How to Effectively Carry Out a Balanced Scorecard-Evidence from One Bank
Transcription
How to Effectively Carry Out a Balanced Scorecard-Evidence from One Bank
How to Effectively Carry Out a Balanced Scorecard-Evidence from One Bank Nan-Hong Lin, D.B.A., Assistant Professor of Tatung University, Taiwan Shu-Cheng Ma, General Manager of Smart Change Management Consulting Corp., Taiwan Lan-Hsun Wang, Lecturer of Tainan University of Technology, Taiwan ABSTRACT Nowadays many enterprises have started to adopt balanced scorecards to enhance their competitive power but most of the domestic existing bibliographies and researches only focus on exploring advantages of balanced scorecards and gains for enterprises. Nothing much says about possible difficulties and discussion of problems. The purpose of this research is to analyze bottleneck and problems happened at the beginning of carrying out balanced scorecards in a bank and to accordingly conclude that confronting problems of the studied bank should be divided into stages of planning, stage of organizational operation, stage of execution and stage of review and revision. After anatomy, symbolic problems are mentioned, and so are the proposals and solutions. INTRODUCTION Organizations in information era succeeded owing to the investment and management of intellectual property. They change the specialization of functions into the customer-oriented service and change the management of mass production and mass supply into the service focusing on resiliency, quick response, high quality and customer-tailor concept (Shao, 2003). The innovation and progress will of course occur because of the reinvention of employees' skills, outstanding information technologies and organized process heading to the same goal. While companies invest to build all these up, traditional accounting system can not exercise its function of encouragement nor evaluate the success or failure of the organization in a short run. Traditional financial mode is designed for big companies and enterprises in industrial time so it can solely evaluate past events but can not assess the investment in futuristic sectors. Can traditional performance measuring system really satisfy the need in new economical environment and in the execution of enterprise strategies? In fact, a financial measurement is not qualified to steer or assess the orbit of organizations in a competitive environment (Wu, 2001). It can explain some behaviors in the past, but not all of them. At the same time, it can not give the appropriate guidance showing organizations what actions should be taken to create financial value in the future. Balanced scorecard is a new measurement structure developed by integrating strategies. The new measurement retains financial measures evaluating performance in the past and it ushers in factors which spur financial performance in the future. It is a well-rounded structure that can help managers integrate prospects and strategies into a coherent measurement. Under fierce competition, how to gain competitive advantages is the main concern of enterprises. Carefully planned vision and mission can lay the groundwork for the future so strategies are considerably important to the long term development of enterprises. It's not easy to concretely carry out strategies of an enterprise in every sector or department. The main purpose of a balanced scorecard is to put strategies of an enterprise into action in order to create competitive advantages for the enterprise. To be more specific, a balanced scorecard can precisely inform the owner that besides financial performance, strategies have to consider the effects caused by clients, internal processes of firms and the learning and development of employees (Su, 2000). These effects have long and fundamental decisive influences on the future development and competitiveness of the enterprise. Due to the reasons aforementioned, a balanced scorecard is not only a tool to control strategies and performance assessment, but also an efficient instrument to manage strategies. LITERATURE REVIEW Balanced Scorecard A balanced scorecard is a new structure of measurement after the integration of strategies. It retains bygone financial measurement of performance evaluating and introduces driving factors that steer financial effects in the future and compensate past shortages as well. More than a new measurement, it is even used as a central structure in the process of management by innovative enterprises and used to translate prospects and strategies of enterprises into a coherent measurement of performance. Objectives and measures of a balanced scorecard was derived from prospects and strategies of organizations and are exploited to assess performance of an organization by four different dimensions: financial, customer, internal process and learning and growth. Kaplan, and Norton (1996) proposed that a balanced scorecard consisted of four different dimensions. A balanced scorecard is a structure that interprets mission and strategies and also a language of communication. It tells employees how to kick off success at present and in the future. By a balanced scorecard, experienced managers can illustrate the outcomes and factors longed for in organizations. Energy, ability and knowledge of employees are thus combined to work for long term goals. 