Understanding Silicon Valley or International Handbook of Practice Based Performance Management

Understanding Silicon Valley: The Anatomy of an Entrepreneurial Region

Author: Martin Kenney

What has made Silicon Valley so productive of new technologies and new firms? How did its pioneering achievements begin—in computer networking, semiconductors, personal computing, and the Internet—and what forces have propelled its unprecedented growth? This collection of nine chapters by contributors from varied disciplines—business, geography, history, regional planning, and sociology—examines the history, development, and entrepreneurial dynamics of Silicon Valley.

Part I, “History,” provides context for the Valley's success by exploring its early industrial roots. It traces the development of the electronics industry in Silicon Valley back to the founding of Federal Telegraph in 1908, and discusses the role of defense spending and the relationship with Stanford University in the region's growth. Part II, “Institutions,” emphasizes the importance of supporting institutions and practices in helping Valley startups succeed. Four chapters explore the role of law firms in facilitating the formation of new companies, the evolution of the venture capital industry and its role in funding new firms, the importance of labor mobility, and the significance of close interfirm relationships in the success of Silicon Valley companies.

Part III, “General Explanations,” presents three different perspectives on the environment that has made Silicon Valley so successful. The first chapter considers Silicon Valley as an ecosystem of interacting institutions, individuals, and a culture that encourages and nurtures entrepreneurship. The second chapter argues that Silicon Valley should not be seen as a region in which relationshipsare based on civic virtue, but rather one in which trust is based on performance, which makes it uniquely permeable to new ideas and talented individuals. The final chapter contends that institutions specializing in new firm formation are responsible for Silicon Valley's unique ability to foster technological advances.

Interesting textbook: Global Issues and Adult Education or Principles of the Business Rule Approach

International Handbook of Practice-Based Performance Management

Author: Maria P Aristigueta

Within the field of Evaluation, performance measurement is fast becoming a prevalent framework or set of tools to use in implementation analysis, formative and summative evaluations, and even needs assessments. Many of the measurement techniques that evaluators employ overlap with those of performance management, so evaluators are able to learn and use this framework quite readily.  Recent approaches have acknowledged limitations in the implemented measurement systems and developed new practice-based strategies for effective ongoing measurement of program activities and use in guiding management.  Significantly, these new strategies are being developed both in the United States and internationally and need to be brought together for collaborative learning and dissemination to practitioners and scholars. 

The International Handbook of Practice-Based Performance Management serves as a vehicle for the dissemination of these new performance measurement strategies. The book combines conceptual and practical applications with an emphasis on cutting-edge practices in the U.S. and abroad. This Handbook boasts two unique features: it represents the most notable examples of performance measurement in Canada, Latin America, Asia, Oceania, Europe as well as the U.S.; second, the book supports the integration of theory and practice, with linked chapters that introduce the literature on key topics.

Table of Contents:

Prologue   Patria de Lancer Julnes   Frances Stokes Berry   Maria P. Aristigueta   Kaifeng Yang     ix
Acknowledgments     xxi
State of the Art
Emerging Developments in Performance Measurement: An International Perspective   Harry P. Hatry     3
Assessing Performance in Nonprofit Service Agencies   Kathryn Newcomer     25
Performance: A New Public Management Perspective   Owen E. Hughes     45
Using Performance Information to Improve Program Performance and Accountability
Can Performance Measurement Support Program Performance Improvement and Accountability?   Patria de Lancer Julnes     65
Using Performance Measurement and Competition to Make Administrations Accountable: The Italian Case   Monica Brezzi   Laura Raimondo   Francesca Utili     79
Recognizing Credible Performance Reports: The Role of the Government Auditor in Canada   Barry Leighton     101
Advancing Performance Measurement and Management for Accountability: King County's Collaborative, Incremental Approach   Cheryle Broom   Edward T. Jennings, Jr.     123
Analyzing Performance Data   David N. Ammons     145
Informing and Involving Citizens and Other Stakeholders
Making Performance Measurement Relevant: Informing andInvolving Stakeholders in Performance Measurement   Kaifeng Yang     173
Citizen-Involved Performance Measurement: The Case of Online Procedures Enhancement for Civil Application in Seoul   Seungbeom Choi     189
Performance Measurement and Educational Accountability: The U.S. Case   Katherine E. Ryan     213
Experience With Trained Observers in Transition and Developing Countries: Citizen Engagement in Monitoring Results   Katharine Mark     233
Helping Government Measure Up: Models of Citizen-Driven Government Performance Measurement Initiatives   Marc Holzer   Kathryn Kloby     257
Performance Budgeting
Performance Budgeting Internationally: Assessing Its Merits   Frances Stokes Berry     285
Performance-Based Budgeting in Latin and South America: Analyzing Recent Reforms in the Budgetary Systems of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico   David Arellano-Gault   Edgar E. Ramirez de la Cruz     297
Performance-Based Budgeting in Florida: Great Expectations, More Limited Reality   Martha Wellman   Gary VanLandingham     321
Performance Management and Budgeting in Australia and New Zealand   John Halligan     341
Performance-Based Budgeting: Integrating Objectives and Metrics With People and Resources   Carl Moravitz     361
Quality and Performance in Public and Nonprofit Organizations
The Integration of Quality and Performance   Maria P. Aristigueta     395
Quality and Performance Management: Toward a Better Integration?   Wouter Van Dooren     413
Performance Information of High Quality: How to Develop a Legitimate, Functional, and Sound Performance Measurement System   Miekatrien Sterck   Geert Bouckaert     433
Applying the Common Assessment Framework in Europe   Nick Thijs   Patrick Staes     455
Pulling It All Together
Creating and Sustaining a Results-Oriented Performance Management Framework   John M. Kamensky   Jay Fountain
Index     509
About the Editors     527
About the Contributors     529