Summary of Balanced Scorecard Essay Example for Free

Summary of Balanced Scorecard Essay Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton introduced the balanced scorecard, which supplemented traditional financial measures with criteria that measured performance from the perspectives of customers, internal business processes, and learning and growth. The scorecard enabled companies to track financial results while monitoring progress in building the capabilities they would need for growth. Traditional management systems rely on financial measures, which bear little relation to progress in achieving long-term strategic objectives. The scorecard introduces four new processes that help companies connect long-term objectives with short-term actions. The firsttranslating the visionhelps managers build a consensus around the companys strategy and express it in terms that can guide action at the local level. The secondcommunicating and linkinglets managers communicate their strategy up and down the organization and link it to unit and individual goals. The thirdbusiness planningenables companies to integrate their business and financial plans. The fourthfeedback and learninggives companies the capacity for strategic learning, which consists of gathering feedback, testing the hypotheses on which strategy was based, and making the necessary adjustments. Many companies adopted early balanced-scorecard concepts to improve their performance measurement systems. They achieved tangible but narrow results. Adopting those concepts provided clarification, consensus, and focus on the desired improvements in performance. More recently, we have seen companies expand their use of the balanced scorecard, employing it as the foundation of an integrated and iterative strategic management system. Companies are using the scorecard to: clarify and update strategy, communicate strategy throughout the company, align unit and individual goals with the strategy, link strategic objectives to long-term targets and annual budgets, identify and align strategic initiatives, and conduct periodic performance reviews to learn about and improve strategy. The balanced scorecard enables a company to align its management processes and focuses the entire organization on implementing long-term strategy. At National Insurance, the scorecard provided the CEO and his managers with a central framework around which they could redesign each piece of the companys management system. And because of the cause-and-effect linkages inherent in the scorecard framework, changes in one component of the system reinforced earlier changes made elsewhere. Therefore, every change made over the 30-month period added to the momentum that kept the organization moving forward in the agreed-upon direction. The balanced scorecard provides a framework for managing the implementation of strategy while also allowing the strategy itself to evolve in response to changes in the companys competitive, market environments. The Balanced Scorecard: what is the score? A rhetorical analysis of the Balanced Scorecard Hanne Nà ¸rreklit Accounting, Organizations and Society 28 (2003) 591–619 This article analyses the means by which the authors of the Balanced Scorecard have created that attention. The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is one of the latest innovations in management. It is a tool of strategic control developed by Kaplan and Norton and described in their 1996 book The Balanced Scorecard. In the business world, the balanced scorecard has engendered great interest internationally. The question of whether this is due to its substance as an innovative and practical theory or simply to its promotional rhetoric is the focus of this paper. The balanced scorecard aims to solve the problem related to the historical nature of the financial measures of accounting systems. It does so by integrating financial and nonfinancial strategic measure variables in a cause-and effect relationship which assumes the following: measures of organizational learning and growth, measures of internal business processes, measures of the customer perspective, financial measures. The assumption tha t there is a cause and- effect relationship between the suggested areas of measurements is essential because the measurements in non-financial areas make the performance measurement system a feed-forward control system, which solves the problem of the historical nature of accounting data This paper investigates whether the book entitled The Balanced Scorecard has the features characteristic of sound argumentation, i.e. whether it uses an appropriate combination of ethos, logo s and pathos when appealing to its readers; if it does not, it will be further examined which features characterize the text, which will then allow us to draw conclusions as to the genre of the text and, in turn, to tell how the BSC is promoted. All the author’s analysis shows that rhetoric is a key management tool. Management constantly requires new rhetoric. The only problem is that, if the rhetoric is combined with theory that is full of mistakes, the sources of errors are numerous. In that case, the managers cannot use the theories to analyses the problems of their companies and they will not have an instrument which actually allows them to control and direct the company. Instead, more argumentative and empirically valid theories should be combined with entertaining rhetoric. Researchers who are preoccupied with developing more cogent and realistic models possibly forget or are outright against the popularized communication of research results, which means that many managers do not ever become acquainted with the theories. Our conclusion, therefore, is that both researchers and managers have to become better at selling theories and models in a way that is persuasive yet convincing. Further research is therefore th at more rhetorical analyses should be carried out, not only of management guru texts but also of academic texts in the area, like management and accounting. The purpose is to allow identification of good as well as problematic rhetoric as part of a learning process which may offer directions for the development of theories. The balanced scorecard: the effects of feedback on performance evaluation Gerui (Grace) Kang, Amy Fredin Management Research Review, Vol. 35 No. 7, 2012, pp. 637-662 The use of a balanced scorecard (BSC) for performance evaluation is meant to help evaluators make more complete decisions, as they have a variety of financial and non-financial measures to assess. The problem is that users have difficulty taking all of the measures into consideration. The tendency to place more weight on common measures (measures that are the same across divisions) while either ignoring or placing very little weight on unique measures (measures are unique to a particular division) has become known as a â€Å"common measures bias†. The purpose of this paper is to extend a line of research that works to understand how this common measures bias might be mitigated. This study examines whether the presence of task property feedback, a form of cognitive feedback, prior to a performance evaluation task, can help evaluators overcome the tendency to rely primarily on common measures. This study used an experimental design where subjects were asked to evaluate the performance of two managers under either feedback or non-feedback conditions. In the feedback condition, subjects were provided with their supervisor’s suggestions about performance evaluation in the use of BSCs. In practice, more straight forward and simple feedback information is likely easier for companies to implement and easier for evaluators to follow. Feedback information that is too complex or that requires too much effort may frustrate evaluators, at which point they may abandon the effort. The authors’ findings also indicate that direct and clear guidance from the top manager of a business may be seen as pressure by lower-level managers. It is important for top manag ers to create such a performance evaluation environment so that all BSC measures are considered. The paper finds that when evaluators judge the performance of managers through the use of a BSC, they tend to weight common measures more heavily than they do unique measures. Where this study contributes to the literature is in the use of task property feedback, a form of cognitive feedback, to overcome this bias. Since the use of unique measures is a key attribute of BSCs as they help users capture the nuances of a specific division’s or firm’s strategy, it is crucial that performance evaluators pay careful attention to them. The findings also indicate that direct and clear guidance from the top manager of a business may be seen as pressure by lower-level managers, thereby suggesting that they (the lower-level managers) use all BSC measures in their evaluations. It is important for top managers to create such a performance evaluation environment so that all BSC measures are considered. This study is the first to examine the influence of task property feedback on perfo rmance evaluation in the context of a BSC. Going forward, it will be important to evaluate how this type of feedback, along with other forms of feedback, may influence performance evaluations over a longer time frame.

