The Balanced Scorecard, Alphabet of the Modern Management: From Concept to Implement
14 Pages Posted: 18 Apr 2013
Date Written: Jan 2013
Abstract
The balanced scorecard is one of the most successful, endurable management concepts in recent years. The balanced scorecard is a performance measurement tool developed in 1992 by Harvard Business School professor Robert S. Kaplan and management consultant David P. Norton. Kaplan and Norton's research led them to believe that traditional financial measures, such as return on investment, could not provide an accurate picture of a company's performance in the innovative business environment of the 1990s. The balanced scorecard provides a framework for managers to use in linking different types of measurements together. Kaplan and Norton recommend looking at the business from four perspectives: the customer's perspective; an internal business perspective; an innovation and learning perspective; and the financial (or shareholder's) perspective. Using the overall corporate strategy as a guide, managers derive three to five goals related to each perspective. Then they develop specific measures to support each goal.
Keywords: balanced scorecard, management accounting, financial measures
JEL Classification: L16, L90, M40, M11
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation