平衡计分卡-原著-卡普兰-企业业绩评价经典理论

by Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton

Reprint 92105

Harvard Business Review

U RY1992

JANUARY–FEBR A

The Balanced Scorecard—Measures that Drive Performance

Robert S.Kaplan and David P.Norton

What you measure is what you get.Senior execu-other.They realize that no single measure can pro-tives understand that their organization’s measure-

vide a clear performance target or focus attention on ment system strongly affects the behavior of the critical areas of the business.Managers want a managers and employees.Executives also under-

balanced presentation of both financial and opera-stand that traditional financial accounting measures tional measures.

like return-on-investment and earnings-per-share

During a year-long research project with12compa-can give misleading signals for continuous improve-nies at the leading edge of performance measure-ment and innovation—activities today’s competitive

ment,we devised a‘‘balanced scorecard’’—a set of environment demands.The traditional financial per-measures that gives top managers a fast but compre-formance measures worked well for the industrial

hensive view of the business.The balanced scorecard era,but they are out of step with the skills and com-includes financial measures that tell the results of petencies companies are trying to master today.

actions already taken.And it complements the fi-As managers and academic researchers have tried nancial measures with operational measures on to remedy the inadequacies of current performance

customer satisfaction,internal processes,and the or-measurement systems,some have focused on mak-ganization’s innovation and improvement activi-ing financial measures more relevant.Others have

ties—operational measures that are the drivers of said,‘‘Forget the financial measures.Improve opera-future financial performance.

tional measures like cycle time and defect rates;the

Think of the balanced scorecard as the dials and financial results will follow.’’But managers should indicators in an airplane cockpit.For the complex not have to choose between financial and operational

task of navigating and flying an airplane,pilots need measures.In observing and working with many com-detailed information about many aspects of the panies,we have found that senior executives do not

flight.They need information on fuel,air speed,alti-rely on one set of measures to the exclusion of the tude,bearing,destination,and other indicators that

summarize the current and predicted environment.

Reliance on one instrument can be fatal.Similarly, Robert S.Kaplan is the Arthur Lowes Dickinson Professor of

the complexity of managing an organization today Accounting at the Harvard Business School.David P.Norton is

requires that managers be able to view performance president of Nolan,Norton&Company,Inc.,a Massachusetts-

based information technology consulting firm he cofounded.in several areas simultaneously.

Copyright q1991by the President and Fellows of Harvard College.All rights reserved.While giving senior managers information from The balanced scorecard allows managers to look

at the business from four important perspectives. four different perspectives,the balanced scorecard (See the exhibit‘‘The Balanced Scorecard Links Per-

minimizes information overload by limiting the formance Measures.’’)It provides answers to four number of measures used.Companies rarely suffer basic questions:

from having too few measures.More commonly,

they keep adding new measures whenever an em-▫How do customers see us?(customer perspective)

ployee or a consultant makes a worthwhile sugges-▫What must we excel at?(internal perspective) tion.One manager described the proliferation of new ▫Can we continue to improve and create value?

measures at his company as its‘‘kill another tree (innovation and learning perspective) program.’’The balanced scorecard forces managers

to focus on the handful of measures that are most ▫How do we look to shareholders?(financial per-

spective) critical.

Several companies have already adopted the bal-

anced scorecard.Their early experiences using the

scorecard have demonstrated that it meets several

managerial needs.First,the scorecard brings to-

gether,in a single management report,many of the

seemingly disparate elements of a company’s com-

petitive agenda:becoming customer oriented,short-

ening response time,improving quality,emphasizing

teamwork,reducing new product launch times,and

managing for the long term.

Second,the scorecard guards against suboptimiza-

tion.By forcing senior managers to consider all the

important operational measures together,the bal-

anced scorecard lets them see whether improvement

in one area may have been achieved at the expense

of another.Even the best objective can be achieved

badly.Companies can reduce time to market,for

example,in two very different ways:by improving

the management of new product introductions or

by releasing only products that are incrementally

different from existing products.Spending on setups

can be cut either by reducing setup times or by in-

creasing batch sizes.Similarly,production output

and first-pass yields can rise,but the increases may

be due to a shift in the product mix to more standard,

easy-to-produce but lower-margin products.

