Discussion: Developing a Balanced Scorecard

How does a group gauge whether the strategic changes they implement are creating sound business results?

The effective use of a balanced scorecard can facilitate alignment between strategic initiatives and day-to-day operations. The balanced scorecard may serve as a valuable tool for monitoring progress and assessing the outcomes of a strategic plan and provide a practical means of communication.

In this Discussion, you examine the use of a balanced scorecard to measure performance related to finances, customer/client satisfaction, internal processes, and learning and growth.

To prepare:

Review the information in the Learning Resources, including this week’s media presentation, focusing on the development of performance metrics for a strategic plan. See Figure 8-6: Design your Balanced Scorecard in the Sare and Ogilvie course text.

With your Course Project in mind, think about how you would develop a balanced scorecard to measure performance, including the processes you would use to gather appropriate data.

Consider how the use of a balanced scorecard reflects the importance of being able to evaluate progress, assess the impact of planned change on performance, and determine if the costs are justified in terms of the outcomes.

Post an explanation of your plan for creating a balanced scorecard as part of your Course Project, including the processes you would use to gather data to measure performance. Explain how the use of this balanced scorecard would enable you to evaluate progress, assess the impact of your proposed change, and determine if the costs are justified in terms of the outcomes.

Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses. (I will send the peer responses on the handshake private message)

Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days by offering suggestions for further developing their balanced scorecards. Ask questions to peer responses at the end of every response. Cite your responses.

Required Readings

Sare, M. V., & Ogilvie, L. (2010). Strategic planning for nurses: Change management in health care. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.

Chapter 8, “Overview of Strategic Planning Theories: Strategic Planning Architecture” (pp. 147–166)

 Fields, S. A., & Cohen, D. (2011). Performance enhancement using a balanced scorecard in a patient-centered medical home. Family Medicine, 43(10), 735–739.

Copyright 2011 by Society of Teachers of Family Medicine. Reprinted by permission of Society of Teachers of Family Medicine via the Copyright Clearance Center.

The authors discuss using a balanced scorecard for quality improvement in patient-centered medical homes.

 Groene, O., Brandt, E., Schmidt, W., & Moeller, J. (Aug 2009). The balanced scorecard of acute settings: Development process, definition of 20 strategic objectives and implementation.International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 21(4), 259–271.

Copyright 2009 by Oxford University Press – Journals. Reprinted by permission of Oxford University Press – Journals via the Copyright Clearance Center.

In this article, the authors discuss the use of a balanced scorecard as a tool for strategic planning in hospitals. The article includes an example of a strategy map, timeline, and balanced scorecard.

 Jeffs, L., Merkley, J., Richardson, S., Eli, J., & McAllister, M. (2011). Using a nursing balanced scorecard approach to measure and optimize nursing performance. Nursing Leadership, 24(1), 47–58.

Copyright 2011 by Longwoods Publishing Corporation. Reprinted by permission of Longwoods Publishing Corporation via the Copyright Clearance Center.

 Kollberg, B., & Elg, M. (2011). The practice of the balanced scorecard in health care services.International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 60(5), 427–445.

Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

The authors look at the use of a balanced scorecard for health care performance management in Sweden.

Lupi, S., Verzola, A., Carandina, G., Salani, M., Antonioli, P., & Gregorio, P. (2011). Multidimensional evaluation of performance with experimental application of balanced scorecard: A two year experience. Cost Effectiveness and Resource Allocation, 9(1), 7.

Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

This article examines the application of a balanced scorecard within a unit in a hospital to compare performance results and goal achievement.

 Balanced Scorecard Institute. (2013). Balanced scorecard basics. Retrieved fromhttp://www.balancedscorecard.org/BSCResources/AbouttheBalancedScorecard/tabid/55/Default.aspx

View the information on this website to learn about balanced scorecards.

 Mountain State Group. (n.d.) Balanced scorecards for small rural hospitals: Concept overview and implementation guidance. Retrieved March 13, 2013, fromhttp://www.ruralcenter.org/sites/default/files/Final%20BSC%20Manual%2010.18F.pdf

 The Scarborough Hospital. (2013). Balanced scorecard. Retrieved fromhttp://tsh.to/pages/Balanced-Score-Card

This website provides an example of a balanced scorecard.

 Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. (2013). Balanced scorecard. Retrieved fromhttp://sunnybrook.ca/scorecard/index.asp#sr

This website provides an example of a balanced scorecard.

Required Media

Laureate Education (Producer). (2013a). The balanced scorecard approach [Video file]. Retrieved from the https://class.waldenu.edu

Note:  The approximate length of this media piece is 3 minutes.

Dr. Carol Huston discusses the elements and use of a balanced scorecard as a strategic planning evaluation tool.