ResultsBased Managment (MBAthesis) - Essay Example

Results-Based Management: A Challenge for Development Cooperation Organisations Background According to OECD, RBM can be defined as "a management strategy focusing on the performance and achievements of outputs, outcomes, and impacts." (Glossary of Key Terms , 2007, p.20) Impacts refer to "positive and negative, primary and secondary long-term effects produced by a development intervention, directly or indirectly, intended or unintended." (Glossary of Key Terms , 2007, p.15) An outcome refers to probable or accomplished short- and medium-term consequences of an intervention's output.

(Glossary of Key Terms , 2007, p.17) Finally, OECD defines outputs as "products, capital goods and services which result from a development intervention" (Glossary of Key Terms , 2007, p.17)The primary reason for implementing RBM in development cooperation organisations is to produce and utilize performance information that would be passed on to outsiders (stakeholders) for accountability. (Binnendijk, 2001, p.10) In addition, this information is also useful for the management in decision making.

A large number of organisations have the following stages in their RBM programs: 1. Devising objectives2. Recognizing indicators3. Deciding targets4. Monitoring results5. Evaluating and reporting results6. Incorporating evaluations7. Utilizing performance information (Binnendijk, 2001, p.10) For successful implementation of results-based management in a development cooperation organisation, it is essential to smooth the progress of change in the organisation's culture. (Binnendijk, 2001, p.10) A culture that supports RBM should be introduced and brought in.

The beliefs, moral values, mind-set and behaviours of the workforce should be aligned with the needs of results-based management to ensure successful implementation. For example, the staff should be encouraged to think and discuss results and outcomes rather than inputs. Changing an organisation's culture plays a very important role in the success of an RBM implementation. If results-based management is successfully implemented and sustains in an organisation, the following advantages will be realised: 1.

the staff will concentrate on principal required results;2. the organisation will grow to be more proactive and agile; and3. the leading personnel will become more powerful and answerable. (Swiss & Straus, 2005, p.32)Research Objectives1. to explain the process of results-based management2. to identify problems faced during implementation of results-based management3. to discover best practices in results-based management implementation Method1. I will do an extensive review of previous literature on the subject of results-based management.

The focus will be on public administration sector, especially on development cooperation agencies. In this regard, websites of development 2. This research will be qualitative in nature. As part of primary research, I will do interviews. Preference has been given to interviews over focus groups because expert-level interviews are easy to schedule as compared to focus groups. A total of 12-15 interviews will be conducted in 4-5 different organisations. Different organisations will be chosen for interviews so that the results can be generalised to a greater extent and also to take advantage of experiences of various organisations.

I have access to the staff of the selected organisations and I have verbally discussed this issue with the organisations' staff. The interview questions will be prepared after completing the literature review. The review of previous literature would allow identification of problematic and difficult areas while implementing RBM. The data will be analysed in the light of previous literature. Finally, some general recommendations will be given for successful implementation of results-based management in development cooperation organisations.

BibliographyBinnendijk, A. (2001, June 18) Results Based Management in the Development Co-Operation Agencies: A Review of Experience. OECD DAC (Development Assistance Committee). Available From: [accessed 28.01.2008]Glossary of Key Terms in Evaluation and Results Based Management (2007, June 5) OECD DAC (Development Assistance Committee). Available From: [accessed 04.02.2008]Swiss, J.E. & Straus, S.K. (2005) Implementing Results-Based Management in Local Government. Popular Government, spring/summer, pp.31-41.