Performance management model : A systems‐based approach to public service quality

The delivery of public services in developing countries is over‐centralised. One of the reasons for this is the presence of centralised decision‐making apparatus, which distances power from communities. The centralised decision making reduces accountability among public sector employees and is a good recipe for undesirable decisions and mismanagement of performance and resources at the expense of public service quality. The quality of public sector management in developing countries lags behind those of the developed countries due to the ills caused by over‐centralisation. Hence, the public services in developing countries are a drain on the wealth‐producing part of their economy. Reviews the underlying literature and theoretical framework of performance management (PM) as a systems‐based model for cultivating the “achievement culture” in public sector organisations (PSOs). It looks at how the various practical econometric and managerial techniques can integrate with the PM model in an attempt to excel the philosophy of new public management. The paper concludes by looking at the “new” role of management accounting systems in meeting “information needs” of modern public sector managers, as a potential area for further research. The paper proposes that the adoption of the PM model is a universal remedy for improving service quality in PSOs in developing countries.