Summary 

In this article – the last of a four part series – author, management consultant and Balanced Scorecard expert Paul Niven discusses the need for a Learning and Growth Perspective in a Balanced Scorecard. The other three parts focus on the Financial, Customer and Internal Process perspectives.

The author begins by focusing on the need for a Learning and Growth Perspective. Organizations that seek to create a culture of performance management typically wish to create flawless processes, fulfill customer expectations, and create value for financial stakeholders. To achieve these goals, organizations need a strong foundation. People, the author argues, provide this foundation. The knowledge and talents of people are the intangibles that account for upward of 80 per cent of value creation in modern organizations. In the ultimate analysis, committed and capable people dictate the success or failure of an organization.

The Business Guillotine - Only brave people can set ambitious targets  - How is it in your company? Are your heads chopped off if you set ambitious targets and don’t reach them?  If your company’s performance culture is characterized by "head chopping," you will most likely have experienced how people do not take the trouble of establishing demanding targets.

Summary

Bilprovningen is the Swedish Vehicle Inspection Company. With a mission to improve road safety and to contribute to a better environment, the company completes about 5.4 million inspections per year. Bilprovningen’s 2,100 employees work in 16 districts, 180 stations and two mobile units.

Summary

In this article – the third of a four part series – author, management consultant and Balanced Scorecard expert Paul Niven discusses the need for an Internal Process Perspective in a Balanced Scorecard. The other three parts focus on the Financial, Customer and Learning and Growth perspectives.

The author begins by pointing out that, with the Internal Process perspective, the focus of performance management shifts from the “what” of value creation to the “how” of value creation. Specifically, the Internal Process perspective describes how an organization will achieve outcomes envisioned in the Customer and Financial perspectives.

Plans cast in stone - When is your budget outdated? The day you write it. I have worked with creating budgets in large corporations and was amazed that we still adhered to the old way of allocating resources. Luckily there are individuals and companies that have examined this under a magnifying glass and have changed the way they allocate resources.

Summary

In this article – the second of a four part series – author, management consultant and Balanced Scorecard expert Paul Niven discusses the need for a Customer Perspective in a Balanced Scorecard. “The remaining two parts focus on the Internal Process, and Learning and Growth perspectives.”

The author begins by discussing the explosion in the options available for a consumer’s choice. A century and more ago, producers of goods and services enjoyed great power over customers who had extremely limited choices in the market. Today, the scenario has reversed, with customers exerting far greater power in the purchase transaction. Technologies like the Internet increase customer knowledge and insight and deliver greater bargaining power to customers. This makes it absolutely vital for companies to have a well-defined Customer Perspective.

Cost management & the Balanced Scorecard  - In the classic film, Sunset Boulevard, Gloria Swanson portrays a long-forgotten silent movie goddess who has been unable to make the transition to "talkies."...

•  We are at war - time to change!

Summary

In this article – the first of a four part series – author, management consultant and Balanced Scorecard expert Paul Niven discusses the need for a Financial Perspective in a Balanced Scorecard. The other three parts focus on the Customer, Internal Process and Learning and Growth perspectives.

Typically, the mission and vision statements of organizations do not refer to their financial aspirations. However, companies need to have a Financial Perspective so that they can answer shareholders who require a return on their investment.

Companies must ensure that a focus on customers also leads to improved financial results. Financial performance also enables investment in people, processes and technology so that customers can be served successfully.

So, how do companies know if they are performing well financially? The Financial perspective of the Balanced Scorecard gauges financial success from the perspective of a company’s shareholders and gives the company the tools to track success over time.