The balanced scorecard: comments on balanced scorecard commentaries

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 539-545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert S. Kaplan

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide the author's insights about five papers written in this volume about his published work on the balanced scorecard (BSC).Design/methodology/approachThe author's comments are based on his personal writing, teaching, speaking about, and implementing the BSC during the past 20 years.FindingsThe author finds that academic commentary on the BSC often ignores its role in strategy execution.Research limitations/implicationsThe commentary is unique to the author's personal experiences and may not be generalizable to other scholars who have not shared the same experiences.Practical implicationsThe paper may help scholars better understand the role of the BSC for strategy formulation, communication and implementation. It may also aid them in teaching the BSC to students and executives.Social implicationsThe paper discusses how the BSC can be used in public sector applications, as well as for companies that want to internalize environmental, social and community objectives in their strategies.Originality/valueThe paper reflects the personal views of the author; it is original to him.

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 809-833 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Breidbach ◽  
Sunmee Choi ◽  
Benjamin Ellway ◽  
Byron W. Keating ◽  
Katerina Kormusheva ◽  
...  

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the history and future of service operations, with the goal to identify key theoretical and technological advances, as well as fundamental themes that can help to imagine the future of service operations in 2050. Design/methodology/approach A review of the service operations literature was undertaken to inform a discussion regarding the role that technology will play in the future of service operations. Findings The future of service operations is framed in terms of three key themes – complexity, orchestration, and elasticity. The paper makes three contributions to the service science literature by: reviewing key themes underpinning extant service operations research to frame future trajectories of service operations research; elaborating a vision of service operations in 2050 based on history and technology; and outlining a research agenda for future service operations. Practical implications The case of service automation is used to provide an illustration of how the three themes converge to define future service operations, and in particular, to show how technology is recasting the role of the firm. Originality/value Service operations in the next 30 years will be very different from what it was in the past 30 years. This paper differs from other review papers by identifying three key themes that will characterize and instill new insights into the future of service operations research.


2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 34-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rainer Lueg

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show how the use of Strategy Maps substantially improves the implementation success of balanced scorecards (BSC). The BSC is supposed to translate strategy into action. Strategy maps support this by showing cause-and-effect chains. But what does this mean for strategy execution in practice? To achieve better BSC implementations, the author uncovers pitfalls and names the remedies. Design/methodology/approach – The author summarizes the most important findings from initially over 1,000 studies that have dealt with the BSC from 1992 to 2012. Findings – BSC implementations that use a sophisticated Strategy Map appear to be successful. Strategy maps foster a better understanding of the BSC among employees, create greater commitment and less resistance and are superior to the BSC itself in communicating how to achieve strategic goals. Also, strategy maps facilitate managers’ evaluation of the relevant environment. Nevertheless, the common measure bias is a usual pitfall: top managers have a tendency to use their own strategic targets as a yardstick for lower-level employees. Originality/value – This paper helps managers understand the most recent developments on strategy maps. In particular, the author highlights that causalities do not exist in organizations in the same way as there are “laws” in physics. Instead, organizations need to customize their BSC to their way of doing business.


2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 25-27

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings The article “Multi-level strategic alignment within a complex organisation” by Laurie et al. (2016) provides an in-depth look at how a large, complex organization was able to implement the balanced scorecard in multiple levels and phases. Such a case study can teach business change managers a good deal about the theoretical as well as the practical considerations of such an implementation, particularly in the context of the Middle East. Practical implications The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.


