The background material tells us that many companies place disproportionate emphasis on the financial perspective at the expense of the other three perspectives. Give an example of an organization which you are familiar from either previous coursework, the news, or personal experience where this has been the case. What were the results of this focus on the financial perspective on customers and other stakeholders? Be as specific as you can and give concrete examples.

Background Material:

MacKay, A., (2004) A practitioners guide to the balanced scorecard: A practitioners’ report based on: Shareholder and stakeholder approaches to strategic performance measurement using the balanced scorecard. Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. Retrieved from: http://www.cimaglobal.com/Documents/Thought_leadership _docs/tech_resrep_a_practitioners_guide_to_the_balanced _scorecard_2005.pdf

Please read Chapter 1 of:

Murby, L., Gould, S., (2005). Effective Performance Management with the Balanced Scorecard: Technical Report. Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. Retrieved from: http://www.cimaglobal.com/Documents/ImportedDocuments/ Tech_rept_Effective_Performance_Mgt_with_Balanced_ Scd_July_2005.pdf

Also review the following to re-familiarize yourself with the concept of mission and vision as they relate to strategy:

Robin, D. (n.d.) Vision, Mission and Values: Management Tools for Building a Better Workplace. Daniel Robin & Associates. Retrieved from: http://www.abetterworkplace.com/developing-the-organization-and-the-people-in-it/

Martello, M., Watson, J., Fischer, M., (2008). Implementing a balanced scorecard in a not-for-profit organization. Journal of Business & Economics Research. 6(9), 67-80. Retrieved from: http://journals.cluteonline.com/index.php/JBER/article/ view/2471/2517

This web article will be helpful for focusing your SLP.

Niven, P. (N.D.) Financial perspective. EPM Review. Retrieved from http://www.epmreview.com/resources/articles/item/84-financial-perspective.html

Optional Reading

American University of Beirut (N.D. Balanced Scorecard Initiative: Guidelines for Building a BSC. Retrieved from http://www.aub.edu.lb/osm/scorecards/Documents/guidelines_for_building_a_bsc.pdf

Averson, P. (1998). What is the Balanced Scorecard? Balanced Scorecard Institute, a Strategy Management Group company. Retrieved from https://www.balancedscorecard.org/BSCResources/AbouttheBalancedScorecard/tabid/55/Default.aspx

Measurements for Success. Retrieved from http://www.mystrategicplan.com/strategic-planning-topics/balanced-scorecard.shtml

QuickMBA (N.D.) The Business Vision and Company Mission Statements. Retrieved from http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/vision/
Sharma, P. (N.D.) Measuring Business strategy through balanced scorecard. Retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/doc/5032771/Balanced-Scorecardfinancial-perspective

Part 2: Who Are Customers

Can you think of any organizations that do not have relevant “customers” to take into consideration? If there are such organizations, how are they different from other organizations where all parts of the BSC operate equally?

Background Materials:

Please review the Introduction and Chapters 1-3 of:

MacKay, A., (2004) A practitioner’s guide to the balanced scorecard: A practitioners’ report based on: Shareholder and stakeholder approaches to strategic performance measurement using the balanced scorecard. Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. Retrieved from: http://www.cimaglobal.com/Documents/Thought_leadership_docs/

tech_resrep_a_practitioners_guide_to_the_balanced_scorecard_2005.pdf

Please read Chapter 4 of:

Murby, L., Gould, S., (2005). Effective Performance Management with the Balanced Scorecard: Technical Report. Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. Retrieved from: http://www.cimaglobal.com/Documents/Imported Documents/Tech_rept_Effective_Performance_ Mgt_with_Balanced_Scd_July_2005.pdf

Section 3-Business Process Perspective

Organizations are complex systems with multiple stakeholders. Sometimes the interests of various stakeholders can conflict. Please give an example of a business process where the interests of two (or more) stakeholders are in opposition.

Background Materials:

Chapters 1-3 of:

MacKay, A., (2004) A practitioners guide to the balanced scorecard: A practitioners’ report based on: Shareholder and stakeholder approaches to strategic performance measurement using the balanced scorecard. Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. Retrieved from:http://www.cimaglobal.com/Documents/Thought_leadership _docs/tech_resrep_a_practitioners_guide_to_the_balanced _scorecard_2005.pdf

Also read/review Chapter 2-7 of:

Murby, L., Gould, S., (2005). Effective Performance Management with the Balanced Scorecard: Technical Report. Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. Retrieved from:http://www.cimaglobal.com/Documents/ImportedDocuments/ Tech_rept_Effective_Performance_Mgt_with_Balanced_ Scd_July_2005.pdf

Go to the following webpage and review the two papers by Dr. Braam listed below.

http:[email protected]/pagina/#publications

Section 4 – Learning and Growth Perspective

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Background Material identifies several measures of the learning and growth perspective, such as

•Real-time availability of accurate customer and internal process information to front-line employees

•Ability to launch new products

•Ability to create more value for customers

•Ability to penetrate new markets

•Alignment of employee incentives with overall organizational success factors

•Rates of improvement in critical customer-based and internal processes

Consideration of these measures reveals that it can be difficult to quantify these factors. Identify one specific example of a measure of learning and growth measure that you feel could be critical to an organization, but difficult to measure.

Background Material:

The learning and growth perspective focuses on capacities the organization must develop to create long-term growth and value. This perspective is unique among the four in having an orientation more toward the future, which is of course unknown and indeed unknowable, rather than toward a present that, while it may be unclear, is at least in principle determinable. These capacities include the ability to innovate, improve, and learn. And these capacities are important in order for any organization to succeed. An organization that is not learning and growing internally, and that is not providing opportunities for its employees to learn and grow as well, is not likely to survive in today’s competitive world.

There are three main areas that encompass the learning and growth perspective:

•People

•Systems

•Organizational procedures

Robert Kaplan and David Norton (1996) suggest the following as measures:

•People

◦Employee satisfaction

◦Employee retention

◦Employee training

◦Employee skills

•Systems

◦Real-time availability of accurate customer and internal process information to front-line employees

◦Ability to launch new products

◦Ability to create more value for customers

◦Ability to penetrate new markets

•Organizational procedures

◦Alignment of employee incentives with overall organizational success factors

◦Rates of improvement in critical customer-based and internal processes

MacKay, A., (2004) A practitioners guide to the balanced scorecard: A practitioners’ report based on: Shareholder and stakeholder approaches to strategic performance measurement using the balanced scorecard. Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. Retrieved from: http://www.cimaglobal.com/Documents/Thought_ leadership_docs/tech_resrep_a_practitioners_guide_to_the_balanced_scorecard_2005.pdf

Review Chapters 1-6 and read section 7.2 of:

Murby, L., Gould, S., (2005). Effective Performance Management with the Balanced Scorecard: Technical Report. Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. Retrieved from: http://www.cimaglobal.com/Documents/ImportedDocuments/

Tech_rept_Effective_Performance_Mgt_with_Balanced_Scd_July_2005.pdf

Read the following:

Armitage, H., Scholey, C., (2006). Using strategy maps to drive performance. Society of Mgt. Accountants of Canada. Retrieved from: http://www.cimaglobal.com/documents/importeddocuments/tech_mag_strategy_mapping_march07.pdf

Also take a look at the following web page and download the Strategy Map in a word document. This is a real simple example that will assist you in your strategy mapping discussions

National Institute of Standards & Technology [NIST]., (2012). Baldrige Program Strategy Map. Retrieved from: http://www.nist.gov/baldrige/about/strategy_map.cfm