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Managing overhead in public sector organizations through benchmarking

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  • Mark Huijben
  • Arno Geurtsen
  • Jan van Helden

Abstract

Many public sector organizations struggle with the size of their overhead. The current crisis has forced them to cut costs, but how drastic can these cuts be without losing too much value? In 2001, we started an overhead benchmarking project in the Netherlands and by 2012, 1,500 public sector organizations had participated in the study. This paper shows how benchmarking of overhead costs helps organizations to understand and properly balance the costs and benefits of their overhead functions.

Suggested Citation

  • Mark Huijben & Arno Geurtsen & Jan van Helden, 2014. "Managing overhead in public sector organizations through benchmarking," Public Money & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(1), pages 27-34, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:pubmmg:v:34:y:2014:i:1:p:27-34
    DOI: 10.1080/09540962.2014.865929
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Llewellyn, Sue & Northcott, Deryl, 2005. "The average hospital," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 555-583, August.
    2. Mary Bowerman & Amanda Ball, 2000. "The Modernisation and Importance of Government and Public Services: Great Expectations: Benchmarking for Best Value," Public Money & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(2), pages 21-26, April.
    3. Sandra Tillema, 2010. "Public sector benchmarking and performance improvement: what is the link and can it be improved?," Public Money & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(1), pages 69-75, January.
    4. Robert Luther & Neil Robson, 2001. "Overhead allocation: a cautionary tale!," Accounting Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(4), pages 413-419.
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    1. Eftychia Kessopoulou & Katerina Gotzamani & Styliani Xanthopoulou & George Tsiotras, 2023. "Conceptualizing and Validating a Model for Benchlearning Capability: Results from the Greek Public Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-17, January.

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