Balanced Scorecard

[James Robert Crow <jr1crow@mindspring.com>]

Hello Group:

Last week I went to a presentation on the Balanced Scorecard to learn more
about this concept that is gaining acceptance by companies around the
country.  After listening to the presentation my question was: Why would
anyone want to put themselves thorugh this process?  It seems to work this
way.

Someone, the president, ceo, coo, board of directors, says the company
needs to do these things better, more, less, or whatever.  This gets passed
on the the next level of management that sets about figuring out how they
are going to make these things happen.  All of the things that have to
happen do not have the same level of importance or are weighted.  Once this
group has their measures in place the process is repeated down into the
organization until each person has their own balanced scorecard and with a
computer can know at any point in time where they stand in the process.  At
the end of the year, quarter or the measurement cycle they can be rewarded
or punished based on their balanced scorecard score.  In other words this
is just another name for a MBO system and has the same problems.  This is
an oversimplification of a very complex process that will take hugh amounts
of management time and I believe at least in the short term take away from
your ability to focus on the customer.

I asked where the requirements come from and the answer was that the
president or someone in a simular position comes up with them.  One of the
people present said that they were aware of a program in one company that
if any of the numbers were below where they should be at the end of a month
that person had to explain why and what they would do to correct the
situation.  Sounds like tampering to me and indicated a lack of
understanding of variation.

I asked the presenters if they were aware of Jeffery Pffifer's comment that
"All performance management systems have two things in common.  They
absorbe vast amounts of management time and make everyone unhappy."  There
was gruging agreement, but their comeback was that you have to measure
these things otherwise you don't know what is happening and you don't know
how people are performing.

My question to the den:  Do you have to measure, and if so how do you
determine what to measure?  How do you measure in a way that provides
feedback but is not used to reward and punish?  The one thing I did like
about this presentation was that an individual could plug into the system
at any point in time and see where they stood.  There was a feedback
method.  Do you think this was good or bad and why?
Robert Crow
Principal
Crow Consulting
165 River North Circle NW
Atlanta, GA 30328 USA
Voice 770-396-2280
FAX 770-396-7010
jr1crow@mindspring.com
www.crowgroup.net