A83. Lehr,
J. & Rice, R. E. (2005). How are
organizational measures really used? Quality Management Journal, 1212(3), 39-60.
This study uses
multiple theoretical perspectives and
multiple methods to understand how organizational measures are used.
Theoretical perspectives include
organizational learning, Weickian sense-making, quality management, and
critical theory. Methods include surveys
over three time periods, interviews, focus groups, process
observation/tracking,
and archival materials. The case site
was one unit of an international information services corporation.
The occasion for the assessment of various
organizational measures was the implementation of a two systems (a
customer
service database and a document-imaging system) designed to help the
unit meet
the explicit contracted performance measures for servicing of corporate
telephone calling cards for over 6,000 companies who are customers of a
major
telephone company. Results found that 1)
a variety of paradoxical uses and consequences of measures arose, 2)
there were
several “disconnects” or gaps between intentions and consequences of
measures,
3) there was considerable variation in the extent to which measurement
philosophies and procedures were explicitly presented, and commonly
shared, and
4) there was limited efforts to obtain double-loop learning or process
improvement about measurement activities themselves. Each theoretical
perspective highlighted different aspects of the use and evaluation of
organizational measures.