We will illustrate how companies can create their

own balanced scorecard with the experiences of one

semiconductor company—let’s call it Electronic Cir-

cuits Inc.ECI saw the scorecard as a way to clarify,

simplify,and then operationalize the vision at the

top of the organization.The ECI scorecard was de-company receives an order to the time it actually signed to focus the attention of its top executives on

delivers the product or service to the customer.For a short list of critical indicators of current and future new products,lead time represents the time to mar-performance.

ket,or how long it takes to bring a new product from

the product definition stage to the start of shipments.

Quality measures the defect level of incoming prod-

ucts as perceived and measured by the customer. Customer Perspective:How Do Quality could also measure on-time delivery,the ac-

Customers See Us?

curacy of the company’s delivery forecasts.The com-

bination of performance and service measures how Many companies today have a corporate mission

the company’s products or services contribute to cre-that focuses on the customer.‘‘To be number one in ating value for its customers.

To put the balanced scorecard to work,companies delivering value to customers’’is a typical mission

statement.How a company is performing from its should articulate goals for time,quality,and perfor-customers’perspective has become,therefore,a pri-

mance and service and then translate these goals ority for top management.The balanced scorecard into specific measures.Senior managers at ECI,for demands that managers translate their general mis-

example,established general goals for customer per-sion statement on customer service into specific formance:get standard products to market sooner,

improve customers’time to market,become custom-measures that reflect the factors that really matter

to customers.ers’supplier of choice through partnerships with Customers’concerns tend to fall into four catego-

them,and develop innovative products tailored to ries:time,quality,performance and service,and cost.customer needs.The managers translated these gen-Lead time measures the time required for the com-

eral goals into four specific goals and identified an pany to meet its customers’needs.For existing prod-appropriate measure for each.(See the exhibit‘‘ECI’s ucts,lead time can be measured from the time the

Balanced Scorecard.’’)To track the specific goal of providing a continuous in exactly the right quantities at exactly the right stream of attractive solutions,ECI measured the per-

time directly to the production process and can mini-cent of sales from new products and the percent of mize,through electronic data interchange,the ad-sales from proprietary products.That information

ministrative hassles of ordering,invoicing,and was available internally.But certain other measures paying for materials.

forced the company to get data from outside.To as-

sess whether the company was achieving its goal of

providing reliable,responsive supply,ECI turned to Internal Business Perspective:What Must its customers.When it found that each customer We Excel at?

defined‘‘reliable,responsive supply’’differently,ECI

created a database of the factors as defined by each Customer-based measures are important,but they of its major customers.The shift to external mea-must be translated into measures of what the com-sures of performance with customers led ECI to pany must do internally to meet its customers’redefine‘‘on time’’so it matched customers’expecta-expectations.After all,excellent customer perfor-tions.Some customers defined‘‘on-time’’as any mance derives from processes,decisions,and actions shipment that arrived within five days of scheduled occurring throughout an organization.Managers delivery;others used a nine-day window.ECI itself need to focus on those critical internal operations had been using a seven-day window,which meant that enable them to satisfy customer needs.The sec-that the company was not satisfying some of its cus-ond part of the balanced scorecard gives managers tomers and overachieving at others.ECI also asked that internal perspective.

its top ten customers to rank the company as a sup-

plier overall.

Depending on customers’evaluations to define

some of a company’s performance measures forces

that company to view its performance through cus-

tomers’eyes.Some companies hire third parties to

perform anonymous customer surveys,resulting in a

customer-driven report card.The J.D.Powers quality

survey,for example,has become the standard of per-

formance for the automobile industry,while the

Department of Transportation’s measurement of on-

time arrivals and lost baggage provides external stan-

dards for airlines.Benchmarking procedures are yet

another technique companies use to compare their

performance against competitors’best practice.

