Reality of benchmarking at the local government level in Slovakia

Abstract

Outcomes of realized researches in service benchmarking at the local self government level in Slovakia have showed the limited and merely dummy implementation of this method. The local self government bodies express the ambition to introduce the method of benchmarking in performance management. However, this ambition alone is not sufficient for producing the expected results of benchmarking in higher effectiveness and quality in service delivery. The goal of this paper is to confirm the problem of dummy benchmarking implementation in service management at local government level by outcomes of a primary research realized in 141 self government bodies. The analytical part provides selected data trying to face the relatively optimistic account of benchmarking using in service delivery management given by the attitudes of the local authorities’ representatives towards usage of benchmarking with the outcomes of the service delivery analysis targeting the expected results of benchmarking usage – the proper make or buy decision regarding the effectiveness and quality services. This unique approach comparing the original collected survey data on expressed benchmarking using with supplementary data on services delivery enable to check the reality of benchmarking in service delivery management.