May balanced scorecard creat value for small business?

[neiney]

Dear friends,

I'm a postgraduate student studying in financial management. I'm just preparing my dissertation. Small business is what I'm looking for at the moment. My concern is how can small business creat value for its own?

Balanced scorecard has been introduced for decade. It tries to be a driver to stimulate the business to look at long-term development rather than short term ones. Balanced scorecard told us that good customer relationship, optimal process, competence and committment of employee are valuable assets to us.

May balanced scorecard be a tool for small business to improve the management level and creat value?

Please let me know your opinion on the topic. It will be quite helpful and appreciated.

Thanks a lot

[peterjhale]

Balance scorecard is not necessarily just looking long term - what it does is measure non financial items as well as financial (eg: customer satisfaction)

All well and good. Trying to measure on a regular basis is costly and time consuming.

Any reporting is always looking at the past though

[gilbert]

Hi Neiney,

The Balanced Scorecard deals with effective business performance measurement and implementing strategic planning.

Balanced Scorecard approach is a well documented management approach developed by a group of people from Fortune 500 companies under the guidance of Dr. Robert S. Kaplan, the Arthur Lowes Dickinson Professor of Accounting at the Harvard Business School.

This business strategy planning or objective is mapped into performance metrics in four perspectives: customer, financial, internal processes, learning and growth. The business performance is measured based on the above perspective. The balance scorecard is one of the best key business performance measuring concepts. I come across a Balanced Scorecard Software tool which is useful for business research students like you.

http://www.axsellit.com/balancedscorecard.html


The idea is to create metrics that will give you a holistic view of your company and that are linked to your strategy. It will make sure you measure financials (as you still do need the money, but also keep an eye on how your customers perceive you, the internal processes that are critical to your success and the knowledge and resources needed to sustain your business model.

gilbert wood

[miko]

Dear Friend, small businesses are often run like a world war 2 spitfire, BY THE SEAT OF THE PANTS. What we do as owner managers is to constantly adjust to ever changing conditions and grab a headline or two on the way whilst we can.

My opinion is that this can't be taught in a classroom or written in a text book, business is much like a pool of mercury on a flat mirror, once taped it splinters, the business owner then re collects the spinters and the process starts all over again.

If the ideal business model could be wrote in a text book we would all be growing money trees (me included).
Character cannot be tought nor can the will to carry on when everyone around you are giving you a million and one reasons (from text books) why it won't work and you should give up.

The small business and customers, The small business man has to be somewhat of a chameleon changing to each customers needs and wants. There are no one business models which can help here.

The same can be said for the supply chain within businesses.

Now I work at the pointed end of my business and to be blunt Dont have the time to look at the scorecard for this or that, what I do look at is the one thing the business owner should never lose focus on (MONEY) AND AS MUCH OF IT AS WE CAN GET.

I only look at one number to see if we are doing ok and that number is THE BOTTOM LINE.

The problem with text book related products is that they dont and cant take into account probability.

The only thing that can drive a business is the people within it by being inovative and creative whilst placing emphasis on professional selling.

lead from the front and be driven by great ideas new ideas as the ones within the text books are outdated as soon as they are written.

Its just my opinion.