Emerald publishes article on league tables and organisational gaming

'Lies, damned lies and statistics[1]'. a new article says that league tables and organisations’ aim to become 'top' of the tables can be detrimental to the organisation itself and its customers. The paper discusses some of the reasons why performance measurement systems in public services can lead to dysfunctional consequences even when people operate with the best of intentions. Author Michael Pidd says, "any measurement that focuses solely on a single performance criterion is likely to lead to distortion. Thus, focusing solely on patient waiting times in the health sector may lead to a reduction in other aspects of the quality of a medical intervention."

Aspects to be considered include the financial cost of the measurement system, an overwhelming number of targets and attempting to apply performance management approaches to non-routine and innovative working practices. Some suggest other criteria should be considered for measurement in the public sector, such as public value.

The article Perversity in Public Service Management by Michael Pidd appears in the International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, an Emerald journal, Volume 54, Issue 5/6, 2005. The article is available on free access until 30 November 2005 at the journal’s home page: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/info/journals/ijppm/ijppm.htm or visit http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?Filename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0790540512.html for direct access to the article in html format.

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NOTES TO EDITORS:



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Emerald publishes over 150 titles such as Management Decision, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Documentation, Library Hi Tech, Journal of Knowledge Management and The TQM Magazine. Emerald's flagship product, Emerald Management Xtra, is dedicated to the continued development of business schools and management departments world-wide.



FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Gill Crawford, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Tel: 01274 777700,
email: gcrawford@emeraldinsight.com or

Catherine Dhanjal, TheAnswer Ltd, Tel: 0208 655 0953/0794 166 9925,
Catherine.dhanjal@theansweruk.com

(Advertising/colour separation queries to Gill Crawford)

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