Opening

You have been hired by Taylor Consulting, LLC as a Business Analyst because of your experience using Balanced Scorecard. You have been asked to attend brainstorming sessions for several clients. You have created a list of items for each company. Your next task is to determine the element type for each item. Use the selection list in the Element column to indicate strategic objective (SO), strategic initiative (SI) or performance metric (PM) for each performance perspective (Financial, Customer, Internal Processes, or Learning and Growth). For Performance Measures (PM) and Strategic Initiatives (SI), the Strategic Objective column will be used to indicate which Strategic Objective the Performance Measure or Strategic Initiative is related to. You are also required to analyze the mid-year results for Buckeye Electric.

For example, the following table was created from the data for Cordier Toys as displayed in Exhibit 4 of your text. "2. Tie pay to training hurdles" would be related to the Strategic Objective "1. Train employees."

The performance metrics are shown for the strategic objectives for each of the four performance perspectives of the balanced scorecard for Cordier Toys, Inc. The performance perspectives are shown in boxes from left to right, the strategic objectives are shown in bubbles, and the performance metrics are shown in boxes at the bottom. First is a box labeled Learning and Growth with two strategic objectives: Train employees and Reduce employee turnover. A vertical line connects the Train employees objective to the performance metric Median training hours per employee. A vertical line connects the Reduce employee turnover objective to the performance metric Average employee tenure. Next is a box labeled Internal Processes with two strategic objectives: Improve delivery times and Reduce shipping errors. A vertical line connects the Improve delivery times objective to the performance metric Hours from ordered to delivered. A vertical line connects the Reduce shipping errors objective to the performance metric Number of erroneous shipments. Next is a box labeled Customer with one strategic objective: Delight the customer. Two vertical lines connect the Delight the customer objective to the performance metrics Percentage of customers who shop again and Online customer satisfaction rating. The last box is labeled Financial with one strategic objective: Increase profits. Two vertical lines connect the Increase profits objective to the performance metrics Market share and Operating profit. To the right are three boxes with arrows. The top box has the label Performance Perspectives; it has an arrow that points to the labels in the four boxes. The middle box has the label Strategic Objectives; it has an arrow that points to the strategic objectives listed in each box. The bottom box has the label Performance Metrics; it has an arrow that points to the performance metrics at the bottom of each box.

The strategic initiatives for Cordier Toys have been added to the illustration. These initiatives are shown in bubbles below the bubbles for the strategic objectives. In the Learning and Growth box, under the Train employees objective is the strategic initiative Tie pay to training hurdles. In the Internal Processes box, under the Improve delivery times objective, is the strategic initiative Automate warehouse. A box labeled Strategic Initiatives has been added to the right of the illustration below the box for Strategic Objectives. It has an arrow that points to the strategic initiatives that have been added to the illustration.

1.

Buckeye Electric

Taylor Consulting makes it a practice to stay involved with the client to help them stay on track to achieve their goals. A co-worker had completed the balanced scorecard for Buckeye Electric six months ago. Your manager has instructed you to consult with Buckeye Electric management regarding any balanced scorecard item whose performance metric has achieved less than 50% of the target. Determine which Performance Metrics require a consultation. Also, indicate the Performance Perspective for each Performance Metric. This information is important because you will need to know which manager to contact.

Financial Customer Internal Processes Learning & Growth Strategic Objective Strategic Objective Strategic Objective Strategic Objective Balanced Scorecard Element Element Element Element 1. Train employees so 2. Tie pay to training hurdles SI 1 3. Median training hours per employee PM 1 4. Reduce employee turnover SO 5. Average employee tenure PM 4 6. Improve delivery times SO 7. Automate warehouse SI 6 8. Hours from ordered to delivered PM 6 SO 9. Reduce shipping errors 10. Number of erroneous shipments PM 9 Exhibit 4 Cordier Toys' Strategic Initiatives Learning and Growth Internal Processes Customer Financial Performance Perspectives Train employees Reduce employee tumover Improve delivery times Reduce shipping errors Delight the customer Increase profits Strategic Objectives Tie pay to training hurdles Automate warehouse Strategic Initiatives Median training hours per employee Average employee tenure Hours from ordered to delivered Number of erroneous shipments Operating Percentago of customers who shop again Onling customer satisfaction rating Market share Performance Metrics Profit Consultation Required Performance Metrics Last Year Target Year to Date Performance Perspective 1. Revenue growth rate 14.0% 15.0% 14.6% 2. Utilization of asset rate 6.0% 12.0% 7.0% Yes 3. Operating costs per customer $150 $125 $145 No 4. Customer satisfaction rating 80.0% 87.0% 90.0% 5. Problem resolution time 6 hr 3 hr 4 hr 6. Employee productivity rate 2.0% 3.0% 2.4% 10 hr 14 hr 13 hr 7. Training hours in strategic skills training 8. Employee satisfaction (5 point scale) 2.8 4.5 4.1 9. Leadership effectiveness ratio (5 point scale) 4.0 4.8 4.3 Financial Customer Internal Processes Learning & Growth Strategic Objective Strategic Objective Strategic Objective Strategic Objective Balanced Scorecard Element Element Element Element 1. Train employees so 2. Tie pay to training hurdles SI 1 3. Median training hours per employee PM 1 4. Reduce employee turnover SO 5. Average employee tenure PM 4 6. Improve delivery times SO 7. Automate warehouse SI 6 8. Hours from ordered to delivered PM 6 SO 9. Reduce shipping errors 10. Number of erroneous shipments PM 9 Exhibit 4 Cordier Toys' Strategic Initiatives Learning and Growth Internal Processes Customer Financial Performance Perspectives Train employees Reduce employee tumover Improve delivery times Reduce shipping errors Delight the customer Increase profits Strategic Objectives Tie pay to training hurdles Automate warehouse Strategic Initiatives Median training hours per employee Average employee tenure Hours from ordered to delivered Number of erroneous shipments Operating Percentago of customers who shop again Onling customer satisfaction rating Market share Performance Metrics Profit Consultation Required Performance Metrics Last Year Target Year to Date Performance Perspective 1. Revenue growth rate 14.0% 15.0% 14.6% 2. Utilization of asset rate 6.0% 12.0% 7.0% Yes 3. Operating costs per customer $150 $125 $145 No 4. Customer satisfaction rating 80.0% 87.0% 90.0% 5. Problem resolution time 6 hr 3 hr 4 hr 6. Employee productivity rate 2.0% 3.0% 2.4% 10 hr 14 hr 13 hr 7. Training hours in strategic skills training 8. Employee satisfaction (5 point scale) 2.8 4.5 4.1 9. Leadership effectiveness ratio (5 point scale) 4.0 4.8 4.3