Performance Measurement Models in Local Management (Concerning Rural and Urban Management Organizations in Iran)

The local management as an institution for policy making and implementation of plans and projects has an important role in reducing economic and social inequalities and improving the development situation in villages and cities. The performance measurement is the main tool for studying achievement in the local management organizations. The re are successful methods and measures for performance measurement in economic organizations but studies show that performance management is difficult and complicated in local organizations such as municipalities. We can identify two main areas for local management performance measurement in organizations studies and in sociology. The main concepts in the first area are efficiency and effectiveness. But the second sees the object of the study in social capital framework and in its effects on local organizations performances. The article reviews the main studies in the two areas and outlines their models of performance measurement. Based on a grounded theory research in some urban management organizations in Iran, the article proposes a model for performance measurement with adding some new and grounded concepts in previous models.