1. Dimension of finance Objectives and measures of a balanced scorecard converge on financial goals. Every measure chosen should be interconnected in the chain of cause-and-effect with the final goal of improving financial performance. To most enterprises, essential links integrating four dimensions of a balanced scorecard are to increase revenues, to decrease costs, to enhance productive power, to raise usage of assets, and to lower risks. 2. Dimension of customer Dimension of customer contains several core or general measures which symbolize guaranteed results after contemplation and execution of strategies. Core measures of results include satisfaction of clients, continuity of clients, attraction of new clients, profit-gaining of clients and share of market and clients in aim. 3. Dimension of internal process On the dimension of internal process of enterprises, administrative department must control important inner process of organizations. Inner process ought to have excellent performance to help operational units provide values to attract and retain clients of the market in aim. Furthermore, it can give shareholders satisfied reward of finance. The system of performance measurement most enterprises use nowadays focuses on improving current process of operation. 4. Dimension of learning and growth Learning and growth of an organization come from three aspects: people, system and organizational procedure. Financial, customer and internal process of a balanced scorecard can show the real ability of people, system, organizational procedure and the gap between the ability and goals. To narrow the gap, enterprises invest in reinvention of skills of employees, re-interconnection of information and system, and adjustment in organizational procedure and daily operation. Another cornerstone of balanced scorecard is strategic maps originated at the early 1990s. Cooperated by Kaplan and Norton (1996), a balanced scorecard combined hundreds of strategies and thus evolved into a complete and systematic structure drawn out according to strategic modes and steps getting from a balanced scorecard. This is so-called a "strategic map". A strategic map illustrates strategic results, important indicators of performance and elaborate action scheme that all want to be achieved in an organization. It uses a specific way that can also be applied to the relationship of cause-and-effect. Possible Problems When Using a Balanced Scorecard Cho, Haddad, Wu, and Shi (2001) explored and broke down possible problems happened to the process of using a balanced scorecard into three aspects: technical, personal, and organizational. Possible problems all belong to these three aspects during the four stages of execution. (1) Problems happened in the first stage and most problems belonging to personal aspect. a. Technical aspect. Every division inside the company can not develop proper scheme of actions according to existing strategies. Moreover, extra workload of management and cost of balanced scorecards are underestimated. The result of analyzing cost and profit can thus be distorted. Hence, policy makers can make wrong decisions and a reasonable policy that makes profit outshine cost is impossible to bear. b. Personal aspect. Chief leaders among divisions can not bring out consensus and thus the work of assessing a balanced scorecard can't go off without a hitch. Besides, if the organizational culture put more emphasis on personal benefit rather than corporate benefit, a balanced scorecard is easy to clash with corporate strategies, mission and prospects. c. Organizational aspect. Priorities of projects inside the company aren't arranged clearly and then resources clash with each other. Materials and personnel are not accessible so the measurement of this project is due to be neglected. Besides, too many personnel in one particular profession or division can have too much in common. This can not inspire many different ideas and thinking which weaken the results of measurement in a balanced scorecard. (2) Problems in stage two belong to technical aspect: a. Technical aspect. Problems to be overcome are how to quantitative information of quality and how to set up goals of prospects and measurement. Secondly, the progress of a balanced scorecard can not go smoothly if we did not teach members of organizations some lessons which are discrepancy and incompatibility between a balanced scorecard and old system of performance measurement. b. Personal aspect. Employees have rejected change so the result of learning and training is not satisfied. c. Organizational aspect. It did not interconnect a balanced scorecard with goals and organizational strategies. Some parts missing are the combination of strategies with goals of every division, every team and everyone, and the combination of strategies with distribution of long- term and short-term resources. Uncertainty exists and specific goals lack as well. (3) Problems in stage three are: a. Technical aspect. Over-depending on existing data and lacking of gathering and using new data. Lacking of highly developed information system and reports about information of performance. b. Personal aspect. Not clearly defining everyone's responsibilities. c. Organizational aspect. Inner system of encouragement does not match the results of performance measurement by using a balanced