and management [3,4] are ontinuing, it seems appropriate to add a onsideration of the term performane itself to the agenda. In the next setion we will examine an offiial definition of the word performane as supplied by the Oxford English Ditionary (OED), and disuss the meanings loated in this definition; this exploration is ompleted by a brief onsideration of the use of the word made in the Performane Studies disipline, where the elastiity of the term ontinues to fasinate. Following this, we offer examples of the use of the word performane from the performane measurement literature, as it is employed by some of the authors in the field. After this evaluation we draw a general piture of the term in the business literature, providing a number of models of the different meanings of performane; and finally, we determine briefly the pratial onsequenes of this study as it applies to the teahing of performane measurement, management and assessment. 2. Defining performane the Oxford English Ditionary and Performane Studies Widespread studies of the word performane are not known to exist outside of its use in ditionaries and in a small number of reently evolved disiplines; this despite an extensive appliation of the word in the business literature in onnetion to issues of measurement, assessment and management. Indeed, the topis of performane measurement/ management/ assessment/ evaluation whatever the exat designation we hoose for performane have reeived relatively little examination from initial foundations that onsider the terms that omprise the onepts themselves in the ontext 5

7 in whih they are plaed. Indeed, the onepts, as we use them, are different one from another; they all, however, ontain the ommon denominator term performane, whih suggests that some similarity is to be expeted if only beause of the appearane of this ommon term among all, as their relation to one another may be enapsulated in this singular word as part of the two-word expression that represents eah onept. This way of assessing the ommon relations between performane measurement/ management/ assessment/ evaluation however has not been seriously examined heretofore; researh into issues of performane, be they measurement, management, assessment or evaluative in onstrution, are usually arried out in isolation from eah other, suggesting that the ommonality of the term performane is not an immediate onsideration in performane researh development. This in itself is not at all surprising; the term performane seems to be taken as something of a given, espeially in its ontextual use; it an have a ubiquitousness that suggests that it has beome something of a semanti shorthand, similar in its all-pervasive generality to terms suh as model, framework, or development all terms rihly sattered throughout the researh literature without having, it seems, many limiting effets. The variety of meanings onneted with performane have arisen partly from our own arelessness or looseness of usage, partly from the natural developments of living languages and the influene of other languages, partly from the novelty of human thought, and partly from the defets of the language whih has allowed words suh as performane to be appropriated and then strethed, so to speak, so that its definition is made to aommodate more than one meaning. 6

8 The harateristis of the term performane that inhibit its investigation are its allenompassing nature and its extreme popularity as an expression in regular speeh. Being an all-aommodating term allows many vagranies to enter the fold of an expression, and onsequently blunts its objetive use as a plaeholder with speifi duties in researh: for instane, whatever a person s initial preoneptions regarding the term performane, upon entering the researh at any angle that may be available, these initial preoneptions may be made to fit the existing sheme of things reasonably well, no matter how wrongheaded they may atually be. In this preoneption of performane, we are enouraged by the relatively popular use of the term in regular speeh a situation that does not impose itself on other researh terms that we use, to the same extent 1. Let us see, then, whether it is possible to re-apture some of the spirit and essene of the term performane as it is used in everyday speeh, so as to re-apply its meaning to the business of performane measurement/ management/ assessment/ evaluation. Turning, therefore, to the latest version of the Oxford English Ditionary (OED) as a guide to urrent usage 2, we see that the term performane has four nested entries assoiated with it, while its related terms perform and performing (as adjetive and noun) have two main entries eah respetively. We will examine the entries for performane first and revert, where neessary, to the related terms for any missed entries that might throw more light 1 In performane measurement, terms suh as indiator (as in performane indiator), measurement, assessment, and management, are referred to here; although regarding the latter term it is interesting to note the reeping impreision that may be assoiated with it as it beomes onfused with administration. 2 In this instane, the online version of the OED was onsulted; this is loated at: Other ditionaries that were ross-heked inluded the online version of Merriam-Webster s English ditionary ( whih ontains, for our purpose here, a virtually equivalent range of meanings. 7

9 on performane itself. The entries for performane, and their sub-entries, are speified in Table 1. Insert Table 1 here Table 1: Current usage of the term performane as abridged from the OED Upon initial examination of Table 1, we an immediately disount the meaning of performane in entry B, a set of (fur) trimmings, as not being to our purpose here. This allows us to fous on the other three entry sets A, C and D. It will be immediately noted that the entry C is losely related, in this ontext, to A, in that both are reliant on a ommand, duty, promise, purpose, responsibility for the operation of the entity that is termed performane; in other words, performane in this ontext requires an initial element that supplies the resultant performane, a lose similarity to the use of performane in performane measurement/ management/ assessment/ evaluation being unmistakable here, in that all of these onepts are reliant on an existing infrastruture upon whih to apply the tehniques of measurement/ management/ assessment/ evaluation, so as to reah performane. Closer investigation of some of the sub-entries in A, however, reveal a problem that often appears to manifest itself in terms of a onsideration of the meaning of performane: viz. its attempted enapsulation of the whole issue, from initial infrastrutural elements, to their eventual deployment. Take for example the meaning of performane as insribed in sub-entry 4 of entry A; here performane beomes equated with a omposition of some form, with no very distint line drawn between the author, the tools and work proesses undergone to produe the omposition itself, and the omposition being made manifest in 8

10 atual operating onditions; we have, essentially, a blur between the initial and resultant in this definition, as performane sets about to laim the whole proess. In priniple it omes lose to the meanings of sub-entries 1 and 3 in entry D, where performane an mean both the ation of exeution, and a partiular instane of this ation ourring; in other words, performane omes to mean the operation of the omposition, plus the fat that the omposition was used in itself. Sub-entry 3 of entry D goes further, indeed, and throws in the artist themselves, dryly observing any publi appearane by the said artist as being a performane in itself, and any interpretation of a work, whih is similar in meaning to sub-entry 1 (entry D). Thus we an derive the illustrative meaning of performane as potentially enapsulating everything about the artist and their work. Similar problems are met in performane measurement/ management/ assessment/ evaluation, when we have diffiulties determining when performane atually starts and stops and what it entails. Performane, being abstrat, we like to invest its mystique in related objets: sometimes in the tools of the trade (aording to the above disussion, the interpretation of a popular performane measurement tool, suh as the Balaned Soreard, an be a performane in itself); maybe the performane manager (the artist? with all those performanes (i.e. publi appearanes) at meetings to explain ompany performane); or then again the atual proess of periodi strategising and the assoiated exerises that are used to move from one strategy to another an onstitute performane. This last suggests another peuliarity of the term performane: its lose assoiation with the meaning of progress. Sine, as we have seen above, the meaning of performane may be determined by an initial objetive (see entry C in Table 1), the use of the term 9

11 performane itself an ome to mean positive progress in itself, without any qualifying adjetive applied to the term. The meanings of performane, given in sub-entry 3 of entry A, where performane is used to denote an exploit or an ahievement is analogous to this. The ompany is performing, for example, aptures the spirit of this peuliarity, whereby the emphasis is plaed on the verb is, to denote the fat that the ompany s performane is progressing satisfatory. Of ourse, to progress is to imply the existene of a goal towards whih we must proeed, and in this usage of performane the goal against whih performane is to be aptured is assumed to exist already and to be easily quantifiable in pratie. In a similar sense the adoption of speifi methodologies or tools for performane measurement/ management/ assessment/ evaluation in a business an have a similar effet on the ompany, in the sense that the ompany an suddenly be seen to perform, with all the onnotations given above, whereas, before adoption, the performane of the business may seem non-existent simply owing to the absene of performane gathering tools. Of ourse this effet is illusory; a ompany ontinues to perform whether it is aware of this fat or not; it is just that performane does not beome performane until it is atively sought by the ompany, with prior performane being onsidered unimportant. Other definitions of performane in entry A, however, stray loser to what we may reognise as performane in our own researh. In sub-entry 2, the harateristis of the performer are brought into onsideration in what many would typially see as a list of performane measurement harateristis: quality, effetiveness, apability, produtivity, and suess. Note how, to ounterbalane this, the ompliers of the OED have piked up 10