2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce Gurd ◽  
Panayiotis Ifandoudas

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how agility as a central focus of an organization can be achieved through a modified balanced scorecard (BSC) system. Design/methodology/approach – An action research approach in a single organization is used to investigate the practicality and usefulness of an agility-focused BSC. Findings – While the theory of constraints (TOC)-based approach was improving agility, it is too short-term. Using a BSC, based on agility principles, staff in the organization had their direction focused on drivers of important strategic issues and enabled a more agile environment. Practical implications – Managers using the TOC have a way forward to use the TOC system, but build a performance measurement system that leads to agility and more sustained competitive advantage. Originality/value – The role of a BSC in enabling agility in an environment using TOC has not been previously investigated.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Monica Singhania ◽  
R. Venkatesh

Subject area The focus is on a performance management system and its strategic alignment using a Balanced scorecard in a Public Private Partnership framework. This case study analyses the situation for Tata Power Delhi Distribution (TPDD) which needs to realign its strategy to meet the emerging sustainability challenges of inclusive growth and combating the climate change. The case covers the field of strategic management, strategy formulation and performance management system deployment using the balanced scorecard. It touches upon the emerging need for corporates to look beyond economic signals and take social and environmental impacts into strategy planning process. Study level/applicability The case can be used in the following courses; post graduate program in public administration; MBA/Post graduate program in management in strategic management; executive training program for Government executives in public sector organizations to highlight the concept of performance management system in PPP companies. Case overview After the initial tumultuous years, TPDD emerged as one of the efficient power distribution companies in Delhi region. One of the major management tools that was helpful to achieve this was the balanced scorecard. TPDD's general manager for corporate strategy & planning reviewed the process and the due diligence that went into designing and implementing the balanced scorecard. Now, after the balanced scorecard success story, he along with Dr Ganesh Das, Head of Group – Strategy wants to take it to a next level and integrate their strategies related to inclusive growth of community and combating the ill effects of climate change. They believe that the balanced scorecard method that had helped them to achieve their strategic goals will help them to achieve future objectives too. But whether the existing four perspectives: financial, customer, internal process and learning and growth would adequately address the emerging challenges or whether there was a need to introduce a new perspective – “The Social Perspective” – is what they contemplate in the case. Expected learning outcomes The case can be used to teach the following: the importance of strategy in an organization and how it helps the firms to realize their stated vision; to highlight the process of strategy formulation and its deployment; to help students realize the difficulties in realizing a strategic goal through performance management system; use the balanced scorecard as an effective tool for strategy deployment and organizational alignment; to introduce students the concept of sustainability in the organization and emerging global challenges; and to illustrate the complexities involved in a strategic planning process Supplementary materials Teaching notes.


2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 117-124
Author(s):  
John Gerard Fisher

Purpose This paper aims to review the role of benefits within the employee engagement mix of activities and products and provide three areas for strategic improvement. Design/methodology/approach The paper examines surveys and some well-known models for the inclusion of benefits in employee remuneration and draws on any insights that study uncovers. Findings The findings are that employee benefits should be critically appraised on an annual basis, not simply added to because they seem popular or are “in the news”. Research limitations/implications No specific research was undertaken, as this was a viewpoint of current commercial practice. Practical implications Employers should recognize that spend-to-get benefits require participants to spend their own money and therefore represent a cost to employees rather than a benefit. Employers need to research benefits take-up and participant opinions if the value of introducing them is to be fully realized. Communicating the features of benefits is usually poorly done by internal HR teams. Social implications Better scrutiny of the benefits basket and a closer eye on their effectiveness are required. Originality/value This is a considered view taken from the experience of running a number of commercial engagement programmes in the past 12 months with a view to helping practitioners avoid costly mistakes in future.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio-Rafael Ramos-Rodriguez ◽  
María Paula Lechuga Sancho ◽  
Salustiano Martínez-Fierro

Purpose Analyze patterns of co-authorship in hospitality and tourism (H&T) research using bibliometric methods. The purpose of this paper is to answer three questions related to collaborative practices, the number of authors, the order of signatures and the role of the corresponding author. Design/methodology/approach The methodology is based on the bibliometric techniques of authorship analyzes published in leading H&T journals. Evaluative techniques provide longitudinal evidence of the evolution of some indicators of authors’ collaboration: the percentage of alphabetized authorships; the percentage of articles were the most relevant author signs in the first, middle or last position; and the position of the corresponding author in the by-line. Findings First, the collaborative nature of H&T research is confirmed; almost 80% of articles in the sample are co-authored. Second, over the past 30 years, the alphabetized signature model has been in decline in this field. Today, about 20% of articles indexed in JCR journals are signed alphabetically. Third, the first author’s placement is less consistent than that of the corresponding author. Practical implications This work provides relevant information on researchers’ authorship habits that may help evaluators assign credit and accountability and avoid malpractice in the authorial assignment. Originality/value This study explores the habits of researchers who collaborate to improve their productivity, impact and reputation. This is often linked to facilitating access to research funding and obtaining recognition from incentive systems. Yet, no research specifically examines trends in signature order or the corresponding author’s role in the H&T field.