scorecard. In this way, expected results of encouragement can not be acquired and results of using a balanced scorecard can thus be downplayed. (4) Problems in stage four are: a. Technical aspect. Overemphasizing current crisis and neglecting procedures cause problem happen. Appropriate adjustment and cooperation did not put into the process of changing a little bit of vision, goals, ways of measurement, and reporting. b. Personal aspect. Because of proclaiming victory too early, the importance of re-checking a balanced scorecard is ignored. Second, since employees do not trust the system of feedback, no appropriate response and adjustment will occur to the system of feedback. c. Organizational aspect. Due to the deficient development of a learning organization and existence of non-formal system of feedback, employees thus do not have the ability to sustainable improve the situation. Feedback may occur under the circumstances that employees do not use the system of a balanced scorecard. All these can make the system not easy to pan out. METHODOLOGY Background of the Studied Bank Background information of the studied bank is separated into two parts: operational concept and organizational structure. 1. Operational concept For the sake of providing high-quality services and forming trustworthy images, the bank focuses on the operational concepts of specialization, services and prestige. The principle is to emphasize both financial business of enterprises and financial business of consumption. On the aspect of strict control and management, this bank stresses independent authorization of credit, independent evaluation of cost, independent evaluation of risks and independent receivables on demand. These management systems and strict operational process are used to ensure the quality of assets in a bank. Concerning inner control and management, there are excellent and superior units to inspect and audit the details of operation and process periodically or irregularly. 2. Organizational structure Under the directorate, the bank set up auditorial division, secretarial division and division of work labor source. In the headquarter, there are many managerial and service units such as the office of planning, the division of administrative service, the division of operational and informational service and the division of finance. At the same time, the division of credit card business, division of business of enterprise finance, division of consumption finance, section of trust, section of operation, section of overseas, and OBU are all formed. In accordance with internationalization of finance, a branch office and financial company were also installed in Hong Kong. As so far there are 90 operational units so the network of services is toward completion. Research Method According to the viewpoints of Kaplan and Norton (1996), the cause-and-effect path and the destinationary measure conforms to in a balanced scorecard both should be financial goals. To match the characteristics of this research, the research structure is based on the concepts of a balanced scorecard and attaining the research purpose of this research by the exploring from four different steps. They are planning, mobilization of organization, execution, and review and revision. Kaplan (1991), Liu (1999), and Yin (1984) all indicated that a case study can understand the difference between theory and reality. After fully comprehending the way how it works in practice, a true solution can then be developed to narrow the gap and a deep insight can then be formed to help the academia grasp the practical problems. In view of the contrast between good and bad, the reasons the research takes a case study are: 1. Specific in scope. It depends on why enterprises need to carry out a balanced scorecard and how enterprises use the system to combine strategies and the system of performance evaluation. Then a strategic management can be executed validly. 2. This research won the approval of high executives within the company and access is allowed to some level to approach some confidential data. Therefore, it is easier to acquire data of the case study. 3. Information gathering has great flexibility talking about the types, amounts, sources, processes and modes of information gathering. There is no fixed rules concerning this and hence researchers can freely choose a more flexible way of information gathering. DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION Through interviews, the research found problems appearing during the process of introducing a balanced scorecard into four stages. They are stage of planning, stage of organizational use, stage of execution and stage of review. Below are details: A. Stage of Planning: 1. Low identification from high executives Since vision, mission and strategies are all drawn out by core leaders, goals are not attainable if absolute support and authorization are not acquired from these executives. Without the support and authorization of them, progression of projects can not match with strategies of organizations. However, high executives have doubt about contents of a balanced scorecard, steps of execution and expected results. So they lack will to help and have low identification with the new system. 