ABSTRACT
A simple definition of evaluation in the context of public enterprise is that it is an attempt to establish how far an enterprise has achieved what it is intended to achieve; how far it has achieved the best results possible; and how acceptable its role is vis-a-vis the national economy. This is a heavily loaded definition. Evaluation may be conceived at four levels: A - evaluation of the performance of the managers; B – evaluation of the performance of the enterprise; C – evaluation of the outcomes of the enterprise operations for society; and D – evaluation of the comparative advantage possessed by the enterprise. The analogy of concentricity may be employed though the levels are neither strictly transitive from A to D, nor are they mutually exclusive in substance. Evaluation has to cover any unique considerations underlying the genesis of a public enterprise, for example, poor industrial relations, mismanagement, or chronic sickness.
