Performance information use in public administration: an exploratory study of determinants and effects

PurposeThis paper aims to analyse the state of performance management in the Portuguese public sector as part of the efforts towards public administration reform.Design/methodology/approachTheoretically, the authors took Bouckaert and Halligan's (2008, pp. 35–39) approach into consideration to analyse the adoption of performance management practices. This approach was supplemented by an adaptation of Pollitt and Bouckaert's (2011, p. 33) framework to analyse the context for administrative reforms. The used data analysis techniques include documentary analysis (namely legislation and evaluation reports of reform efforts), secondary data analysis and a survey conducted with 296 Portuguese top public managers.FindingsThe findings show that Portuguese public sector organisations adopted several tools to measure performance over the years, but failed to incorporate performance information into their management practices or to properly use it for either internal or external purposes. Concerning the ideal types proposed by Bouckaert and Halligan (2008, p. 36), Portugal is considered to fit the “performance administration” ideal type, even though it is moving closer to the “managements of performance” ideal type.Originality/valueThis is one of the first comprehensive studies on the state of performance management in Portugal framed within the broader context of public sector reforms. The findings will be of interest both to scholars who study public administration reforms and performance management and to Portuguese policy makers and public managers who are interested in understanding and improving the way performance information is measured, incorporated and used in that sector.

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The Strategic Planning of the Brazilian Federal Revenue: Comparative Analysis with Similar Organs from Other Countries

Journal of Public Administration and Governance ◽

10.5296/jpag.v8i3.13260 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 1

Author(s):

Antonio Carlos de Almeida ◽

Claudio Antonio Rojo

Keyword(s):

Strategic Planning ◽

Public Administration ◽

Exploratory Study ◽

Qualitative Method ◽

Strategic Orientation ◽

Tax Administration ◽

Tax Base ◽

The Public ◽

Federal Revenue ◽

Developed Nations

The strategic planning is a fundamental instrument for the management organization. The public administration is increased in that area and it had taken measures with the necessary adjustment. This research has the purpose of comparing the strategic planning of the Brazilian Federal Revenue - RFB (in Portuguese: Receita Federal do Brasil) with congener institutions from other countries. Even thought, the information available is limited, this research is able to provide a wide vision about the realities of these sectors and about the strategies that they had taken. This is an exploratory study, with a qualitative method, that aims to compare cases. The results show that the Brazilian tax administration gets a strategic planning based in international standard and that the tax administration analyzed were similar, having, in general, the same strategic orientation directed to the obtained of resources, aimed to the State and its publics policies, to safeguard the tax base, to stimulate the voluntary deadline compliance, for innovates technological solutions and the search for being recognized and respected. It was also observed that in the tax administration from developed nations the vision of future is related to the confidence that society has in these organizations, result of a consolidated tax system and in the valorization of people.

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