Euthanasia: A Complex Issue Essay -- Assisted Suicide Essays

Euthanasia is a very controversial issue around the world. Many doctors have conflicting opinions when it comes to this topic. â€Å"Euthanasia is the killing of someone through either an active or passive way of someone who suffers from an illness which arouses pity and who will never get better when asked by either the person himself/herself or his/her friends† (Nevzat). Euthanasia has been around for centuries. When Michael Stolberg narrates the story of Ambroise Parà © in â€Å"Two Pioneers of Euthanasia around 1800,† he informs us that euthanasia was used as early as 1536. In the sad anecdote about the soldier, Stolberg opens the eyes of many to the ways euthanasia is performed. Not all acts of euthanasia are quite this severe. In 1800, Physician Carl Georg Theodor Kortum had various reports of terminally ill patients bound to die a horrible death if not for him. He explained some patients went through a period of not even being able to swallow. They stayed in this period until they slowly lost their sense. Some patients continued to live for another forty-eight hours until finally passing. He explained, â€Å"The only thing one could desire was that a gentle death end the patients suffering† (Stolberg). Some say Kortum could be considered the first physician to publically justify and advise active euthanasia. He saw euthanasia as helping terminally ill patients become comfortable again. Christian Ludwig Mursinna was a very well respected surgeon during this time, as well. Mursinna was the head surgeon at Charità © hospital in Berlin and a professor of surgery. Like Kortum, Mursinna also publically admitted to shortening the suffering of one of his patients. After the patient asked... ...a: Journal of Death & Dying 54.2 (2006): 135-145. Professional Development Collection. EBSCO. Web. 13 Jan. 2011. Stolberg, Michael. â€Å"Two Pioneers of Euthanasia around 1800.† Hastings Center Report. 19-22. Hastings Center, 2008. Health Source – Consumer Edition. EBSCO. Web. 13 Jan. 2011. Stolinsky, M.D, David C. â€Å"Assisted Suicide of the Medicle Profession.† Stolinsky.com. 20 Mar. 2006. Web. 26 Jan. 2011. "Palliative Care vs. Hospice Care - Definition | Get Palliative Care." Palliative Care. Web. 27 Feb. 2011. . Whitney, Simon N., Bryan W. Brown, Howard Brody, Kirsten H. Alcser, Jerald G. Bachman, and Henry T. Greely. "Views of United States Physicians and Members of the American Medicle Association House of Delegates on Physician-assisted Suicide." Journal of General Internal Medicine 16 (20001): 290-96. Print.

In What Ways Did the Causes of the Second World War Differ?

In what ways did the causes of the Second World War differ from the causes of the First World War? The causes of World War One and World War Two shared both differences and similarities, but overall there were more differences between the two. The social, political, and economic circumstances of the times varied, though at times correlated with each other, but there are extreme differences that help create a different atmosphere for each war.The assassination of Franz Ferdinand, on the 28th June, 1914, set off World War One; Martel argues â€Å"The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand was the final straw in the struggle for mastery in the Balkans†. He was shot by Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Black Hand, a Serbian group set up to fight for the unification of all South Slav territories that had been annexed by Austria-Hungary. Two months after the shooting Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, setting off the next chain of events that brought into account the alliance syste m.In 1938, a year before the start of World War Two, Hitler was growing ever more confident due to the lack of resistance he experienced from any other European country. He had annexed Austria with little or no consequences, and made a deal with France and Britain guaranteeing him the Sudetenland if he did not go after any other territories. In 1939 he broke this deal by occupying Czechoslovakia, and starting to advance on Danzig.At this point, the Allies realized that they must put an end to Hitler’s advance, as they could already see that Hitler had a lot more in mind than just the invasion of Poland. The Alliance system was present throughout both wars, although as countries surrendered and changed loyalties none of them remained permanent. The