Westminster University Internal solution for

CURRENT THEMES IN Business Module (DISSERTATION) FOR Business

Management students
By Ex Graduate marks 75%

Constructing and
Implementing the Balance
Scorecard
Ref: busman0003

The emergence of the information era, however, in the last decades of the 20th
century, has made obsolete many of the fundamental assumptions of industrial age
competition. The information age environment for both manufacturing and service
organisations requires new capabilities for competitive success. The ability of a
company to mobilise and exploit its intangible assets has become far more decisive
than investing and managing tangible, physical assets. Industrial age companies
created a sharp distinction between two groups of employees. The intellectual elite
managers and engineers used their analytical skills to design products and
processes, select and manage customers, and supervise day-to-day operations. The
second group was composed of the people who actually produced the products and
delivered the services. This direct labour work force was a principal factor of
production, which performed its tasks under supervision of the first group. Today
automation and productivity have increased the number of people performing
analytic functions: engineering, marketing, management and administration.
Therefore, the people are more viewed as problem solvers, not as variable costs. In
other words, information age has brought about the concept of knowledge
management. The balanced scorecard is a management system (not only a
measurement system) that enables organisations to clarify their vision and strategy
and translate them into action. It provides feedback around both the internal
business processes and external outcomes in order to continuously improve
strategic performance and results. The balanced scorecard suggests that we view
the organization from four perspectives, and to develop metrics, collect data and
analyse it relative to each of these perspectives:

The Learning and Growth Perspective

The Business Process Perspective
The Customer Perspective

 The Financial Perspective

13,000 words - 54 pages in length

Good use of literature

Well written throughout

Ideal for business students

1: Theory Behind the Balanced Scorecard

Background of the Concept of Balanced Scorecard
Balanced Scorecard as Complementary Tool for Management Accounting
Balanced Scorecard as a Measurement Tool
Balanced Scorecard as a Strategic Management System
2: Constructing a Balanced Scorecard
Establishing Strategy by Building up a Balanced Scorecard
Clarifying and Translating the Vision and Strategy
Communicating and Linking Strategic Objectives and Measures
Planning, Setting Targets and Aligning Strategic Initiatives
Enhancing Strategic Feedback and Learning
Defining Critical Success Factors and Measures
Financial Perspective
Customer Perspective
Market and Account Share
Customer Retention
Customer Acquisition
Customer Satisfaction
Customer Profitability
Beyond the Core: Measuring Customer Value Propositions
Internal Business Process Perspective
Learning and Growth Perspective
Conclusions and Recommendations - How Many Measures to Choose?
Testing the Balanced Scorecard
Analysing Outcomes and Performance Drivers
Analysing Cause and Effect
Establishing Action Plan

Setting up Catalytic Mechanisms

3: Implementing a Balanced Scorecard as a Management System
Case Studies on Implementing a Balanced Scorecard
Practical Aspects of Setting up Balanced Scorecard in a Service Company
Using the Balanced Scorecard at Metro Bank
Using the Results of a Balanced Scorecard at Sears Company
Conclusions and Recommendations on Implementing a Balanced
Scorecard
4: Summary
References