Measuring Public Sector Performance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Measuring Public Sector Performance - Essay Example Then, common models of performance measurement and how they were developed are investigated. Third, the public and private sectors are compared and contrasted to highlight similarities and differences in their functions, goals, and outputs. Fourth, key developments in private and public sector performance measures are reviewed and discussed to highlight the convergence in the efforts of each sector to address stakeholder expectations. The paper concludes with a set of observations that disprove the hypothesis by showing that performance measurement as a basis for financial accountability and management in both the private and public sectors has become more complex and difficult and provide challenges for everyone. Â  Any discussion of organizational performance begins with an understanding of the nature of human organizations and why they exist. Like the human beings who establish them, every organization exists for a purpose, a set of goals or objectives that has to be achieved. By custom and for analytical convenience, organizations are classified based on their main purpose; thus, there are private-sector, public-sector, not-for-profit, institutional, voluntary, and mixed organizations. Table 1 summarises each of these organizational types, their specific purposes, and some basic examples of each. Â  Regardless of the type, an organization can be said to be successful if it meets the purpose(s) for which it is established, and with success comes its continued growth and existence. Otherwise, it would be better for an organization that does not meet its purpose for existing to close down. This is where accounting as a management tool proves its usefulness because it helps provide public sector organizations with the means to measure performance (Jones et al., 2002).

Utilitarianism Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Utilitarianism - Assignment Example Utilitarianism extends to political ethics which introduces the problem of tyranny of majority. This is when the majority and powerful people make decisions that are affects the minority. The problem of tyranny of majority is not new as it has occurred in the past history. An example that serves this problem is Slavery of the black people by the majority Whites in the USA. This was a time where decisions were made by the white people as they were the majority natives. The decision made to use black people as slaves was an act against humanity and was morally incorrect. Later, black people like Martin Luther King saw a need to end this slavery and racism that affected his fellow minorities. It was not an easy battle but at the long end equality through democracy was achieve among every America citizen(Barden, 2001). The majority Americans gained from this slavery because the cheap labor boosted its economy. Today, America is the one of the most developed countries in the world. As some would argue slavery was for a good cause, however what about the oppressed slaves? As much as America benefited economically, the Blacks suffered tremendously (Barden, 2001). Therefore, it was not morally right for the majority right to oppress the minority even if the results benefitted the

Michelangelo on the Divine, Universal truth and Beauty Research Paper

Michelangelo on the Divine, Universal truth and Beauty - Research Paper Example elangelo, a renowned artist whose works of early thirteenth century are popular, is a proper example of artists whose works illustrates philosophy behind it. This paper seeks to examine Michelangelo’s works of art on Divine, universal truth and beauty. Michelangelo’s creative work of sculpture in Rome brings about the issue of divine and beauty. We view him presenting the images of the characters in the bible and their actions. We see Adam’s image eating the apple, and besides him there is Eve (Michelangelo 56). Everything that happened in the Garden of Eden is captured by his work. He even goes to the extent of imagining the image of the angel who gave the orders in the Garden of Eden. He further decorates the chapel with beautiful images of Cain and Abel offering their sacrifices and their reactions after the sacrifice. Daniel, Zachariah and Haman are among the characters Michelangelo sculpts in the chapel thus decorating it (Condivi 24). I can imagine the scenery in the chapel accompanied by its divine significance to the ones who see them. The fact that Michelangelo chose to use the characters of the holy bible to do his work signifies some kind of divine connection. The writer of Michelangelo’s biography describes the situation under which Eve sculpted by Michelangelo acts. How she is guilty and fearful of justice and hope for divine mercy. The fact that Michelangelo’s paintings are more beautiful is not something easy. When asked, Michelangelo argue that all the work of paintings is done by his brains and not the hands (Molyneux 78). This implies that Michelangelo frequently prefer to link the philosophical art with his brain. Moreover, he lends himself fully to the source of divine things in his art; the beautiful nature. Each and every thing that is in nature should be looked at with appropriate keenness (Kool 15). It is by observing this nature keenly that Michelangelo came up with such beautiful paint ings. As the saying goes that

