The hidden cost method: a relevant tool to recover sources of neglected performance

Abstract

In just a few decades, management control has become one of the major components of the management of industrial and commercial organizations. However, its implementation has been more difficult in public and non-profit organizations, and in particular in a professional organization such as a hospital. The Moroccan hospitals that are the subject of our research have not escaped this transformation; they also operate in a constantly changing environment. These organizations are obliged to better control their performances and to pay particular attention to controlling hidden costs which today appear as a source of loss of added value, therefore an endogenous reserve of efficiency, partially convertible into performance.

This paper will be structured around two parts: In the first part, we will present the theoretical foundations of the hidden performance cost method while the second part will focus on presenting the research methodology adopted to conduct an exploratory study carried out in within the Hassan II university hospital center.

Keywords: hidden cost; dysfunctions; Socio-economic diagnosis; performance; hospital organizations

JEL classification : L3, P47, J32

Paper type: Empirical research