On Thu, 31 Jul 1997 12:23:33 EDT, "Olivia S. Anastasiadis"
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:


>Just one thing, why do we always have to measure our non-profit success
>against a for-profit corporation like Disney?  Don't you know that Disney
>uses museum techniques to get their job done as well?  And they don't

Good question, Olivia. The bottom line of attendance and revenue seems
to be easier to measure perhaps. Measuring the quality of the
experience visitors receive is more difficult. Often there is no clear
goal for this area, nor is it operationalized in a measurable way.
Sometimes when you do tackle it, the results are so frightening that
you run away.
I tend to view performance measures like vectors. One part of them
says the "amount" or "speed" (attendance), and another part tells the
"direction" (quality). The result is only meaningful if there is a
direction that we want to go in, and a schedule to get there.
Measuring quality is a bit like studying paranormal phenomena with
scientific methods. When the table doesn't knock, or the Virgin
doesn't weep, the owners say it's because there are unbelievers in the
room. Logic, empiricism and reproducibility scare away the
flibbertigibbets.

Doug
Note new email address:
*************************************************************
Doug Hoy              Evaluation           National Museum of
[log in to unmask]              &             Science & Technology
(613)998-6863v         Research       P.O.Box 9724, Station T
(613)990-3654f                          Ottawa K1G 5A3 CANADA
**Opinions expressed are not necessarily shared by the NMSTC*
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