Goal-based learning and the future of performance management
- 2005
- p.203-16.
- Mar-Apr
All levels of government have begun to pursue results-based reforms, which assume that managers will use performance information to make better decisions. However, reforms have neglected the insights of a large and relevant literature on organizational learning. This article revisits this literature, treating results-based reform as an organizational learning mechanism and a deliberate structural effort to induce learning. From an organizational learning perspective, more results-based reforms target narrow process improvement (single-loop learning), even though the latter is more critical for long-term organizational success. Case evidence from state governments illustrates single- and double-loop learning and the importance of two frequently neglected aspects of organizational learning: learning forums - routines where performance information is deliberately examined - and the role of organizational culture in enabling or limiting learning. - Reproduced.