Strategy and the Balanced Scorecard

Most healthcare organizations have good strategic plans; what frequently fails is their execution. Environmental causes commonly cited for the failure of execution in healthcare organizations include intense financial pressures, complex operating structures, and cultures with multi-stakeholder leadership that resists change. To gain a competitive advantage from its operations, an organization needs an effective system to move its strategies forward. The key element of the balanced scorecard is, of course, balance. an organization can be viewed from many perspectives, but Kaplan and Norton identified four common perspectives from which an organization must examine its operations:

1. Financial
2. Customer
3. Internal process and innovation
4. Employee learning and growth

Every perspective is a complete balanced scorecard contains a set of objectives, measures, targets, and actions. Each measure in each perspective must be linked to the organization’s overall strategy.

The Balanced Scorecard in Healthcare
The development of a balanced scorecard leads to the clarification of strategy and communities and links strategic measures throughout an organization. Organizational leaders can plan projects, set targets, and align strategic initiatives during the creation of the balanced scorecard. If used properly, the balanced scorecard can also enhance strategic feedback and learning.

A complete balanced scorecard system will have the following elements:

 Organizational mission, vision, and strategy

 Perspectives

– Financial

– Customer

– Internal Business process

– Learning and growing

 Strategy maps

 Strategic alignment-top to bottom

 Process for identifying targets, resources, initiatives, and budgets

 Feedback and the strategic learning process

Although many think of the balanced scorecard as a reporting technique, its true power comes from its ability to link strategy to action.