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There is a growing interest and research on improvement of business processes as an essential part of effective quality management. Process improvement is possible with measurement and analysis of the process performance. Process performance measurement has been studied to a certain extend in the literature, and many different approaches have been developed such as Sink-Tuttle Model, Performance Measurement Matrix, SMART Pyramid, Balanced Scorecard Approach, Critical Few Method, and Performance Prism Framework. These approaches require that process owners and analysts define appropriate measures based on general guidelines for each process separately. Recently, with the advancement of information technologies, modeling and simulation of processes on a computer aided platform has become possible / standards and software support regarding such applications have been developed. Even though increasingly many organizations have been building their process models on computers, only a few manages effective use of such models for process improvement. This is partly due to difficulties in defining appropriate performance measures for the processes. The purpose of this study is to propose a method that can be used for defining performance measures of business processes easily and effectively according to specific nature of these processes. The proposed performance measure definition system is based on the idea of using generic process performance measures published by trusted business process frameworks for high level processes and adapting them for lower level ones. The system, using a search mechanism available on a computer, allows users to easily find and define appropriate performance measures for their processes. The proposed system is used for a research project management process and a creating research opportunities process of a public university and the results are discussed.

In today’s world, globalization has increased the competition among companies and functioned as a factor for increased product variety, increased amount of customized products and shorter product life cycles. Supply Chain management is considered one of the most critical strategies for increasing organizational effectiveness and enhancing the customer service. Supply Chain needs to be evaluated based on its performance of how efficient and effective it is. Quality on products and processes has becoming even more critical to companies’ success. Zero defects on the components and parts that meet the customers’ needs are important for the quality of the final products and quality efforts can decrease the costs throughout the Supply Chain. Moreover, Supply Chain’s cost identification is getting even more important in order for the companies to evaluate the performance of their channel and realize the efficiency of their activities based on their supply chain processes. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how the implementation of a performance measurement system can assist companies to improve the Supply Chain based on the identification of the relation between the evaluation of the Supply Chain and the quality and service that is provided to the customer. Moreover, the cost of the production and the after-sales service is measured, in order to have a clear image of the Supply Chain performance. A case study company, Giraff Technologies, was examined and investigated further in order the author to be able to support the results and the analysis of the primary research combined with the analysis of the literature review. Based on the results of the research it can be said that the quality performance of a company and the service that is offered to the customers can be enhanced through the measurement and evaluation of the Supply Chain performance. Better collaboration with the suppliers and customers, customer focus and continuous improvements are ways to improve not only the Supply Chain but also the quality and the service that is offered. The production cost is considered as a factor that can be influenced positively or negatively by the Supply Chain performance, whereas the after-sale service cost is not clear if it can be affected immediately from the Supply Chain performance.

In the quality management literature, measurements are attributed great importance in improving products and processes. Systems for performance measurement assessing financial and non-financial measurements were developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The research on performance measurement systems has mainly been focused on the design of different performance measurement systems. Many authors are occupied with the study of the constructs of measures and developing prescriptive models of performance measurement systems. There is a need in the research to shift focus from studying the construct of measurements to how they are used in real face-to-face situations in specific contexts. The purpose of this thesis is to analyse the development, i.e. the design, implementation and use, of performance measurement systems in Swedish health care services. The study aims to increase the understanding of the role of performance measurement system in Swedish health care and thereby support health care improvements in general. Three research questions have been derived from the purpose. (1) How and why are performance measurement systems being developed in Swedish health care services? (2) What problems can be identified in the development? (3) What enabling factors can be identified in the development? A qualitative research strategy was selected for the research. The research is based on a multiple case study design conducted within two research projects. Information has been gathered through interviews, documents and observations. The idea of performance measurement systems develops through several tracks when implemented in health care and the development follows a purposeful process of activities. The development was initiated when major changes occurred in the organisation or its environment. Performance measurement systems are primarily used to support a dialogue between management and employees regarding organisational improvement. Problems experienced are related to struggles to reach national consensus for measures, involving management, and the clarification of various end-users’ needs. Enabling factors are the frequent interaction with people developing the system, management’s involvement, the use of multi-skilled teams, and visual displays. The research contributes to several insights to the research area of performance measurement system and health care practitioners. The research shows that the development process is far from straight forward and is formed by the influence of factors in the organisational context, which cannot always be predicted. By seeing the development as an innovation process, the focus is broadened from being technological towards the organisation as whole, which contribute to the existing research on performance measurement systems.

