Measuring Up: Governing's Guide to Performance Measurement for Geniuses (and Other Public Managers). (Book Reviews).(Brief Article)

W. Anderson "Andy" Williams

Jonathan Walters

Washington, DC: Governing Books, 1998. (179 pp)

Measuring Up, a volume in the Governing Management Series, is an ideal text for public managers who are more comfortable with a practical guide to performance measurement than an elaborate academic textbook. Author Jonathan Walters freely admits in the introduction that performance measurement sounds a lot like common sense. He then sets out to illustrate his hypothesis with an array of interesting case studies and pointed, if not sarcastic, discussions of performance measurement. For instance, in a section about conflicting agency missions, Walters abrasively exclaims: "even the U.S. Department of Defense, part of whose job it is to sometimes kill folks in large quantities, can safely argue that its ultimate goal is peace." As this snippet clearly demonstrates, this book is not for the faint at heart. It has, however, been written for busy government executives who often do not have the time (or the will) to read lengthy treatises on performance measurement.

Measuring Up begins with the efforts of the City of Long Beach, California, to improve its struggling police department through the use of performance measurement. Between 1983 and 1990, Long Beach experienced a 30 percent increase in crime; violent crime doubled. In an attempt to gain a handle on the problem, the police department surveyed residents and its own staff to assess their attitudes with regard to local law enforcement. Not surprisingly, the results were not exactly positive. The city also analyzed future trends and benchmarked against other cities. The result of all of this information gathering was that the police department was not doing a very good job. To turn things around, the department identified its mission, goals, and objectives, and developed 100 performance measures to gauge the extent to which it was achieving its mission. Within five years, violent crime had decreased by 38 percent and 64 percent of Long Beach residents felt safe in their neighborhoods. Walters uses this example to demonstrate the potential of performance measurement and to grab the reader's attention.

Next, Walters insightfully informs his readers about the benefits of performance measurement through reverse psychology. Instead of extolling the virtues of performance measurement, he explains eight reasons why it cannot be done in government. Of ...