2019 ◽  
Vol 69 (9) ◽  
pp. 1881-1902
Author(s):  
Enrico Supino ◽  
Federico Barnabè ◽  
Maria Cleofe Giorgino ◽  
Cristiano Busco

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the way in which system dynamics (SD) can enhance some key success factors of the balanced scorecard (BSC) model and support decision-makers, specifically in analyzing and evaluating the results of hypothetical scenarios. Moreover, the paper aims to emphasize the role played by statistics not only in validating the SD-based BSC, but also in increasing managers’ confidence in the model reliability. Design/methodology/approach The paper presents a case study, developed according to an action research perspective, in which a three-step approach to the BSC implementation was followed. Specifically, the first step requires the development and implementation of a “traditional” BSC, which is refined and transformed into a simulation SD model in the second step. Last, the SD-based BSC is combined with statistics to develop policy making and scenario analysis. Findings The integration of BSC and SD modeling enables the development of a comprehensive approach to strategy formulation and implementation and, more importantly, provides a more reliable basis upon which to build and test sound cause-and-effect relationships, within a specific BSC. This paper exemplifies how an SD-based BSC can be used – and perceived reliable – to evaluate different scenarios and mutually exclusive policy effects in a multidimensional approach. In particular, this study illustrates how to forecast and depict trends for financial and non-financial indicators over the simulation period, with reference to three different scenarios. Originality/value This paper contributes to the ongoing debate on the BSC by exploring whether a combination of SD and statistics may enhance the BSC system’s advantages and facilitate its implementation process and use for decision-making and scenario analysis.


2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 285-300
Author(s):  
Nopadol Rompho

Purpose This study aims to develop and empirically test the balanced scorecard for public schools in Thailand. Design/methodology/approach Data were obtained from 3,351 public schools in Thailand. Structural equation modelling was used as a statistical tool to analyse the data. Findings The results showed that there are cause-and-effect relationships between students, internal processes and learning and growth perspectives in the balanced scorecard. Nevertheless, a relationship with the resources perspective was not found. Research limitations/implications The sampled schools in this study might be different from normal public schools because these schools get some support from the private sector. Thus, the generalisation of the findings should be made with caution. Practical implications The proposed balanced scorecard model that has been empirically tested in this study can be used in public schools to help manage their organisation. These schools can start with a generic model and modify it to suit their organisation. Originality/value Most of the studies on the application of the balanced scorecard for schools did not test the validity of the framework because of the lack of available data. This study was among the first to empirically test the relationships between perspectives in the balanced scorecard model for public schools. Additionally, the balanced scorecard can be a useful tool for non-managers who work in public schools.


2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 340-348
Author(s):  
Miantao Sun

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the achievements of Chinese educational management in the past 30 years, conclude the characteristics of Chinese educational management and indicate the problems of Chinese educational management and the countermeasures. Design/methodology/approach – This paper reviews the research of educational management in China in the past 30 years from four aspects: research purpose, research methods, research contents and disciplinary system. Findings – The paper sums up the main achievements, the main characteristics and the main problems of Chinese educational management in the past 30 years. It suggests that the disciplinary relationship should be further clarified; the role of disciplinary research accomplishments has to be further developed and the specialization level in disciplinary research needs to be further improved. Practical implications – This paper indicates the direction for the construction of Chinese educational management in the future: to further clarify the relationship among related disciplines; to put the role of the research results into full play; to further improve the specialization level of disciplinary research. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the construction of Chinese educational management both theoretically and practically.


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