12 on the use of performane in a business sense (sub-entry 6) primarily a finanial sense, that relates to performane from the point of view of eonomis and aounting. Taken together, sub-entries 2 and 6 of entry A over most aspets of measurement both finanial and non-finanial that is, deriving quantifiables upon whih to develop the onstrut performane. Other researh strands have also learly attrated the attention of the OED ompliers, partiularly psyhology (sub-entry 5, entry A) and linguistis (subentry 7, entry A). Performane in experimental situations overs the psyhologial definition, whih also learly has resonane with other fields of researh, partiularly the use of performane measurement; while, in linguistis, atual versus theoretial usage of language is denoted as performane again we have the pre-set standard or strategy (knowledge of a language) against whih performane is judged (atual language use), thus this definition is equivalent to those already examined. Turning to entry D of Table 1, and ignoring sub-entries 1 and 3, whih have already been disussed in onnetion with the artist, we ome to two usages that are not readily assoiated with performane in a business ontext. The first, sub-entry 2, equates performane to a eremony, rite or ritual; again there are similarities between the omposition of sub-entry 4 of entry A and this definition of performane, in that the eremony itself represents the omposition, and thus as we disovered previously the operation of the ritual of the eremony an be denoted performane. In sub-entry 4 performane is depited as a sene of anger, or exaggerated behaviour, or as an annoying ation or proedure. Here performane is used in a negative, derogatory sense, but has been formalised for the oasion; in its first guise the sene of anger, or exaggerated 11

13 behaviour the term performane elevates the ation to the level of a formal ritual and then applies the eremonial usage of performane as noted above; in its seond guise that of the annoying ation or proedure performane again requires the ation to be formalised: this time the at may even be a random piee of repeating irritating behaviour; however the use of the term performane attempts to standardise this randomness into something akin to a ritual and from thene to apply all the usual onnotations of performane. This last usage of the term performane is noteworthy in that it displays a haraterising feature upon whih the appliation of the term performane is dependent throughout all its onnotations, viz. the institutionalisation of the ation or omposition under onsideration. Performane as a onept requires the objet or operation under investigation to be formalised, as it is impossible to assess the performane of an entity imbued with randomness. A random entity has no formal logi about it: it has no objetive against whih we an measure performane, it has no disrete proedure or body that an be standardised, and it has no goal towards whih it means to progress; all of these harateristis are anathema to the appliation of performane. Performane requires prior formalisation, and this is true for all usages made of performane, inluding performane measurement/ management/ assessment/ evaluation. If we examine the related term perform, and weed out those onnotations of performane already disussed above, we an see that it has two major meanings: to arry out, and to omplete or finish the seond meaning now, apparently, obsure. If perform is to 12

14 arry out, then what is performane? Is it how it was arried out that is, a determination of how the issue under onsideration was performed? If so, performane as a term takes in evaluation and assessment 3, and assessment pulls in measurement and, subsequent to this, the appliation of deisions based on measurement and assessment pulls in management. Performane, in this analysis, beomes a term of great voraity, pulling in all the nier distintions that have been made in the performane researh. Thus, in this ontext, a term suh as performane assessment beomes something of a tautology, sine performane already implies the evaluative part, and by extension the measurement part is implied by assessment and so on whene we end up with all the fine nieties that we usually distinguish in our researh being redued to one term. This, of ourse, is to push the analysis of the term performane, derived from perform ( to arry out ), to a logial dead-end. The exat meaning of the terms assessment, measurement and management, of ourse imply ertain aspets of performane in the researh; however it is useful to reflet on the fat that the independent use of any of these terms always implies the existene of a ommon piture of performane somewhere in the bakground. The meaning of performing, as both a noun and adjetive, is already implied in the above disussion on the meanings of perform and performane, and so we need not be detained by a loser examination of it here. 3 The exat differene between performane evaluation and performane assessment is extremely diffiult to determine, and for most purposes seems to be virtually equivalent in pratie; we will, therefore, drop the term evaluation as a separate entity from this point onwards. 13

15 The above examination of performane should make it suffiiently lear that one, allpervading definition of the term does not exist in ommon usage in English; infletions and nieties of expression have widened the possibilities of meaning and range of definitions of the word. Add to this the existene of additional meanings for performane that may be loated in languages other than English, and we have a situation whereby we must put faith in the supposition that we understand the term performane, as the original author intended, aross a broad spetrum of international researh that is often pulling in multiple diretions simultaneously. This situation an lead to subtleties and preise designations of the word performane, espeially when it is oupled with an additional term, suh as measurement, management, and assessment. It is already notable, for example, in the researh how authors differ over the ontent and pratie of performane management and its preise delineation from performane measurement [3,4]; this is due, in no small part, to the ativity level of the term performane as the original author employs it: some are ontent for performane to be relatively passive, suh that management, for example, only inludes immediate offiiatory apabilities with administrative responsibilities; while others view performane as enompassing both assessment and measurement failities also. In the reently evolved disipline of Performane Studies, we an see the use of the term performane in a wider range of ontexts inluding, but not exlusive to, theatrial pratitioners and ritis, anthropologists, folklorists, soiologists, and ultural theorists [5]; although, it should be noted that Performane Studies reognises that the term performane is essentially boundary-less and is open to numerous interpretations, whih 14

16 means that the use of the term in a business ontext may also, eventually, be of interest to these pratitioners. Currently many researhers in this field omprehend performane to over a broad spetrum of ativities inluding at the very least the performing arts, rituals, healing, sports, popular entertainments, and performane in everyday life [6]; or to be more preise, performane is seen to exist in a liminal state that straddles both transgression models (i.e. between theatre and ritual) and models of resistane (i.e. both in theory and pratie) [7]. Within this aeptane of the multipliity of meanings of performane, individual researhers have taken disparate definitions to task. Goffman [8] has queried the publi persona that allows individuals to put on performanes, that is to form a soial mask to hide behind, whether on stage or in reality; a sort of performane for publi onsumption, in order to regulate the publi s behaviour and aeptane of them [9]. This notion of performane ertainly has resonane for businesses, espeially if we onsider the need for the publi image; the publishing of ompany aounts and the ontemporary desire to be seen as aring, equalopportunities employers, and environmentally-onerned pratitioners all of these faets may reside in a typial business image that ould be deemed, partially, as a performane, depending on whether or not it is true (and whether the ompany believes it true). It is interesting to speulate on how the new non-finanial performane measurement revolution [10] is ontributing to this dark side of performane, whih may be equated with pretene or sham definitions of performane (see entry D, subentry 3 in Table 1). Suh a reading of performane has been related by Read [11] to psyhoanalysis by virtue of the plaebo effet: that is, seeking ways to please, to be 15

17 aeptable ; and by Connor [12] who has pointed to the loseness of the word perform to the word at that an both mean to at, make or do something, [but] it also means to dissimulate or to pretend to at, to feign ation. In a postmodern sense, therefore, as Connor [12] has implied, performane may have two onneted senses: one of ating, perhaps for the private benefit of the firm in a business ontext (i.e. by the appliation and interpreting of performane proedures); and the other by enating, in the sense of playing out, or impersonating these to the publi at large (i.e. by suppressing, enlarging, emphasising, or ignoring various aspets of the disovered performane). Carlson [13] onsiders performane to be an essentially ontested onept where there is only futility [in] seeking some overarhing semanti field to over suh seemingly disparate usages as the performane of an ator, of a shoolhild, of an automobile ; while Bell [14], examining performane theory, has noted the slippery impliations of an extended metaphor, speifially the analogy between ritual ativities and the ats of performing and dramatizing. There seems to be a ontinual fasination in the Performane Studies disipline between the ritualisti, pre-defined, stati or inflexible part of performane on the one hand, and, on the other, the reative, dynami, ative, interpretative part of performane; this is manifested by different researhers, using different words, who examine how one part impats upon the other, and how we may appropriately move from one to the other, if at all, in pratie without ompromise. On one side we have Phelan [15], where performane annot be saved, reorded, doumented, or otherwise partiipate in the irulation of representations of 16

18 representations ; instead performane impliates the real through the presene of living bodies. On the other we have ritual theorists suh as Rappaport [16] who onsider the ritual as unique in at one establishing onventions, that is to say, enuniating and aepting them, and in insulating them from usage ; ritual performane, on his terms, is dominant with all other forms being subordinate [17]: rather they [i.e. the partiipants] substantiate the order as it informs them [18] (my emphasis) hene they are reliant on ritual performane first and foremost, and only interpretative performane afterwards. Either of these ontending viewpoints, the extremes of whih are given here, may be deemed orret, however the real researh ground of the Performane Studies disipline lies in disussions that operate somewhere in between and draw from both sides of the debate. These two points will be utilised later in the disussion of business performane as we ome to terms with both ritualisti and reative roles in performane in firms. 3. The use of performane in measurement researh We must revert to the literature to see atual examples of the use of the term performane in the business researh; for this purpose we have hosen to onentrate on some of the most popular authors in the field of performane measurement, whih represents, by far, the most proliferating field of researh in studies of ontemporary business performane. Authors in this researh field are drawn from an inreasingly diverse set of researh fields, eah drawing upon different ustoms and meanings, and with differing requirements from the term performane, as Table 2 demonstrates. Table 2 depits a number of ontemporary and past performane measurement writers (or o- or joint- 17

