Prof. Atkins PHD questions

1st. Question:

Hi,

What a thorough post – very detailed and explanatory.  I especially enjoyed the history you provided on the balanced scorecard, and its earliest use as a performance evaluation tool.  You noted that since then, use has expanded to include overall strategic planning.  Do you feel this change occurred as a result of the marketplace evolution?  The U.S. manufacturing sector has declined, while service industries are thriving.  Since service is driven almost solely on customer experience, it would be difficult to determine where improvement was necessary without evaluating customer satisfaction, operational efficiencies and employee excellence.  These leading indicators pinpoint areas of success and opportunity in advance of any financial reporting, allowing for adjustment prior to monetary impact.   

In manufacturing, I feel that a focus on any one of the areas of the balanced scorecard would lead to greater profitability (financial could minimize costs, using LEAN manufacturing techniques could improve production speed and employee knowledge could identify global areas of opportunity). While manufacturing companies definitely benefit from balanced scorecard analysis, it is even more pivotal in the service sector.  Replacing a malfunctioning part quickly and without cost will likely keep customer satisfaction high.  However, if a videographer fails to capture key moments at a wedding, there is little that can be done to make the client “whole” again.  Failing to focus on customer needs and expectations in this segment leads to dissolution of the business.  

Thanks again for all of the wonderful information, especially surrounding John Deere’s goals and commitment to excellent.  My brother-in-law would wholeheartedly agree (he is a manager at a John Deere tractor and equipment dealer), and he loves being sent to annual training for customer service issue identification and problem solving.

2nd Question:

Nice work and good detail.  One thing to remember is that managers must identify specific measures.  For example they might start with "ensures that its employees are highly trained" but then they need metrics to determine if they are achieving this.  So what specific, quantifiable measure could JD use to determine if this is being accomplished?