Facilities Maintenance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Facilities Maintenance - Essay Example The facilities maintenance has to estimate the size and area of the facility and the number of facilities established. The preventive maintenance has to be planned on how to address the immediate requirement and the facilities to be installed to meet the needs in requirement. The facilities components life has to estimate to know the performance factors of the individual components. The facilities maintenance has create a periodical review to estimate the robustness of the components and devices to initiate timely renovation process and to keep the facilities well updated. The facilities are to well set to restore the aftermath affect of any disasters. The renovation time has to be reduced to regulate the operational losses due to the sudden incidents occurring in the work station. The probable scale of effect and the restored systems required are to be estimated and has to placed for immediate requirements. The horizon of the responsibilities spreads to an extent to keep the working environment safe, make the employees feel comfort in executing the profiles. Being informative in case of any suspects and externals dangers and responding in no mean time to decrease the impact of the danger. Keeping the facilities of the campus well updated and regular inspections on their working conditions enhance the performance of the facility like the cooling systems, the security systems, the fire equipment services. The visitors can be a form of treat carriers as we cannot predict the dangerous intention. The persons entering into the campus are to be thoroughly checked and are to be send to the reception area only after the concerned person from company is accompanying him. His luggage has to isolated at the campus entrance with restrictions on certain materials and to kept at separate cloak room facility. The work stations should be located at a distant area away from the visitors lounge. The visitors' information has to be recorded for any further clarifications. The surrounding areas of the campuses are to be monitored to avoid any miscreant entering into the campus. The movements of the road side vehicles should be captured to know the traffic discrepancies and any dangerous moves. The vendors and support staff have to be thoroughly checked before allowing them to their shifts. The surrounding areas are to be kept clean to avoid the hidden explosives and harmful material. The staff is to careful monitored to observe their behavior and their movements in the restricted areas. The accessories should be used with care to avoid mishandling and to avoid explosions. The other entry areas like the back doors, kitchen areas, the stores room areas are to monitored for any doubtful transfer of materials. The parking vehicles are to be carefully

Development task 2... assignment with label sketch - 3

Development task 2... with label sketch - Assignment Example The depth of the concrete has to be greater than 500 millimeter. From ground level, the depth of the concrete must be greater than 1500 millimeter (Cyril, 2003: 110). Since the ground condition has firm clay, therefore there is a need to consider the depth of foundations. Clay exhibits the property to shrink or contract depending on the moisture content present in it (Kenneth, 1993:25). At the same time, if the surrounding area has trees, there is a possibility that the trees would absorb the moisture from the clay and hence, the foundation may experience settlement to a significant level. For this case, it is essential to consider the depth of the foundation. A trench fill foundation is thus ideal for this type of site condition. Research suggests that â€Å"trench fill foundations are quicker to prepare than deep strip foundations. This means that there is less disruption once the building work starts and not as much labour time will be needed. It is less likely that subsidence will occur in cases where there may be changes in the soils substrata† (Mosley & Bungey, 2000, 48). The site has different ground conditions and has different soils. Thus, it has a weak bearing capacity. For this purpose, the ideal foundation would be strip, grid or mat foundation. In this case, the suggested foundation is mat foundation. Because of varying ground conditions, majority of the isolated footings would have large areas and thus, it would become uneconomical (Terzaghi et.al, 2006, 256)l. According to the British Code, â€Å"Where the subsoil is very weak the load needs to be spread over a greater area. This is achieved by casting a slab of concrete over the whole ground area and thickening the slab where walls are to be placed†(Perry & Perry, 2009, 118). The design of any reinforced concrete structure aims at a suitable and economical design and for this purpose, mat foundation is ideal. A mat foundation is often used by designers when isolated footings may