2. Choice of the consulting company The consulting company chosen by the bank is an international company that has branches in Australia and Taiwan. Different organizations or nationalities have different cultures. Hence, culture difference exists between the bank and the consulting company. What should be taken into consideration in choosing a consulting company is professionalism and experiences in progressing and promotion. 3. Plans of personnel and finance Drawing up a budget is the one of the difficulties in the studied bank when it wants to carry out a balanced scorecard. In the design of schemes of actions, resources, personnel and time needed in each scheme are hardly to estimate. Besides, the bank does not have relevant experiences to consult nor have similar statistic data to compare. When sketching out personnel and financial plans, key subjects are like the estimate and evaluation of participants in projects and percentage of executive budget. B. Stage of Organizational Use: 1. Use of organization resources: There are limited resources in the organization. Because the studied bank does not effectively and appropriately distribute personnel, finance and material, morale of employees is low and thus the whole operation of the organization is effected. 2. Personnel do not have enough professional knowledge Employees have little understanding of a balanced scorecard and not enough professional knowledge. When a new project is carried out, preparative work is to educate employees in charge of executing projects in advance to ensure the effective progression of projects. The bank does not provide enough training for employees. Employees have no intact comprehension of the contents in a balanced scorecard so they lack interest to participate and agree. 3. Not enough communication and negotiation among divisions Balanced scorecards are mostly designed by each division. Owing to lack of communication and negotiation among divisions, every division walks its own way. Besides, due to lack of connection, support is scant among divisions. An integrated effect does not take place for units of logistics and assistance does not provide enough help so that big obstacles thus occur. 4. Design of period of projects Although the consulting company takes the lead in the project of a balanced scorecard, employees of the company are the main characters. Employees who take part in these projects still have to take care of their original works. Normal operation of organizations is effected because the bank does not clearly formulate the procedures of a balanced scorecard, and this cause great psychological burden upon employees. C. Stage of Execution 1. Problems in designing indicators (1) Deficient data: the bank is inexperienced and lacks of related data. It is therefore hard to design indicators. (2) Vague definition: no uniform definition on the indicators of every division and no clear definition on measures of some key indicators. Every division has different definition on the same indicator and thus this causes problems in measurement. And, every division only chooses one or two well-performed indicators according to its own situation. This has problems of misguiding public and has lost justice among divisions. (3) Indicators not foresee future: Indicators chosen can not foresee bright future and can not correctly measure the results expected to attain. The studied bank uses too many indicators equal to existing ones and result may lead to the same destination as before. One true value of a balanced scorecard is that it is a brand new and often forgotten indicator. Combine this with other indicators to ensure the right execution of strategies. 2. Not suitably and reasonably connected with strategies The bank does not focus on balance and relation of cause-and-effect. "Balance" in a balanced scorecard means balance between financial and non-financial indicators, balance between inside and outside of organizations, and balance between leading and falling-behind indicators. When focusing on connection of the relation of cause-and-effect among strategic issues in a balanced scorecard, strategies of enterprises can then be truly illustrated. The bank ignores the balance and relation of cause-and-effect among strategic issues. 3. Execution of system (1) Development of system The development and design do not happen at the perfect moment to match the progression of a balanced scorecard so systems can not effectively support the operation of a balanced scorecard. Systems lose functions to assist information systems to promote a balanced scorecard. (2) System test Information system developed did not test on real practice. This causes many problems and obstacles because it is incompatible with existing systems. 4. Invest too much time and energy One organization adopting a balanced scorecard goes through stages of information gathering, drafting mission, vision and strategies of the organization, developing strategic issues, deciding strategic goals, ensuring indicators and illustrating schemes of actions. It has to review and revise after a certain period of time. Unnecessary waste shows if employees do not possess enough knowledge of profession or employees devote too much time thinking and studying problems. Too much time and energy are invested into this string of processes and this causes too much time spending on development and progression. D. Stage of Review and Revision 1. Only focus on operational feedback Execution of a balanced scorecard needs periodically review and correct to fully attain total feedback and execution of strategies. Then the cycle of feedback is complete. The bank overemphasizes the operational feedback. Only financial indicators are underlined and strategic feedback is devoid. Correctness and effectiveness of establishing strategies can't be reviewed thoroughly. 