Many companies have introduced‘‘best of breed’’

comparison programs:the company looks to one in-

dustry to find,say,the best distribution system,to

another industry for the lowest cost payroll process,

and then forms a composite of those best practices

to set objectives for its own performance.

In addition to measures of time,quality,and perfor-

mance and service,companies must remain sensitive

to the cost of their products.But customers see price

as only one component of the cost they incur when

dealing with their suppliers.Other supplier-driven

costs range from ordering,scheduling delivery,and

paying for the materials;to receiving,inspecting,

handling,and storing the materials;to the scrap,re-

work,and obsolescence caused by the materials;and

schedule disruptions(expediting and value of lost

output)from incorrect deliveries.An excellent sup-

plier may charge a higher unit price for products

than other vendors but nonetheless be a lower cost

supplier because it can deliver defect-free productsThe internal measures for the balanced scorecard Innovation and Learning Perspective: should stem from the business processes that have Can We Continue to Improve

the greatest impact on customer satisfaction—

and Create Value?

factors that affect cycle time,quality,employee

skills,and productivity,for example.Companies

should also attempt to identify and measure their The customer-based and internal business process company’s core competencies,the critical technolo-

measures on the balanced scorecard identify the pa-gies needed to ensure continued market leadership.rameters that the company considers most im-

portant for competitive success.But the targets for Companies should decide what processes and com-

petencies they must excel at and specify measures success keep changing.Intense global competition for each.

requires that companies make continual improve-Managers at ECI determined that submicron tech-ments to their existing products and processes and nology capability was critical to its market position.

have the ability to introduce entirely new products They also decided that they had to focus on manu-with expanded capabilities.

facturing excellence,design productivity,and new

A company’s ability to innovate,improve,and learn product introduction.The company developed oper-ties directly to the company’s value.That is,only ational measures for each of these four internal busi-

through the ability to launch new products,create ness goals.more value for customers,and improve operating effi-To achieve goals on cycle time,quality,productiv-

ciencies continually can a company penetrate new ity,and cost,managers must devise measures that markets and increase revenues and margins—in are influenced by employees’actions.Since much of

short,grow and thereby increase shareholder value. the action takes place at the department and work-ECI’s innovation measures focus on the company’s

ability to develop and introduce standard products station levels,managers need to decompose overall

cycle time,quality,product,and cost measures to rapidly,products that the company expects will form local levels.That way,the measures link top manage-

the bulk of its future sales.Its manufacturing im-ment’s judgment about key internal processes and provement measure focuses on new products;the goal competencies to the actions taken by individuals

is to achieve stability in the manufacturing of new that affect overall corporate objectives.This linkage products rather than to improve manufacturing of ex-ensures that employees at lower levels in the organi-

isting products.Like many other companies,ECI uses zation have clear targets for actions,decisions,and the percent of sales from new products as one of its improvement activities that will contribute to the

innovation and improvement measures.If sales from company’s overall mission.new products are trending downward,managers can Information systems play an invaluable role in

explore whether problems have arisen in new product helping managers disaggregate the summary mea-design or new product introduction.

sures.When an unexpected signal appears on the

In addition to measures on product and process balanced scorecard,executives can query their infor-innovation,some companies overlay specific im-

provement goals for their existing processes.For mation system to find the source of the trouble.

If the aggregate measure for on-time delivery is poor,example,Analog Devices,a Massachusetts-based for example,executives with a good information

manufacturer of specialized semiconductors,expects system can quickly look behind the aggregate managers to improve their customer and internal measure until they can identify late deliveries,

business process performance continuously.The day by day,by a particular plant to an individual company estimates specific rates of improvement for customer.

on-time delivery,cycle time,defect rate,and yield. If the information system is unresponsive,how-Other companies,like Milliken&Co.,require that ever,it can be the Achilles’heel of performance

managers make improvements within a specific time measurement.Managers at ECI are currently lim-period.Milliken did not want its‘‘associates’’(Milli-

ken’s word for employees)to rest on their laurels ited by the absence of such an operational informa-

tion system.Their greatest concern is that the after winning the Baldridge Award.Chairman and scorecard information is not timely;reports are