Adam Smith and Karl Marx - Contrasting Views of Capitalism Research Paper

Adam Smith and Karl Marx - Contrasting Views of Capitalism - Research Paper Example Adam Smith was a great believer in individualistic abilities and in an economic system that was not directed but guided by an invisible hand. That was the system of classes- faire. Under classic- faire production and distribution among classes is all automatic. Smith’s idea was that government expenditure should be dominated by military procurements and rest of the expenditures and procurement should be automatic as individuals and institutions were capable of meeting the consumable and other demands. Interestingly, Adam Smith never used the terms lassis- faire and capitalism, though he was aware of the implications of these terms. Adam Smith believed that consumption creates demand and necessity to produce. Production will not take place unless there are raw material and demand for the product. â€Å"Prior to the industrial revolution, production of goods hinged on work completed by human hands. Today machines have replaced much of human capital, but that is not to say that human labour is not currently an important part of a production.† (LT, 2006)i. Even Marx realized that human capital is required to produce, though human capital does not have the capacity to bargain because of their being in surplus Karl Marx is very straightforward in his views on capitalism. He says there are only two classes of the society and these classes are in direct competition with each other. One class is of BOURGEOISIE and the other class is PROLETARIAT. According to Karl Marx, there is no middle class, and the proletariat is the exploited class in capitalism. Proletariat class is a class of labourer who finds work so long as their work increases the capital. There will not be any work when labourer stops adding to the capital under the state of capitalism. Capitalism does not regard proletariat as a class of people, and that is why they are exploited the most just to add to the capital. As per Alan W Erlt (2007) â€Å"Marx saw capitalism not as an institution and not as a result of organic economic laws, but as a phase of in the evolution of modern human society.† (page 314)     

