Brewster House is a not-for-profit shelter for the homeless. Lately funding has decreased, but the demand for overnight shelter has increased. In cold weather, clients are turned away because the shelter is full. The director believes that the current capacity could be used more efficiently. No one has taken time to analyze the physical layout of the shelter and current use of space. Several rooms are used for storage that could probably be used for temporary housing. The stored boxes need to be sorted and moved. Volunteers currently assign beds and manage overnight housing because the director is busy with fund-raising.

Volunteers work just a few shifts each week, so no one has taken responsibility for coordinating improvements in the services offered. The director is considering whether to implement a balanced scorecard to focus the attention of all volunteers on areas that need improvement.

Brewster receives funds from several sources including a set annual budget from the county and direct donations from supporters. The director develops a budget each year based on expected funding, but she cannot precisely predict donations. The budget is used primarily to justify funding requests submitted to the county.

The director has asked a group of accounting students from the local university to evaluate operations and recommend whether the organization should develop a balanced scorecard. She cannot give bonuses based on the measures, but she wonders whether developing and monitoring performance measures would encourage the volunteers to increase the use of capacity. She also wonders whether some information from the balanced scorecard could be used to show donors the effectiveness of operations.

REQUIRED

A. Describe several potential costs and benefits of the balanced scorecard for this organization.

B. Describe one potential strategic objective and related measure for each scorecard perspective appropriate for Brewster House. Explain how information for each measure might be collected.

C. Prepare a memo to the director that recommends whether Brewster House should adopt a balanced scorecard. In writing the memo, consider what information the director needs from you to help her make a decision.