The Korea Local Administration Review

Municipalities implement the performance management system through management by objectives, self-evaluation and central government‘s evaluation on local governments autonomously or heteronomously. The performance management system, however, is just formally operated or an organization's goal is not linked with strategy or mission and the organization focuses on input indices or financial indices. Therefore, it is difficult to avoid criticism that balance in the performance management system is insufficient or deficient. To solve such problems, a new performance management system, such as the Balanced Scorecard (BSC), should be introduced to contribute to local government administrative reforms, promote strategic management and overall learning, activate communication, drive changes and innovation and consolidate a sense of responsibility. In this context, this study conducted the following: First, it examines the theoretical aspect of performance management--the conceptual definition, importance, need and approach of performance management; second, it analyzes the performance management and evaluation system, such as management by objectives, self-evaluation and central government's evaluation on local governments on the level of municipalities; third, it explores not only the need and establishment effects of the BSC as a performance management system, but also the conditions for successful operation of BSC through the Mecklenburg County case that successfully introduced and operated the BSC.