Business Project And Informational Tools

CASE ONE

In this case assignment you will be introduced to the balanced scorecard concept and will begin to consider how organizations link strategy with the balanced scorecard approach. We will look at the interrelationship of strategy and the balanced scorecard approach in more depth later on in this course. For now, however, it is good to understand the fundamentals of the BSC and to consider examples of how organizations have integrated the BSC approach into their daily operations in a fashion that reflects the strategy of the respective organizations.

To prepare for this case assignment you are to start by reading the required readings identified on the background page:

Martello, M., Watson, J., Fischer, M., (2008). Implementing a balanced scorecard in a not-for-profit organization. Journal of Business & Economics Research. 6(9), 67-80. Retrieved from:http://journals.cluteonline.com/index.php/JBER/article/view/2471/2517

After reading this article, formulate an argumentative essay around the following thesis statement:

~If you do not think this thesis is accurate, you can argue that the Center did not do an effective job.~

Assignment Expectations

Your analysis should be structured in terms of the following four perspectives (you will be using essentially this same comparative evaluation framework for the first four modules of this course):

• Introduction: In this part of your essay you will need to set up your argument by introducing your topic and presenting your position or thesis statement somewhere in this introductory paragraph.
• Analysis: In this section you will present several arguments arguing in favor of your thesis statement. Make sure you discuss how the Center used the score card quadrants to align with organizational strategy (or how it failed to do so).
• Conclusion: Wrap up your argument with a clear and cogent synopsis of your findings. Do your best to convince your reader (aka, your professor) as to your position.

Additional Instructions:

• You must include a list of references. APA formatting is preferred. Do not paste in sections of text into your essay.
• -Include at least 2 references for this case
• All of your work must be written in your own words. It’s OK to use a short quote now and again, but quotations must be in quotation marks and properly cited. In-text citations should be used anytime you are borrowing somebody else’s ideas, or information.
• Quotations, data, and general ideas (put into your own words) should all be cited.

CASE TWO

In this assignment you are asked to study the required readings and to read the following case study:

Basu, R., Little, C., Millard, C., (2009). Case Study: A fresh approach of the Balanced Scorecard in the Heathrow Terminal 5 project.

Measuring Business Excellence. 13(4). 22-33. Retrieved from:

http://www.perf-ex.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/T5-case-study-MBE-papaer.pdf

After reading this article, write an essay in:

which you compare and contrast the balanced scorecard utilized by the British Airport Authority (BAA) at Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 5 project with the standard quadrants typically applied in a traditional BSC approach (financial focus, Internal focus, Learning and Growth focus, and Customer focus).

That is to say, the Terminal 5 project was a large, public construction project using private contractors. Yet, the BSC approach is also applied to the manufacturing sector, health care sector, and is applied in both private and public organizations. So you’ll want to consider how the Terminal 5 project adapted the BSC approach to fit the prevailing circumstances to help formulate your arguments.

Assignment Expectations

In formulating your essay you need to discuss to what degree the evidence suggests the balanced scorecard approach is amenable to most organizations.

Introduction: In this part of your essay you will need to introduce your topic and provide a very brief overview of the key points you plan to make in your paper.

• Analysis: In this section you will present the actual comparison and contrast between BAA’s approach to the Balanced Scorecard and more traditional approaches.

Conclusion: Wrap up your argument with a clear and cogent synopsis of your findings. Do your best to convince your reader (aka, your professor) as to your position.