The balanced scorecard as a strategic tool to navigate the future.

The objective of this research is to examine whether the implementation of the High level (Strategic) Balanced Scorecard at Mangosuthu Technikon could provide solutions to the following problems: Translating Vision and Strategy to operational tenus: The organisation's strategy must be executed at all levels of the organisation. The key to this transformation is putting strategy at the centre of the management process. Aligning the organisation around the strategy: For maximum effectiveness, the strategies and the scorecards of all business units should be aligned and linked with one another. Making strategy a continuous process: This is how the organisation get all its employees to make strategy part of their daily job. Strategy Evaluation and Selection: The organisation's strategy must fit within one of the following criteria: Consistency, Consonance, Advantage, and Feasibility. The Balanced Scorecard building process is designed to deliver the following: • Establishment/ Confirmation of the Vision • Establishment/Confirmation of the organization's strategy • Measurement perspective selection • Strategy development for each perspective • Identification of factors which are critical to the success of the strategy in each perspective • Definition of the measures which drive the critical success factors The Balanced Scorecard theory is such that by achieving each of the process outputs, clarity and focus for the organization's future is determined as well as how to achieve that future objective. This clarity and focus provides the basis to resolve the problems identified. A high level (Strategic) Balanced Scorecard can be built in a relatively short period of time. However, adherence to the methodology is crucial for the resulting scorecard to be meaningful and, therefore, useful. Senior management, and especially the CEO, have to be fully committed to both the project and methodology compliance. Deviations reduce the effectiveness of the effectiveness of the initiative and can completely undermine the resulting scorecard. Kaplan & Norton first suggested the Balanced Scorecard in 1992. It is still being implemented in organizations today, to provide a solution to a variety of organizational issues. This continued usage and support is a confirmation of the quality, durability and adaptability of the tool, as well as its ability to deliver.