My ramblings were just a thought for discussion.
xinhua2,
You state if you cannot measure you cannot manage.
Unfortunately in some cases the measurement becomes the goal, rather than the result. The way management works is driven, in a bonus environment, to always have an improvement on these measurements.
An example given by a friend whose wife worked in a social services area. The manager measured the workload and was judged on how many 'clients' the social workers saw in a week, this number climbed and climbed. In the end they were no longer able to do their job effectively, as it became a race around with box ticking exercises. Targets were met, but actual outcomes were seen as secondary.
When you have a CEO whose bonus is predicated on their ability to cut costs those underneath must also adopt this mindset. Cut rosters, cut training, hold meetings with 'stakeholders that resolve nothing but can be measured, allow others to self regulate (not MY measurement then),assign every area of business a cost even if that cost is intrinsic, this may cause long term damage to the company but is ignored.
I agree that if you cannot manage you cannot measure, but there are some things you can't measure and a good manager needs to also be appreciative of these areas and prepared to argue UP the line, the risks of focusing on KPIs,targets, etc. Just managing with measurements is a dangerous business.
Another example, when travelling years ago I worked in a pub in London that was one of many run by a large corporation. They decided to bring in a measurement system that counted how many punters each bar staff served. You punched in a personal PLU number at the till on each transaction. There was a lovely older lady there who knew everyone and spent most of her time chatting. The guvnor was told to get rid of her, he fought and lost. She moves to the pub down the road and all the regulars go with her.
Having said all that , I would love to see how the regulatory reform area measures things. Is it how many meetings they have held?