19 authors), speifi quotes from their works, and a designation of this quote as per the disussion of the definitions of performane given above, and from the definitions given in the OED. It must be immediately emphasised in onnetion with Table 2 that we are not trying to onstrain the ontexts of performane as used by these authors: to do so would be to set up an immediate resistane from the authors themselves so that they try to disprove any general propositions made in the table; we fully aept that the term performane is supple and an hange in their hands (as in the hands of others) throughout their artiles, whih only onfirms the diversity of the word itself. In essene Table 2 only wishes to draw the attention of the reader to how different usages of performane are readily aessible in the performane measurement literature, without in any way suggesting that the author(s) of any partiular work is limited to their hosen usage as displayed; we have, therefore, intentionally onfined ourselves to ategorising sample quotes from their works. Insert Table 2 here Table 2: Performane in performane measurement sample quotes from authors The table involves examining quotes of sample literature from both well-known and new authors, and trying to abstrat the meaning that performane holds in eah quote. During its ompilation we examined many papers where the term performane was either taitly ignored, or worse, where the term seemed to be atually surplus to requirements; for many in pratie, for example, there seems to be little differene between the expression performane indiator, and the one-word meaning implied in indiator, suggesting an indifferene, or draining of meaning, from the term performane, with a onsequent added inflexion in the seond term. The same ould be said for many two-word 18

20 performane expressions. For other papers, the disussion on performane topis was written in suh a manner that it was hard to extrat the exat meaning of the term performane, whih seemed to be added in something of a ursory way without lending itself to extration and analysis. This fat alone implies that many authors are often working on ommon assumptions regarding the meaning of performane, without, unfortunately, having worked-out exatly their own standpoint with regard to the term. In the table itself, it is interesting to note despite the relatively small number of papers examined the growth and dispersal of meaning that an be engendered in the term performane. The dominant performane assoiation whih exists throughout the period overed by the table seems to be related to the doing of an ation, in partiular, in a performane typology that sees the arrying-out of a speifi purpose as important; suh definitions dominate the quotes by [10,19 27] all of whih, in varying ways, and emphasising performane by differing methods, imply a funtional ethos to performane in an operative role: sometimes as a duty to be disharged, and at other times as a purpose to be exeuted. Keeping with this range of meanings is the benhmarking of performane: that is, where performane is reliant on a pre-set standard to judge outomes [21,24,27 30], although varying levels of disretion may be applied. Meanwhile the interpretative nature of performane is brought out in onerns over the appliation of proedures for performane measure seletion or evaluation [29,31 33], role responsibility [22,33], aountability to the publi [22,27], and to individuals onerned in performane appraisals [30]. Berrah et al. [23], by their insistene on the 19

21 ation plan, embody a sort of artisti definition in performane, in the sense that performane beomes something similar to an instane of performing a omposition in this ase, the ation plan. Again, suh an assessment of performane ties into onepts of interpretation (i.e. an interpretative artist) disussed above. Finally, both Bourguignon and Chiapello [25] and Robson [26] imply a eremonial aspet to performane through, in the former, the establishment of routines that suessively dedue performane from initial premises, and, in the latter, by the institutionalisation of performane as a ultural ethos in the firm. Indeed, eremonial performane measurement is a widely dispersed onept, suessfully employed, for example, in the development of performane measurement frameworks of both a strutural and proedural nature [34]: what are these but speifi methods for apturing a piture of performane by the implementation of standardised rites, pre-defined by individual researhers? Further ritualisation is found in the proedures utilised in performane management to outline preisely how the olletion, reporting and transmission of performane results should operate inside the firm. In the performane measurement researh itself we find two expliit analyses of the term performane, one by Lebas [1] and the other by Wholey [35] whih may be quoted at length. For Lebas [1], who tries to answer the question by positing an initial definition of performane and by using this to analyse funtions of management and measurement, performane is defined as: 20

22 about deploying and managing well the omponents of the ausal model(s) that lead to the timely attainment of stated objetives within onstraints speifi to the firm and to the situation [1]. Thus for Lebas [1] performane is haraterised as a post-operative funtion, dependent upon pre-determined and speifi ausal models that are subjetively hosen for the time and plae that the firm finds itself in. Further, although he reognises that performane per se may not be definable in the absolute, he is partiularly interested in performane as a apability; performane is about the future. In this vision of performane, performane measures at as surrogates that allow for the olletion of past data to serve, if it is helpful, our understanding of the potential for suess in the future. Performane, he says, is never objetive, it is only a way of defining where one wants to go ; this allows him to be pragmati in his definition, as applied to the manufaturing faility: Performane of a manufaturing faility an therefore be defined by different parameters by eah firm, defining it to math its strategy and vision, subjet to external onstraints of the market [1]. Lebas s [1] definition learly resides in the territory of entry A and entry C in Table 1: performane as related to the doing of an ation (here as per a ausal model ), and as a disharge of an important funtion. Moreover, performane is not objetive and is thus subjetive or interpretative: interpretation enters his definition through the seletion of performane measures as surrogates for true performane. Performane haraterised as being about the future depits performane as opening a path from the ativities of the past to some as-yet undetermined state; it is a denominator resulting from his view of 21

23 performane as related to the doing of an ation indeed he later depits, over time and into the future, how performane management both preedes and follows performane measurement. The rather proess-oriented definition offered by Wholey [35] may be quoted at length (emphasis as in the original): Performane is an interesting onept. Performane is not an objetive reality out there somewhere waiting to be measured and evaluated. Performane is soially onstruted reality [36]. Performane exists in people s minds if it exists anywhere at all. We have to define what performane means before attempting to measure performane. Performane may inlude inputs; outputs;. intermediate outomes;. end outomes;. net impats;. unintended outomes. Performane may relate to eonomy, effiieny, effetiveness, osteffetiveness, or equity [35]. Alongside Lebas [1], Wholey [35] adopts the attitude that performane is subjetive and is interpretative. He proeeds to list the areas where the results of performane may be loated: again, the definition is reliant upon an ation or operation being arried-out; this provides the impetus for the output of the ation to be analysed and ategorised as per the list of areas he stipulates. An ation or operation has inputs to initiate it and outputs that announe its onlusion; it has a number of different outomes that an be ategorised as different sorts of performane: performane-in-progress (intermediate outomes), unexpeted-performane (unintended outomes), onsolidated-performane (net impats), and the performane result (end outomes). Finally, he relates performane to a family of mainly ost-related headings; these may have been prompted by the need to 22

24 dislose the entity s final position after the operation in ost-related terms, harking bak to aounting praties, whih has held the duty of defining performane sine the early historial times [1]. In summary of this setion, the above has shown how divisive the term performane an be in pratie in the business performane researh. Table 2 has presented quotes from a seleted number of performane measurement papers and has asribed a form of performane to eah as deemed appropriate; these learly show a ontinuing division as to the meaning of performane, and, indeed, as time has moved on, we may begin to see more serious questions being asked of the term performane and its impliations, espeially when performane measurement starts to lose its novelty aspet and onsolidates its position as an established disipline within the business firm. More than ever then, we need to look at the appliation and meaning hidden in the term performane as applied to the business; both Lebas [1] and Wholey [35] have made fair attempts at defining the term, but more an yet be said on the subjet. We takle the issue in a number of ways in the disussion in the next setion. 4. Performane in the business researh ontent and meaning Illustrating the potential of performane in a business ontext means a areful balaning of the many shades of definition given above. The above setion has shown in simple examples just how merurial the word performane is in pratie; and, indeed, we an eho Carlson s [13] remark and suggest that an over-arhing, all-embraing definition of 23

