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."

		Financial		Customer		Internal Processes		Learning & Growth
Balanced Scorecard		Element	Strategic Objective	Element	Strategic Objective	Element	Strategic Objective	Element	Strategic Objective
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
9.	Reduce shipping errors					SO
10.	Number of erroneous shipments					PM	9

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.

University Publishing

Your first brainstorming session was with University Publishing Company. Your session resulted in the following items. Your task is to link the balanced scorecard elements to form a cohesive strategy for the company. Review each balanced scorecard element. After determining the performance perspective (Financial, Customer, Internal Processes, or Learning and Growth), your first step should be to identify the Strategic Objectives. Use the selection list in the Element column to indicate strategic objective (SO) of the appropriate performance perspective. Your next steps are to identify the actions that will be taken to achieve these goals (Strategic Initiatives) and to define how progress will be measured (Performance Metrics). Use the selection list in the Element column to indicate strategic initiative (SI) or performance metric (PM). Determine the Strategic Objective to which the item is related by entering the balanced scorecard item number. Remember, each Strategic Objective will have at least one Performance Metric. Also, a balanced scorecard item can focus on only one performance perspective. For the perspectives not effected, select "n" in the remaining Element columns.

J & S Ski Vacations

Jim and Shelee, owners of J & S Ski Vacations, met with you about their ski resort. Your brainstorming session resulted in the following items. 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. If no effects in "Element" select "n". If "Strategic Objective" does not require an entry, leave it blank.

		Financial		Customer		Internal Processes		Learning & Growth
Balanced Scorecard		Element	Strategic Objective	Element	Strategic Objective	Element	Strategic Objective	Element	Strategic Objective
1.	Revenue growth of ski packages
2.	Smooth earnings
3.	Include mountain biking packages
4.	% Growth in sales
5.	Quarterly profit margin
6.	Highly satisfied customers
7.	Increase of ski location offerings
8.	% of return customers
9.	Customer feedback
10.	Quality equipment rental offering
11.	Develop relationship with top equipment suppliers
12.	Equipment turnover
13.	Equipment maintenance monitoring
14.	Have knowledgeable staff of local businessses and restaurants
15.	Become part of local business community
16.	Provide staff dinners from local establishments
17.	Partner with local businesses to provide discounts for resort customers
18.	Feedback from staff dinners
19.	Track coupons redeemed

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.

Performance Metrics		Last Year	Target	Year to Date	Consultation Required	Performance Perspective
1.	Revenue growth rate	14.0%	15.0%	14.6%
2.	Utilization of asset rate	6.0%	12.0%	7.0%
3.	Operating costs per customer	$150	$125	$145
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%
7.	Training hours in strategic skills training	10 hr	14 hr	13 hr
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

Exhibit 4 Cordier Toys' Strategic Initiatives Learning and Growth Internal Processes Customer Financial Performance Perspectives Reduce employee turnover Train employees Improve delivery times Reduce shipping errors Strategic Objectives Delight the customer Increase profits 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 Percentage of customers who shop again Online customer satisfaction rating Market share Operating profit Performance Metrics Exhibit 4 Cordier Toys' Strategic Initiatives Learning and Growth Internal Processes Customer Financial Performance Perspectives Reduce employee turnover Train employees Improve delivery times Reduce shipping errors Strategic Objectives Delight the customer Increase profits 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 Percentage of customers who shop again Online customer satisfaction rating Market share Operating profit Performance Metrics