Restaurant satisfaction Essay Example for Free

Restaurant satisfaction Essay Restaurant Customer Satisfaction Surveys Can Keep Your Customers Coming Back Keep your customers coming back and recommending your restaurant to others with help from restaurant customer satisfaction surveys. Restaurant customer satisfaction surveys give you quantitative insight into the opinions and attitudes of your customers. You’ll obtain facts about what they want, what they expect, and if they plan to return to your restaurant again. If results show that your restaurant does not meet your customers’ expectations, you’ll know exactly what areas to target for improvement. Whether you own a fast-food restaurant, a dine-in establishment, or a chain of restaurants, Infosurv’s restaurant survey measuring customer satisfaction can provide you with valuable data you can use to make better business decisions. Gauging satisfaction with a restaurant customer survey can tell you about the demographics of your customers as well as give you insight into what they really think about: Food quality Menu selection Menu pricing and value Waiting times Promptness of service Professionalism and friendliness of server(s) Server’s knowledge of menu Decor Restaurant location Overall restaurant experience By assessing the wants and needs of customers – and then acting upon them – restaurants have continually found that satisfaction surveys encourage: Repeat business Positive feelings towards the restaurant because they showed that they cared about customer opinions Increased recommendations by current customers Increased spending within the restaurant Whether you need a restaurant satisfaction survey designed from scratch exclusively for your customers, or have an existing survey that needs to be administered, Infosurv takes extraordinary measures to ensure validity, reliability and bias reduction. Our goal is to help you compose a highly relevant survey instrument that will yield sound and valid conclusions while achieving the maximum survey response rate possible. Learn More About Restaurant Customer Satisfaction Surveys From Infosurv To learn more about restaurant customer satisfaction surveys and the Infosurv Experienceâ„ ¢ please download our brochure. What Makes Customer Satisfaction Research Useful? Capture customer feedback and use the data to set business priorities. Mar. 25, 2008By Marian Singer, partner, FiveTwelve Group Ltd. Much has been written in the last couple of years about the promise of customer satisfaction research (CSR) to improve performance or shorten development cycles for businesses and organizations. This work is particularly germane in North America, where growth in many industrial and commercial markets is peaking and companies are scrambling for competitive advantage. The concept is simple: capture customer feedback and use the data to set business priorities. Customer satisfaction data is routinely gathered to support continuous improvement programs like TQM, ISO and Six Sigma. The answers to the questions How are we doing? and What should we do better? are the building blocks of a customer relationship based on measurable value. Answered correctly, they track improvements in the business relationship and identify areas for improvement. However, translating the answers into meaningful actions is difficult. The issue is not whether or not you are getting information about customer satisfaction; it is whether or not you are using information about customer satisfaction to act differently. Generally, two factors cause weak CSR: uninvolved stakeholders and useless data. Lets explore what makes CSR useful. An engineered products manufacturer had recently been purchased by investors seeing promise in their technological leadership. Research was commissioned to help the new team understand current satisfaction and long term business durability. They were shocked to find that more than 90% of the business was at risk. While sales teams showcased and closed many initial orders, lengthy start-ups, late shipments and poor quality pushed customers away once they had adopted the technology. The manufacturer was, in essence, training customers to prefer the technology on behalf of their competition. Employees were frustrated too. They had heard complaints but hadnt digested the consequences. Out of necessity, they assumed ample supply of new customers to replace the disgruntled ones. The costs associated with lost business hadn? t been clear. The team dove into the research, put answers into context, mined new feedback, and made survey adjustments even while they collected more information. They isolated common themes, asked why, and tested actions steps to recover the business. In the end, improved communication systems solved internal conflicts and kept customers in the loop. Investments in new secondary operations simplified customers processes and improved predictability. With these changes, the manufacturer was able to recover tenuous relationships, improve its pipeline and the satisfaction of its customers and employees in about a year. Today, the company monitors satisfaction routinely, taking care to not only benchmark against previous years performance but to test new ideas and gain a clearer understanding of the feedback it receives informally. So, how to ask the question How are we doing and what should we do better? When a business process like the collection of satisfaction data hardens into concrete steps, it loses flexibility, become sterile and impractical and as a result, can erode value. When data collection is exercise in scoring, ranking, and polling, it blocks inspiration, the creative process, decision-making, relationship-building and new learning that comes from effective listening. Weak CSR: Is a static process: A survey of customer satisfaction done once is a popularity contest. Done over time it can be a tool for decision-making, because it can show progress or setbacks. However, if you ask the same customers the same questions, year after year, eventually they are going to ask you to stop. It is very important to evaluate customer satisfaction routinely, to expose changes, but it is equally important to change it up to test new ideas, show responsiveness and build better relationships over time. Customer satisfaction is dynamic. The CSR process should be too. Ignores Context: Most CSR surveys assign a subjective value to tasks or functions like delivery, development, sales management, or customer service. If, however, the satisfaction score isnt understood in terms of its relative importance to the customer, it is difficult to see impact on business health. For example, a customer might state that their satisfaction with pricing levels is relatively low say a 3 on a 7 point scale. Without context, a natural reaction might be to re-examine pricing policies and those of competitors to look for guidance. If, however, pricing scored low in terms of importance in comparison to lead-time, a supplier would know that improvements in delivery could dampen the need for reactionary discounting. By knowing the context in which attributes are evaluated, suppliers can better allocate efforts, grow sales and save margin. Before asking How we are doing? CSR should first establish the importance of an attribute in order