This project researched good business practices in a sample of eleven Providers in metropolitan Melbourne. The five commissioning Providers for this project had been involved in a Business Development Project in ACFE Northern Metropolitan Region in 1996 and in the course of that project discovered that there was very little information available about business practices in ACE.
The research intended to determine best practice and benchmarks in the Providers involved in the study, but the time and resource constraints of the project did not allow for a full benchmarking process. This research is therefore an exploratory study with self evaluation by the participating Providers about good business and management practices. Ten of the Providers are ACE Providers in the Northern Metropolitan Region of Melbourne, and the eleventh Provider is a Health Service Provider in Doncaster in Melbourne. Considerable qualitative and quantitative data was collected from these Providers and the scope of the project allowed for some initial analysis of this data.
The research methodology involved two questionnaires delivered through structured interviews. The pilot questionnaire with the five commissioning Providers determined some of their good business and management practices. The second questionnaire with the full sample involved self evaluation of their business and management practices, and identification of at least one outstanding practice in their organisation.
One of the initial findings of the study involving the research methodology was that there was a general reluctance in the sector to acknowledge good and outstanding practice in their own setting. This hurdle was overcome to a degree by asking Providers to consider the contribution of these practices to the success of their organisation. The five commissioning Providers identified Program Planning and Development, Strategic Planning, Marketing, Program Provision and Management and Administration as areas of good practice in their organisations. Case studies of these practices in the five Providers are included in the results section of the study.
The main results from the second questionnaire to the eleven Providers examined the significance of different business and management practices to agency success. In addition to the practices outlined above the research examined Financial management and Human Resources Management. The initial analysis of the results indicated that Providers clearly identified planning, both strategic and program planning as the most critical practice contributing to their success. Marketing and Promotion was the lowest priority for the majority of Providers. Another key finding was that good management practices are not necessarily developed and implemented in a linear fashion in Providers.
The conclusions and recommendations that emerged from this research were that further analysis and interpretation of this excellent data base is required. Full benchmarking following the OTFE model would also be valuable for Providers to develop a sense of the quality of their practices, and to identify some of their practices as "best". The development of a model of evaluation would also be of real benefit to organisations seeking to implement continuous improvement.
The five commissioning Providers have also agreed to discuss the results with interested Providers and they can be contacted by email at the following addresses:
· Diamond Valley Learning Centre Inc: dvlc@hard.net.au
· Glenroy Adult Literacy Group: galcla@hard.net.au
· Preston Neighbourhood House: pnh@hard.net.au
· Thornbury Women’s Neighbourhood House: twnh@hard.net.au
· Craigieburn Further Education Centre Inc: cfec@hard.net.au
For further information you can also contact the Project Manager, Pauline Bennett, acfe-nmr@dycom.com.au
