Balanced Scorecard Concept and Non-Financial Elements - Coursework Example

The paper "Balanced Scorecard Concept and Non-Financial Elements" is a perfect example of coursework on management. Robert Kaplan and David Norton’s Balanced Scorecard concept was a management model that monitored the implementation of activities by workers by using design methods and computational tools. The model functioned as a performance evaluation structure that increased strategic non-financial performance dealings to the usual financial metric. This concerns the performance against customer needs and value provided by organizations. Since most organizations depend on the financial aspects to determine their performance, the non-financial measures also help in such scenarios. In this regard, the various nonfinancial elements used in the balanced score concept entailed safety, quality, cost, actions, time and resources.

Worker’s Safety as a Non-Financial Element

The safety of workers is a crucial element because it enables them to concentrate on their work without fears or threats. This implies that organizations with favorable safety measures will motivate workers to deliver quality services. As a result, the performance of workers can be determined by considering the safety measures adopted within the organization. Quality is a common performance criterion because it touches on the contribution of individual workers towards satisfying market needs. This element ensures that an organization increases its productivity depending on the demands received from clients.

Time Factor as a Non-Financial Element

The time factor is also nonfinancial elements that help in the determination of performance score balance. Management normally tries to minimize their expenses by assigning limited time in order to generate higher returns. For instance, the design methods and computational tools measure the distribution of costs to different departments and the returns expectations that must be attained. This eliminates poor allocation of resources or assigning units to unproductive areas. The time of completing assignments and delivering services is another element of nonfinancial required in the balanced score concept. Time reduces wastage of production period and loss of funds in underperforming departments.  Management should assign appropriate times that ensure productivity is maintained to counter competition in the markets.

Implementation Issues Affecting the Balanced Scorecard

However, there are implementation issues that have arisen in the use of balanced scores, such as the application of mathematical methods to evaluate value. This is because the managers will be forced to select measures that possess minimum values to their performances. It is apparent that the metrics concentrate on the immediate measurable results, neglecting those that pose challenges. The other issue is that the concept fails to reflect on the requirements of stakeholders by focusing on financial investments. This undermines the functions of other considerable shareholders who contribute their resources to enable the management to attain its objectives of service delivery.

Conclusion

Kaplan and Norton’s introduction of the balanced scorecard has enabled management to use computerized and design tools. The various nonfinancial elements used in the balanced score concept entailed safety, quality, cost, actions, time and resources. These models consider nonfinancial aspects to evaluate the performance of a firm in relation to customer and internal perspective. However, this poses some issues because it fails to reflect on the requirements of other stakeholders by focusing on financial investments. This makes it difficult to attend to customer needs and internal affairs since the management only wants to maximize profits.