2. Not steadily make improvement The bank does not validly embody contents of conferences during every executive period. Participants of promoting a balanced scorecard do not have much experience and professional knowledge. So the result is that it can not hit on the right target, can not review overall of it, and can not revise and make improvement. 3. Not much communication channel During the process of execution and manipulation, good communication channels are not built up. Once happened, ideas and problems can't be expressed in time. Effectiveness and practicability are lost in the execution of a balanced scorecard. Solutions for the Bank A. Stage of Planning 1. Low identification from high executives Steps of constructing a balanced scorecard are first to define and convert strategies and then to develop strategic issues, strategic goals, indicators and scheme of actions. During a set of processes, identification and support from high executives are vital to connect everything from head to toe. Solutions are advanced as below : (1) Success examples quoted Success examples by using a balanced scorecard are quoted to the high executives, such as: Exxon Mobil, and CIGNA. Priorities and advantages of adopting a balanced scorecard are stated to persuade and attract high executives to identify with a balanced scorecard. (2) Educate high executives In the organization of enterprises, it is tough task to try to persuade executives to accept new theories or systems. Ask people with professional knowledge from the consulting company to design a set of complete and systematic plans of education and training. Use conferences and two-way communication to let high executives fully grasp contents and meanings of a balanced scorecard. 2. Choice of consulting company Because developing a balanced scorecard is difficult, many enterprises seek the help of consulting companies, by employing their executive experiences and verified effective modes to promote a balanced scorecard. Niven (2002) considered that positive effects can be brought out for the company if consulting companies are used effectively and wisely. Nevertheless, consulting companies may not gain full trust from employees and incompatibility of cultures hinders the way to expected results. Considerations of choosing a consulting company are detailed as follows: (1) Promote experience Make sure that the consulting company chosen can meet the demand of the organization served. Every consulting company will proclaim it has copious executive experiences but final results might be different from what's in the mind of the company asking help from the consulting company. This is so because of the gap of presumption. Suggestions are to inquire other companies that have served by the consulting company to ensure practical experiences and effects of promotion. (2) Inspect skills The team of a consulting company must have numerous and complete functions, such as ability of communication, ability of professional briefing, ability of execution, ability of analysis and ability of technique. Ability of communication can connect whole members of organization; ability of professional briefing can ensure concepts of a balanced scorecard be delivered to every employee in the company; ability of execution can thaw conflicts in conferences; ability of analysis can integrate information and potential indicators; ability of technique can efficiently cooperate with team of information technique. (3) Compatibility of cultures Before assigning a consulting company, preceding contacts and communications are used to ensure the compatibility and suitability between the culture of the consulting company and that of the studied bank. Clash of cultures may lead to break of negotiations and may influence efficiency of conferences. Since the team from consulting company has to work with employee from the bank for a long time, whether they can get along or not is another key point in the success of a balanced scorecard. (4) Transfer of knowledge Draft an extensive and effective contract to ensure that team of consulting company has dedicated enough time to convey contents of a balanced scorecard. Make sure they can transmit notions, knowledge and skills from the consulting company to the bank. Otherwise, the bank will lose energy and momentum that keep a balance score going after their contract expires. 