The Performance of Public Organization: Still Unclear

• Author: Bacanu, B.
• Position: Dept. of Economic Sciences and Business Administration, Transilvania University of Brasov
• Pages: 111-116

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov

Series V: Economic Sciences • Vol. 7 (56) • No. 2 - 2014

THE PERFORMANCE OF PUBLIC

ORGANIZATION: STILL UNCLEAR

Bogdan B;CANU1

Abstract: Nowadays, the present discussions about the organisation’s

performance have revealed the fact that the concept is unclear. The use of the

concept is more difficult in public organisations. The paper presents the case

of Romanian SOE Hidroelectrica and the case of public universities, to

pinpoint the fact that ambiguous objectives are the cause of a dilemmatic

management. The general opinion is that the results of the public

organisations management reflect a poor performance of the latter. 

Key words: public organisation, performance of the organisation, state-

owned enterprise (SOE), public university.

1 Dept. of Economic Sciences and Business Administration, Transilvania University of Braşov.

1. Introduction

Over the last decades, the specialized

literature has seen an explosion of

approaches on performance management.

The supposition according to which there

would be a close connection between the

education in management and the

outcomes expected by the organisation has

raised a significant interest. Further on, the

organisation’s performance is supposed to

be provided by the effectiveness of the

management (Drumea, 2012).

For the main organisation taken into

account by a systematic study on

economics and management, a so called

profit-oriented organisation, the

aforementioned connection seems to be

reasonably easy to follow. Moreover, the

present study is supported by the existence

of a reference element, easily identified in

the case of companies operating within a

competitive environment. The discussion

of both the issue of comparison an d of

performance becomes more intricate in the

case of imperfect competition structures

and raises serious difficulties in the case of

monopolies or state-owned enterprises

(SOEs). The matter of organization’s

performance is reasonably intricate due to

the discussions associated with

performance indicators.

Given this supposed relation, the

aforementioned issue generates a range of

noteworthy difficulties for the appraisal of

management performance in public

nonprofit organisati ons, acquainted under

the customary label of agencies (Bcanu,

2008). Due to this reason, the management

is questionable, as managers remain the

victims of subjective appraisals. The

consequence of these appraisals is

represented by rather arbitrary

replacements and nominations of

managers, guided by criteria which are not

at all related to management or to be found

in economics textbooks.

The day-to-day reality of the public

nonprofit organisation suggests that the

management appraisal is influenced by