Synopses & Reviews
Despite a daily deluge of reports, e-mails, and briefings, most business leaders can't tell whether their organizations are winning or losing. That's because the pressures of modern management have left them with less time than ever before to analyze, interpret, and act on the information available to them. Performance Scorecards help these busy leaders slice through the information glut to reduce the time they have to spend deciphering data and increase their ability to make the right business decisions.Like an airplane's control panel or an automobile's dashboard, scorecards help businesses stay on course by providing a comprehensive view of their activities and performance. But while other scorecards track a predetermined set of indicators, Performance Scorecards can be customized to measure the factors specific to an individual organization's progress, providing a greater degree of flexibility than ever before. Managers can use Performance Scorecards to gauge sales, employee satisfaction, quality--whatever factors most influence their own company's success.In this book, Richard Chang and Mark Morgan, who together have more than forty years of organizational measurement experience, use the story of fictional manager Vince Sharp to give readers an accessible and jargon-free introduction to the benefits of this flexible measurement method. They combine a compelling narrative with informative examples and graphics to clearly demonstrate how to develop Performance Scorecards, apply their techniques, and avoid common obstacles to their use.Along with Vince, readers learn how Performance Scorecards can help them focus on the measures that matter to their own customers, employees, and stakeholders--and implement the right measures in the right places at the right times.
Review
"This is the best book I've read on performance measurement--and I've read a lot. Finally, a practical book that not only tells you why, but also tells you where, when, and how through an easily read and engaging story that flows throughout the book. I would give Performance Scorecards a 10 on every dimension--understandable, highly readable, and most of all, practical!"(Jack Grayson, chairman, American Productivity & Quality Center)
"If you want a practical framework for focusing on the critical elements of success through measures, this book is for you. It makes a complex subject-developing and cascading a scorecard of measures-easy to understand and easy to apply."(Tina Sung, president and CEO, American Society for Training and Development (ASTD))
"Business schools too often fail to provide students with an integrated, systematic view of the corporation and the tools to definitively link strategic plans, operations, and business results. Both shortcomings are eliminated by Performance Scorecards. This book should be required reading for all current and former MBA students."(P. George Benson, dean, Terry College of Business, University of Georgia)
"Any business leader who is serious about measuring the real drivers of performance should read this book. The authors clearly understand the speed of business and they've designed an approach with that in mind. The message is straightforward, sensible, and practical."(John Cone', vice president, Dell Learning, Dell Computer Corporation)
"Performance Scorecards is a must read for corporate leaders trying to wade through the reams of data and information that hits their in-baskets on a daily basis. Establishing a scorecard that accurately measures a company's strategic goals and objectives is the only way to know if and when your company, your department, or your work group is successful. This book provides a clear and concise guide to developing such a scorecard."(Sheila T. Harrell, vice president, customer service strategic planning and analysis, electronic commerce and customer services, FedEx Corporation)
Synopsis
Base your business decisions on up-to-the-minute "snapshots" of your company's performance. Because they can be customized to track indicators specific to your organization's success, Performance Scorecards are a busy manager's best resource for quickly aligning strategy and promoting behaviors that lead to desired results. Use them to gauge sales, employee satisfaction, quality-whatever factors most influence your company's progress. You'll be able to make better, more informed decisions, guide and manage shifts in business direction, and keep every employee focused on important business goals. Through their fictional account of manager Vince Sharp's use of the scorecards, Chang and Morgan show readers exactly how the process works.
About the Author
RICHARD CHANG, Ph.D., president and CEO of Richard Chang Associates, Inc., is an internationally recognized management consultant whose clients include Toshiba, Marriott, Fidelity Investments, Hasbro, and Universal Studios. He has served as chair of the board for the American Society for Training and Development and as a judge for the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. MARK W. MORGAN, Ed.D., is a senior consultant with Richard Chang Associates, Inc., and serves as an examiner for the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award. He also taught at the Florida Institute of Technology and the University of Central Florida.
Table of Contents
The Authoring Team xiii
Preface xv
Acknowledgements xix
Introduction xxi
1 The Performance Problem 1
2 Setting the Stage for Scorecards 9
3 Collect Scorecard Inputs 19
4 Create Your Scorecard 39
5 Cultivate Your Scorecard 57
6 Cascade Your Scorecard 83
7 Connect Your Scorecard 109
8 Confirm Your Scorecard 129
9 Knowing the Score 155
References 161