Organizational Culture and the Paradox of Performance Management

Many public organizations collect information indicating whether their operations, programs, and policies achieve the desired performance outcomes, but often they do not use this information. Why do managers in some public organizations fail to use performance information to achieve desired outcomes? Why is the idea behind the implementation of performance management not reflected in the observed behavior of public managers? Organizational culture is a conceptual tool that can provide useful insights into this paradox. This article proposes that culture manifests itself at different levels of an organization and presents a set of propositions on the use of performance information that takes into account both the different levels of organizational culture and the different cultures in an organization.