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What you do not measure you cannot control and what you do not control you cannot improve, implies that measurement is a pre-requisite for improvements. Especially for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SME) an implementation of a Performance Measurement System is mostly critical in terms of the fact that SMEs often is restricted of limited resources, lack of strategic thinking, lack of formal planning, as well as a reactive mentality. A model to prepare and secure an implementation of a performance measurement system at SMEs, has been developed, tested and validated through a single case study at a small enterprise, that is a well-renowned refiner of castings. The model is constituted by phases and steps supporting the advantages as well as over bridges the most common disadvantages for SMEs. The significant advantages on behalf of SMEs; loose structure, informal operating practices and lack of bureaucracy are reinforced by integrating the project and especially the output such as specification of requirements, new routines, improvement groups and forums within the organisation and in turn over bridge the disadvantages of limited resources and lack of formal planning. Identification and prioritisation of strategic objectives is the first step and creates a foundation of a continuous strategic thinking, which often SMEs are lacking, and in turn navigate the company in the right direction in order to maximise the utilisation of resources and consequently increase the profitability. / Vad som inte mäts kan inte kontrolleras och vad som inte kontrolleras kan inte förbättras, indikerar att mätning är en förutsättning för att åstadkomma förbättringar. Implementation av ett driftsuppföljningssystem är särskilt kritiskt på ett små och medelstora företag (SMEs) då dessa ofta är hindrade av begränsade resurser, bristfälligt strategiskt tänkande, otillräcklig formell planering, men även av en reaktiv mentalitet. En modell för att förbereda och säkra en implementation av ett driftsuppföljningssystem har utvecklats, testats och validerats genom en enskild fallstudie på ett mindre företag som bearbetar gjutgods. Modellen består av faser och steg som stödjer fördelarna med SMEs, men samtidigt överbrygger de vanligaste negativa kännetecken för SMEs. Fördelarna; lös struktur, informella operativa aktiviteter och brist på byråkrati är förstärkta genom att integrera projektet och speciellt resultaten såsom kravspecifikation, nya rutiner, förbättringsgrupper och forums i organisationen and därmed även överbrygga nackdelarna såsom begränsade resurser och bristfällig formell planering. Identifikation och prioritering av de strategiska målen är det första steget i modell för att skapa en grund för ett ständigt strategiskt tänkande, som ofta är bristfälligt på SMEs, och till följd därav styra företaget i rätt riktning och därmed maximera utnyttjandet av befintliga resurser och följaktligen öka lönsamheten.

The aim of this thesis was to develop a methodology to systematically investigate the effect of different procurement options on the outcome of a construction project. This methodology combined the qualitative analysis based on experts' performance assessment of each procurement option with quantitative analyses of generic process models for each option, in order to perform a comprehensive analysis of different procurement alternatives. This methodology was further applied to the specific problem of this research which was to assess the performance of Commissioning Delivery Systems (CDS). The goal was to use the findings from the study to provide a comparison between CDS, and assist Construction Owners in identifying the appropriate commissioning delivery option for their project. The process of each CDS was modeled, and systematic differences between different options were analyzed. Five major internal performance aspects of the commissioning process were identified based on literature: PAi1: Communication; PAi2: Validation; PAi3: Collaboration; PAi4: Integration; and PAi5: Integrity. These performance aspects were used as a basis for a Delphi study to obtain commissioning experts assessment of each CDS. Fourteen experts, representing different disciplines in the construction industry, participated in three phases of the Delphi study. A statistical measure was used to validate the expert performance assessments by measuring their level of consensus. Experts did not show any agreement on two performance aspects of Communication and Integration. These aspects were further investigated through quantitative analyses of process models. The developed methodology proved to be a valuable technique in analyzing the effect of procurement options on the outcome of a construction project. Based on the findings of the study, Owner-led Commissioning presented a higher performance rating than Designer-led Commissioning in four out of five performance aspects. Hence, Owner-led Commissioning is identified as a better alternative for procuring commissioning services on construction projects. Designer-led Commissioning presented a higher Communication performance than Owner-led Commissioning. At the same time, the Communication performance of both delivery options was very poor, which further indicates communication difficulties in current commissioning practices. Therefore, this study suggests a more-thorough investigation of the Communication aspect of commissioning process as a follow-up investigation.