CEO Roger Milliken asked each plant to implement generally a week behind the company’s routine a‘‘ten-four’’improvement program:measures of pro-management meetings,and the measures have yet

cess defects,missed deliveries,and scrap were to be to be linked to measures for managers and employ-reduced by a factor of ten over the next four years. ees at lower levels of the organization.The company

These targets emphasize the role for continuous im-is in the process of developing a more responsive provement in customer satisfaction and internal information system to eliminate this constraint.

business processes.

Financial Perspective:How Do We Look

from70%to96%and yield jumped from26%to

51%.Did these breakthrough improvements in qual-to Shareholders?

ity,productivity,and customer service provide sub-

stantial benefits to the company?Unfortunately not. Financial performance measures indicate whether

During the same three-year period,the company’s the company’s strategy,implementation,and execu-financial results showed little improvement,and its tion are contributing to bottom-line improvement.

stock price plummeted to one-third of its July1987 Typical financial goals have to do with profitability,value.The considerable improvements in manufac-growth,and shareholder value.ECI stated its finan-

turing capabilities had not been translated into in-cial goals simply:to survive,to succeed,and to pros-creased profitability.Slow releases of new products per.Survival was measured by cash flow,success

and a failure to expand marketing to new and perhaps by quarterly sales growth and operating income by more demanding customers prevented the company division,and prosperity by increased market share

from realizing the benefits of its manufacturing by segment and return on equity.achievements.The operational achievements were

real,but the company had failed to capitalize on them. But given today’s business environment,should

senior managers even look at the business from a The disparity between improved operational per-financial perspective?Should they pay attention to

formance and disappointing financial measures short-term financial measures like quarterly sales creates frustration for senior executives.This frustra-and operating income?Many have criticized finan-

tion is often vented at nameless Wall Street analysts cial measures because of their well-documented in-who allegedly cannot see past quarterly blips in fi-adequacies,their backward-looking focus,and their

nancial performance to the underlying long-term val-inability to reflect contemporary value-creating ac-ues these executives sincerely believe they are tions.Shareholder value analysis(SVA),which fore-

creating in their organizations.But the hard truth is casts future cash flows and discounts them back to that if improved performance fails to be reflected in a rough estimate of current value,is an attempt to

the bottom line,executives should reexamine the make financial analysis more forward looking.But basic assumptions of their strategy and mission.Not SVA still is based on cash flow rather than on the

all long-term strategies are profitable strategies. activities and processes that drive cash flow.Measures of customer satisfaction,internal busi-

ness performance,and innovation and improvement Some critics go much further in their indictment

of financial measures.They argue that the terms of are derived from the company’s particular view of the competition have changed and that traditional finan-

world and its perspective on key success factors.But cial measures do not improve customer satisfaction,that view is not necessarily correct.Even an excellent quality,cycle time,and employee motivation.In

set of balanced scorecard measures does not guarantee their view,financial performance is the result of op-a winning strategy.The balanced scorecard can only erational actions,and financial success should be the

translate a company’s strategy into specific measur-logical consequence of doing the fundamentals well.able objectives.A failure to convert improved opera-In other words,companies should stop navigating by

tionalperformance,asmeasured inthe scorecard,into financial measures.By making fundamental im-improved financial performance should send execu-provements in their operations,the financial num-

tives back to their drawing boards to rethink the com-bers will take care of themselves,the argument goes.pany’s strategy or its implementation plans. Assertions that financial measures are unneces-

As one example,disappointing financial measures sary are incorrect for at least two reasons.A well-sometimes occur because companies don’t follow up

their operational improvements with another round designed financial control system can actually en-

hance rather than inhibit an organization’s total of actions.Quality and cycle-time improvements can quality management program.(See the insert,‘‘How

create excess capacity.Managers should be prepared One Company Used a Daily Financial Report to to either put the excess capacity to work or else get Improve Quality.’’)More important,however,the

rid of it.The excess capacity must be either used by alleged linkage between improved operating perfor-boosting revenues or eliminated by reducing ex-mance and financial success is actually quite tenu-

penses if operational improvements are to be brought ous and uncertain.Let us demonstrate rather than down to the bottom line.

argue this point.

