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Get Caught Pursuing Value for Money

Economics

In his crisp, but exhaustive foreword to the book, The Pursuit of Value for Money by Samuel Afemikhe, Prof. Abhulimen R. Anao attempts a near perfect description of the book when he asserts that the book is "a worthwhile contribution and significant addition to the repertoire of tools and techniques available to the contemporary Nigerian manager."

But the essence of this monumental book goes beyond this restricted spectrum. Prof. should have quickly adds that the book has not just come to add to the repertoire of tools and techniques at the disposal of contemporary Nigerian managers, but that also it offers itself as veritable tool of effective and efficient managerial tool for managers the world over.

The Pursuit of Value for Money treats its core subject matter, 'pursuit of value for money', as a universal phenomenon. It take the understanding of the subject beyond the peripheral assumption of people who thought that 'value for money' means nothing beyond the drive for, 'a good deal' on a particular purchase." It is a collection of structured set of techniques applied in modern management to reduce cost, erase wastes, improve process and enhance productivity towards achieving organisational goals at minimal costs.

The book is divided into four sections and progressively presents its discourse in 11 chapters. From section one, titled: "Principles of Value for Money," containing chapters one and two, the authors takes the reader through the rudiments of what the subject matter. He exhaustively discusses the concept of 'value for money", providing readers with basic background to the subject matter. He encapsulated the whole essence of the concept of 'value for money' in this allegory: "value for money is akin to a man who comes home to meet that the roof of his house is leaking and he resigns himself to continuously bailing out the water when it rains without an attempt to mend the roof. If the roof is not repaired, the holes will get wider and the leakage will intensify. He will spend valuable time bailing out more and more water. Not only that, he will also find that neither will he have rest nor will he be able to fully pursue his normal activities." pp29.

He offered concise and various definitions of the term, 'value for money at various points in the course of his discourse. In his preface, he avers that "Value for money is a requirement to maximise the use of scarce resources."

The pursuit of value for money, according to him, is a concept that defines a new vision, a strategic focus, systems, policies and cultural value framework to assist us in achieving a structured process of change. It gives hope energy and prayers an increased opportunity of success.

He describes the concept as a collection of techniques encompassing the three 'Es' - (1) Economy - ensuring that input costs are minimised, (2) Efficiency - ensuring that maximum useful output is achieved at the minimum level of input cost and, (3) Effectiveness - ensuring that output from any given activity is achieving the desired results. For him, these are the major catalysts of the concept of the pursuit of value for money. Yet, he opined that such management concepts as performance measurement, value analysis and benchmarking rank primary among the techniques applied in the pursuit of value for money.

He argues that performance measures provide strategic management post mortems by which policies, systems, and procedures are evaluated. They are vital in obtaining feedback and improving management and organisational performance. On the other hand, benchmarking, which according him is the pillar of the concept of value for money, identifies performance gaps in the process. It is a management technique applied to improve business performance. "Benchmarking is an ongoing method of measuring and improving products, services and practices against the best that can be identified in any industry anywhere. It has been defined as 'the search for industry best practices which lead to superior performance.'"

Value analysis offers managers opportunity to reflect on capital projects executed with a view to highlighting lessons learned that would improve future project performance. The author reasoned that the concept is the review of the effectiveness of the management of capital projects from approval through installation together with any methodologies used to improve the management of future capital projects. "In particular, value analysis is carried out in order to test value for money control at all levels in a capital project. It also entails the evaluation of management efficiency of overall arrangements to attain value for money at all levels in practical project execution situation." Pp279.

He also discusses other tenets of value for money such as competition and its impact on efficiency. Competition even do more than enhance efficiency. "It even forces monopolies to respond to the needs of the customer," he said. Competition rewards innovation while monopoly stifles it. For him, value for money demands for application of different forms of competition- public versus private, private versus private and even public versus public. Just like the concept of the CCT (Compulsory Competitive Tendering has taken root in developed economies, he advocates the incorporation of the concept into the economic environment to ensure that the best value is obtained for public money in providing services to the customer, taxpayer and the ratepayer.

One of the most interesting topics in the discourse is found in chapter seven. Titled: "Eliminating Waste", a burning issue that is very relevant to the Nigerian situation. The topic talks directly to both the government and individuals almost an indicting peoples' attitude to life and national wealth. "Extravagance defeats economy and efficiency in the pursuance of value for money." By inference, the pursuance of value for money is a fight against waste. This is chapter every Nigerian must read, not for the sake of the country, but in the interest of individuals.

