Question

WEEK 7 DISCUSSION “Importance of Service Efforts and Accomplishments”

Question: Describe two limitations, both actual and potential of “service efforts and accomplishments” (SEA) indicators, and describe how they might be overcome.

Answer 1

• Generally, a single composite measure cannot adequately communicate the results of providing a service or group of services. Therefore, it will be necessary for users to consider using several, perhaps widely disparate, measures to assess the performance of an entity or its agencies, departments, programs, and services.
• SEA information does not, by itself, explain why performance is at the level reported, how to improve performance, or the degree to which a service or an explanatory factor contributed to the outcome reported. Users may require additional information beyond what can be provided in the explanatory material to fully understand the relationship between an outcome and the many factors affecting that outcome.
• SEA information provides data about the achievement of goals and objectives, but does not provide the information needed to assess whether th0se goals and objectives are the most appropriate ones and the ones that most clearly reflect the values of the community. Thus a note regarding the rationale of the goals set shold also be given
• It may be difficult to determine whether the reported SEA measures are the most relevant measures of the achievement of a goal or objective. Thus citizens should be encourgaed to siggest the measures which they feel relevant

Part in Italics is the suggestion of how limitation can be overcome