An Empirical Study of the Establishment of Performance Management System and Its Effectiveness Evaluation

Monday, July 11, 2011: 3:45 PM

Shew-Fang Shieh, DBA, MS, RN
Nursing Department, Cardinal Tien Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan

Learning Objective 1: learn the management framework of performance management.

Learning Objective 2: learn the methodology applied in the research and the results of the implication of the research.

Purpose: Operational performance of health care institution has been become a crucial issue and concerned by top management of hospital in recent years due to the turbulent, changeable, and competitive environment. A performance management system based on the management framework of balance scorecard was established for the measurement of organizational performance. Since the system has been implemented for two years, it was interesting to know the effectiveness of implementing the performance management system. The purpose of the research was to examine the effectiveness of implementing a performance management system in a regional hospital.
Methods: A case study method was used in the research. The research was conducted in a regional hospital in Taiwan. Nursing department was chosen as the subject to measure its organizational performance from Jan. 2008 to Dec. 2009. A structured questionnaire including four dimensions based on the structure of balance scorecard was developed as a tool to collect the data. All specific measure indicators related to nursing services were categorized into each dimension of performance and measure its outcome of performance. A total of 123 indicators scores were collected and evaluated the outcome of goal met.
Results: The findings of the research show that the outcome of organizational performance was satisfied, and the performance management system was effective and valuable for performance evaluation of the organization. Although some measure indicators were found not reaching the goal value, the underlying factors were analyzed to make correction and delineate new strategy in the future.
Conclusion: The results of this research provide valuable reference for top management personnel assigned to set policies regarding nursing service and quality of care in the future. It also provides inspiring thought for academics that would like to further explore the relationship between theory of strategy management and the practice of performance management in depth.