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Saturday, March 22, 2008

80% of Organizations Using ‘Balanced Scorecard’ Reported Improvements in Operating Performance

(AlBawaba, 19/3/08)
80% of Organizations Using ‘Balanced Scorecard’ Reported Improvements in Operating Performance

66 percent of these organizations reported profit hikes

According to recent survey of more than 1,000 organizations, 80 percent of the organizations that regularly use the ‘Balanced Scorecard’ (BSC) reported improvements in operating performance and 66 percent of them also reported an increase in profits. Correspondingly, a significant majority, 61 percent, reported improvements in bottom-line financial results.

“Keeping focused on a strategy is tough,” said Dr. Robert Kaplan, Baker Foundation Professor at the Harvard Business School. “Balanced Scorecard Forum 2008 will provide business leaders with a unique opportunity to develop effective business strategies that are essential to the success of their organizations.” The forum will be held in JW Marriott Hotel, Dubai from 23 – 27 March 2008.

The BSC which is used extensively in business and industry, government, and nonprofit organizations worldwide was originated by Dr. Robert Kaplan and Dr. David Norton as a performance measurement framework that added strategic non-financial performance measures to traditional financial metrics to give executives a more ‘balanced’ view of organizational performance.

In order to introduce businesses in the Middle East region to the BSC concept and how it can help businesses clarify their vision and strategy and turn them into action, Institute for International Research (IIR) is organizing the “Balanced Scorecard Forum: The Art of Strategy Execution” to take place in Dubai on 23rd to 27th of March 2008.

Drs Kaplan and Norton will appear together for the first time in the Middle East and will deliver their insight into business management, through the use of BSC tools and highlight international and regional best practices during their two-day master class from 23 – 24 March. International case studies from Balanced Scorecard Hall of Fame winners Hilton Hotels Corporation Worldwide (USA) and Ricoh Corporation (USA) will follow during the two-day Balanced Scorecard Forum from 25 – 26 March. Regional case studies will also be presented by Microsoft EMEA (UK), Saudi Aramco (KSA), Emarat (UAE), National Bank of Kuwait (Kuwait), Dubai World (UAE) and Dubai eGovernment among others.“Employing the balanced scorecard leads to new business processes that can be used to link long-term strategies to short-term decisions,” concluded Dr. David Norton, the founder and president of Renaissance Solutions, a global consulting organization. “But in order to implement the BSC successfully, a business unit must effectively communicate the organization’s strategies for increasing shareholder value to all employees. That helps to get everyone behind the overall strategy.”

BSC allows better measurement of a firm’s capabilities to create long-term value by identifying the key drivers of this value. The drivers are then translated into four categories of measures- customer, internal/operational, innovation/learning, and financial. The financial measures are typically focused on short-term results; while the other three categories are coupled to future oriented activities needed to successfully sustain the firm.

“Strategy Maps and Balanced Scorecard have been instrumental for us in strategically monitoring the progress of our eGovernment initiative,” said Okan Geray, the Strategic Planning Consultant at Dubai eGovernment. “Balanced Scorecard has also assisted us in aligning our strategy with our resources, competencies and internal processes in order to pursue our vision of “Easing the lives of people and businesses interacting with the Government”.

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