Understanding Performance Measurement in Private Prisons:A Complexity Perspective Approach

Abstract

Performance measurement for private prisons is problematic for three main reasons. First, the use of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is founded on a reductionist approach that reduces the performance of an organization to a single list of measures upon which the provider is paid. Second, prisons in the UK are built to confine and to rehabilitate. This can cause contradiction in relation to performance measures prioritization made between, for instance, security and decency. Third, to emphasize accountability, private prisons' performance is assessed by different organizations; each has their own perspective and priorities. Therefore, a complexity perspective driven by the syntheses approach has been adopted to critically evaluate performance measurement in private prisons.Semi-structured interviews with controllers, prison inspectors, monitors, and prison directors (the Performance Stakeholders) were used to identify complexity dimensions and the way these dimensions interact in a private prison environment. These interactions have been summarized under three main elements; People, Service, and Performance. The People (Performance Stakeholders) represented the behavioural complexity dimension seen in different prioritization of measures and fluctuating levels of trust, gaming of numbers, and transparency. The Service and multiple Performance systems are the source of structural complexity seen in differentiation and interdependencies. Behavioural complexity was found to be beneficial in reducing the adverse behaviour associated with performance measurement systems. The three elements interact over time with the influence of contextual complexity triggered by political and economical aspects. Self-organization, emergence, and adaptability were evident among the performance stakeholders (People). The findings of the research suggest that private prisons performance is the result of multiple interacting variables. The standard practice of performance measurement cannot account for all of these variables. It is concluded that the danger for policy making is to base decisions on only a small piece (KPIs) of the whole picture. The research findings are limited to Category B & C private prisons. Category A (dispersal) prisons were not covered. Also, the snowballing technique used in sampling does not guarantee a full representation of potential respondents. This was mitigated by interviewing participants with extensive experience in the prison sector. Future research can widen the pool of Performance Stakeholders by including politicians and think tanks. Also, it is recommended that future research would explore the applicability of the research findings to other social infrastructure projects such as schools and hospitals.

Date of Award	31 Dec 2016
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	The University of Manchester
Supervisor	Margaret Emsley (Supervisor) & Richard Kirkham (Supervisor)