Presenting a Conceptual Model of Performance Management in Municipalities Using Content Analysis and Fuzzy Delphi Approach (Study Case: Bandar Abbas Municipality)

Introduction :

Management knowledge always seeks to provide new models for the optimal management of organizations and solving their problems. Performance management is one of the management requirements that all organizations have used in different ways in the past to achieve the expected goals. The concept, approach, process, and method of performance evaluation have always been revised and continuously improved based on the need, and currently, it has reached its relative maturity with the concept of performance management. In the new approach, performance management is considered a tool to implement strategies and policies and achieve organizational goals, and its main goal is to increase the abilities and competencies and grow and nurture the evaluated organization. Such a view of performance management requires the existence of features that make the system efficient and effective, and the flexibility and dynamism of the performance management framework fulfill the above demand. Performance management is one of the main and fundamental tools of high management to achieve the goals and plans of the organization. In non-governmental public institutions, such as municipalities, this issue has been emphasized a lot. Since the municipality is in charge of managing the city, it is essential to pay attention to the management and functioning of the municipality. This is despite the fact that the proper management of any organization, including the municipality, will not be realized except with appropriate planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and revision to create a suitable environment for improving performance. Currently, the problem that exists in our country is the inefficiency of municipalities in the field of performance management, and the expected improvements in performance, accountability, transparency, and service quality have not yet occurred. Also, the performance literature in the field of urban management shows that the existing approaches emphasize more on measurement and evaluation, and the management approach is less representative. The existing models and theories in performance management are focused either on the individual level or on the institutional level and are less focused on the wholeness and comprehensiveness of the organization. Therefore, the main problem of this research is the lack of a suitable performance management model in the municipality, and that too with a comprehensive view in all dimensions. In this sense, a comprehensive and desirable model should be prepared and compiled according to the requirements of the municipality. Based on that, it is possible to reach performance management in the municipality from the stage of pure performance evaluation and provide more accurate information for better and more effective management to the municipal managers.

Since this research seeks to identify and explain the factors, dimensions, and consequences of performance management in the municipality and presents a new plan of information, it is considered applied research. Also, based on the research plan and in terms of data collection, the current research is descriptive research and the combined methods of interview, content analysis, and fuzzy Delphi were used to collect information. This research has been done with a mixed approach (qualitative-quantitative) in three stages. The first stage was conducted using the interview method (qualitative), the second stage was conducted using the content analysis method (quantitative), and the third stage was conducted using the fuzzy Delphi method (quantitative). The statistical sample of the research in the interview method was 20 experts in Bandar Abbas Municipality who were selected using the snowball sampling method. The statistical sample in fuzzy Delphi was 25 experts (20 interviewees and 5 university professors). After conducting the interviews, using the content analysis method, the factors, components, and consequences of performance management were identified in 3 levels individual performance, group performance, and organizational performance. Then, using the fuzzy Delphi method, the researcher’s conceptual model was sent to the experts for verification and refinement in three rounds.

Factors affecting individual management include two categories of behavioral factors including components (motivation, competence and individual skill, knowledge, participation in decisions, attitude, respect, and honor), and system factors including components (atmosphere and prevailing culture, system rules, promotion and reward and rights, leadership and management, cooperation and communication, justice and fairness, system structure, human resources development). In the field of group performance management, the influencing factors are divided into three categories of structural factors including (training and growth, fair recruitment and selection, goals and strategies, organizational atmosphere and culture, regulations, and rules, group promotion and reward, justice, and fairness, shared values ) managerial factors include the components (knowledge management, validity of managers’ decisions, managers’ characteristics, management support, human capital management, delegation of authority and power) and technical factors include the components (information and communication technology, health and safety of the work environment). The factors affecting organizational performance are divided into three categories: social factors including the components (laws and regulations of the society, justice and fairness of the society, culture and common values of the society, society’s view towards the municipality, human resources development) economic factors including the components (pricing of services, budget allocation, ability to receive budget, government’s economic approach) and political factors including (sanctions in supplying parts and services, power and influence of city council members, support for the organization (municipality), influence and power of municipal management in public arenas and government). The dimensions of individual performance management in the municipality are two categories of moral performance including components (morality, rule of law, humility, respect, patience), and functional performance including components (personal growth, individual productivity, creativity and innovation, cooperation and empathy, learning, responsibility, flexibility, effort, and diligence). In the field of group performance, its dimensions are divided into two categories of process performance including dimensions (timely information, accurate calculations of reports, quality of services, quantity, and speed of services, productivity and reducing costs, achieving goals, dealing with administrative violations) and human resource performance including (teamwork obligations, professional ethics, seriousness and group effort) were divided. The organizational performance of the municipality includes the aspects of financial performance with components (maintenance of treasury, payment of claims, compensation, and compensation, organizational efficiency, profitability, and income, protection of real estate), urban planning, and architecture performance including components (dealing with violations, quantity, and quality of issuing permits, renovation of worn-out fabric, implementation of the smart city) performance of urban infrastructure including components (equitable provision of opportunities, public transportation and traffic, improvement of safety and accidents, physical progress and quality of construction projects), performance Municipal and environmental services include components (municipal services on occasions, maintenance of waterways and canals, beautification of urban space, development and maintenance of green spaces, organizing industries and disturbing businesses). Finally, the consequences and results of performance management in municipalities are organizational excellence, stakeholder satisfaction, administrative transparency, public acceptance, improvement of financial and administrative challenges, productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness of the municipality.

To be successful, municipalities should move towards using new and optimal performance management methods. In this sense, municipalities can take advantage of the current research and its results to manage performance at different individual, group, and organizational levels. The current research gives a general view to city managers and by using the identified factors, dimensions, components, and consequences, it is possible to act in the direction of better performance management.