ABSTRACT
We turn now to the private sector in order to examine how leading corporations and financial institutions make use of performance indicators. The chapter is divided into three main sections. The first compares the use of performance indicators in a major retail supermarket (Supermarket) and in a large high street retailer (HSR). The second draws on the experience of three financial institutions: one of the ‘big four’ clearing banks (Bank) and two leading building societies (Society X and Society Z). Lastly, there is a brief discussion of a TV rental, service, and sales company (Jupiter) which illustrates an interesting attempt to overcome the problems of measuring the performance of non profitmaking branches within an organisation.
