Assessment of the Balanced Scorecard approach at a photographic company

Abstract

The Balanced Scorecard has become vital for companies in order to ensure a competitive advantage in our ever changing global environment. The Balanced Scorecard, if applied effectively, will assess whether the company’s vision, mission, strategy and values are achieved. The Balanced Scorecard system is a management tool that can be used to transform strategy into action. The Balanced Scorecard used at Picture Perfect Photography has been identified as problematic. This study includes a literature study on the Balanced Scorecard system and an empirical study regarding the application of the Balanced Scorecard in a specific Photography company. The literature study set out to evaluate the efficiency of the Balanced Scorecard as it is applied at Picture Perfect Photography. The secondary objectives defined the Balanced Scorecard, reviewed the evolution and the need for a Balanced Scorecard. The literature study further explored the advantages and disadvantages of the Balanced Scorecard and continued exploring personal development with linking it to compensation. The Balanced Scorecard should be used to align the company’s vision and strategy in order to improve long-term performance. The research indicates that communication and constant feedback play an important role in the successful implementation of a Balanced Scorecard approach. The Balanced Scorecard could be a very useful instrument when implemented and applied effectively. An empirical study was done including Picture Perfect Photography’s employees, at different job levels, work sections and years of service. The aim of the empirical study was to determine how the Balanced Scorecard was used in the alignment with the company’s strategy, vision, mission and values. Furthermore, the aim was to determine the problems with the existing Balanced Scorecard and if it helps to focus on quality, re-engineering and customer services’ initiatives. The study indicated more or less the same average responses on specific Balanced Scorecard related issues. The majority of employees responded that feedback and communication of the Balanced Scorecard were not transparent enough nor was it applied effectively. Conclusions and recommendations were made in order to identify and improve the advancement of an effectively applied Balanced Scorecard used at Picture Perfect Photography for the future.