This book could not have arrived at a better time, especially giving the economic health of the country. Though the book is not pretending to be presenting the reader the 'what to do' in terms of obtaining value for money, nor offering itself as 'do it yourself manual' at reducing corruption, it succinctly shows its focus which is 'how to' obtain value for money which it believe, will help in reducing corruption.

For the author, this is achievable. He cites the example of the change in the leadership of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation which has led to the sudden disappearance of fuel scarcity in the country in recent times.

For Afemikhe, value for money demands proper management and financial accounting without which processes and costs cannot be mapped, reported, reviewed and benchmarked.

After thoroughly perusing this book, one can confidently affirm, with unalloyed conviction that The Pursuit of Value for Money is one of the greatest economic treatise of our times. A serious scholarly work, the book tackles its subject matter under four different section with topics of its discourse carefully arranged to carry the reader along as the author logically discusses the economic concept of the essence of entrenchment of "value for money."

Interestingly, this book lends itself more to readers in highly monetised capitalist states. Capitalism does terrible things to the mind. Its visible indices manifest in people is enveloped in the desire to acquire and spend, spend and spend.

The Pursuit of Value for Money is a most fascinating book about an intriguing but also a controversial topic. It is written by an expert in a very straightforward style and is illustrated by many clear figures for easy comprehension by even the class of readers experts, in computer parlance would regard to as, 'dummies.' In breezy, lucid and picturesque language, backed with graphic details as in diagrams and tables, the book discourses the dynamics, principles, concepts processes and procedures and theories of the entrenchment of value for money. The Pursuit of Value for Money will surely raise scientific interest and trigger further discourse in the emerging new field among professionals, students of finance management, researchers, even 'dummies.'

There is hardly any real alternative to strict adherence to the tenets and ideals of the concept of value for money in the life of an individual or society. As the author contends, the pursuit of value for money is the pursuit of enhanced productivity, accountability and transparency. "It will directly pitch us in war against our most viscous enemies - corruption, fraud and waste... The pursuit of value for money is the moral equivalent of war. War by the good against evil; continuous process improvement and growth against retrogression, stagnation and even decline. It is a war that must be fought and won. We have to enlist all and sundry on the side of the good against evil. You are either on the side of good or you are with the evil forces. There is no allowance for being on the fence."

Published by Spectrum book, The Pursuit of Value for Money will be presented on Thursday at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Victoria Island, Lagos with Alhaji Mahmud Yayale Ahmed as Special Guest of Honour.




