Balanced Scorecard approach is a well documented management approach developed by a group of people from Fortune 500 companies under the guidance of Dr. Robert S. Kaplan, the Arthur Lowes Dickinson Professor of Accounting at the Harvard Business School.



This business strategy planning or objective is mapped into performance metrics in four perspectives: customer, financial, internal processes, learning and growth. The business performance is measured based on the above perspective. The balance scorecard is one of the best key business performance measuring concepts. I come across balanced scorecard software which I would like to share with you.

Balanced Scorecard

The idea is to create metrics that will give you a holistic view of your company and that are linked to your strategy. It will make sure you measure financials (as you still do need the money, but also keep an eye on how your customers perceive you, the internal processes that are critical to your success and the knowledge and resources needed to sustain your business model.

Suppose that building relationships with your customers is the vital aspect of your industry. Then, the success of your company lies in its ability to create a competitive advantage in term of customer relationship. Does a financial performance measure such as return-on-investment or operating profits, really tell you how good your ties to your customers are?

While managers still require financial measures to assess the overall health of the company, they also need measures that could reflect more directly their strategic performance and long-term vision. The concept of the Balance Scorecard was developed to provide managers with this tool. The Balance Scorecard is a comprehensive framework that translates the company's strategic objectives into a coherent set of performance measures. Those measures span across four different perspectives: the financial perspective is complemented with a customer perspective, an internal perspective and an innovation and learning perspective.

The vision of the company's future is at the core of the building process of the Balance Scorecard. The sets of measures developed in each of the perspectives are direct translations of the company's strategic objectives. Therefore, managers do not only have a clear picture of the company's past performance They now also have the means to evaluate where its stands in term of its strategic objectives, and how well positioned it is to face future challenges. To know more about balance scorecard

http://isds.bus.lsu.edu/cvoc/learn/bpr/cprojects/spring1998/bsm/