25 performane is not to be expeted even within the relatively limited business environment. This does not mean, however, that we annot draw out some lessons from the above and from our own experienes with the business performane researh; there are, to be sure, some dominant forms or peuliar frameworks that performane as a onstrut takes on when onsidered in businesses, and these warrant omment. We an start from the review given above. Our review of the use that performane reeives in ommon usage has brought to light its ommonalities. There is little doubt that its most widely-aepted usage in the business literature, inluding the literatures on performane measurement/ management/ assessment, is ontained in Table 1 in entry A partiularly in sub-entries 1, 2, 3 and 6. In a business sense, performane is onerned with the arrying out of an ation and the subsequent determination of performane based upon this ation as arried out. However the other meanings of performane give useful intimations of how this is to be put into effet; the ation arried out must be standardised, non-random, and it must be quantifiable; and it must retain a relevane to the performer or artist. We an enapsulate this teahing in a number of priorities that govern the useful employment of performane in the business literature. Performane may be said to be governed by the following three priorities. 1. It is always made as per the deemed relevane of an entity to a partiular environment (thus, we ommonly assess a ompany on its impat, for example, in a partiular market, and not on its impat, in a plae that is unlikely to be relevant to its operation). 24

26 2. It is always made with a relevant objetive in mind (thus, we ommonly assess a ompany as per some set future vision on what the ompany wants to ahieve, not on the objetives of some other body that is not the ompany). 3. It is always redued to relevant, reognisable harateristis (thus, we ommonly assess a ompany on ompetitive parameters, suh as ost, quality, time et., and more harder-to-measure ompetitive priorities, suh as flexibility, or sustainability, beause they are relevant and reognisable; but we do not assess on irrelevant, unreognisable harateristis (thus, we don t assess a ompany on its performane in terms of its ability to use offie stationery )). In order to produe the suitable onditions for performane, these three priorities have a speifi relationship with eah other. First, the entity must hoose a speifi environment in whih to operate, and in whih it wants to know how it will perform; that is, the entity s relevane is set to the requirements of a speifi, non-random environment, whih, in turn, produes a limited set of possible objetives exlusive to the hosen environment. Seondly, then, the entity hooses an objetive, or at most a small set of objetives, whih it alls its own; these are the objetives to whih it will strive towards, and these objetives may be onsiously and unonsiously seleted by the entity. This produes the need to haraterise the hosen objetives, and from an array of possible harateristis, we hoose those we deem to be most representative of eah objetive hosen in its relevant environment. With the formal arrangement of these harateristis inluding the arrangements made for performane management, performane measurement and performane assessment and the ative employment of 25

27 the entity towards its objetive, we an thus determine performane. This onept of performane is depited in Figure 1. Insert Figure 1 here Figure 1: The priorities of performane To give a simple example of this. A ompany wishes to enter the automotive industry, and hooses as its relevant environment the position and responsibilities of a third-tier omponent supplier of engine omponents this hoie immediately limits its possible objetives to those of its position, and removes innumerable random objetives that are no longer feasible. From the range of available objetives, the ompany may hoose, for example, to be the best in lass at produing aluminium omponents for its ustomers in terms of quality, time and ost an objetive that plaes speifi responsibilities on them to perform in a speifi way. To perform this objetive well, the harateristis of the objetives are hosen from a range of possible harateristis; those hosen inluding, obviously, quality, time and ost harateristis but also, maybe, ustomer responsiveness harateristis, and harateristis of flexibility and sustainability and innovation to meet future ustomer requirements. The formalised implementation of these, in a performane apparatus that inludes appropriate proedures for performane management, performane measurement and performane assessment, allows the ompany to determine their performane as the objetive proeeds in operation. But to return to the three governing objetives of performane outlined above (relevane, objetives and harateristis), these have always had a plae in the literature dediated to performane in some form or other. Winstanley and Stuart-Smith [37] have speified 26

28 these three priorities slightly differently when they put the term performane to work in their model of performane management, whih onsists of: 1) setting the objetives; 2) managing performane to objetives; and 3) measuring performane against objetives. It will be seen that setting objetives is equivalent to priority 2 above, keeping a relevant objetive in mind, while measuring performane against objetives inorporates the reognisable harateristis from priority 3; finally, managing performane against objetives needs to aount for the ontinual maintenane of the relationship between the entity s objetives and its dynami performane that is, to retain its relevane, as in priority 1. Outside of these onfines, the term performane beomes unprinipled and unmanageable: if we do away with the soially onstruted reality [35,36] of performane, we produe nothing but unmeaning data; if we remove its objetive, we take from its diretion and onsequently its usefulness; if we subtrat its relevane, we leave it without foundation; and if we dispose of its reognisable harateristis, we will be unable to operationalise it pratially. There is, however, another way of examining performane in the business ontext, without having reourse to onsious issues of seletion and arrangement as formulated above; the way the performane onstrut itself is treated as an entity inside the firm, and the way its proesses beome institutionalised, are also extremely important issues to onsider in the business ontext. This view of performane relies on the internalisation of the onept itself to sueed. 27

29 In this guise, performane beomes interesting as it is only seen to exist as a produt of an entity s onsiousness what Wholey [35] terms soially onstruted reality and is a result of the suspension of ontinuity in favour of disrete event snapshots, used to determine the suess or failure of an entity: the key is the transformation of pure performane from unaptured, ontinuous, outome measures ever-hanging and everhangeable to adulterated performane from disrete, periodi, apturable, snapshot measures used as the basis to develop a subjetive piture of performane. In short, performane ours only when we stop to evaluate it, and does not exist if we do not stop (or rather it exists at a level that is so large, ontinuous, holisti and non-quantifiable that we have no partiular onsiousness of its existene). Performane, in essene, is the funtion of a bounded rationality, whih means we must take notie of, and set limiting parameters for performane to be aptured that is, we must put our own individual stamp on performane to enable its apture. Performane, thus, beomes reliant upon the type of parameters set, whih is apt to blunt and disperse its evaluative powers, by making the pure onept of performane favour one (or more) limited set of subjetive viewpoints, over others equally as valid, but deemed not to be of as muh relevane in this partiular instane. The true apture of pure performane never implies any partiular viewpoint, rather this subjetivity is enapsulated in the methods used to apture the adulterated version of performane. Performane is, ultimately, impossible to apture in its entirety: it is abstrat (performane only exists beause of the mental efforts put into developing a piture of the past, and using this as an indiator for urrent form; this piture an be 28

30 developed at any level we hoose, from detailed to aggregated); it is ontinuous in its pure form, whih means that trying to take disrete-event snapshots results in different performanes, both in ontent and ontext, as we proeed (indeed, the very proess of trying to apture performane itself probably flaws the snapshot taken); and it is a soial onstrut in an exponential world of ompeting soial visions. So muh then for performane inside the business firm it is doomed to subjetivity and adulteration despite our best efforts. In fat, our attempts to redue performane to authoritative formula is a sign that we are ontent to forego pure performane for its more workable, flexible formation that is, subservient, subjetive performane. It implies that we an t adequately teah about pure performane, espeially empirially, in a strutured format so that all initiates reeive the same performane eduation; rather we must be ontent to formulate performane subjetively through ourses on different faets of performane, suh as aounting/ performane management/ performane measurement/ assessment tehniques et., all of whih are vehiles for a speifi type of performane subjetivity. Subjetive performane, therefore, is entirely appropriate for the firm; indeed it has no hoie but to aept this form of performane, as performane purity implies an expensive impratiality, whih must remain merely theoretial as it would beome violated in ation. Pure performane must exist free of interferene and is a onstant; on the other hand, methods to apture performane, as sponsored by entities suh as individuals, teams, firms, or inter-organisational groups, an only result in a diluted, pluralisti onsensus onerning the appropriateness of performane of the entity itself in 29

31 any partiular ontext. This however is to be expeted: we are not interested in pure performane, the type of performane that implies an impossible level of objetivity and is to be sought without regard to any familial ties; rather we are interested in the impure, politially-motivated latter formation, as impure (or adulterated) performane, by definition, is one that retains the servies of a sponsor, or to be more preise, it is made subservient to the sponsor s bounded rationality and subjetivity in order that performane is delivered on its (the sponsor s) terms. This is why pure performane remains essentially hangeless, while impure performane delivers a performane viewpoint that hanges aording to the initial starting-points of those involved, and aording to the resoures undergoing the evaluation. Inside the firm, then, we find that performane is inimial to fixed periods and stultifying strutures: it is favourable, however, to evolving proesses, flowing time intervals and ever-hanging business priniples. Indeed it ould not be otherwise; if eah business period was the same as the last, in terms of its strutures, resoure and personnel usage, and time allotment, then developing a piture of performane may beome redundant as no reognisable evolution from one position to another might be disernible, and we would retain one stati piture of performane. Thus performane, by its very nature, must assume a hanging, ideally an evolving, environment with performane as the element that traes the firm s evolutionary path from the past to the present, and by extrapolation, moots possibilities for the future. But there must be some fixity, some underpinning unalterables from whene performane an be ontextualised: without these it may be impossible to disern an evolution from a random hange in performane. 30