	Get Caught Pursuing Value for Money Get Caught Pursuing Value for Money Economics In his crisp, but exhaustive foreword to the book, The Pursuit of Value for Money by Samuel Afemikhe, Prof. Abhulimen R. Anao attempts a near perfect description of the book when he asserts that the book is "a worthwhile contribution and significant addition to the repertoire of tools and techniques available to the contemporary Nigerian manager." But the essence of this monumental book goes beyond this restricted spectrum. Prof. should have quickly adds that the book has not just come to add to the repertoire of tools and techniques at the disposal of contemporary Nigerian managers, but that also it offers itself as veritable tool of effective and efficient managerial tool for managers the world over. The Pursuit of Value for Money treats its core subject matter, 'pursuit of value for money', as a universal phenomenon. It take the understanding of the subject beyond the peripheral assumption of people who thought that 'value for money' means nothing beyond the drive for, 'a good deal' on a particular purchase." It is a collection of structured set of techniques applied in modern management to reduce cost, erase wastes, improve process and enhance productivity towards achieving organisational goals at minimal costs. The book is divided into four sections and progressively presents its discourse in 11 chapters. From section one, titled: "Principles of Value for Money," containing chapters one and two, the authors takes the reader through the rudiments of what the subject matter. He exhaustively discusses the concept of 'value for money", providing readers with basic background to the subject matter. He encapsulated the whole essence of the concept of 'value for money' in this allegory: "value for money is akin to a man who comes home to meet that the roof of his house is leaking and he resigns himself to continuously bailing out the water when it rains without an attempt to mend the roof. If the roof is not repaired, the holes will get wider and the leakage will intensify. He will spend valuable time bailing out more and more water. Not only that, he will also find that neither will he have rest nor will he be able to fully pursue his normal activities." pp29. He offered concise and various definitions of the term, 'value for money at various points in the course of his discourse. In his preface, he avers that "Value for money is a requirement to maximise the use of scarce resources." The pursuit of value for money, according to him, is a concept that defines a new vision, a strategic focus, systems, policies and cultural value framework to assist us in achieving a structured process of change. It gives hope energy and prayers an increased opportunity of success. He describes the concept as a collection of techniques encompassing the three 'Es' - (1) Economy - ensuring that input costs are minimised, (2) Efficiency - ensuring that maximum useful output is achieved at the minimum level of input cost and, (3) Effectiveness - ensuring that output from any given activity is achieving the desired results. For him, these are the major catalysts of the concept of the pursuit of value for money. Yet, he opined that such management concepts as performance measurement, value analysis and benchmarking rank primary among the techniques applied in the pursuit of value for money. He argues that performance measures provide strategic management post mortems by which policies, systems, and procedures are evaluated. They are vital in obtaining feedback and improving management and organisational performance. On the other hand, benchmarking, which according him is the pillar of the concept of value for money, identifies performance gaps in the process. It is a management technique applied to improve business performance. "Benchmarking is an ongoing method of measuring and improving products, services and practices against the best that can be identified in any industry anywhere. It has been defined as 'the search for industry best practices which lead to superior performance.'" Value analysis offers managers opportunity to reflect on capital projects executed with a view to highlighting lessons learned that would improve future project performance. The author reasoned that the concept is the review of the effectiveness of the management of capital projects from approval through installation together with any methodologies used to improve the management of future capital projects. "In particular, value analysis is carried out in order to test value for money control at all levels in a capital project. It also entails the evaluation of management efficiency of overall arrangements to attain value for money at all levels in practical project execution situation." Pp279. He also discusses other tenets of value for money such as competition and its impact on efficiency. Competition even do more than enhance efficiency. "It even forces monopolies to respond to the needs of the customer," he said. Competition rewards innovation while monopoly stifles it. For him, value for money demands for application of different forms of competition- public versus private, private versus private and even public versus public. Just like the concept of the CCT (Compulsory Competitive Tendering has taken root in developed economies, he advocates the incorporation of the concept into the economic environment to ensure that the best value is obtained for public money in providing services to the customer, taxpayer and the ratepayer. One of the most interesting topics in the discourse is found in chapter seven. Titled: "Eliminating Waste", a burning issue that is very relevant to the Nigerian situation. The topic talks directly to both the government and individuals almost an indicting peoples' attitude to life and national wealth. "Extravagance defeats economy and efficiency in the pursuance of value for money." By inference, the pursuance of value for money is a fight against waste. This is chapter every Nigerian must read, not for the sake of the country, but in the interest of individuals. This book could not have arrived at a better time, especially giving the economic health of the country. Though the book is not pretending to be presenting the reader the 'what to do' in terms of obtaining value for money, nor offering itself as 'do it yourself manual' at reducing corruption, it succinctly shows its focus which is 'how to' obtain value for money which it believe, will help in reducing corruption. For the author, this is achievable. He cites the example of the change in the leadership of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation which has led to the sudden disappearance of fuel scarcity in the country in recent times. For Afemikhe, value for money demands proper management and financial accounting without which processes and costs cannot be mapped, reported, reviewed and benchmarked. After thoroughly perusing this book, one can confidently affirm, with unalloyed conviction that The Pursuit of Value for Money is one of the greatest economic treatise of our times. A serious scholarly work, the book tackles its subject matter under four different section with topics of its discourse carefully arranged to carry the reader along as the author logically discusses the economic concept of the essence of entrenchment of "value for money." Interestingly, this book lends itself more to readers in highly monetised capitalist states. Capitalism does terrible things to the mind. Its visible indices manifest in people is enveloped in the desire to acquire and spend, spend and spend. The Pursuit of Value for Money is a most fascinating book about an intriguing but also a controversial topic. It is written by an expert in a very straightforward style and is illustrated by many clear figures for easy comprehension by even the class of readers experts, in computer parlance would regard to as, 'dummies.' In breezy, lucid and picturesque language, backed with graphic details as in diagrams and tables, the book discourses the dynamics, principles, concepts processes and procedures and theories of the entrenchment of value for money. The Pursuit of Value for Money will surely raise scientific interest and trigger further discourse in the emerging new field among professionals, students of finance management, researchers, even 'dummies.' There is hardly any real alternative to strict adherence to the tenets and ideals of the concept of value for money in the life of an individual or society. As the author contends, the pursuit of value for money is the pursuit of enhanced productivity, accountability and transparency. "It will directly pitch us in war against our most viscous enemies - corruption, fraud and waste... The pursuit of value for money is the moral equivalent of war. War by the good against evil; continuous process improvement and growth against retrogression, stagnation and even decline. It is a war that must be fought and won. We have to enlist all and sundry on the side of the good against evil. You are either on the side of good or you are with the evil forces. There is no allowance for being on the fence." Published by Spectrum book, The Pursuit of Value for Money will be presented on Thursday at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Victoria Island, Lagos with Alhaji Mahmud Yayale Ahmed as Special Guest of Honour.