Balanced Scorecards: rigid rule or helping guideline?

The theory says success results from a Strategy-focused organisation, which in turn, results from Strategy Maps and Balanced Scorecards. In Balanced Scorecards language vision, mission, and strategy at the corporate level are decomposed into different perspectives, as seen through the eyes of business owners, customers and other stakeholders, managers, process owners and employees. (www.bptrends.com)

It is important to notice that this is a top down method which is very much considered out dated because such a system mostly fails if it is passed down from top to bottom as rigid rules. Still, Balanced Scorecards may be very handy tools as helping guidelines to externalise and formalise the relationship between cross-linking factors in your business. Emphasis has shifted from just the measurement of financial and nonfinancial performance, to the management (and execution) of business strategy. Balanced Scorecard systems give us the ability to view three different dimensions of organisational performance: Results (financial and customer), Operations and Capacity. (www.balancedscorecard.org)

Figure 2 below shows an integrated relationship among the key parts of a scorecard system - Vision, Strategy and Perspectives. Balance is achieved through the four perspectives, through the decomposition of an organisation's vision into business strategy and then into operations, and through the translation of strategy into the contribution each member of the organisation must make to successfully meet its goals. (www.balancedscorecard.org)


(www.balancedscorecard.org)