32 Performane has also been desribed (see above entry D, number 2 in Table 1) as the proess of a eremony, or ritual a very stati representation. Just as in a religious eremony there are ertain presribed formulations to be arried out, or in a theatrial play the dialogue and playwright s diretions are unalterable as they form the sripted text, so performane in businesses may presribe ritualisti reporting proedures, a performane hierarhy of administration and ommand, and relatively fixed maro performane methodologies for measurement, assessment and management; these being unhangeable (or only hangeable slowly, over time, as disussed below), evolution must ome from the priest in the variable part of the religious eremony (for example the sermon), from the stage setting and from the ator s delivery in the play, and, in the business, from the time periods used to determine performane, from the strategy employed in the performane infrastruture, and from the variable parts of the maro performane methodologies employed, for example, the performane measures used. This being so, we an see that performane has both stati and dynami elements, whih must be held in balane as the firm evolves, else the piture of performane obtained may beome sub-standard. Evolution, to be reognisable from simply random behaviour, must retain some traditional outlines (stati priniples, unhanging in their essene although the invested meaning of these may be elaborated over time) and progressive fations (dynami priniples, ever-hanging and moving, sometimes, unfortunately, without an adequate onsideration of established goals). Performane, thus, being a tool in the armoury of the firm s onsideration of its evolution, is a ombination of stable and 31

33 flutuating onstituents mutually ounter-balaning eah other. The over-emphasis of either of these two elements, in theory or pratie, will result in the overall redution in the effetiveness of the performane piture produed. This balaned, elemental piture of performane is depited in Figure 2. Insert Figure 2 here Figure 2: Balaning the elements of performane An over-reliane on stati, stable entities an lead to a stultified system of determining performane; examples of this over-extension of the stability priniple in performane inludes: the unhanging use of the same, perhaps long-outdated, performane measures; unhanging strategy underlying the performane system (although this strategy may be different from the one atually thought to be in use); fixed reporting proedures inapable of hange; and inflexible administrative and performane management proedures unable to ope with sudden transitions or impats on the performane system. Alternatively, an over-reliane on dynami, flutuating entities an lead to a system of determining performane with no apparent basis, random in ation, ineffetive in its job beause of the diversity it allows, and ultimately unreliable and unaountable; examples of this over-extension of the dynami priniple in performane inludes: liberalism in the seletion, deletion, re-seletion, and ways of measuring and frequeny of measuring performane measures (partiularly inluded here is the arbitrary seletion of fashionable performane measures); the unontrolled hanging of priniple performane strutures (for example, the performane measurement system, system of performane management, and performane assessment proedures) for no well-thought-out reason; the eding of entrally-ontrolled performane development proedures to deentralised 32

34 performane development (often to teams, individuals, or other pressure groups in the firm); and, by extension, the rejetion of one piture of performane, hosen as representative of the ompany, in favour of multiple pitures of performane that are inompatible and irreduible to unity. The stati elements of performane usually reside in the poliies and traditional work strutures of the firm, and unsurprisingly, in well-established departments suh as aounting with its fixed rules of ondut and operation; the dynami elements of performane usually reside in the thoughtful and exuberant intellets of individuals throughout the firm that find the existing infrastrutures inhibiting and desire hange. Eah may be harnessed effetively so that the performane piture produed will have a balaned blend of both elements: where possible, a onservative outlook, oupled with a autious aeptane of innovations after suffiient examination of the firm s underlying performane priniples, is probably ideal; however the rapidly-hanging business environments that many ompanies wish to operate in may make this time-for-refletion diffiult to uphold unless they have put together performane mehanisms for rapidly assessing the feasibility of new, dynami performane suggestions against established, stati performane priniples. This, of ourse, requires a firm to ommit to a piture of performane whih is defined learly enough to allow them to: 1. asertain what performane means to them; 2. asertain the fixed, stati priniples in operation in this performane piture; 3. asertain those elements that are variable and open to innovation in the performane piture; and 4. 33

35 determine how the stati and dynami elements interat with eah other. One defined, this performane piture signally influenes the seletion of appropriate systems of performane measurement, management and assessment; indeed, it atually operates as a losed struture around these systems whih, in onsequene, must interat with eah other so as to satisfy the performane piture hosen. In this vision, therefore, performane itself beomes the hief driver for the appropriate seletion of assessment, measurement and management tools. This may be ontrasted to the rather piee-meal seletion proedures that are impliitly enouraged in the business researh, whih rarely onsiders the underlying ontext in whih it resides (for example, a performane measurement paper rarely gives suffiient attention to the ontexts of performane management and performane assessment at most they may be bundled onfusingly together into the performane measurement proedure under onsideration); nor is adequate onsideration given in atual pratie when a ompany selets a performane measurement system (for example) first, and then tries to piee all the other elements required around this. Here we are suggesting the development of the performane piture first; from this will follow the appropriate seletion of assessment, measurement and management infrastrutures simultaneously as we ome to terms with the elements used to ompose the performane piture. To develop a framework that fully aptures the above vision of performane, we must briefly introdue those onstruts that it is dependent on for its apture, namely performane management, performane measurement, and performane assessment. As disussions elsewhere have implied (see [4]), we need to be areful to be fully distint 34

36 with the terms performane management and performane measurement, whih are apt to be onfused. Andersen et al. [38] omment on the lak of a performane management definition in the literature, and the ontinual proess of linking performane measurement to performane management in a number of light weight definitions. Where definitions do exist, they are likely to be diverse in their fous, however a useful one for our purpose is that proposed by Folan et al. [4]: performane management is the management of the system put in plae by an entity (with a pre-determined soially onstruted reality) that has hosen a relevant viewpoint of itself (its objetive) towards whih it means to progress, using a set of reognisable harateristis as its measurement apparatus (performane measurement) to monitor this progress. This definition makes the requisite distintion between performane management and performane measurement, and utilises Lebas s [1] ontention of the suessive nature of performane management. For performane assessment we an input the analysis of Bourguignon and Chiapello [25], who, using a trial-inspired model, worked to develop a three-step model of performane assessment, onsisting of: 1. Instrumentation the step used to determine the preonditions of assessment; 2. Evaluation the step for the atual prodution of a value judgement; and 3. Consequenes where the value judgements reahed result in numerous onsequenes. From their analysis it is lear that performane assessment implies more than simple measurement; indeed, measurement only physially ours in their three-step model in the seond step evaluation, after the preparatory seeds have been sown in the first step 35

37 instrumentation. In its turn we an onjeture that performane assessment itself is an atively employed tool of the performane management environment, whih, as we determined earlier, enompasses performane measurement and results in an evolving performane management arena, progressively hanging as the strategi objetive is evaluated and updated (or reset) for the future. These views are enapsulated in Figure 3, whih offers a model of the relationships between the three terms performane management, performane assessment, and performane measurement, plus the position that performane holds in relation to these a ombination of the researh of Lebas [1], Bourguignon and Chiapello [25], Folan et al. [4] and the performane disussion in the setions above. Insert Figure 3 here Figure 3: Relationships of performane management, performane assessment and performane measurement inside the performane box The figure traes the terms performane, performane management, performane measurement and performane assessment, their interations and meanings, together and separately. Note the position of eah in the figure: the large arrow represents the omnipresent nature of performane management it is often holistially oneived and hene exists often in an unonsious state in the organisation (or inter-organisation); the urved desending arrow represents the periodi nature of performane assessment, a tool atively employed in the performane management environment when the performane objetive is set and reset note it omes to an end one it delivers its assessment report, and omes to life one a new objetive is set hene, it is periodi in nature; and the 36

