ACCA P3 考試：PERFORMANCE INDICATORS 2

Objectives often follow the SMART rule. They should be:

Specific：there is little point in setting an objective for a company to improve its inventory. What does that mean? It could mean that stock-outs should be less frequent, or average stock holdings should be lower, or the inventory will be held in better conditions to reduce wastage.

Measurable: if you can't measure something you will be at a loss as to how to control it. Some aspects of performance might be difficult to measure, but efforts must be made. Customer satisfaction is important to most businesses and indications could be obtained by arranging customer surveys, repeat business and so on.

Achievable/agreed/accepted: objectives are achieved by people and those people must accept and agree that the objectives are achievable and important.

Relevant: relevant to the organisation and the person to whom the objectives are given. It is important that people understand how achieving an objective will help organisational success. If this connection isn't clear, employees will begin to feel that the objective is simply a cynical exercise of management power. The person to whom the objective is given must also feel that they can affect its achievement.

Time-limited: all objectives have to be achieved within a specified time period otherwise procrastination will rule.

CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS

A critical success factor （CSF） can be defined as:

'An area where an organisation must perform well if it is to succeed.'

Alternatively, Johnson, Scholes & Whittington defined CSFs as:

'Those product features that are particularly valued by a group of customers, and, therefore, where the organisation must excel to outperform the competition.'

This definition is more complex than the first, but it is more useful because it makes the organisation look towards its customers （or users） and recognises that their opinion of excellence is more important and reliable than internally generated opinions. If an organisation doesn't deliver what its customers, clients, patients, citizens or students value, it is failing.

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS AND KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

Performance indicators （or performance measures） are methods used to assess performance. For example:

In profit-seeking organisations:

·Profit

·Earnings per share

·Return on capital employed

In not-for-profit organisations:

·Exam grades （a school）

·Waiting times for hospital admission （a health service）

·Condition of roads （a local government highways department）