Managing with Purpose: Integrating Assessment, Planning, and Budgeting

Abstract

Library leaders can prepare to face challenging situations by developing managerial knowledge and skill. This presentation introduces four tools and two concepts with real-world application to libraries. The logic model visualizes connections between a program’s resources, activities, and results. Libraries can use six dimensions of assessment to identify the strengths and weaknesses of their assessment programs. The balanced scorecard, a performance analysis tool, measures success from four complementary perspectives. The relatively new business model canvas visualizes relationships between key elements of a business model. Opportunity cost, a basic economic concept, is readily applicable to prioritization decisions, including budgeting. Finally, understanding the principal-agent problem helps leaders to focus on the incentives that influence various stakeholders’ behavior.