Issue 27(1)
Assessing
Organizational Performance in Higher Education.
(2006). Barbara A. Miller. San Francisco , CA : Jossey-Bass, 258
pp. $40.00 (paper). ISBN
0-7879-8640-2.
Review by:
Sybil L. Holloway
Center
for Counseling and Human Development
Bloomsburg
University
This
organizational assessment textbook is a combination of business
management, research design & statistics, and psychology as
applied to the college setting. I found it to be a good synthesis
of the many courses I have taken in these subject areas. The information
in Assessing Organizational Performance in Higher Education
, which is relevant to all individuals working in higher
education, enabled me to better understand my own institution
and my role within it. Others will greatly benefit from this book
as well.
Miller,
an organizational development consultant with an extensive background
in higher education, provides a detailed explanation of the major
aspects of assessment - its purpose, internal elements, external
elements, methods and terminology, measurement of performance,
and assessment program creation and maintenance. She devotes a
chapter to each of these topics, spending most of her time on
"defining and measuring organizational performance" (Chapter 5),
the heart of the book.
"Performance
is measured through performance indicators in seven interrelated
areas of organizational performance, each of which is linked to
specific organizational elements. The seven areas of organizational
performance are effectiveness, productivity, quality (including
quality of leadership systems, of inputs, of key work processes,
of programs and services, and of worklife), customer and stakeholder
satisfaction, efficiency, innovation, and financial durability."
(p. xvi).
This
book draws heavily on systems theory. It provides an in depth
look at all components of the system and how their interdependence
impacts organizational functioning and assessment. Thorough explanations,
vignettes, worksheets, figures, a glossary, and a reference list
are provided. Two examples, one of an academic department (Chemistry)
and one of an administrative department (Information Services),
are used throughout the book to show how each chapter's theoretical
concepts fit into the assessment process. These concrete examples
and practical applications are particularly well done. Miller's
clear writing style and her balance of theory and technique makes
this often dry subject matter more appealing and easy to understand.
Readers
who are willing to wade through many industry buzzwords - performance
indicators, strategic plan, quality control, mission statement,
vision, etc. - will likely be pleasantly surprised by the amount
of information contained in this book. In her preface, Miller
states that she wrote this book to meet the needs of both assessors
and assessment users in higher education. She certainly seems
to have achieved her goal.
Assessing
Organizational Performance in Higher Education
would make a great supplemental resource for advisors. Any task
becomes more meaningful when one knows why it is being done and
how it contributes to the greater whole. University projects,
procedures, and data collection should be a little easier to bear
after reading this valuable text.
