Lesson Overview

Over the next two lessons, we will review the evolution of modern-style performance measurement as it relates to the public sector. This evolution can be described as having gone through four different time periods: Municipal Reform (1900 to 1930s), Critical Assessment (1940 to 1950s), Social Indicators (1960 to 1970s), and New Public Management (1970 to 1990s).

Over the next two lessons, you will read about each era. This content will provide a foundation for several of the topics that will be covered throughout this course. This background will also allow you to better understand the logic, motivations, and characteristics underlying modern-style performance measurement and management. It will also help you understand the challenges associated with the implementation of performance measurement systems.

In this particular lesson, we will study the earliest historical stage from within which performance measurement and management evolved. As indicated above, this period began around the turn of the 20th century and ended in the early 1930s and may be referred to as the municipal reform movement. As you will learn in this lesson, this movement was aimed at reducing waste by way of curbing corruption and inefficiency in government administration. For the purposes of this class, this movement is relevant because it serves as a starting point for the development of systematic approaches aimed at ensuring that public resources are prudently managed.

Lesson Objectives

Before beginning this session, think about the following lesson objectives. After completing this lesson, you should be able to

• identify the major players associated with the introduction of performance measurement in the public sector,
• describe the key factors that motivated the reforms,
• explain how performance measures were used during the municipal reform period, and
• describe the major assumptions upon which the introduction of performance measurement rested during these early stages.

Lesson Readings & Activities

By the end of this lesson, make sure you have completed the readings and activities found in the Lesson 2 Course Schedule.