The Balanced Scorecard, Essay Example

Why is it important to continuously update the implementation and communication of a strategic plan? Who should be responsible for updating and communicating a strategic plan? Why?

It is important to update the implementation of a strategic plan to keep the organizations employees on their toes. This implies that the updating of the goals is done to reflect the changing environmental situations as well as respond to any changing ethical as well as regulatory requirements for the organization. The communication of the strategic plan is vital in ensuring that the people involved in implementation are full informed of any changes that affect the deployment of resources as well as manpower towards the implementation of the strategic plan. The strategic apex should take the responsibility of communicating the updates as well as the changes in the strategic plan to the middle management who then turns it into implementation goals. This is because the strategic apex is the top leadership and the decision making organ in the organization (BPP 2009).

Has your organization’s strategic plan been communicated to you? If so, how and by whom? If not, how would such communication improve your organizational effectiveness? Is it important for employees to know the strategic plan of a company? Why or why not?

My organizations strategic plans are communicated through management meetings called Arena. This is where the strategic apex gets a chance to lay out the plans for the future, the expected challenges and any mitigating plans that have been put in place.  The communication of the strategic objectives increases the effectiveness of the organization since the whole organization now understands the future outlook as well as where they fit in the organization. Similarly it gives people a sense of belonging which is a big motivator hence the whole organization functions as a unified force without and conflicts. This implies that it is important for the employees to know the strategic plan of the company so that they can use it as a metric to establish the efficiency of the operations and improve where they deem necessary.

What things should be taken into consideration in the creation of a roadmap for a strategic plan?

In the development of a roadmap for a strategic plan, the factors that should be considered include first and most important the timeline required for the implementation of the strategic plan. This means that failure to establish the time line appropriately will lead to crashing of some of the stages I the implementation. The other important consideration is the availability of crucial resources namely human resources, material resources or financial resources. The second is the predictability of the market. If the market is quite volatile, then the roadmap should include several opportunities for the re-evaluation of the strategic plan. This will not be necessary if the market is stable and predictable.

Individual Assignment: Balanced Scorecard Assignment

Balanced score card is used n translating the mission and strategy of a business unit into quantifiable objectives and measures. It helps counterbalance the external measures of the business performance that touches on shareholders and investor interests as well as the internal measures that evaluate critical business processes and business growth (Kaplan & Norton 2009).  For the business to establish the progress its making in achieving its mission the have to do monitoring which involves evaluating the efficiency and efficacy of the process and making changes where necessary, monitoring the results and establishing control for variances.

Shareholder Value or Financial Perspective.

The shareholder value perspective is concerned with the returns that the shareholders are able to obtain on the investments that they have put into the company. The strategy seeks to gain as much of the market share as practically possible considering the available resources. Similarly the shareholders seek to see their capital generate high revenue as well as sufficient profitability and attain an enviable position in the market.

 Customer Value Perspective            

The customer value perspective seeks to utilize strategic objectives to deliver an distinctive customer experience. The fruits of distinctive customer experience are measured through the ability to retain customers where customer loyalty is high. The customer response surveys also help to establish the extent of the customer satisfaction. The value delivered to the customers is a part of the metrics that ought to be evaluated.

Process or Internal Operations Perspective

In evaluating internal performance, it’s the only way that the organization can establish how well the implementing arm of the organization is keeping in line with the laid down and updated strategic objectives. This comes by way of measuring the performance of processes putting into mind the resources in terms of manpower that have been deployed in the process. The productivity of a process is also measure as well as the productivity of the entire organization as this is important in establishing how well the operations are aligned to the overall long term strategy of the organization. The operation metrics of the organization helps as they function as the benchmark against which the performance of the organization.

 Learning and Growth (Employee) Perspective

Growth and learning in employee perspective embodies the opportunities that the employees are granted by the organization to grow and advance in their careers and development. The ability of the organization to grant the employees access to the latest technology and the organization encourages the participation of the employees in the organizations planning as well as demonstrating capability for future growth as well as encouraging employees to participate in decision making. The working environment is a key factor that determines whether the employees leave the organization or whether they remain for a long period.

References

BPP Learning Media (2009) Management Accounting. Glasgow: BPP publishers.

Kaplan, R. & Norton,  M. (1996). Translating Strategy into Action: The Balanced Scorecard. Boston: Harvard University Press.