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Competing values:

Competing values: an examination of library administrators’ perceptions and behaviors in competitive and performance measurement information use in developing strategic responses and reporting strategic impacts and value for their organization Presented by Larry Nash White, PhD .

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Competing values:

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  1. Competing values: an examination of library administrators’ perceptions and behaviors in competitive and performance measurement information use in developing strategic responses and reporting strategic impacts and value for their organization Presented by Larry Nash White, PhD Presented to the 9th Northumbria International Conference on Performance Measurement in Libraries and Information Services: Proving Value in Challenging TimesAugust 2011York, England

  2. Points of context… Libraries tell great stories…

  3. Background of problem

  4. Research Question Competitive or not? Competitive info used? PM info used? Overarching Research Question: How do head library administrators in North Carolina use competitive and performance information in generating their library’s strategic responses and reporting their strategic value?

  5. Research Questions - Context “The government are extremely fond of amassing great quantities of statistics. They are raised to the nth degree, the cube roots are extracted, and the results are arranged into elaborate and impressive displays. What must be kept in mind, however, is that in every case, the figures are first put down by a village watchman, and he puts down anything he damn well pleases.” Josiah Stamp, English economist and banker (1880 – 1941)

  6. Research Sub-questions 1-3 Michael Porter Thomas Davenport Does counting count? What competitive perceptions do head library administrators in North Carolina have about themselves, their fellow head library administrators, and their library? What types of competitive / performance measurement information do head library administrators in North Carolina use to perform administrative functions in their library? What types of competitive / performance measurement information / data do head library administrators in North Carolina use to address strategic value questions posed by stakeholders?

  7. Research Sub-questions 4-5 How do head library administrators in North Carolina allocate resources to perform performance measurement? How do libraries in North Carolina compete to recruit / retain strategically important staff and administrators?

  8. Methodology Response rate: 39 % (73/194) 15% use Escape question! Al Capone method used… The research design is a three stage, mixed methods research design involving: Stage 1: surveys of academic and public library administrators’ perceptions and practices in using competitive and performance measurement information to generate strategic value (addressing sub-questions 1 - 5); Stage 2: interviews with key informants (addressing sub-questions 1-4); and Stage 3: case studies (addressing sub-questions 1 – 3, 5).

  9. Participants Information F/M ratio: 2.5:1 Average respondent age: 54 MLS awarded: 1970-2008 The study population included all of the Head Library Administrators (HLA) of North Carolina: • 77 public libraries • 58 community college libraries • 59 academic library (private and public funded) • 194 respondents. Response Rate by Library type: (37.7% PL, 39.3% AL) Pub Lib HLA note:All public library directors must have completed a library administration course in their MLS / MLIS professional education in order to be certified: 1) as a public librarian and 2) as a library director in order for their library to receive State Aid.

  10. Findings: Sub-question 1 HLA Exp 19 years (1,39) In-library admin exp. 6+ years (1,39) 84% have no prior administrative experience before becoming HLA Competitive or Not?

  11. Findings: Sub-question 2 Comp / PM information used to perform administrative functions?

  12. Findings: Sub-question 3 Comp / PM information used to address strategic value questions?

  13. Findings: Sub-question 4 No strong correlations to experience! Over $2,000,000 in costs! Academic costs pending! Resources to perform PM?

  14. Findings: Sub-question 5 Compete to recruit / retain strategically important admin? Compete to recruit / retain strategically important staff

  15. Other Findings: Sub-Q 1 Few key informants known! No case study volunteers! Libraries feel small! Competitive Perceptions No significant correlations to resources; recruitment or retention practices; nor to the types of metrics uses or which admin functions they are used in!

  16. Other Findings: Sub-Q 2 Competitive / PM information collected by your library is used to address which types of accountability / value questions?

  17. Other Findings: Sub-Q 3

  18. Other Findings: Sub-Q 3

  19. There is a potential negative impact on the library organization’s ability to use competitive / PM information to develop strategic responses due if the current internal focus and recruitment over retainment emphasis continues. This will make it difficult for library organizations to keep attract / keep experienced HLA / staff with experience in using competitive / PM information to make strategic decisions in place. Other Findings: Sub-Q 5

  20. Conclusion: Overarching Question How do head library administrators in North Carolina use competitive and performance information in generating their library’s strategic responses and reporting their strategic value? • the overall levels of respondent interest, organizational capacity and ability to use competitive / PM information in the areas of developing and reporting strategic impacts / value and addressing stakeholder strategic value questions is sporadic in use; is primarily internally focused; and is more reporting than responsive in nature • there is little / no alignment between the competitive / PM information available and how it is used by HLA / libraries in admin functions or to address stakeholders questions regarding strategic value • resource allocations (e.g. $/staff/admin time) to support competitive and PM information use activities are perceived as limited yet HLA seem to have high expectations for the results of these activities • staff / administrators retention practices focus more on recruitment than retention, inferring there is less experience / ability available within the library organization for use in the competitive / PM information process to generate strategic responses and values.

  21. Implications Research! Education! Responding will be harder! Results additionally suggest that: • I now have more questions than answers… • research is needed to better document and understand the use, alignment, expertise, and effectiveness of competitive / PM information by HLA in developing strategic responses and reporting strategic impact and values. • educational opportunities and resources are needed by North Carolina HLA in order to more effectively develop strategic responses and report strategic impacts and value for their libraries. • North Carolina libraries have limited potential in employing organizational intelligence and analytics to convert competitive / PM information into strategic responses or address questions of strategic impacts and values.

  22. Limitations & Future Actions • Need replication, larger sample size! • Knowledge / interest needed! • “This survey is a hoax!” This study’s conclusions are limited to the academic and public library administrators in North Carolina who are participants and presently serving in HLA positions in their libraries. Future actions will pursue determining how to better understanding and explain the results of this study. Additional actions will include replication of the study in another state in the coming year to determine validity of findings and reliability of the study instrument; and extended efforts at conducting the key informant interviews and case studies to further examine and understand the problem and HLA information behaviors.

  23. Closing Thoughts…. “You’ll never have all of the information you need to make a decision. If you did, it would be a foregone conclusion, not a decision.” David Mahoney

  24. “You’ll never have all of the information you need to make a decision. If you did, it would be a foregone conclusion, not a decision.” David Mahoney There was a man who dreamed…. Closing Thoughts….

  25. Questions? Contact information for questions, collaborations, or copies of the presentation: Larry Nash WhiteDepartment of Library and Information StudiesGraduate School of EducationUniversity at Buffalo534 Baldy HallBuffalo, NY 14260-1020Email: lnwhite@buffalo.edu Office Phone:  716.645.1473Office Fax: 716.645.3775

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