Rediscovering performance management: systems, learning and integration

Abstract

PurposeThis paper sets out to explore performance management as a discipline and propose an integrated performance management model.Design/methodology/approachThis conceptual paper aims to clarify what performance management is and how it emerged as a discipline by tracking its evolution at strategic, operational and individual levels. Structured as a review, it enables the rediscovery of performance management and the identification of several key dichotomies, brought together under an integrated performance management model.FindingsThree emerging approaches to performance management are presented as potential catalysts to accelerate the evolution of this discipline: systems thinking, learning and integration. An integrated performance management model is also proposed.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper draws on the consultancy and research experience of the author. The generated model is conceptual in essence and needs to be tested. Further research on the history of performance management as a discipline and the integration approach between organisational levels is needed.Practical implicationsThe paper makes suggestions for improving performance management governance – the introduction of the Performance Management Office. It also suggests a higher emphasis on learning and integration during the implementation and usage of performance management systems.Social implicationsBy outlining the importance of systems thinking in managing organisational performance, this paper highlights the need for encouraging its applicability and implementation through systemic thinking. A higher emphasis on including elements of systems thinking in educational curricula may be a possible step forward.Originality/valueThe paper is relevant to both practitioners and academics, as it clarifies the existing body of knowledge and provides a platform for future research