Featured Case Study - November 2008
Our November case study highlights the flexibility of the 3rd Generation Balanced Scorecard design approach. The new case study shows how we used 2GC's state-of-the-art methods to design not just a Balanced Scorecard, but also to support strategic planning in this mid-sized engineering firm. The case also illustrates flexibility in terms of context; there are few published examples, such as this, of Balanced Scorecard application in professional services.
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Case Study 9: Al Khamsa: Strategic Planning at a Middle East Engineering Company: a Balanced Scorecard approach
Al Khamsa engineering provided an opportunity for 2GC to carry out a ”longitudinal“ case study - one that tracks the performance of an organisation over a number of years.
In 2008 Al Khamsa (an Architectural and Engineering consultancy based in the Middle East) asked 2GC to assist them in an update to its corporate Balanced Scorecard. The original had been created with 2GC assistance in 2004/5 as part of a wider project to introduce a more effective strategic planning and implementation approach within the fast-growing firm. The update was required simply because Al Khamsa had achieved all of the strategic goals set out in its original Balanced Scorecard - and more. 2GC worked with Al Khamsa to update both the company's strategic plans, and its Balanced Scorecard.
The case looks at some of the challenges presented by Balanced Scorecard design and strategic planning in a professional services firm as well as some novel approaches to executive facilitation.
Other Case Studies
The first 2GC Case study was written before 2GC even had a web-site! Here is a selection of our favourites.
Case Study 1 - Arran Ltd. (UK Financial Services Sector)
This case study describes the Balanced Scorecard implementation experiences of a leading UK financial services firm. The firm first implemented Balanced Scorecard in the mid 1990's, and initially the programme was perceived to have been a success. However, as they sought to increase their use of Balanced Scorecard within the organisation they began to encounter problems, and ultimately these have resulted in the firm moving away from using the Balanced Scorecard. This case study considers the lessons to be learnt from this firm's experiences and identifies ways in which they can be avoided by others.
Case Study 2 - Truro (Oil Industry)
This case study describes the Balanced Scorecard implementation experiences of a major oil firm in the Middle East. In the late 1990's, TRURO implemented a series of Balanced Scorecard designs with the assistance of an external consulting firm. The organisational issues surrounding the design of the Balanced Scorecard (primarily relating to measure selection) and the approaches adopted to its use reduced the overall value of the performance management system. This case describes the project activities and draws some conclusions concerning best practice relating to Balanced Scorecard design and implementation.
Implementing the Balanced Scorecard - lessons and insights from a multi-divisional oil company
Case Study 3 - Crosshouse (Multi-national FMCG)
This 2GC case study looks at the Balanced Scorecard implementation experiences of a European multi-national FMCG business. Working in the late 1990's with 2GC and other firms, this company set out to introduce a Balanced Scorecard-based strategic management system. At the time this was one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken, and the scope and nature of the project challenged existing Balanced Scorecard understanding and methodology. The project generated new insights into how to implement Balanced Scorecard for strategic control purposes, and advanced both theory and practical understanding of how Balanced Scorecard works. Nonetheless there were elements of the project that could have been done better, and the case highlights these areas too.
Strategic Alignment: cascading the Balanced Scorecard in a multi-national company
Case Study 4: Balanced Scorecard Renewal at UK Agency
This case study concerns a project to design and implement a strategic performance management system within a medium sized public sector enterprise. It looks at how this UK Government Agency found it necessary to re-design its failing strategic performance management system only a year after its introduction, and how the second attempt appears to have been much more successful. The two approaches adopted differed in both the structure of the Balanced Scorecard being designed and in the design methods used. The advantages of one approach is demonstrated by comparing the two approaches used.
Case Study 4: Balanced Scorecard Renewal at UK Agency
Case Study 5: IIC - Aligning individuals’ goals with the business strategy
This case study uses material drawn from project work undertaken by 2GC for a UK based financial services firm. IIC commissioned the work to address two performance management issues:
- First, the need for a personal goal setting process that is both economical to deploy and effective in triggering changes in the behaviour of individuals.
- Second, the related need for the content and process of this type of system to be closely aligned to the overall aims of the organisation.
The case study shows how IIC worked with 2GC to address these issues successfully using an adapted version of the 3rd Generation Balanced Scorecard framework.
Case Study 5: Aligning individual goals with the business strategy
Case Study 6: Executive Balanced Scorecard in a United Nations Agency
Over a period of 18 months 2GC worked with a UN Agency in their New York Headquarters to:
- design a corporate Performance management regime built around an integrated Balanced Scorecard and UN Results-Based Management framework,
- manage a redesign after 12 months of pilot use.
Working closely with both the Strategic Planning Office (SPO) and the Executive team (EC), we developed two different versions of Balanced Scorecard. The resulting designs are currently being used to set the Executive’s agenda for areas where collaboration between them is essential and to ensure alignment in the results targeted.
2GC has documented our work in the form of a easy to read case-study. To find out more about applying Balanced Scorecard in the unique environment of a UN Agency follow the link below.
Case Study 6: Executive Balanced Scorecard in a United Nations Agency
Case Study 7: Employee Performance Management for an International Retailer
2GC recently worked with a fast-growing international retailer to redesign its employee performance management (EPM) system. The retailer’s existing system was overly complex, time consuming to use and inconsistently applied across the stores. The retailer sought to have the EPM approach redesigned, simplified and re-launched. The new system was to be used by several thousand staff within some 200 retail outlets.
Building the new EPM system, 2GC applied a 3-perspective framework, embracing employee Behaviour, Activities and Results. This framework was used to identify balanced employee performance descriptors and measures appropriate to different employee positions. Click below to download the full case study.
Case Study 7: Employee Performance Management for an International Retailer
Case Study 8: ENERCO - Balanced Scorecard design in a complex organisation
Over a 12-month period in 2007 and early 2008 2GC worked with a multinational division of a global energy company (ENERCO) on a programme to develop Balanced Scorecards for its Business Unit and Functional Senior Management Teams worldwide. The specific aims of the programme were to improve the alignment of business units behind the division’s strategic goals, and to provide a mechanism to better track the execution of this strategy.
This case study looks at the reasons behind the decision to deploy Balanced Scorecard, and describes some of the design challenges encountered and how they were addressed. To find out more, follow the link below
Case Study 8: ENERCO - Balanced Scorecard design in a complex organisation