38 position of performane measurement itself in the evaluative box of performane assessment this also ours periodially as part of performane assessment. Note also the enapsulating box denoted performane, whih is depited as promoting one oherent vision of performane inside of whih performane management, performane measurement and performane assessment all reside. This performane box is important, as it not only assures us that it is erroneous to assume that we an treat any one term performane management, performane measurement or performane assessment separately from the rest of the performane system; but it also informs us that the hoie of any one of these immediately plaes onstraints upon the others to be hosen. The hoie of a partiular performane measurement tehnique, for example, immediately onstrains our hoie of assessment and management tehniques, and even impats upon the type of performane addued inside the performane box; in muh the same way, management, measurement and assessment tehniques must be onsidered en masse, so to speak, and aligned with performane aspirations, and not hosen separately as impliitly reommended in the researh. Considering tools for performane management, performane measurement and performane assessment together helps to streamline the performane system implemented inside the performane box; onsidering them separately auses many integration problems for the entity trying to implement their view of performane, as eah tool may suffer from inadequate or irregular integration with the others. 37

39 This model, we onsider, is novel for its approah to the problem of performane it takes: it begins with determining the meaning and ontent of the term performane itself; and using disoveries from this, it stipulates appropriate methodologies and tools aordingly. To treat performane in suh a manner is to keep measurement, assessment and management integrated with eah other, without reourse to the usual methods of pieemeal adaptation formerly favoured. 5. Conlusions As the firm operates and expands, it annot refrain from the attempt to analyse how this is to be represented to itself and others, and the objet in whih this representation entres, that is its performane; nor does it stop till it has, in some sort, sueeded in expressing in words and quantities, what has all along been a priniple both of its operation and of its future strategi possibilities. But the firm is immediately faed with a dilemma as the objet for whih it seeks, and to whih it means to parallel its operation, is by its nature intangible and subjetive, and, in fat, is quite dissimilar to those tangible and easily quantified physial resoures in whih the firm may abound. Consequently the firm is left with little option but to try and express performane by proxy, as it were, by using the available tangible and physial resoures as the soure of those ideas that are the ommon urreny of the firm s experiene; this is why performane is usually expressed through the existing infrastruture and resoures that the firm holds, as they are the tangible elements of the ompany that omprise its ommon language. However, unless the link between the tangible resoures of the firm and the intangible performane 38

40 that we wish to eluidate is appropriately handled both as to the seletion of tangible representatives to denote intangible performane, and to the orret appliation of these there is a tendeny for the piture of performane that evolves to be inaurate and to re-at adversely upon the firm. This is exemplified in the ase of the firm that hooses for itself inadequate objetives and performane harateristis based upon an improper analysis of their tangible apabilities, whih produes an unsatisfatory piture of performane; all the while an aeptable piture of the firm s performane may lie hidden owing to the inadequate seletion proedures applied. Sometimes it is possible to meet with firms that have managed to pervert the performane idiom so muh that they regard loalised, rather trivial statistis as being somehow intimately linked with their strategi diretives. How this may be so they themselves are unertain, but they have managed to onvine themselves that the link between tiny operational statistis is always going to influene the strategi impliations of their firm. In this error, whih is an error of trying to be too exating with the general rule that suggests a asual hierarhial link between operational performane measures to strategi performane measures at a higher level, the performane measurement literature, it must be onfessed, must take some blame as it seems to have popularised a general priniple that an easily be perverted in pratie. Indeed, to suggest that a performane measure suh as the number of penils used in the sales department per year is redolent of anything other than itself is nonsensial. While the general priniple of moving from groups of operational performane measures to a strategi representative may be true, we must be areful how we apply the rule, and 39

41 indeed as we argue here, if the inorret objetives or firm harateristis are hosen to represent the firm s performane, then the problem is not one of streamlining performane measures at all, but that of trying to reonile the adequate piture of performane to the inadequate one that we are left with. In other words, disussions onerning the proper seletion and relations of performane measures may be masking an entirely different problem, namely that we have begun with the wrong objetives at the start. There is an impliit assumption in the performane measurement literature that performane is somehow a onstant, and that we must not question this; we are subsequently left, by this reasoning, with trying to solve an everreurring problem by juggling performane measures, instead of questioning the basi requirements that onstitute performane for us. This problem annot be solved by just examining how we move from operational to strategi performane measures, but by determining first exatly what we mean by performane. In this paper we have attempted to disuss the onept of performane in terms of the business ontext. This has led us from an examination of the general definition of performane in the OED, and from the Performane Studies disipline, to a detailed examination of the many shades of meaning that an be apprehended in the business performane researh when applied to the firm. In the disussion above, models of performane that have depited its seletion and arrangement harateristis (see Figure 1), its elemental qualities (see Figure 2), and the priniple of enapsulation (see Figure 3), whereby performane ats as a onstraining frame around issues of management, 40

42 assessment and measurement, have been displayed and disussed. This paper will be ompleted by the addition of one more performane model that, somewhat, inorporates the variable nature of performane outlined in the models above; in this model the states that performane an reah are expliated; where by the term state, we mean its level of formation. The basi, or first, state of performane in this model is where it does not exist as a palpable entity in the firm; its harateristis are random and thus performane at this state may be termed unformed. As has been mentioned above, if we don t stop to evaluate our performane it remains unformed and outside our bounded rationality, with performane being impossible to assess in a random entity. The seond state is where performane is evaluated and orretly formulised; this is the ideal state for a firm to be in: the dynami and stati elements of performane are in balane, and the hosen performane piture has been internalised suessfully into the ompany; in short, the ompany has a systemati piture of performane in plae, where the management, assessment and measurement aspets are all orretly hosen to aommodate this performane piture. The third and final state is where the performane piture has beome unbalaned: as we have seen from above, too muh emphasis on stati elements an ause this situation to happen; or, on the other hand, over-formalisation of the performane piture from a stultified program of institutionalisation an lead to this, espeially where the performane piture beomes over-bureaurati, or deformed by attention being overly-paid to one performane issue only an issue readily met with in 41

43 empirial studies. These three states of performane are depited in a ylial pattern in Figure 4, and are disussed further below. Insert Figure 4 here Figure 4: The states of performane In expressing how developed we think the piture of performane is within a ompany, we an examine the state to whih we think it belongs. However, it is of radial importane to note that the states of performane that we outline generially here are not evolutionary in one diretion only, and regressions are possible in both diretions. As we said above, the formalised / systemati state of performane is the ideal that a ompany must diret its efforts towards; this may, however, quite quikly evolve into either an over-bureaurati nightmare whereby the ompany pursues a poliy of trying to doument everything that is performane-related inside the firm, from the olletion of trivial statistis, to the implementation of rigid performane infrastrutures that are not neessary. On the other hand, as we have already seen when over-liberal performane poliies are applied and the dynami elements of performane are dominant, developing the piture of performane that the ompany is to use an beome something of a freefor-all; in this guise, and perhaps under the mistaken impression that an emphasis on dynami performane proedures will help them remain ompetitive in an ever-hanging business environment, a ompany opens the door for the development of multiple pitures of performane that are irreonilable to eah other. Thus the firm s performane piture, whih is irreduible to unity, beomes unformed and, in effet, random in nature, as multiple visions of performane ompete for supremay. 42

44 There is little to hoose from between this state and the state of a ompany totally unaware of its own performane: both must begin to apply performane infrastrutures that an allow for the development of one piture of performane; hene it is possible to progress from performane in a random and formless state, to one that is deformed and over-bureaurati all at one, by the appliation of proedures that are too rigid or too prosribed for a firm that has not previously experimented with its performane view. Alternatively, the relaxation from exessive bureauray an result in the firm slipping into unformed performane, as part of an over-reation to the previously deformed regime. In essene, while the formalised / systemati state of performane is the ideal, it is also the most diffiult to obtain and onsistently hold as time passes; as an ideal, performane requires the mutual interation and integration of the performane piture hosen by the firm, and its management, assessment and measurement proedures; one appliation inorretly implemented, or improperly operating, may tip the balane into either of the other two states. Hene, in periods of transition, when performane is most likely to be affeted, a hange of state is most likely to our, as the mehanisms of performane an beome disrupted, or be annulled by the hanging business environment. It is to be expeted, therefore, for a ompany to osillate between states, although the goal is always to return to the stability of the formalised / systemati state as soon as possible. It is also interesting to onsider the subjetive nature of performane that an be seen with this model. At any one time, performane may seem to exist in all three states, depending upon who you disuss the situation with in the firm. For example, the CEO of 43

