This literature review examines key performance indicators (KPIs) for adult and community education (ACE) organizations. It discusses the challenges of evaluating outcomes for ACE providers given their focus on both educational and social outcomes. It reviews management tools from industry, services, and education to identify an approach suitable for voluntary ACE providers. The balanced scorecard is discussed as a potential tool, but the review argues KPIs for voluntary ACE must focus on quality as an outcome and avoid interfering with volunteers' work. Further research is needed on measuring social outcomes and adapting evaluation methods for the ACE sector.

1. SAMPLE LITERATURE REVIEW
Mgmt 430 MMMS 530 Research Paper on a Selected Aspect of Management
This review has been made available with permission for learning purposes only.
Do not quote. Deborah.jones@vuw.ac.nz
Literature review
Counting what Counts - Key Performance Indicators for Adult and
Community Education
Introduction
How do you evaluate organisations if they do not measure what they do? This is the
question faced by voluntary Adult and Community Education (ACE) organisations1.
In order to “justify public expenditure”, education policy has become “increasingly
driven by the need to measure outcomes” (Brindley, 2001, 138). In ACE providers,
two major factors conspire to make the use of evaluation troublesome. The
outcomes of ACE fall into two broad areas. Educational outcomes, such as the
ability to speak English can be measured through extant tests2. But for some social
outcomes, specific tests do not exist. Jackson offers an Australian perspective on
Adult Migrant Education Programmes (AMEP), stating that “non-content outcomes…
[are] rarely a matter of serious debate, the recording of such outcomes… [is] even
viewed with suspicion” (1994, p. 59). Improved civic engagement (for example the
knowledge of how to access services such as taking one’s children to the doctor)
has repercussions in society and in the next generation which ACE providers do not
measure.
The already difficult challenge of developing the capability (suitable processes,
trained workforce) to measure these complex results is exacerbated by the second
factor. Volunteering. Many New Zealand organisations facilitate willingness in
1
A group of education providers wholly or partly funded by the Tertiary Education Commission
working in five ‘priority’ areas: targeting learners whose initial learning was not successful, raising
foundation skills, encouraging lifelong learning, strengthening communities by meeting identified
community learning needs, and strengthening social cohesion
2
The communicative competence test is one basis for measurement here (Savignon, 2000)
SAMPLE LITERATURE REVIEW MGMT 430.MMMS 530 2006

2. communities to help their co-citizens for no pay. This is made possible by a shared
belief in the benefits of the work (Zappalá, 2000, Derby 2001). So can the expense
and voluntary time of developing and implementing complicated evaluation
procedures be justified, in the context of low-budget3, high-value-added4 activities
such as voluntary community education?
What are the requirements of a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) that meet
the needs of voluntary ACE?
This paper will survey management and education management literature for the
characteristics of a set of KPIs suitable for voluntary ACE. This paper does not
attempt to recommend specific KPIs for ACE; rather it unpacks the philosophical
underpinnings of why KPIs have evolved and why different KPIs are chosen in
organisations. The movement towards more balanced measures in management
(Kaplan and Norton, 1992, 1996a, 1996b) is argued to be of increasingly more
interest to the ACE sector, although many specific evaluation tools are still
inapplicable to the case of volunteering. The service industry will warrant
attention, as it stands considerably closer in core business to education than
industrial models do. The Balanced Scorecard (ibid) already in use in some school
settings will also be reviewed.
This paper will argue that KPIs for voluntary ACE must strike the correct balance
between measuring financial and other management, and evaluating outcomes for
learners. I will propose that a set of KPIs must focus on quality, not as a
‘determinant of outcomes’ (Ballantine and Brignall 1994), but as an outcome in
itself. The measures chosen should be simple, and have an impact on members of
the organisation suitable to the realities of voluntary bodies. The work uncovers
questions for further research.
The case for balanced measures in management
From the industrial age on, the way organisations rated performance was to consult
the bookkeeper. The bottom line summarised achievement (Kaplan and Norton,
3
The entire ACE funding pool for New Zealand is $24.9million annually
4
For a full discussion of the value added by volunteering, see the VAVA (Value Added by Voluntary
Agencies) Report 2004, Price Waterhouse Coopers
2