alliances system was originally created to help keep the peace in Europe, with the belief that they would act together as a defensive mechanism against any attack, as it was also in their own interest to keep Europe in peace.Neverth eless the alliance system is now seen as a major cause of the war, as Schmit believes: â€Å"The alliances which had originally served as the cause of peace when put to the final test operated to convert a local quarrel into a general war†, as two small countries with a territorial dispute were able to set of a chain reaction in the alliances that brought the greatest powers in Europe to declare war on each other. The Wall St. Crash of 1929 is believed to have led to the Great Depression of the 1930s, and caused there to be 6 million unemployed in Germany.This social unrest and resentment caused the Weimar Republic to become even more unpopular, and left Hitler with an opportunity to gain the public’s support. He set up soup kitchens across Germany to feed the unemployed, and during his election campaign of 1933 he promised to abolish unemployment if elected. The unpopularity of the Weimar government left the people looking for someone who could restore national pride to Germany and save her from her current depression, and it appeared as if Hitler could do exactly that, which led to an increase in popularity and votes.Historians such as Fischer blame the German people for the out break of the Second World War as it was their support that gave Hitler power to pursue his plans. The Treaty of Versailles was felt to bring humiliation to Germany, and created a feeling of Diktat. It was eventually seen by other European countries as being to harsh. Germany and her allies had to agree to take all of the blame for the war; lost all its overseas colonies, the Saar and Rhineland, along with many more military, territorial and legal restrictions.The Rhineland was demilitarized and was seen as a buffer zone between the borders of France and Germany. When Hitler ordered his troops to march into the Rhineland he said: â€Å"The 48 hours after the march into the Rhineland were the most nerve-racking in my life. If the French had marched into the Rhineland we would have had to withdraw, for the military resources at our disposal would have been wholly inadequate for even moderate resistance. This shows the weakness of the League of Nations, because if the League of Nations had shown any resistance to Hitler’s expansion the expansion would of stopped and Hitler would of withdrawn from the Rhineland. â€Å"a credible achievement that eventually failed because of the reluctance of the victors to enforce it† -Ruth Henig The failure of other countries to check German ambition was also apparent in World War One, when Germany’s new foreign policy meant that they began to rely heavily on the military to force their way into the European powers and increase their overseas empire, long with other advantages for themselves. Hitler’s rearmament of Germany was necessary due to the fact that the Treaty of Versailles had left her unable to defend herself. Conscription was banned and troop numbers could be no more than 100,00 0. Weapons were no longer allowed to be manufactured, and importing and exporting weapons was also prohibited. The Navy was decreased to 15,000 men, 6 battleships, 6 cruisers, 12 destroyers and 12 torpedo boats. Submarines were banned, and so were aircrafts.The rearmament of Germany was a lengthy task, and Hitler at first found loopholes in the treaty that allowed for aircraft clubs to be set up that allowed men to learn how to fly without it being considered as military preparation. Rearmament wasn’t an issue in the run up to World War One as no such restrictions had been placed on Germany, although they did start a naval arms race with Britain while they increased their fleet size. â€Å"[The German] bid for continental supremacy was certainly decisive in bringing on the European War† AJP Taylor.Both World Wars seem to start from the same general situations, such as a the urge to increase the nations strength and image in front of the other nations, but when looked a t closely, it is evident that there are many differences between the causes of the two Wars. Factors such as the Treaty of Versailles and the Wall Street Crash of 1929 play a big part in the start of the Second World War. Thus in conclusion the causes of World War Two differ from the causes of World War One.

