How are Balanced Scorecards used? New insights from 2GC Survey
The Balanced Scorecard has been with us now for about 20 years. It has become a popular and widely implemented management tool. Although it was introduced as an aid to the implementation of strategy, a wide variety of other uses for the tool have been developed. In our research 2GC recognises four main types of use: strategic management, operational management, retrospective monitoring and evaluation of units / projects, and to determine the payment of incentives. Each use requires a specific (and different) approach to Balanced Scorecard design – one of our earliest research papers identified use of inappropriate design methods as a key cause of Balanced Scorecard implementation failure.
2GC’s recent survey of Balanced Scorecard usage has cast some new light on how organisations are using their current Balanced Scorecards. It found that the prime use remains managing the implementation of strategy management, with operational management and individual appraisal / incentive payment being important secondary uses. Although not strictly a distinct use of Balanced Scorecard, organisations also reported using Balanced Scorecard as a framework for the reporting of current performance.
These findings are drawn from the findings of 2GC’s recently completed 2010 Balanced Scorecard Usage survey. This international survey, now in its second year, seeks to document current usage patterns for Balanced Scorecard. A summary of the findings has already been sent to the organisations that participated in the survey, and will be published in the 2GC web site’s Performance Management Resources Centre in October. If you would like an advance copy of the 2010 survey, please get in touch – send an email request to our survey team.
2GC is an expert in business performance management and a world leader in supporting companies in implementing successfully state-of-the-art third generation Balanced Scorecard.