3. 1992). As long as this was the case, theories of management provided little
possibility for cross application to measuring in providers of ACE.
During the 19th century however, the ‘cooperative movement’ and ‘guild socialism’
(Bonner, 1961) were forces not specifically driven by organisational management
practices, but that encapsulated ideas giving rise to such organisations as the
Workers Education Association, founded in New Zealand in 1915 and still providing
voluntary ACE today (The WEA, 2005).
But fundamental changes occurred.
Technology started developing at a rate that necessitated more and ongoing
investment into equipment. Globalisation required industries to be more
adaptable. Growing environmental concerns became the problem of business,
increasing pressure on corporations. Even customers had changed (Neely, 1998).
So companies adapted. One reaction was to become ‘learning organisations’
(Kochan and Useem, 1992). They created corporate missions that had a specific
focus on the customer (Kaplan and Norton, 1992). Top-down management was
challenged by a call for ‘a much greater participation in the management of
enterprises by all the workforce’ (Heywood, 1989, p. xii). In the name of
sustainability, many started conducting social audits that regarded their societal
and environmental outcomes of their operations.
The financials were no longer enough. Their ‘documented inadequacies’ included
their ‘backward-looking focus’ and their ‘inability to reflect …value-creating
activities’ (Kaplan and Norton, 1992, p. 73). For corporations to remain
competitive, looking at the monthly balance sheet no longer provided incentives
for the necessary investments in technology, community, environment or
innovation (Neely, 1998). The stage was set for a more balanced style of evaluation
to enter, increasing the possibility of cross application in broader contexts.
Can management tools help education questions?
Strategic management tools sprang up in response to the new needs. Wang
Corporation’s ‘SMART’ model (Strategic Measurement and Analysis Reporting
3

4. Technique) shapes a company’s strategies into a pyramid, and then translates them
into actions for each member of the organisation (Lynch and Cross, 1991). This
signalled that the success of an organisation requires the involvement and good
performance of all the staff (ibid). This is in line with a customer (learner) –focus
more suitable to our case.
Its areas of measurement however, have a strong production orientation that would
not be applicable to voluntary ACE. It was designed with the production industry in
mind, and its assumption of countable outputs is not immediately transferable to
softer outcomes.
After an overview of similar strategic measuring tools in industry (Fitzgerald et al.,
1991, Brown, 1996), it became apparent that the priorities of industry make their
models inapplicable for our purposes. With its stronger people orientation, answers
were next sought in the service industry.
The service industry
In organisations where individual consumer acquisition and retention are central to
success, the inadequacies of financial measures were further exaggerated
(Fitzgerald et al., 1991), suggesting potential cross application to our question.
In light of the service industry’s requirements, Warwick University created the
Results/Determinants matrix (Ballantine and Brignall 1994). This distinguishes
between measuring outcomes and measuring what determines the outcomes. These
two categories break down into six ‘dimensions’. Notably in its case however,
‘quality of service’ is defined as determining results in financial and competitive
arenas. Its assumption that quality of service is not an output in itself, but a
determinant of competitive and financial results restricts its suitability only to
profit-oriented companies. It would not offer appropriate solutions for not-for-
profit organisations, where service provision is the major outcome.
A model is needed that focuses on quality. The EFQM (European Foundation for
Quality Management) model also distinguishes between ‘results’ and ‘enablers’ but
includes ‘society’ in the results and ‘leadership’ as an enabler. This answers our
previous question but throws up another. Where the Results/Determinants matrix
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5. has six, EFQM has nine areas in which to select and set several measures each. The
time spent collecting data in order to achieve meaningful information in all these
evaluations will make it complicated ‘beyond probable pay-off’ (Neely and Adams,
2000). This view was substantiated by Worthen, Sanders and Fitzpatrick:
One can hardly oppose using objectives and assessing their
attainment, but the use of dozens, or even hundreds of objectives
for each area of endeavour… amount[s] to a monopolization of staff
time and skills for a relatively small payoff. (1997, p. 90)
The Higher Education Quality Council in London issued an even stronger warning
against over-evaluation; that ‘Constant external review potentially diminishes
quality” (1995, p. 29).
In order to increase the probability of finding a simpler and more appropriate tool,
techniques already in practice in the education setting were sought.
What they do at schools
Schools are a group of organisations that have always focused on outcomes other
than financial. Educational institutions have long known that ‘the real test of good
teaching is its effect on students’ (Higher Education Quality Council, 1995, p. 100).
For these organisations, rating performance has never consisted of financial
measures alone, and has usually been approximated to student achievement
(Education Review Office, 2003) as seen on standardised and other tests.
On comparison with the contemporary management tools already outlined, just
measuring (approximated) outcomes does not represent a balanced set of
measures. A school with incredibly successful students could still be inefficient if
for example, it is mismanaging monies or staff. Measurements need to encompass
both outcome and process indicators, and such tools are indeed used by education
organisations.
The Balanced Scorecard
The Balanced Scorecard has been applied, initially by private teaching institutions
(e.g. Berlitz Language Services Worldwide in 2000, personal experience) more
5