The Theory, History, and Development of Magical Realism...

Magical realism is more a literary mode than a distinguishable genre and it aims to seize the paradox of the union of opposites such as time and timelessness, life and death, dream and reality and the pre-colonial past and the post-industrial present. It is characterized by two conflicting perspectives. While accepting the rational view of reality, it also considers the supernatural as a part of reality. The setting in a magical realist text is a normal world with authentic human characters. It is not at all fantastic or unreal; it is a mode of narration that discovers the natural in the supernatural and supernatural in the natural. It is a mode in which the real and the fantastic and the natural and the supernatural are more or less†¦show more content†¦During the 1940s and the 1950s, the term â€Å"magical realism† was used to describe the unusual realism by American painters such as Ivan Albright, Paul Cadmus, George Tooker and some other artists. The major figure in the conceptual genealogy of magical realism in the context of literature is Massimo Bontempelli, the Italian writer and critic. In 1926, he specifically names that art as â€Å"magical realism† which proposes to find miracles in the midst of ordinary day to day life. Some works by Kafka, Junger and Musil are later named as magical realist texts, though they were not appreciated as such at the time of their first publication. Bontempelli exerts an influence over both Alejo Carpentier and Miguel Angel Asturias, the two authors credited with the earliest works of Latin American magical realism. Arturo Uslar-Pietri, the Venezuelan essayist and critic, applies the term â€Å"magical realism† to a very specific South American genre which is influenced by the blend of realism and fantasy as one comes across in Mario de Andrades influential novel Macunaima. In 1948 Pietri defines magical realism as a poetical negation of reality. 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