A Rough Guide to Everyday Mental Calculation!

(c) Copyright 2004 by Murdo Macleod

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We all need to check a bill from time to time.

The problem is, how do you do it when you're in a rush, when you're under pressure, and when you don't have a calculator handy?

Actually, it's not at all difficult if you know what to look for. Here's how to do it...

Example 1 ---------

Suppose you are ordering some building supplies and you want to check that price is about right before you open your check book.

You order 213 posts at $5.85 per post.

These numbers can be approximated to 200 posts at $6 per post.

Multiplying 200 and 6 is easy: expected bill should be about $1200.

Basically you just look at figures and round them to nearest convenient unit. (That's why we approximated $5.85 to $6).

Example 2 ---------

All councils large and small seemingly have a programme underway and whilst managing change is nothing new in local government - far from it - embracing change within a defined programme certainly is.

But do authorities really know what it is they wish to change, and are they aware that around 70% of programmes of change fail to deliver benefits first anticipated?

For some a transformational change programme may simply be a headline under which other, often disparate initiatives, are pulled together. For others it is simply seen as externalisation by another name, and for one or two, dare I say, it may simply be little more than a PR exercise to demonstrate that council is forward thinking, yet achieves little save for demoralising workforce and antagonising wider community.

However, for those many authorities that see a robust programme based around organisational and cultural change as being key to sustained service improvement, our experience working in public sector has shown that there some important ingredients to consider.

The framework for this is based on our 'old friend' performance management - what are we seeking to achieve - what are mechanisms for delivery - and measures of success - how do we communicate and get commitment and how to we make sure it actually happens. Key components include:

Setting Objectives Objectives - Be clear from outset what it is you are seeking to change and what benefits are likely to be, and ensure this is agreed and communicated. Clarity of vision can engender commitment and ensure focus throughout programme. Time spent at this stage will pay dividends later on.

Measurement of success - What are criteria by which success of change programme is to be judged and what are important milestones along way. As a company we have seen a growing interest in use of Balanced Scorecard. Such a tool assesses success from a number of complementary perspectives, avoiding risk of addressing issues in one dimension that may create problems in another.

Planning Way Forward Robust proposals for change - The options for change need to be assessed and best way forward decided. This needs to embrace all 'levers' for change - not just 'let's re-organise'. Re-organisation's which are just that - without changes in culture, ways of working (processes) and where appropriate, investment, inevitably fail. In this respect many authorities have not fully understood impact and importance of process change.