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In addition to these foundational courses, schools also teach the mechanics of managing organizational performance such as the use of Balanced Scorecards or specific tools and methods used in particular sectors (for example, in the case of the Telfer School of Management's program, introduction to public sector frameworks such as the Management Resources and Results Structure).
Conceptually, the overall objective of these programs is to provide managers the tools they need to deliver on strategic outcomes. At the Cranfield School of Management, for example, the MSc program is entitled “Managing Organizational Performance.” One of the key courses is on the topic of “strategic performance,” outlining the types of linkages required between strategy formulation and strategy execution. This approach, common in many of the programs in the various business schools, emphasizes the articulation of operational tactics linked to strategic objectives and definition of resources needed. In addition, the use of performance information and data analytics to better steer the organization towards success is also addressed. Figure 1 (read from right to left) provides a generic framework reflecting these course offerings.
One of the key outcomes of these programs is that students learn how to manage through measures. They are introduced to the logic of measuring performance across the organization in order to continually explore whether resource deployment is as efficient as it could be and whether operational tactics are in fact leading to the desired strategic outcomes. Because it is not always easy to define measures in a public sector environment, many programs also address situations when measurement could be difficult.
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