An Analysis og HHGS HandelsConsulting´s Balanced Scorecard

Abstract

The Balanced Scorecard was introduced by Kaplan and Norton in the 1990s and is today a commonly used management tool for strategic planning and management. The model is based on four perspectives which each drive a set of measures. The purpose of the Balanced Scorecard is, based on the theoretical literature, to create a balance between financial and non-financial measures and thus to achieve a broader approach and to manage the company and its activities. There are several studies addressing the strengths and weaknesses of the Balanced Scorecard. With this in mind it would be interesting to examine in detail how a company use their Balanced Scorecard and to see if there are any improvements which can be made for them to make better use if the system in the future. The empirical basis of this study is drawn from the dialog with four different persons at the company studied; HHGS HandelsConsulting AB. Discussions with these persons created information that later lead to the result of the study. Based on these experiences the writer of this thesis wanted to reach an understanding of how this company uses their Balanced Scorecard and if there are any improvements which can be made. The writer also wanted to address the challenges which the concept of Balanced Scorecard involves. The empirical material is conducted in form of a qualitative study and has been analyzed from an interactive approach. The theory section of this study is based on academic literature about the Balanced Scorecard. In this study the writer consider the Balanced Scorecard as a system and the theory section will examine the relationship between a company and the system. The empirical material of this study revealed that HandelsConsulting use the Balanced Scorecard more than they actually know about, however, their strategy is not aligned with the Balanced Scorecard. Through the analysis of academic literature and the empirical results the writer has concluded that HandelsConsulting need to align the long-term strategy of the organisation with the Balanced Scorecard. They also need to involve the employees to a greater extent and they need focus on conducting monthly strategic meetings which will fine-tune and adapt the strategy and balanced scorecard. This is done by using Kaplan and Norton’s four-step model of how to manage the company strategy.