Many years of my career have been in a department where my duties did not directly affect revenue. The manager had control over the cost of hiring people, the wages paid, the hours worked within the department, and approved training and projects. The duties of the manager and my own are gauged by our performance via a balanced scorecard prepared based on the strategies and goals set each year by upper management, leading to actions to an applicable evaluation process.

Over the years of my employment, the use of the balanced scorecard has evolved based on the overall strategy and goals set, as well as the period of time it was implemented. The many balance scorecards used over the years reflected the four perspectives of financial, internal operations, customer and learning, and growth. However, the area of learning and growth perspectives were lacking until 2020. Before 2020, diversity and inclusion training was seen as a less desired task, especially if the cultural environment was more Caucasian with a sprinkle of others whose cultural backgrounds differ, such as Asian, Indian, Hispanic, and African Americans. A work environment such as this ensured the status quo. After the George Floyd horror, the organization was jarred and decided to change its view of the world and business. The balanced scorecard has been impactful, especially in the learning and growth section.

A corporate balanced scorecard of the strategy and goals would be seen as vague due to its general nature (Franklin, Graybeal, & Cooper, 2019). As a manager, the corporate balanced scorecard provides guidance to dissect it to make it more specific to a department, ensuring its adaptation (Franklin, Graybeal, & Cooper, 2019). For a department driven by costs, the learning and growth perspectives of the balanced scorecard provide an area for exploring a good example. As previously mentioned, diversity and inclusion were less desirable subjects until the organization dedicated itself to bringing awareness and understanding.

One objective would be if employees participate in corporate training opportunities on this subject, such as understanding cultural differences and fostering a cultural environment. The measurement would be the number of certificates awarded; the target would be the number of completion percentages (Franklin, Graybeal, & Cooper, 2019). The objectives of the scorecard for a manager would be to improve employee retention or increase motivation and empowerment (Franklin, Graybeal, & Cooper, 2019). The measurement could be employee satisfaction surveys, hiring individuals from different cultural backgrounds, start an innovative project that includes a diverse group to share knowledge and gain different perspectives. The target could be an increase in percentage in overall employee satisfaction, employees utilizing open door policy, and employees with different cultural backgrounds fully engaging in group projects (Franklin, Graybeal, & Cooper, 2019).

 

My Case Study:

Using a balanced scorecard could have helped me understand how my team's performance contributed to the organization's overall goals and objectives in my previous job as a project manager for a software development company (Asiaei, K., 2019).
          One of the vital objectives of the association was to further develop consumer loyalty and convey great programming items inside indicated courses of events. Notwithstanding, during one specific task, we experienced a few postponements and client grievances because of the absence of a thorough presentation estimation framework. It was difficult to identify areas for improvement and align our efforts with the organization's goals without clear visibility into our team's performance.

           Had we used a fair scorecard, it would have given a comprehensive perspective on our group's exhibition and its effect on the association's objectives. We might have laid out unambiguous key execution markers (KPIs) in every point of view of the decent scorecard and followed them consistently. For instance:

• Monetary point of view: We could have tracked metrics like project costs, revenue generated, and return on investment (ROI) to determine the project's profitability.
• Perspective on internal operations: We might have followed measurements connected with project productivity and adequacy, for example, on-time conveyance, imperfection rates, and adherence to project plans.
• Customer point of view: We could have measured customer satisfaction, timely issue resolution, and retention rates by collecting feedback through surveys.
• A growth and learning perspective: Metrics like training hours, employee satisfaction, and turnover rates could have been used to evaluate the capabilities and development of our team (Kaplan, R. S., 1996).

         By utilizing a decent scorecard, we would have acquired a thorough comprehension of our group's exhibition and its arrangement with the association's objectives. This would have permitted us to recognize areas of progress, settle on information-driven choices, and make remedial moves to upgrade our undertaking conveyance and consumer loyalty.

          To use a balanced scorecard as a manager to make sure my department, area, or team is meeting the organization's goals and objectives, I would need to define the right measurements and keep track of them on a regular basis (Franklin, M., 2019). This is an illustration of the way I could involve a decent scorecard for my group:
Financial perspective:

1. Measurement: Rate of revenue growth.
2. Rationale: I can assess the financial impact of my team's efforts and ensure that our activities contribute to the organization's financial objectives by tracking revenue growth.

Internal operations perspective:

1. Measurement: Period of the project.
2. Rationale: In the end, this aligns with the organization's goal of efficient project execution by helping to identify bottlenecks, increase efficiency, and ensure timely delivery.

Customer perspective:

1. Measurement: Score on customer satisfaction
2. Rationale: We are able to gauge levels of customer satisfaction and identify areas for improvement by regularly collecting and analyzing feedback from customers through surveys or other methods. The success of the business depends on meeting or exceeding the expectations of its customers.

Learning and growth perspective:

1. Measurement:  Representative preparation hours.
2. Rationale: Observing how much preparation gave to colleagues mirrors our obligation to their expert development. By putting resources into preparation and advancement, we can upgrade their abilities, information, and occupation fulfillment, prompting further developed execution and by and large group development.

           I am able to regularly assess the team's performance from these perspectives using a balanced scorecard, identify any gaps, and take the necessary steps to align our activities with the organization's goals and objectives. (Kaplan, R. S., 1992). This enhances the team's contribution to the organization's overall success and ensures a balanced approach to performance management.

 

Question:

• Ask a clarifying question about the example the other case study described.
• Relate your case of how a balanced scorecard might have had a positive impact on your understanding to the other case described.
• Provide an insight you gained from the other case study on how a manager could utilize a balanced scorecard to help ensure all stakeholders not only understood organizational goals and objectives but were working to meet them.