Performance Drivers: A Practical Guide to Using the Balanced Scorecard

The concept of the Balanced Scorecard was first introduced by Kaplan & Norton in a Harvard Business Review article in 1992. The complexity of organisations requires managers to view several areas of performance simultaneously - the Balanced Scorecard enables them to do just that. It gives managers a fast but comprehensive view of the business and allows them to focus on the critical areas, driving the organisation’s strategy forward. As a technique it is an extremely hot topic at international conferences where professionals are advocating best practice using the Balanced Scorecard both in their own and other organisations. Numerous large consultancies and their large, multinational clients are using the Balanced Scorecard as a method of performance measurement and a performance driver. The key in implementing any effective performance measurement system within an organisation is to identify specific areas of measurement and put these into a coherent framework which is linked to overall strategic objectives. This book helps managers do just that by taking an extremely practical approach, moving the field on from the Kaplan & Norton book. Included are international cases of major corporations, such as ABB, Coca Cola, Electrolux, Rank Xerox, Skandia and Volvo. The authors are active as consultants as well as university researchers, so the book is able to unite practical, hands-on experience and reflections on the relations between the Balanced Scorecard with other areas, such as TQM, information systems and Intellectual Capital.