strategic implementation
Running head: TOOLS FOR STRATEGIC IMPLEMENTATION 1
TOOLS FOR STRATEGIC IMPLEMENTATION 6
Tools for Strategic Implementation
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Tools for Strategic Implementation
Balance Scorecard Tool Description
One of the widely used tools of strategic implementations in many modern organizations is the balance score card. Balance scorecard can be defined as a tool for strategic management and planning utilized widely in industries and businesses, non-profit as well as government organizations around the world. They are used in the alignment of organizations’ activities to strategy and vision, enhancement of external and internal communication, as well as monitoring an organization (Dyer et al., 2016). Balance scorecard was initially developed by David Norton and Robert Kaplan. It was developed as a tool of performance measurement to help organization’s management to have a balanced view of the prevailing a performance at a given period of time. However, over the years, balance scorecard has evolved from being a mere performance measurement tool to a comprehensive tool for strategic planning as well as management (Chen, Yu and Lin, 2015).
Nowadays, balance scorecard is used as a tool for management that allow companies to clarify their vision and strategy, and translating them into certain actions. It enables an organization to get feedback on both external outcomes and internal business related processes so as to ensure that there is a continuous improvement of strategic performance, as well as results (Dyer et al., 2016). For example, determining how production strategy enables an organization to improve on the amount of products produced in a month, and the quality of products.
According to balance scorecard tool an organization is viewed from four major perspectives, whereby, metrics are developed, data collected, and analyzed in relation to these perspectives (Pollanen and Xi, 2015). The first perspective is growth and learning. It is concerned with ensuring that employees have the right training as well as corporate cultural outlooks that help in organization and individual’s self-improvement. Therefore, employees should always be in a learning process at all times due to ever changing business environment.
The second perspective is business process, which focus on internal organizational processes. Metrics related to this perspective enable managers to understand the way their business is performing, and determine whether services and products offered by a firm are in line with customer needs (Dyer, et al., 2016). Thus, it aids in understanding whether strategies being used by an organization are being effective in helping in meeting customers’ needs as far as features of features of services and product offered to them are concerned.
There are a number of reasons that have informed the choice of balance scorecard as a tool for strategic implementation in an organization. First, it is an essential tool for effectively implementing any strategy in a firm compared to other tools, given that it focuses on the main agenda behind the execution strategy. Thus, it ensures that the strategy is being implemented towards attaining the agenda for which it was developed. Second, unlike other strategic implementation tools, it ensures that there is a selection of a small data numbers for purposes of monitoring, especially in determining whether the strategy being executed is working towards attaining the business objectives it is intended. Third, the choice has been informed by the fact that balance scorecard makes use of both non-financial and financial data items in measuring the success of the execution of a given strategy, giving accurate results on the performance of the strategy. For example, one can make use balance scorecard, where, both financial as well as non-financial data can be used determine whether a marketing strategy being executed by a firm is a success or not.
Assessment
There are various strategic influences that impact on the way balance scorecard function as a tool of strategic implementation. First, changes in the level of competition in the environment have an influence on the balance scorecard as it has to be improved to reflect the changes. Second, it is impacted by changes in internal organizational processes, as this means that it has to be changed to reflect that implemented changes so that it can effectively help in the management of the processes in question. These factors do not change the choice of the tool for strategic implementation, given that only slight improvements are supposed to be made on the existing balance scorecard in a firm to capture the changes. If the tool was to be changed completely due to the occurrence of various strategic influences, then the tool would be changed given that it would be expensive to use as a tool of strategic implementation in the firm (Gatti, 2015).
Usefulness
Balance scorecard will be useful to me as a practitioner in the area of strategic management as well as an independent scholar through the numerous benefits associated with it. First, it will help me understand ways in which business activities can be effectively aligned with an organization’s strategy and vision. According to Dyer et al (2016), balance scorecard is an important tool that helps an organization and managers to ensure that there is alignment of business activities with vision and strategy at all times. Second, the tool will be useful when it comes to understanding the way in which the performance of various strategies can be improved by successfully understanding the weaknesses they have. For example, it can aid in understanding how production strategy is working and areas that need to be improved to make it contribute to the success of the organization. Furthermore, as a scholar it will help me understand the way in which balance scorecard can be used as a tool of enhancing strategy planning as well as management in modern firms that operates in an environment that keep on changing from time to time. Chen, Yu and Lin (2015) note that balance scorecard has evolved from being just a performance management tool, but, to become a strategic management and planning framework.
On the other hand, as a business practitioner the tool will benefit me in several ways. First, it will help me to understand how learning and growth can be enhanced in a firm through execution of various strategies so as to enhance individual employees and organizational self-improvement (Dyer et al., 2016). Second, it will be of benefit when it comes to improving customer satisfaction, as it will aid in identifying critical strategic areas that are key to offering products and services that enhance client satisfaction. Chen, Yu and Lin (2015) argue that customer perspective of balance scorecard aids in the process of understanding how customer satisfaction can be improved in a firm strategically.
References
Chen, Y., Yu, Z., & Lin, T. W. (2015). How Zysco uses the balanced scorecard. Strategic Finance, 97(1), 27–36. Retrieved from http://www.imanet.org/resources-publications/strategic-finance-magazine/issues
Dyer, J. H., Godfrey, P., Jensen, R., & Bryce, D. (2016). Strategic management: Concepts and tools for creating real world strategy. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Gatti, M. (2015). Exploring the challenges of measuring intangibles: The implementation of a balanced scorecard in an Italian company. International Journal of Management Cases, 17(4), 120–133. Retrieved from http://www.ijmc.org/ijmc/home.html
Pollanen, R. M., & Xi, K. K. (2015). Organizational characteristics and use of balanced scorecard measures in executive compensation. International Journal of Business & Public Administration, 12(1), 68–82. Retrieved from http://www.iabpad.com/journals/international-journal-of-business-and-public-administration-2/