to provide context. Is Quantitatively Biased: CSR surveys are often biased by the preponderance of closed questions like force ranked lists and 1-7 scoring. Learning about low satisfaction with service may be informative, but investing the time to uncover ideas for improvement is what is crucial to improving a customer relationship. To illustrate, a customer with little tolerance for late deliveries may score delivery as important but add that a simple call to reschedule would satisfy. Without this background, a manufacturer might have invested to retool, having overestimated the hazard. Always ask Why? Keys to Success Treat customer satisfaction as philosophy Its counter to think that something as fundamental as listening to customers should be institutionalized, but in these days of consolidation and distant markets, it is absolutely necessary. As the knowledge economy continues to evolve, we see that high performers are distinguished by continuously improving CSR processes that get as much attention from process experts as LEAN or Six Sigma. A good first step is to view CSR not as a project thrown over the wall to the new MBA intern, but instead, as a philosophy of listening and interacting with customers. Design CSR that can flex and learn, like people do Its also counter to think that CSR should be designed to flex with what is known at the moment, but this is actually a sign of effective learning and communication, which are the key ingredients to usefulness. The ability of a research team to make changes along the way depends on whether they see and understand the trends early enough. The important factors determining CSR success are not sample size or repetition, but research transparency and the volume of critical thinking done during the project. Act Small CSR exists because companies are big. The complexities that are introduced when groups enlarge encumber simple activities like listening, thinking and doing. But these are the activities that create value and wealth. To make them simple again, build a great CSR process to do the basic, smart things that entrepreneurs are forced to do. Its Never the Data If you ask How are we doing and what should we do better? tomorrow, the answers that you get will be different than the answers you got yesterday. The most important ingredient to CSR is the action that you take with what you learn, and the ability of the customer to see and feel value from those actions. Marian Singer is a partner at FiveTwelve Group, Ltd. , a research and consulting firm that works to improve way that businesses, investors and member organizations listen to their customers and markets and how they act on what they learn. www. fivetwelvegroup. com http://www. industryweek. com/companies-amp-executives/what-makes-customer-satisfaction-research-useful Customer Satisfaction Survey By F. John Reh We all know customer satisfaction is essential to the survival of our businesses. How do we find out whether our customers are satisfied? The best way to find out whether your customers are satisfied is to ask them. When you conduct a customer satisfaction survey, what you ask the customers is important. How, when , and how often you ask these questions are also important. However, the most important thing about conducting a customer satisfaction survey is what you do with their answers. How You Ask Whether Customers Are Satisfied There are many ways to ask your customers whether or not they are satisfied with your company, your products, and the service they received. You can ask them: Face-to-face As they are about to walk out of your store or office, ask them. Call them on the phone If you have their phone number, and their permission, you can call them after their visit and ask how satisfied they are. Mail them a questionnaire This technique has been used for a long time. The results are predictable. Email them a customer satisfaction survey Be careful to not violate Spam laws Email them an invitation to take a customer satisfaction survey When To Conduct A Customer Satisfaction Survey The best time to conduct a customer satisfaction survey is when the experience is fresh in their minds. If you wait to conduct a survey, the customers response may be less accurate. He may have forgotten some of the details. She may answer about a later event. He may color his answers because of confusion with other visits. She may confuse you with some other company. What To Ask In A Customer Satisfaction Survey There is a school of thought that you only need to ask a single question in a customer satisfaction survey. That question is, will you buy from me again? While it is tempting to reduce your customer satisfaction survey to this supposed essence, you miss a lot of valuable information and you can be easily misled. It is too easy for a customer to answer yes to the will you buy from me again? , whether they mean it or not. You want to ask other questions in a customer satisfaction survey to get closer to the expected behavior and to collect information about what to change and what to keep doing. By all means ask the basic customer satisfaction questions: How satisfied are you with the purchase you made (of a product or service) How satisfied are you with the service you received? How satisfied are you with our company overall? And ask the customer loyalty questions How likely are you to buy from us again? How likely are you to recommend our product/service to others How likely are you to recommend our company to others. Also ask what the customer liked and didnt like about the product, your service, and your company. How Often Should You Conduct A Customer Satisfaction Survey The best answer is often enough to get the most information, but not so often as to upset the customer. In real terms, the frequency with which you conduct a customer satisfaction survey depends on the frequency with which you interact with your customers. My state renews drivers licenses for five-year periods. It would be silly for them to ask me each year what I thought of my last renewal experience. Conversely, if I survey the commuters on my rapid transit system once a year, I will miss important changes in their attitudes that may be driven by seasonal events. What To Do With Answers From A Customer Satisfaction Survey Regardless of how I ask my customers for their feedback, what I ask them in the customer satisfaction survey, and when I survey them, the most important part of the customer satisfaction survey is what I do with their answers. Yes, I need to compile the answers from different customers. I need to look for trends. I should look for differences by region and/or product. However, I most need to act on the information I get from my customers though the survey. I need to fix the things the customers have complained about. I need to investigate their suggestions. I need to improve my company and product in those areas the mean the most to the most of my customers. I need to not change those things that they like. Most importantly I need to give them feedback that their answers were appreciated and are being acted upon. That feedback can be individual responses to the customers if appropriate, or it can simply be fixing the things that they tell you need to be fixed. Whats Next in Customer Satisfaction Surveys?