Performance Management in Practice: the Norwegian Way

This paper examines how the Norwegian system of performance management, Management-By-Objectives-And-Results (MBOR), works in practice in civil service organizations. To do this it focuses on the formulation of goals and performance indicators, performance reporting and performance steering. The empirical basis is a broad survey of Norwegian state agencies carried out in 2004. Using variables derived from a structural-instrumental, a cultural-institutional and an environmental approach, we analyze the variations among agencies in their use of MBOR. While the general ideas of MBOR have been widely adopted in the Norwegian central government, the practical application of MBOR differs considerably from the ideal performance-management model and has been transformed and translated by the various agencies. This variation can primarily be attributed to cultural and environmental factors. The MBOR model seems to work best for agencies that are young and large, that are subject to some form of market competition, and that report a very high level of mutual trust between the agency and the parent ministry.