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Disentangling Influence - Performance Audit Effects on Public Managers

出版	Universiteit Antwerpen, 2017
URL	http://books.google.com.hk/books?id=9hZpuwEACAAJ&hl=&source=gbs_api

註釋Public administrators have been seeking efficient, economic and effective delivery of services ever since the philosophy of management for results entered the public scenario. Such demand for better performance led to implementation of Public Performance Audits (PPAs) to help governments, citizens and third parties assessing performance, enhancing accountability, providing transparency and strengthening democracy. The effectiveness of this evaluation model in achieving such goals depends on how it influences its whole environment. Setting aside traditional conceptions of evaluation use, based mostly on implementation of recommendations, the research employed the broader concept of evaluation influence and influence pathways (Mark and Henry, 2004) to analyse audit consequences on behavioural and cognitive fields. Hence, this study sought to understand how audits influenced auditees and stakeholders and what were the underlying mechanisms triggering these processes. The Performance Audit of Public High School Education (PAPHSE) conducted in the State of Paraíba (Brazil) was chosen as the analytical case. The Brazilian system of education decentralization and its impacts on policy-making amounted to the complexity of the investigation. A qualitative approach combining in-depth semi-structured interviews and documental analysis uncovered three sets of influence consequences: individual (elaboration, attitude change, skill acquisition and individual practices), interpersonal o (collaborative practices) and collective outcomes (agenda-setting, policy-oriented learning and policy change/implementation). The trails of mechanism interactions leading to such influences involved audit activities, outputs, internal and external contexts. The most salient mechanisms were auditee informed participation in the audit, information dissemination, administrative support, audit-report communication, openness to change, management turnover and federal influence on state policy. Considering that audit outcomes were a result of multiple interactions of influence mechanisms; and the specificities of participation and context of each interviewee, variations on influence perception were registered on interviews. Further, having outlined the pathway of PPA influence in this specific case, the research allows for comparative studies and in-depth analysis of individual mechanisms. The overview of the interconnections and examples of perceived influence lay grounds for further explorations on the entangled web of evaluation influence. Lastly, considering academic literature and the analysis of findings, this research presents recommendations for improving audit outcomes and ultimately achieve social betterment. To the Court of Audit of the State of Paraíba (CAS-PB) it recommended focusing on the pedagogical (and not punitive) approach and consider the auditees as knowledgeable partners. Also, CAS-PB should establish a better dialogue with media outlets, pushing for coverage of both negative findings and good practices while pressuring for transparent and unbiased news. Involvement of a maximum number of stakeholders in the discussions was also advised. Further, CAS-PB should systematize auditors field-approach to achieve a homogeneous understanding about the process among auditees and adapt data-collection procedures to become tools for two-way exchange of information. In addition, it was suggested the dissemination of audit-report summaries adapted to different target groups. Finally, CAS-PB could foster continued auditee learning by establishing formal communication channels to share technical evaluation knowledge. Regarding the State Department of Education (SDE) it was recommended to enforce among its managers the importance to treat this evaluation as a learning activity, requesting and supporting involvement of all office managers (including support offices), regional managers and consulted school directors. Additionally, SDE could systematize internal evaluations incorporating PPA techniques and incorporate their process in the annual planning activities. Lastly, managers should be aware of individual agency role in organizational change, and dedicate more efforts to increase the salience of audit outcomes inside SDE and to the public.