6. closely connected with the business sector and later by members of state-run
systems (for example Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools, 2005). Pioneered by Kaplan
and Norton in the early nineties (Kaplan and Norton, 1992) in a corporate context,
it was later proposed for schools by Somerset (Somerset, 1998) and others. It
balances financial evaluation with three other ‘perspectives’; customer (or
learner), internal processes and (organisational) learning and growth.
Although originally developed for the business sector, its advocates see ‘no reason
why it shouldn’t be used for charities or public sector organisations’ (Bourne and
Bourne, 2000, p.17). Its purported advantages over traditional systems are seen in
three major areas. The first is its simplicity (as already outlined), followed by its
applications to organisational communication and finally its ability to influence
behaviour (Somerset, 1998).
To assess their appropriateness to our question, the latter two areas will look
briefly to some psychology literature.
The Balanced Scorecard and communication
Somerset asserted that ‘building a performance measurement system is not about
control; it is about communication’ (Somerset, 1998, p.2). If high-level strategy is
‘decompose[d]’ into measures for actions at local levels (Kaplan and Norton, 1992,
p.75), each member of an organisation is informed about how to contribute to
achieving the overall mission. Literature on communication however alerts us that
being informed is not equivalent to successful communication. To ensure that the
message has been understood would require communication in more than one
direction, and include mechanisms such as ‘perception checking’ and ‘feedback’
(Gundykunst, 1994).
An ACE organisation with a mission to provide English support to migrants might
inform a volunteer English tutor that his number of visits to the English resource
library is being tracked in an attempt to measure overall performance. Without
two-way communication about why this is happening, there are risks of deterring
the volunteer, making his voluntary experience less satisfactory or in fact
pressuring him to do more than he is willing.
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7. The Balanced Scorecard and behaviour
When setting up measures, managers are warned of the strong effects the process
will have on the behaviour of employees (Kaplan and Norton, 1992). Some
traditional measurement systems “specify the particular actions they want
employees to take and then measure to see whether the employees have in fact
taken those actions. In that way, the systems try to control behaviour” (ibid, p.79).
Within power relations however, (such as between a target setter and the worker
charged to achieve the target) behaviour can better be influenced through
‘competent authority’ than this form of ‘coercive authority’ (Wrong, 1995). Under
Wrong’s model, the employee’s behaviour is best influenced out of a belief in the
authority’s superior competence (in this case, to interpret strategy and set
measures for actions accordingly). Under the Balanced Scorecard regime, targets
are not set to dictate actions, but to influence behaviour seen to achieve the
corporate vision simply by ‘focusing attention on key areas’ (Bourne and Bourne,
2000, p.10). Some organisations will find the choice of competent authority
preferable to coercive authority favouring the Balanced Scorecard for this reason.
But the concept of setting targets in order to influence behaviour is fundamentally
problematic in our case. It suggests that measures taken will evaluate progress
against goals and influence behaviour towards achieving the vision of the
organisation, rather than unobtrusively trying to gain a picture of actual
achievement and value produced by the organisation.
Our case necessitates avoiding interference in the work of volunteers, rather than
influencing their behaviour towards more or different kinds of work. The KPIs that
reflect ‘actual’ work done (as opposed to measures that aim to inspire achieving
the vision and drive performance) must be as simple and easy to measure as
possible, and not adversely influence volunteer behaviour.
A distinction arises between evaluation that aims to reflect status quo, and
measurement as an ‘instrument to pursue goals’ (Worthen et al, 1997, p.22). While
the Balanced Scorecard may be a useful tool for ACE organisations in working
towards their missions, it will not provide KPIs to indicate the current value of
their work.
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8. Management, education, and back again
The waves of change in organisational management have both informed and been
informed by education literature. In his important work ‘Learning, Adaptability and
Change, The Challenge for Education and Industry’ (1989), John Heywood applies
the cognitive theory of how children learn, to create lessons for organisations in
being more adaptable. He then relates his theories on learning organisations back
to the school setting with recommendations for educationalists. His work is a
strong example of how management and education thinking have grown towards
each other: schools have an increasing emphasis on effective management while
organisations try to learn.
Conclusions and further research
The applications of various performance measurement systems to voluntary ACE
seem reasonable efforts to satisfy public demands for accountability of funds.
However, research on the adaptations necessary to fit the requirements of the
sector in question is still required, and research into measuring non-educational
outcomes is also needed.
References
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Brown, M. G. (1996). Keeping Score: Using the Right Metrics to Drive World-Class
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10. Kochan, T and Useem, M (1992). Transforming Organizations. New York: Oxford
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11. Worthen, Blaine R., Sanders, James R. and Fitzpatrick, Jody L., (1997). Programme
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