Vanguard for Change: Leadership and Determinants of Organizational Effectiveness for National Measurement Institutes

摘要

This report presents findings based on the research data from a doctorial dissertation, makes recommendations for leadership, suggests areas for future research, and proposes some conclusions based on the data. The rationalization for this subject and methodology is contained in a prophetic comment made by the British scientist Lord William Thomson Kelvin (1824-1907) to the Institution of Civil Engineers, on May 3, 1883. Lord Kelvin argued that knowledge and science are based on measurements, usually expressed as numbers. Lord Kelvin's argument centers on the ability to succinctly express one's thoughts, one must be able to quantify the knowledge. Without numbers, knowledge is lacking substance. The investigation used a combination of field interviews, a pilot survey to develop a validated survey instrument, an Internet distributed Likert-scaled survey, all coupled with research of public records to quantify the problem. This methodology was to answer the central research question. The question asked, "... if there is a significant performance difference based on the NMI's leadership style and that leadership's selection of the determinants of organizational effectiveness?" The findings from the data analysis revealed statistically significant relationships between leadership and certain determinants for measuring organizational effectiveness. The relationships varied depending on the goal of effectiveness or efficiency. A surprise finding involved relationship of effectiveness and efficiency as mutually exclusive or dependent? Other statistically significant findings revealed information on the selection process, including the unexpected emergence of third and fourth measurement dimension involving relations with the political sponsor and positions of responsibility. The finding on the additional measurement dimensions suggests rich areas for future research.