Many performance measurement algorithms can only evaluate measure active managers' performance after a period of operating time. However, most investors are interested in monitoring the active managers' performances at any time, especially, when the performance is going down. So that the investors can adjust the targets and contents of their portfolios to reduce their risks. Yashchin,Thomas and David (1997) proposed to use a statistical quality control (SQC) procedure to monitor active managers' performances. In particular, they established the IR (Information Ratio) control charts under normality assumption to monitor the dynamic performances of active managers. However, the distributions of IR statistic usually possess fat tail property. Since the underlying distribution of IR is an important hypothesis in building up the control chart, we consider the heavy tail distributions, such as mixture normal and generalized error distribution to fit the IR data. Based on the fitted distribution, the IR control charts are rebuilt. By simulations and empirical studies, the remedial control charts are found to detect the shifts of active managers' performances more sensitively.

In this study an effort is made to bring more clear insights into the effect of management control systems on strategy formation. The content of management control systems does not have a final conclusion. Primary components of management control systems include managerial accounting and other controls. In the other hand, the process of strategy formulation mainly divided into two ways which are deliberate strategy and emergent strategy. The deliberate strategy is more applied to stable and predictable conditions while emergent strategy is a prompt response of enterprise to strategic uncertainties. Different perspectives of management control systems will separately help for two kinds of strategy formulation. This is an exploratory study which is contingent on size of organizations. Choosing steel industry as interviewers, the study divided them into two groups that are three large companies and three middle & small companies and proceeded elite interview separately. The conclusions are as follows: 1. High formalization of management control systems help for the need of information of deliberate strategy formulation. 2. The degree of participation and communication of interactive control systems in large companies are higher, while those of interactive control systems in small companies are lower. 3. No matter what the size of an organization is, the initial stages of strategic activities are shaped by management control systems. 4. No matter what the size of an organization is, boundary systems do not serve as a strategy filter. 5. The top management of interviewer companies tends to not realize that employees may make up the key performance indicator (KPI) due to the changes in the priority of KPI for responding to strategic uncertainties. 6. No matter what the size of an organization is, complete management control systems will help for higher performance in organization.

The performance assessment done by objective measures have now been replaced with subjective measures. Within the context of this research / interdependencies between a construction company&rsquo / s &ldquo / resources and capabilities&rdquo / , &ldquo / project management capabilities&rdquo / , &ldquo / strategic decisions&rdquo / , &ldquo / strength of relationships with other parties&rdquo / and &ldquo / external factors&rdquo / with &ldquo / project performance&rdquo / and &ldquo / company performance&rdquo / were investigated from a resource based perspective which put forward intangible assets of the company. To achieve the objectives, a questionnaire survey was administered to 73 Turkish contractors and the data obtained from 354 projects that were held during the last five years were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). It was hypothesized in this study that construction company performance is influenced by the resources and capabilities within the company, the long-term and short-term strategies adopted by the company, the strength of the relationships of the company with other parties involved in construction projects, external factors and project management competencies. A structural equation model was set up to measure the seven latent variables through their constituent variables and to see if the hypothesized relationships exist. Based on the findings of this study, it can be concluded that, this research has introduced a method to measure performance both in subjective (qualitative) and the objective (quantitative) terms. The strong path coefficients between the constructs of the model are an indication that, after decades in pursuit of finding ways to improve the performance of construction companies, subjective dimensions of performance have proven to be as effective as the traditional objective dimensions.