Assignment Overview

In the last module we looked at the Balanced Scorecard and how it is implemented from more of a purist’s approach and just touched on the flexibility of the tool. In this module, we are going to look at the BSC from more of an adaptive approach. That is to say, how adaptable is this tool given the wide variety of organizations out there in the world. 

In this assignment you are asked to study the required readings and to read the following case study: 

Basu, R., Little, C., & Millard, C. (2009). Case study: A fresh approach of the balanced scorecard in the Heathrow Terminal 5 project. Measuring Business Excellence. 13(4). 22-33. Retrieved from http://www.perf-ex.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/T5-case-study-MBE-papaer.pdf

After reading this article, write an essay in which you compare and contrast the balanced scorecard utilized by the British Airport Authority (BAA) at Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 5 project with the standard quadrants typically applied in a traditional BSC approach (financial focus, Internal focus, Learning and Growth focus, and Customer focus). That is to say, the Terminal 5 project was a large, public construction project using private contractors. Yet, the BSC approach is also applied to the manufacturing sector, health care sector, and is applied in both private and public organizations. So you’ll want to consider how the T5 project adapted the BSC approach to fit the prevailing circumstances to help formulate your arguments. 

Assignment Expectations

In formulating your essay you need to discuss to what degree the evidence suggests the balanced scorecard approach is amenable to most organizations. 

Introduction: In this part of your essay you will need to introduce your topic and provide a very brief overview of the key points you plan to make in your paper.

Analysis: In this section you will present the actual comparison and contrast between BAA’s approach to the Balanced Scorecard and more traditional approaches.

Conclusion: Wrap up your argument with a clear and cogent synopsis of your findings. Do your best to convince your reader (aka, your professor) as to your position.

Additional Instructions: Your essay should be 3 to 4 pages in length (not counting your title page or references). You must include a list of references. APA formatting is preferred. Do not paste in sections of text into your essay. All of your work must be written in your own words. It’s OK to use a short quote now and again, but quotations must be in quotation marks and properly cited. In-text citations should be used anytime you are borrowing somebody else’s ideas, or information. That is to say, if you are borrowing a thought from a publication from F. Leghorn’s article written in 2010, that section of text must be followed with (Leghorn, 2010). Quotations, data, and general ideas (put into your own words) should all be cited.

SLP ASSIGNMENT

For Module 2, consider your organization’s mission and strategy from the perspective of its potential, prospective, and present customers. In this section of the assignment you’ll begin to identify objectives and measures relevant to that perspective. Refer back to this presentation on objectives if you need to.

SLP Assignment Expectations

Once you’re reasonably clear on what’s involved, think about your organization and its customers/clients/users/service recipients/whatever-you-wish-to-call-them, and then:

·     Identify at least three objectives for the organization’s customer service perspective and show how they relate to the mission, vision and strategy of the organization.

·     For each objective, develop at least one meaningful performance measure (metric).

·     For each objective, identify at least one expected level of performance (target).

·     For each objective, identify at least one new action or program that needs to be developed to ensure successful implementation of the organization’s strategy (initiative).

·     Comment briefly on the relationships of the customer service objectives that you’ve identified here to the financial objectives that you identified in the Module 1 SLP assignment. How do they help to fulfill those objectives? If they don’t (and they don’t have to), what makes them more important than objectives that would relate to finances?

·     Finally, do you wish to make any changes to your Module 1 objective write-up in light of your Module 2 experience? 

Here’s a table that you may wish to copy and fill in (the boxes are expandable – take all the space you need to be complete in your descriptions. No more than 2-3 pages should be necessary.)