45 a partiular firm may believe the performane of the ompany is somewhat random or formless, as they find it diffiult to loate the performane piture they want, perhaps owing to the existene of multiple measures, and multiple proedures for navigating these thus performane an take on the appearane of being somewhat subjetive and formless; on the other hand, the middle manager, with diret ontrol over mehanisms of performane management, assessment and measurement may be perfetly ontent with the state of performane, finding it formal and systemati, and exatly to their purpose; whereas individual operators, with responsibilities for olleting performane information, reporting these, filling in data-sheets and so on, may find the overall performane proess time-onsuming, and unneessarily bureaurati. That these onfliting views are subjetive there is little doubt; however they remain valid even if the ontext of the model given above onentrates on the performane of the firm as if it is one all-embraing entity. The hief point is that the ompany s piture of performane, although subjetive, must be of a nature that omprehends these different viewpoints within the firm s struture; however, at the highest level, the ompany must hoose one piture of performane and work with this only, and not forfeit its right to develop this piture to individual, subjetive, viewpoints in the organisation. Conformity to one view of the ompany s performane state, ideally the formalised / systemati state, may be fostered by inreased eduation and training onerning the performane piture hosen by the ompany. This does not mean that simple training on the mehanisms that are used to produe this performane management, assessment and measurement mehanisms, for example an derease this subjetivity; rather the 44

46 organisation s personnel must be enouraged to aept the performane piture hosen for the firm itself, perhaps in the form of a performane statement, similar in effet to a mission, or vision, statement. The key for the redution of subjetivity on the issue of performane in a firm is, neessarily, eduation on the holisti endeavours that the firm wishes to perform in; this form of extended eduation an make performane hores seem more palatable, and the diffiulties of viewing performane more aeptable, without a onsequent rejetion of the overall ideal state of performane. Thus, the ideal state of performane an operate with ontending, subjetive viewpoints, as long as the overall performane piture has been extended to inlude all onfliting parties who agree, in prinipal, with its ontents; these ontents have been mentioned already in onnetion with the balaning of the elements of performane in the above setion. Performane is likely to remain a ontested topi. Its ontinued dispersal among researh disiplines, well beyond its original appliation, means that the boundaries of aepted definitions an only be pushed further and further; and this, oupled with the definitions of performane that may be oming from other languages, makes it impossible to determine the last appearane of the onept of performane in a new guise in the business researh literature. Here we have examined performane as it impats as a topi on the firm, with help from external studies that onfirm us in our opinion of the merurial nature of performane as an idea, under analysis, and as a viewpoint, in its elemental nature, and as a researh onept that has multi-faeted harateristis, or meanings, that result in numerous performane models, all of whih are equally valid. 45

47 Perhaps the most important model outlined here is that of the enapsulating nature of performane, whih suggests that the term performane in the two-word expressions performane management, performane assessment, and performane measurement denote the same thing, with the variability between these onepts existing only in the seond word. In this model, we postulate that the best approah to the performane researh may be through the ommon term performane, and, one a firm has developed its all-enompassing piture of what this performane should be, it will be possible to determine the appropriate management, assessment and measurement proedures that should be used to reah this piture. In a time when Neely [2] has suggested that the future of the performane measurement researh requires theoretial verifiation, and with the growth in alls for more robust empirial and theoretial analysis, there ertainly exists a gap in the researh for a onsideration of the term performane. Future studies of the meaning and implementation of performane infrastrutures in empirial ases may help to balane artiles, suh as this one, whih have looked at performane as a researh onstrut; the possibility of new meanings for the word performane oming from the empirial environment should not be dismissed. Furthermore, examinations of the word performane, and its meanings, in non-english ontexts would provide fasinating insights into just how mehanisms of performane suh as performane measurement frameworks are being used in environments not easily investigated by native English-speakers, who have tended to dominate the disussion on performane thus far. Performane, therefore, although a well-researhed topi as part of investigations into issues of measurement, management and assessment, 46

48 individually ontains numerous researh opportunities for the future performane researher. Referenes [1] M. Lebas, Performane measurement and performane management, International Journal of Prodution Eonomis 41 (1-3) (1995) [2] A. Neely, The evolution of performane measurement researh: developments in the last deade and a researh agenda for the next, International Journal of Operations & Prodution Management 25 (12) (2005) [3] R. Thorpe, T. Beasley, The harateristis of performane management researh: impliations and hallenges, International Journal of Produtivity and Performane Management 53 (4) (2004) [4] P. Folan, J. Browne, H. Jagdev, Performane management researh: an alternative view to Thorpe and Beasley, International Journal of Produtivity and Performane Management, In Press. [5] H. Bial, Introdution, The Performane Studies Reader, Routledge, London and New York, 2004, pp [6] R. Shehner, Performane studies: the broad spetrum approah, Journal of Performane Studies 32 (3) (1988) 4-6. [7] J. MKenzie, Perform or Else, Routledge, London and New York, 2001, pp [8] E. Goffman, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, Doubleday, Garden City, New York, 1959, pp

49 [9] P. Simmons, Performing safety in faulty environments, in: B. Szerszynski, W. Heim and C. Waterton (Eds.), Nature Performed: Environment, Culture and Performane, Blakwell Publishing, Oxford, UK, 2003, pp [10] R.G. Eles, The Performane Measurement Manifesto, Harvard Business Review, January-February (1991) [11] A. Read, The plaebo of performane: psyhoanalysis in its plae, in: P. Campbell, A. Kear (Eds.), Psyhoanalysis and Performane, Routledge, London and New York, 2001, pp [12] S. Connor, Postmodern performane, in: P. Campbell (Ed.), Analysing performane, Manhester University Press, Manhester, UK, [13] M. Carlson, Performane: A Critial Introdution, Routledge, London and New York, 1996, pp [14] C. Bell, Ritual Theory, Ritual Pratie. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, 1992, pp [15] P. Phelan, The ontology of performane: representation without reprodution, Unmarked: the politis of performane, Routledge, London and New York, 1993, pp [16] R.A. Rappaport, Eology, Meaning, and Religion, North Atlanti, Berkeley, US, [17] R.L. Grimes, Ritual theory and the environment, in: B. Szerszynski, W. Heim and C. Waterton (Eds.), Nature Performed: Environment, Culture and Performane, Blakwell Publishing, Oxford, UK, 2003, pp

50 [18] R.A. Rappaport, Ritual and Religion in the Making of Humanity, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, [19] R.S. Kaplan, D.P. Norton, The balaned soreard measures that drive performane, Harvard Business Review, January-February (1992) [20] A. Neely, M. Gregory, K. Platts, Performane measurement system design a literature review and researh agenda, International Journal of Operations & Prodution Management 15 (4) (1995) [21] M. Bourne, M. Frano, J. Wilkes, Corporate performane management, Measuring Business Exellene 7 (3) (2003) [22] K.S. Cavalluzzo, C.D. Ittner, Implementing performane measurement innovations: evidene from government, Aounting, Organizations and Soiety 29 (3-4) (2004) [23] L. Berrah, G. Mauris, F. Vernadat, Information aggregation in industrial performane measurement: rationales, issues and definitions, International Journal of Prodution Researh 42 (20) (2004) [24] C. Morgan, Struture, speed and saliene: performane measurement in the supply hain, Business Proess Management Journal 10 (5) (2004) [25] A. Bourguignon, E. Chiapello, The role of ritiism in the dynamis of performane evaluation systems, Critial Perspetives on Aounting 16 (2005) [26] I. Robson, Implementing a performane measurement system apable of reating a ulture of high performane, International Journal of Produtivity and Performane Management 54 (2) (2005)

51 [27] B.E. Joyner, C.A. Raiborn, Management aveats for measuring and assessing publi responsibility performane, Business Horizons 48 (6) (2005) [28] U.S. Bititi, Modelling of performane measurement systems in manufaturing enterprises, International Journal of Prodution Eonomis 42 (1995) [29] P. Keung, Proess performane measurement system: a tool to support proessbased organizations, Total Quality Management 11 (1) (2000) [30] F. Moers, Disretion and bias in performane evaluation: the impat of diversity and subjetivity, Aounting, Organizations and Soiety 30 (1) (2005) [31] B.M. Beamon, Measuring supply hain performane, International Journal of Operations & Prodution Management 19 (3) (1999) [32] D. Medori, D. Steeple, A framework for auditing and enhaning performane measurement systems, International Journal of Operations & Prodution Management 20 (5) (2000) [33] C.D. Ittner, D.F. Larker, Coming up short on nonfinanial performane measurement, Harvard Business Review, November (2003) [34] P. Folan, J. Browne, A review of performane measurement: Towards performane management, Computers in Industry 56 (7) (2005) [35] J. Wholey, Formative and Summative Evaluation: Related Issues in Performane Measurement, Evaluation Pratie 17 (2) (1996) [36] P.L. Berger, T.L. Lukmann, The soial onstrution of reality, Doubleday, Garden City, New York, [37] D. Winstanley, D., K. Stuart-Smith, Poliing performane: the ethis of performane management, Personnel Review 25 (6) (1996)

