The Customer Service Perspective, Essay Example

The balanced scorecard is a management tool that has recently been used by many companies even though some companies do not understand its importance. The companies that use the balanced scorecard are seen to enjoy so many benefits which include promotion of growth, tracking performance, goals alignment and clarification, provision of focus and it enhances accountability in the organization. Niven (n.d.) highlighted the three value propositions that constitute the customer perspective when using a balanced scorecard. These propositions are:

• Product leadership
• Customer intimacy
• Operational excellence

Operational excellence focuses on harnessing operations that are super-efficient to offer the lowest prices while customer intimacy involves provision of unrivalled service and offering a total solution to customer’s needs. Product leadership on the other hand seeks to offer products and services that have the latest and greatest features.

The three companies under evaluation have used a balance scorecard to set strategies and align operations to achieve breakthrough results. The article discusses the different ways in which the balance scorecard has been applied and the effects. Hyde Park Electronics collects its data through personal interviews and through the eight management staff who designed the balanced scorecard, the company has evolved a lot which is an indication that there has been an aspect of innovation which has contributed greatly to the company’s profitability. The company is also seen to transition from selling low volumes to few customers through three sales representatives to selling high volumes via a channel of distribution to customers in a wide range. (Gumbus & Lussier 2006).

Some of the measures set to monitor delivery of products to customers according to their request were delivery within a day, within five days and on-time delivery. Labour efficiency contributes to the three propositions and Hyde Park Electronics viewed it as the most critical measure of success. They measure development effectiveness by evaluating the new product sales. Other efficiency measures include welfare per employee to offset labour efficiency. On customer satisfaction, the company uses measures such as increased income and increased sales that mostly results from acceptance of a product and the generation of repeat customers. The date of delivery can also be used as a measurement of customer satisfaction. This is determined by comparing the time a customer gets the product compared to when he requested. Data can also be tracked from the web portal that shows the distribution channel partners and this aids in measuring the marketing efforts.

Futura Industries is an international company based in Clearfield, UT and has more than 50years of experience in aluminium extruding, finishing, fabrication, machining and design. Its mission is extraordinary value through extrusions and its achieved by their purpose in business which is meeting the changing needs of customers. The company does so much all in order to maintain their devotion to the customer.  While evaluating whether the company gives good customer service, one thing that was noted regarding this issue was that Futura has an ability to hire people who observe the company’s values. The company also retains people who perform.

Futura’s measurements on the customer perspective were simplified into customer satisfaction, on-time delivery, customer hassle index and lead times. Customer satisfaction is measured by calling a sample of customers that is selected randomly an asking them questions related to fair value of product and services, on time delivery and quality. The Futura industry is also a hassle-free supplier because it is committed to the customer and it resolves customer issues and complaints in time. The company has also maintained customer intimacy by getting to know about its clients businesses and using that information to solve problems. This ensures that all the problems are addressed to the core hence customer satisfaction.

Southern Gardens Citrus is the other company under study which is a subsidiary of United States Sugar Corporation which has recently been using the balanced scorecard to establish organizational change effort and a culture. Under the leadership of Tristan Chapman as the general manager, Southern Gardens Citrus has fully utilized the balanced scorecard and has managed to become the lowest suppler of bulk not-from-concentrates in the citrus industry in terms of cost, is considered the leader in the not-from-concentrates suppliers and has received several awards since 1996. Gumbus & Lussier (2006) highlights the three goals that Chapman tried to accomplish using the balanced scorecard which were:

• Aligning the organization with the overall mission
• Focussing on areas that need improvement
• Giving remarkable feedback on the level of performance of the organization.

The different measures taken by the three companies have a different magnitude on the focus they give the customer. Futura Industries has focussed on customer intimacy and has included the customer while highlighting its business purpose. Southern Gardens Citrus has also majored in product leadership as evidenced by the numerous awards it has earned for being the best supplier and processor. On the other hand, Hyde Park Electronics is seen to focus on the operational excellence with an aim of satisfying the customer. The improved performance of the three companies was therefore due to their focus on the customer.

A measure that could be included in ascertaining how well a company is meeting its goals is by giving the employees a chance to give their views on the same. The questions should focus on what is being done, its effectiveness and things that should be done to improve the situation. This way, the employees will feel like they are part of decision making and will be motivated to work better having the customer in mind.

References

Gumbus, A. and Lussier, RN. (2006) Entrepreneurs use a balanced scorecard to translate

strategy into performance measures. Journal of Small Business Management. 44(3):407-426. Retrieved August 20, 2009, from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?sid=1&vinst=PROD&fmt=6&startpage=1&clientid=29440&vname=PQD&RQT=309&did=1074432261&scaling=FULL&vtype=PQD&rqt=309&TS=1226877391&clientId=29440

Niven, P. (N.D.) Customer perspective. EPM Review. Retrieved August 20, 2009, from

http://www.epmreview.com/Resources/Articles/Customer-Perspective.html