Applying Performance Management Principles to a Learning Environment for Undergraduate Dissertations

1. Applying Performance Management Principles Applying Performance Management Principles to a Learning Environment for Undergraduate Dissertations Dr. Jacqueline Day and Dr. Milena Bobeva

2. Applying Performance Management Principles A Learning Environment (LE) specifically designed to manage dissertations • A ‘dissertation’, is a common requirement of undergraduate and taught postgraduate degrees in business, law and humanities subjects. • The case study discussed in the paper explains how for a HE provider the performance management regime was designed and then examines how it will be used in the longer term to nurture a community of practice for all involved in dissertations.

3. Applying Performance Management Principles Business Performance Management (BPM) A well accepted discipline that enables strategy to be executed in ways to meet organisational objectives. Conventional View Evaluation enables targets to be set, against which the work of individuals or groups will be judged and so will positively influence the behaviour of individuals or functions to meet these targets. (Athiyaman, 1997).

4. Applying Performance Management Principles What is a Dissertation? • An individual piece of work demonstrating understanding of the research process and critical understanding of a substantive knowledge domain • Usually the most rewarding part of an undergraduate degree course • Can be a factor in encouraging the individual to subsequently enrol for a higher degree

5. Challenges for the Student Applying Performance Management Principles

6. Applying Performance Management Principles Challenges for Educational Institutions • The limited studies of sub-doctoral research carried out to date directed toward specific pedagogical issues and problems • What has not really been looked at is a LE for dissertations that enables students to deliver improved quality outcomes reflecting higher levels of expectations about their learning experience and degree grades

7. Applying Performance Management Principles Challenges for Educational Institutions • Students increasingly consider themselves as ‘clients’ of an educational service and demand higher levels of value-for-money from the ‘provider’ • Vision for the LE - to develop something that supports the strategic objectives of the institution, including the need to improve the student learning experience and to better realise the research potential of the academic staff

8. Applying Performance Management Principles The General Design of the LE Took into consideration • The Existing Situation • The Design of the LE

9. Applying Performance Management Principles The Existing Situation

10. Applying Performance Management Principles The Existing Situation

11. Applying Performance Management Principles The Design of the LE • Conceived as being constitute from several interlinked elements: • Student context – student knowledge, motivation, understanding and skills • Learning context – the mode, content, scope of a dissertation and its learning objectives • Supervisory context – the knowledge, motivation understanding and skills of the tutor • Management context – the protocols, procedures and methods for dissertations

12. Applying Performance Management Principles General Design of the LE Student Context Learning Context Indirect intervention Performance Management Integration services Direct intervention Management Context Supervisory Context Individually controlled University controlled

13. Applying Performance Management Principles Developing the Performance Management Framework Three perspectives were considered: • The TQM philosophy • The best-practice adoption ideas of the European Foundation for Quality Management • The strategy-focused Balanced Score Card (BSC)

14. Applying Performance Management Principles Developing the Performance Management Framework • Step 1 - Select the Performance Framework • Step 2 - Customise the Performance Framework • Step 3 – Identify Stakeholders • Step 4 – Identify Critical Success Factors • Step 5 – Develop Performance Measures • Step 6 - Specify Performance Metrics • Step 7 - Implement Measurements of LE Performance

15. Applying Performance Management Principles The Balanced Scorecard • It is not • A ‘balance’ in the traditional accounting sense of a balance sheet • It will not give a quantitative indicator ‘score’ at the end • It is • A live document

16. Applying Performance Management Principles The Balanced Scorecard Perspectives – Vision and Strategy Financial VISION and STRATEGY Customer Internal Business Process Learning and Growth Source: Kaplan and Norton 1996

17. Applying Performance Management Principles THE STRATEGY Translate the strategy to operational terms Financial perspective If we succeed, how will we look to our shareholders Customer Perspective To achieve my vision how must I look to my customers Internal Perspective To satisfy my customer at which process must I excel Organisational Learning To achieve my vision how must my organisation learn and improve

18. Financial Perspective (B) To succeed financially how should we appear to senior management 4. Management context Customer Perspective (A) To achieve our vision, how should we appear to our students? Balanced Scorecard – Vision and Strategy Processes Perspective (C) To satisfy our stakeholders what administrative processes must we excel at? 4. Management context 1. Student context 5. Integration Learning & Growth Perspective (D) To achieve our vision, how will we sustain our ability to change and improve our academic quality? 2. Learning context 3. Supervisory context Applying Performance Management Principles The BSC for the LE:Adapted from Kaplan & Norton (1996)

19. Applying Performance Management Principles Interpretation of the four perspectives of the Balanced Scorecard • Customer Perspective - > Student Perspective • Financial Perspective - > Institutional Perspective • Processes Perspective - >Administrative Perspective • Learning and Growth Perspective - > Faculty Perspective

20. Applying Performance Management Principles Implement Measurements of LE Performance • Integration of LE with general information infrastructure Including university-wide content management and future multi-media package ‘Blackboard.’ Links to personal web pages for supervisors and those students with a common interest in a particular subject area essential. • Dissertation event calendars, FAQs, examples, contacts, issues lists, announcements.

21. Applying Performance Management Principles Implement Measurements of LE Performance • Automated production of a balanced scorecard and appropriate ‘dashboard’ summaries • Ability to provide a common view of all the KPIs and appropriate information ‘drill down’ • A feedback messaging facility - Enabling communication of commentaries and observations about the performance measurement issue and problem

22. Applying Performance Management Principles Conclusions and Reflections • The BSC has proved its worth as a guide for managing improvements to a LE • Some limitations in the context of this project • Developed for business shareholders, the financial element fails to translate well in not-for- profit organisations, such as Higher Education Institutions • Operationalisation of business strategy is not as easy to do as for a commercial organisation where corporate and departmental profit or turnover feature

23. Applying Performance Management Principles Conclusions and Reflections • BSC underplays the value of human interactions, morale, motivations and relationships within a HEI • Best to shift the focus from financial capital to something that complements the Learning and Growth perspective byfullyrecognising social capital • Co-operation and collaboration enabled through the LE, leads to better acquisition and utilisation knowledge of research methods and management • Is supportive of the growth within the University of cross-disciplinary sub-groups with an interest in research methods, the psychology of supervision or assessment strategies

24. Applying Performance Management Principles Conclusions and Reflections • The longer-term significance of the performance system should be apparent in helping to improve the dissertation management, by linking back outcomes directly to actions • Encouragement of a common sense of identity between the dissertation tutors and the tutees • Should lead to better acquisition and utilisation knowledge of research methods and dissertation management • Could also retain organisational memory of good ideas and help to avoid mistakes from any losses