52 [38] B. Andersen, B. Henriksen, W. Aarseth, Holisti performane management: an integrated framework, International Journal of Produtivity and Performane Management 55 (1) (2006)

53 Table 1: Current usage of the term performane as abridged from the OED Keyword Entry Sub-entry Performane A. Related to the doing of an ation or operation. 1. The aomplishment or arrying out of something ommanded or undertaken; the doing of an ation or operation. 2. The quality of exeution of suh an ation, operation, or proess; the ompetene or effetiveness of a person or thing in performing an ation; espeially the apabilities, produtivity, or suess of a mahine, produt, or person when measured against a standard. 3. Something performed or done; an ation, at, deed, or operation; oasionally a notable deed, ahievement, or exploit. 4. A literary, artisti, or other reative work; a omposition. 5. (From Psyhology) The observable or measurable behaviour of a person or animal in a partiular, usually experimental, situation. 6. (From Business) The extent to whih an investment is profitable, espeially in relation to other ommodities; an instane of this. 7. (From Linguistis) A person s atual use of a language, as opposed to his or her knowledge of it. B. A set of (fur) trimmings. C. The arrying out, disharge, or fulfilment of a ommand, duty, promise, purpose, responsibility, et.; exeution, disharge. Frequently opposed to promise. D. The ation of exeuting or interpretation. 1. The ation of performing a play, piee of musi, eremony, et.; exeution, interpretation. 2. A eremony, rite, or ritual. 3. An instane of performing a play, piee of musi, et., in front of an audiene; an oasion on whih suh a work is presented; a publi appearane by a performane artist or artists of any kind. Also a rendering or interpretation of a work, part, role, et. In extended use: a pretene, a sham. 4. A display of anger or exaggerated behaviour; a fuss, a sene; (also) a diffiult, timeonsuming, or annoying ation or proedure. 52

54 Table 2: Performane in performane measurement sample quotes from authors Researher(s) Quote Designation [10] senior exeutives have been rethinking how to measure the performane of their businesses. They have reognized that new strategies and ompetitive realities demand new measurement systems. Related to the doing of an ation or operation / Disharge of responsibility [19] The balaned soreard inludes finanial measures that tell the results of ations already taken. And it omplements the finanial measures with operational measures on ustomer satisfation, internal proesses, and the organization s innovation and improvement ativities operational measures that are drivers of future finanial performane. [20] Performane measurement is the proess of quantifying ation, where measurement is the proess of quantifiation and ation leads to performane. [28] Reent researh into manufaturing systems integration has identified the need for effetive deployment of business objetives down through the organisation and the subsequent measurement of performane in ritial areas as key elements of sustainable ompetitive advantage. [31] When analyzing system performane, qualitative evaluations suh as good, fair, and poor are vague and diffiult to utilize in any meaningful way. the hosen numerial performane measure may not adequately desribe the system s performane, and may therefore be as vague and diffiult to utilize as the above qualitative evaluations. [29] assessing proess performane is essential beause it enables individuals and groups to assess where they stand in omparison to their ompetitors. In addition, assessing proess performane provides the opportunity of reognizing problems and taking orretive ation before these problems esalate. [32] world lass manufaturers reognise the importane of metris in helping to define the goals and performane expetations for organisations. Organisations adopt or develop appropriate metris to interpret and desribe quantitatively the riteria used to measure the effetiveness of the manufaturing system and its many interrelated omponents. [21] there is also a growing onern in performane measurement that measuring performane is not enough. Measurement has to lead to insight and insight to ation hene the term orporate performane management has been born to differentiate between management at the level of the individual and the orporation. [33] most ompanies have made little attempt to identify areas of nonfinanial performane that might advane their hosen strategy. many ompanies seem to have adopted boilerplate versions of nonfinanial measurement frameworks. businesses often fail to establish suh links partly out of laziness or thoughtlessness. As a result, self- Related to the doing of an operation / Quality of exeution of suh operation / Extent to whih investment is profitable, espeially in relation to other ommodities Related to the doing of an ation Disharge of responsibility / Suess of an entity when measured against a standard The ation of interpretation Suess of an entity when measured against a standard / Ation of interpretation The ation of interpretation Disharge of purpose / The ompetene or effetiveness of a person or thing in performing an ation / Suess of an entity when measured against a standard Quality of exeution of an operation / Competene of a person performing operation / Ation and instane of 53

55 serving managers are able to hose and manipulate measures solely for the purpose of making themselves look good and earning nie bonuses. [22] reent efforts to improve governmental performane have also plaed onsiderable emphasis on performane measurement as a means to inrease aountability and improve deision-making. [23] as performane depends on the prodution proesses, it must be deployed within the various prodution ativities aording to a defined ation plan. [24] performane implies predetermined parameters and measurement implies an ability to monitor events and ativities in a meaningful way. [25] eah step of the proess operates a transmutation from one level of reality to another. instrumentation turns ation (performane) into its representation (performane measures); then the representation is turned into a judgement, and finally the judgement is translated into an outome. [26] In a high performane ulture, it would seem likely that people would pereive that, in addition to their everyday operational ativities, part of their job was to ontinually assist in improving the performane of the organisation. [27] By setting up a system that keeps longitudinal data, ompanies an identify trends in performane, ompare their performane with other firms, and set streth goals for performane in these areas. This effort at improving performane in environmentalism, soial aountability, employee health and safety, and ethis will benefit the organizations involved. [30] Although inreasing the number of performane measures and using subjetive performane measures an provide more effiient inentives, it also provides the priniple with more disretion in performane evaluation. performing a play in front of an audiene / Interpretation of a role / Pretene sham Disharge of responsibility / Interpretation of a role Exeution of a purpose / An instane of performing a omposition Doing an operation / Quality of exeution of suh a proess / The apabilities of an entity when measured against a standard Disharge of a purpose/ Something performed or done / A eremony or ritual Ceremony, rite / Fulfilment of a duty The apabilities of an entity when measured against a standard / Exeution of a notable deed / Measurable behaviour of an entity in a partiular situation / Interpretation of exeution (pretene?) The apabilities of an entity when measured against a standard / Measurable behaviour of an entity in a partiular situation / Interpretation of exeution (pretene?) 54

56 55 Figures 1. Relevane Possible environments o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 2. Objetives Possible objetives 3. Charateristis Possible harateristis Performane Formally arrange Figure 1: The priorities of performane Stati Elements Dynami Elements Balane of Performane Figure 2: Balaning the elements of performane

57 Period 1 Period 2 Period N Instrumentation Evaluation Performane Management Consequenes Strategi Objetive set Strategi Objetive reset S. O. reset S. O. reset S. O. reset Evolution of strategi objetives Performane Legend Performane Assessment Performane Management Performane Measurement Figure 3: Relationships of performane management, performane assessment and performane measurement inside the performane box 56

58 Unformed / Random Performane States Deformed / Over- Bureaurati Formalised / Systemati Figure 4: The states of performane 57

59 Biographies Paul Folan Paul Folan reeived his BE, in 2002, and MEngS degrees from National University of Ireland, Galway in 2004, and is urrently a PhD student at the same university. His main researh interests inlude performane measurement, the extended enterprise, produt lifeyle management and reverse logistis. Jim Browne: Jim Browne is registrar and deputy president of the National University of Ireland, Galway, as well as the founder of the Computer Integrated Manufaturing (CIM) Researh Unit there. He has many years experiene of working in applied researh and development, inluding extensive experiene of EU and industrially funded projets. His researh interests are in the design, analysis, modelling and operation of Extended and Virtual Enterprises. He holds Bahelors and Masters degrees from NUI, Galway and PhD and DS degrees in engineering from the University of Manhester Institute of Siene and Tehnology. His most reent book, o-authored with Dr Hari Jagdev and Dr Attrata Brennan is entitled Strategi Deision Making in Modern Manufaturing and published by Klewer Aademi Publishers in Harinder Jagdev: 58