Category Archives: 1-By Laksh

All these articles are from Laksh’s desk

1-By Laksh, Enterprise, Etc.

Performance measurement in Govt.Sector

Performance measurement in the Government Sector

If you don’t measure results, you can’t tell success from
failure.
If you can’t see success, you can’t reward it.
If you can’t reward success, you’re probably rewarding
failure.
If you can’t see success, you can’t learn from it.
If you can’t recognize failure, you can’t correct it.
If you can demonstrate results, you can win public support.
     From Reinventing Government by David Osborne and Ted Gaebler

What is Performance Measurement
¼br /> Performance measurement is the regular collection of specific information regarding the results of organization services. It includes the measurement of the kind of job we are doing, and addresses the effect our efforts are having in our community. Together with strategic planning, benchmarking and continuous improvement, performance measurement forms the nucleus for managing for results.

In general, a good performance measurement system should be able to provide answers for the following questions.

  • What was achieved?
  • How efficiently was the work done?
  • How were citizens helped by the effort

Why measure performance

The most powerful reason for measuring performance is that citizens are continually demanding more responsive and competitive government.

In general, governments that measure performance do so because it

  • Supports strategic planning and goal setting
  • Strengthens accountability
  • Enhances decision-making
  • Improves customer service
  • Assists governments in determining effective resource use

What to measure
Performance measures should directly or indirectly relate to—financial considerations, customer satisfaction and results.

Outcome(Results/Impact): Identifies the actual impact or public benefit of an agency’s actions (results or impact) 
Eg.Percentage of Clients Rehabilitated, Percentage of Entities In Compliance With Requirements,Percentage of Licensees With Validated Complaints etc

Output(Volume):Counts the goods and services produced by an agency (volume or workload) 
Eg.Number of Clients Served, Number of Inspections Conducted, Number of License Applications Processed etc

Efficiency: Identifies the cost, unit cost, or productivity associated with agiven outcome or output
Eg.Average Cost Per Client Served,Average Cost Per Inspection,Average Time to Process License Applications etc

Explanatory/Input: Shows the resources used to produce services and displaysfactors that affect agency performance
Eg.Number of Clients Eligible for Services,Number of Entities Subject to Inspection or Regulation,Number of License Applications Received etc

Examples of Outcome versus Output Measures
Performance Measure (outcome) and Workload Measure (output)
Percentage of delinquents who are successful in independent living(outcome) and Number of delinquents who are released(output)
Percentage of female students exiting programs successfully(outcome) and Number of female students participating in educational programs(output)
Release and generation of industrial waste as a percent of 2002 levels(outcome) and Number of industrial waste permits issued(output)

System for Performance measurement
An IT solution that enables performance measurement should have the following components

  • Data collection
  • Data analysis
  • Reporting
  • Comparison of Planned and Actual performance
1-By Laksh, Books, Spirituality

Yoga Vasishta

Most of the scriptures are narrated by God to His devotees, but the Yoga Vasishtam was narrated to God Himself. It is the teaching of the sage Vasishta imparted to Lord Rama. The context is pretty interesting too. When Lord Rama is in a mood of renounciation, sage Vasistha comes to his rescue. What follows is a a one of its kind conversation that unravels that mystery behind the creation of the world and the Supreme Conciousness.

Another striking apsect of this great work is its rational approach. And it is summed up in these two lines.

Even a young boy’s words are to be accepted if they are words of wisdom; else, reject it like straw even if uttered by Brahma the creator.

While there are several translations available for this great work, ‘The Supreme Yoga:Yoga Vasishta’ by Swami Vekatesananda makes for a good intro.The verses are arranged in a order of daily thoughts spread across an year.

 

1-By Laksh, Etc.

“Aussies, 434 ain’t enough”:Proteas

Looking at 434 on the scorecard, one thought Aussies had not only posted a record total but also registered a de facto win. South African innings was a mere formality to the majority of the 32,000 plus crowd and the seasoned TV commentary team. Never before did a team post a total more than 400 and never before did a team chase such a big score. One miracle happened, odds are stacked heavily against the second.

But to their credit, they sat through and carried on through their motions. The fans cheered their team and the commentators braced themselves for the capitulation of South Africa.

Just after 10 overs, when South African team reached the 100 mark, it appeared a chase was on and Tony Greig, the old war horse of TV commentary, remarked that if Proteas were on to something special he would like be in the box when it happens. And that special, South Africans sure did and Tony Greig was there to see it all.

Superbly led from the front, Smith made a fabulous 90 and Gibbs a memorable 175. Finally, when things went to wire, Boucher took them home. The crowd went berserk in the stadium and so did cricket fans all over the world. They had all seen unbelievable happen twice.

Many records were broken, and the past was questioned, yet again. Most importantly, the bar has been raised. And on a day like this 400+ isn’t enough.