Balanced Scorecard

Balanced Scorecard

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Balanced Scorecard

The Balanced Scorecard comprises one of the most widely used strategic tools in business organizations. Usually, firms utilize the balanced scorecard as a form of strategic management. Strategic management involves incorporating managerial actions to ensure an organization’s long-term performance. Thus, every firm that seeks to create a competitive edge in performance requires implementation of strategic actions in its environment. For Cattaraugus Rehabilitation Center, a not-for-profit organization, implementing a balanced scorecard was essential to ascertain its performance. This is because the strategy would assist in allocating, assessing and measuring certain aspects that motivate a firm’s performance. However, the main challenge with the approach involves its financial aspect. Usually, profit-seeking firms are able to implement the balanced scorecard effectively since their mission focuses on making profit. However, irrespective of the constraints arising from its mission and vision, Cattaraugus Rehabilitation Center inculcated the balanced scorecard effectively.

For Cattaraugus Rehabilitation Center to implement the Balanced Scorecard effectually, it had to consider definite aspects of the approach. Usually, organizations implement the strategy based on four perspectives that focus on significant areas. These perspectives comprise the Financial Perspective, the Customer Perspective, the Internal Business Processes Perspective and the Learning and Growth Perspective (Martello, Watson & Fischer, 2008; Niven, 2011). The Financial Perspective comprises a strategy from a shareholder’s perspective. This perspective entails strategies that focus on ensuring growth, assessing comparability and mitigating risk. The Customer Perspective involves value creation and differentiation from the customer’s viewpoint. The Internal Business Processes Perspective comprises prioritizing processes that ensure utility among clients and shareholders. Finally, the Learning and Growth Perspective sets up the necessary climate for supporting growth, change and advancement within a firm.

The Rehabilitation Center required focusing on those viewpoints in order to strategize. However, satisfying the Financial Perspective was difficult. According to Kaplan, not-for-profit organizations consider the Mission objective as the main criterion to satisfy (as cited in Martello, Watson & Fischer, 2008). This is because such firms stick to budgeted finances and monitoring of expenditure. Thus, they do not aim at profit seeking but rather, effective use of budgeted funds. Regardless of this constraint, Cattaraugus Rehabilitation Center implemented the Balanced Scorecard effectively by augmenting its productivity. This is because the perspective based specifically on the Mission and Vision of the firm. The Mission and Vision focused on improving the lives of its disabled clients by offering the needed services. Furthermore, the success of the approach’s implementation was not possible without the integration of the remaining perspectives.

The Center considered the Financial Perspective and the Consumer Perspective identical in significance. This allowed the organization to implement the Balanced Scorecard by satisfying these perspectives. Typically, profit organizations put emphasis on their financial aspects. However, not-for-profit firms base their emphasis on satisfying the customer. Nonetheless, in satisfying the Consumer Perspective, the Center sought to augment the standard of life in two ways. First, it aimed at offering consumer utility by satisfying unmet services, improving service access, augmenting support to disabled clients and amplifying services within the natural surroundings. Secondly, the Center sought to boost the clients’ lives by providing maximum independence through encouraging participation. Additionally, it also assisted in sustaining associations, creating personalized plans from customer input, amplifying opportunities to decide and offering employment opportunities (Martello, Watson & Fischer, 2008).

The organization also focused on both aspects since there were limited funds for its operations. This situation arises from the fact that organizations and firms are also seeking for funds. This necessitates the need for the firm to scour for supplementary funding. Regarding financial stability, the firm focused on increasing revenues and augmenting productivity by acquiring novel revenue sources, non-MA revenues, maximum prior funding and amplifying discretionary funds. Furthermore, the organization also considered maximizing efficiencies without reducing expenses in order to satisfy the Internal Business Processes Perspective. Additionally, the Center implemented the approach successfully by satisfying the Learning and Growth Perspective. In order to do this, the Center sought to build a motivated, equipped and content workforce by offering individual growth opportunities and developing identification programs. Furthermore, the organization satisfied this criterion by incorporating technology in order to buttress provision of offside services and information system development. Additionally, the firm also sought to amplify its organizational culture.

In conclusion, Cattaraugus Rehabilitation Center implemented the Balanced Scorecard effectively. Incorporating the strategy required assessing the perspectives required to make this possible. These perspectives comprised the Financial Perspective, the Consumer Perspective, the Internal Business Process Perspective and the Learning and Growth Perspective. However, the organization faced problems arising from the Financial Perspective. This perspective involved securing strategies for increasing profitability. Thus, it was effective for private-sector organizations, which possessed the objective of making profit. Regardless of this constraint, the Center applied the Financial Perspective to its Mission and Values in terms of improving productivity. Furthermore, the organization also equalized the Financial and Consumer Perspective since they were of equal significance. The Center also satisfied the Learning and Growth Perspective and the Internal Business Process Perspective by improving the standard of life among the clients. This was possible through offering quality services without reducing expenditure and strengthening its workforce for better service delivery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Martello, M., Watson, G. J., & Fischer, J. M. (2008). Implementing a Balanced Scorecard in a not-for-profit organization. Journal of Business & Economics Research, 6(9), 67-80.

Niven, P. R. (2011). Balanced Scorecard: Step-by-step for government and nonprofit agencies. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.