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peer-reviewed, The focus of this thesis is to determine if there exists a set of dynamically available dominant, operational, ex-post performance measures for owner managed SMEs (small and medium enterprises). There is a predominance of performance measurement literature that focuses solely on corporate strategy with little or no literature speaking to advance operational performance. This thesis focuses on SMEs and the identification and application of performance measures for the daily operational decision making of an SME owner manager. The majority of the research developments in relation to manufacturing have examined idealised corporate strategy models that bear little relation to the resource constraints and constrained problems that are experienced in SMEs. Few of these developments are inter-changeable among large enterprises and fewer still are suitable for SMEs. The concepts contained in this document were developed through a review of literature and a methodology that involves significant practitioner input through case studies, a survey, a workshop and direct action research within 2 SMEs. SMEs spend the majority of their time dealing with operational concerns revolving around availability of time, money and people. SME owner managers require a method to adequately monitor and control operational concerns before they focus time and money on dealing with strategy. This research focuses on 3 objectives that will contribute to SME management capability; the identification of a set of dominant performance measures, the application of dominant performance measures and the validation of those measures in a more global context. These objectives must be fulfilled in order for the owner manager of an SME to introduce performance measurement in a manner that will promote the opportunity for better management and decisions without the introduction of additional time constraints. The research outlined in this thesis facilitates the identification, application and validation of 6

peer-reviewed, The focus of this thesis is to determine if there exists a set of dynamically available dominant, operational, ex-post performance measures for owner managed SMEs (small and medium enterprises). There is a predominance of performance measurement literature that focuses solely on corporate strategy with little or no literature speaking to advance operational performance. This thesis focuses on SMEs and the identification and application of performance measures for the daily operational decision making of an SME owner manager. The majority of the research developments in relation to manufacturing have examined idealised corporate strategy models that bear little relation to the resource constraints and constrained problems that are experienced in SMEs. Few of these developments are inter-changeable among large enterprises and fewer still are suitable for SMEs. The concepts contained in this document were developed through a review of literature and a methodology that involves significant practitioner input through case studies, a survey, a workshop and direct action research within 2 SMEs. SMEs spend the majority of their time dealing with operational concerns revolving around availability of time, money and people. SME owner managers require a method to adequately monitor and control operational concerns before they focus time and money on dealing with strategy. This research focuses on 3 objectives that will contribute to SME management capability; the identification of a set of dominant performance measures, the application of dominant performance measures and the validation of those measures in a more global context. These objectives must be fulfilled in order for the owner manager of an SME to introduce performance measurement in a manner that will promote the opportunity for better management and decisions without the introduction of additional time constraints. The research outlined in this thesis facilitates the identification, application and validation of 6