As companies improve their quality and response Over the three-year period between1987and1990,time,they eliminate the need to build,inspect,and a NYSE electronics company made an order-of-mag-

rework out-of-conformance products or to resched-nitude improvement in quality and on-time delivery ule and expedite delayed orders.Eliminating these performance.Outgoing defect rate dropped from500

tasks means that some of the people who perform parts per million to50,on-time delivery improved them are no longer needed.Companies are under-

standably reluctant to lay off employees,especially because of the improved quality and delivery perfor-

mance),and increase the flow of new products to the since the employees may have been the source of

the ideas that produced the higher quality and re-market.These actions can generate added revenues

with only modest increases in operating expenses.If duced cycle time.Layoffs are a poor reward for past

improvement and can damage the morale of re-marketing and sales and R&D do not generate the

increased volume,the operating improvements will maining workers,curtailing further improvement.

But companies will not realize all the financial bene-stand as excess capacity,redundancy,and untapped

capabilities.Periodic financial statements remind fits of their improvements until their employees and

facilities are working to capacity—or the companies executives that improved quality,response time,pro-

ductivity,or new products benefit the company only confront the pain of downsizing to eliminate the ex-

penses of the newly created excess capacity.when they are translated into improved sales and

market share,reduced operating expenses,or higher If executives fully understood the consequences of

their quality and cycle-time improvement programs,asset turnover.

Ideally,companies should specify how improve-they might be more aggressive about using the newly

created capacity.To capitalize on this self-created ments in quality,cycle time,quoted lead times,de-

livery,and new product introduction will lead to new capacity,however,companies must expand

sales to existing customers,market existing products higher market share,operating margins,and asset

turnover or to reduced operating expenses.The chal-

to entirely new customers(who are now accessiblelenge is to learn how to make such explicit linkage taken those actions.In that way,the systems try to between operations and finance.Exploring the com-

control behavior.Such measurement systems plex dynamics will likely require simulation and cost fit with the engineering mentality of the Industrial modeling.

Age.

The balanced scorecard,on the other hand,is well

suited to the kind of organization many companies

are trying to become.The scorecard puts strategy Measures that Move and vision,not control,at the center.It establishes

Companies Forward

goals but assumes that people will adopt whatever

behaviors and take whatever actions are necessary As companies have applied the balanced scorecard,

to arrive at those goals.The measures are designed we have begun to recognize that the scorecard repre-to pull people toward the overall vision.Senior man-sents a fundamental change in the underlying as-

agers may know what the end result should be,but sumptions about performance measurement.As the they cannot tell employees exactly how to achieve controllers and finance vice presidents involved in

that result,if only because the conditions in which the research project took the concept back to their employees operate are constantly changing. organizations,the project participants found that

This new approach to performance measurement they could not implement the balanced scorecard is consistent with the initiatives under way in many without the involvement of the senior managers who

companies:cross-functional integration,customer-have the most complete picture of the company’s supplier partnerships,global scale,continuous vision and priorities.This was revealing because

improvement,and team rather than individual ac-most existing performance measurement systems countability.By combining the financial,customer, have been designed and overseen by financial ex-

internal process and innovation,and organizational perts.Rarely do controllers need to have senior man-learning perspectives,the balanced scorecard helps agers so heavily involved.

managers understand,at least implicitly,many inter-Probably because traditional measurement sys-relationships.This understanding can help managers tems have sprung from the finance function,the

transcend traditional notions about functional barri-systems have a control bias.That is,traditional per-ers and ultimately lead to improved decision making formance measurement systems specify the particu-

and problem solving.The balanced scorecard keeps lar actions they want employees to take and then companies looking—and moving—forward instead measure to see whether the employees have in fact

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