Study title

Performance of Municipal Services 2004: Elected Officials

Dataset ID Number

FSD2211

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2211
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd2211

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Niiranen, Vuokko (University of Kuopio. Department of Social Policy and Social Psychology)
• Lumijärvi, Ismo (University of Tampere. Department of Management Studies)
• Kiljunen, Pentti (Yhdyskuntatutkimus)

Abstract

The survey charted the use of the balanced scorecard indicators in measuring the performance of municipal services. The respondents were elected officials in the local and regional authorities participating in the study. Topics included the activity and state of the work community, performance measures, visions, strategies, aims and personnel management.

Relating to the activity and state of work communities in their local or regional authority, the respondents were asked to give their opinions on co-operation, trust, and interaction between management, personnel, elected officials, political groups, political institutions, and different parties. These features were examined by presenting the respondents with statements covering the degree of trust and co-operation between these groups. The respondents gave their opinions on the chances of influencing various matters related to their jobs and decision making, as well as the degree of support received from their superiors and co-workers.

The use of performance measures was charted by asking the respondents whether activities and services were assessed on a regular basis in their work unit, and whether they received enough feedback based on these assessments. In addition, they gave their views on what employees thought about the use of the balanced scorecard indicators, whether employees and elected officials had received enough information on the model, and whether using it had improved performance measures. Further questions covered how the information received from the assessments was being used at that time, how it should be used in the future, whose interests it served at that time, and whose interests it should serve in the future. Some questions pertained to how performance in political decision making was measured in local and regional authorities at present, and how it should be measured in the future.

The importance of visions and strategies was studied at the work unit, sector, and local/regional authority level. The respondents were asked whether any visions or strategies existed at each level, how well they knew these visions and strategies, how much these visions and strategies influenced their work, and whether they had had the chance to participate in defining the content of these visions and strategies.

One topic explored how well the respondents knew the annual targets of work units, whether the targets were clear, whether the respondents had had the chance to participate in defining the targets, and whether the information received from the activities had changed the annual targets.

Views on personnel strategies or personnel development plans in local/regional authorities were examined, as well as their influence on the activities of local/regional authorities. The respondents’ knowledge on personnel reports used in their local/regional authority was charted. They were also asked whether these personnel reports influenced political decision making.

Finally, the respondents were asked whether any personal development discussions were held on a yearly basis in their local/regional authority. They were also presented with statements on briefing for new employees, rewarding employees based on performance measures, defining the objectives, and assessing whether the objectives have been reached.

Background variables included the respondent's gender, age, industry of employment, time served in current elected office, total time served in elected offices in a local/regional authority, and whether R is a member of a local/regional council, government or board.

Keywords

balanced scorecard; committees; decision making; development programmes; elected officials; evaluation; job evaluation; local government; local government policy; municipalities; objectives; performance indicators; personnel; personnel management; public officials; quality control; regional policy; strategies; working conditions

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Working conditions (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Individual datasets

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (B) available for research, teaching and study.

Data Collector

• Kiljunen, Pentti (Yhdyskuntatutkimus)
• University of Joensuu
• University of Kuopio
• University of Lapland
• University of Tampere

Data Producers

• Yhdyskuntatutkimus

Time Period Covered

2004

Collection Dates

2004-03 – 2004-05

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland, Helsinki, Imatra, Joensuu, Kajaani, Karttula, Kotka, Kuopio, Kuusamo, Lapinlahti, Loppi, Siilinjärvi, Suonenjoki, Taivalkoski, Tampere, Utajärvi, Hospital District of South Ostrobothnia, Savo Consortium for Education, Seinäjoki Intermunicipal Federation for Health Care, Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Political-administrative area (Municipality)

Universe

Elected officials in the municipalities participating in the survey

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Information not available

The survey covered the whole local/regional authority at its most extensive. At the other end, the research target was a selected municipal sector, from which a sample was drawn. Sample size and type varied according to research targets, because research interests were different in different parts of the project.

More information on the sample can be found in the following book (in Finnish): Kuntapalvelujen tuloksellisuuden arviointi. Tasapainotettu mittaristo kunnallisissa organisaatioissa (2005). Toim. Niiranen, Vuokko & Stenvall, Jari & Lumijärvi, Ismo. Jyväskylä: PS-kustannus.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Paper

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Response Rate

30

Data File Language

Downloaded data package may contain different language versions of the same files.

The data files of this dataset are available in the following languages: Finnish.

FSD translates quantitative data into English on request, free of charge. More information on ordering data translation.

Data Version

2.0

Related Datasets

FSD2210 Performance of Municipal Services 2004: Personnel

FSD2212 Performance of Municipal Services 2004: Combined Data

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

Variables indicating the local/regional authority where R served as elected official, and job title have been removed from the data. The data do not include responses to open-ended questions q12, q22, q29, q31, and q36.

Weighting

There are no weight variables in the data.

Citation Requirement

The data and its creators shall be cited in all publications and presentations for which the data have been used. The bibliographic citation may be in the form suggested by the archive or in the form required by the publication.

Bibliographical Citation

Niiranen, Vuokko (University of Kuopio) & Lumijärvi, Ismo (University of Tampere) & Kiljunen, Pentti (Yhdyskuntatutkimus): Performance of Municipal Services 2004: Elected Officials [dataset]. Version 2.0 (2018-07-23). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2211

Deposit Requirement

Notify FSD of all publications where you have used the data by sending the citation information to user-services.fsd@tuni.fi.

Disclaimer

The original data creators and the archive bear no responsibility for any results or interpretations arising from the reuse of the data.

Related Publications

Kuntapalvelujen tuloksellisuuden arviointi. Tasapainotettu mittaristo kunnallisissa organisaatioissa (2005). Toim. Niiranen, Vuokko & Stenvall, Jari & Lumijärvi, Ismo. Jyväskylä: PS-kustannus.