3. Plans of using personnel and finance Editing financial plans should not effect normal operation of every division. Accounting personnel should hold conferences of financial plans with managers from every division of the company in advance. This can ensure full control of budgets designated to be used in this project. Secondly, conferences of two-way communication are hold through promotion experiences from the consulting company and professional accounting personnel within the organization. B. Stage of Organizational Use 1 Use of organizational resources Planning and using of organizational resources should proportion to current number of people in every division, along with assessing employees properly and giving well-performers some rewards. This can raise morale and belonging of personnel in projects and can make employees more productive to the organization. Regarding to infrastructure of software and hardware and use of all kinds of resources, current assets in headquarter are main sources. Examples are installment of the division of projects research, choice of locations, information apparatus and machines for routine work. Negative impacts occur if devices are taken away deliberately from their belonging divisions. 2 Personnel do not have enough professional knowledge Execution of a new project or system always begins with education of employees. Suggest the bank to ask the consulting company to provide completely designed classes and provide relevant professionals to perform consistent professional education. Professional knowledge is thus increased and tests are hold to ensure understanding of every employee about this system and to ensure raise of professional knowledge of employees. 3 Scarce communication and negotiation among divisions The bank should set up a trans-division team. It is composed of managers from division of planning, division of information, division of accounting and division of finance. This can break barriers of culture and communication. Because operational environment becomes more and more complex, using a trans-division team to handle specific projects is a common trend. Managers from every division can pose confronting problems in executing a balanced scorecard. They can discuss with each other to brainstorm and assist each other. Consensus is thus produced to solve problems together and heading to the mutual goals. 4 Deficient personnel in projects Suggest the bank adopt more talents when planning to set up a team for special projects. People with knowledge and ability of account-ting and information should be included and given education and training. Kaplan and Norton (1996) addressed that it is not the case that more people in constructing a balanced scorecard, the better results will be. Number of participants should be limited within the range in which opinions of everyone can be expressed, and discussion can be converted into consensus. C. Stage of Execution 1. Problems of designing contents of a balanced scorecard Indicators are tools used to evaluate performance. They can check how well strategic goals are achieved and whether they are successfully carried out. Balanced scorecard should contain combination of leading and lagging-behind indicators. Lagging behind indicators are evaluation indicators for ultimate result in some time period, such as percentage of market share, quantity of sales and satisfaction of employees. Leading indicators, however, are evaluation indicators that drive or steer lagging-behind performance. Niven (2002) contended that assessment and choice of evaluation indicators in organizations should include tapping into strategies, accessibility, balance, interrelation, understandability, being able to measure and clear definition. About the problem of deficient data, the bank should look into successful examples and gather information. 2. Execution of systems The information divisions should control development of a balanced scorecard, do R&D, and integrate all these into schemes of actions. Secondly, personnel in information divisions should take part in routine or non-routine conferences and meetings. This enables them to grasp problems of information systems happened during the process of promoting a balanced scorecard. Besides, within inner information system of the bank, set up connected networks for projects of building a balanced scorecard. It makes people be able to quickly convey problems about systems and makes professional personnel in information division advance solutions in time. 3. Invest too much time and energy By aforementioned solutions of personnel and finance employing plan and use of organizational resources, this problem of investing too much energy and resources can be solved. Use solution of design of projects period and solve problems of spending too much time. D. Stage of Review and Revision 1. Only focus on operational feedback: A balanced scorecard has operational feedback and strategic feedback. To increase strategic feedback, review conferences of the bank should contain two issues: management of strategies and management of operation. The issues of strategy management evaluate the change of surroundings and inspect other chances to produce new strategies besides existing strategies. Other feedbacks and reviews relating strategies can maintain momentum of strategy execution and can lead organizations to produce better performance. 2. No consistent improvement: To make continuous improvement, conferences of different frequencies should be hold according to the four stages. During stages of planning and organization mobilization, conferences ought to be hold weekly. During stages of execution and review and revision, hold conferences bi-weekly or hold nonscheduled conferences to attain consistent improvement according to the practical operation. Secondly, to effectively embody results of conferences, perfect meeting procedures and meeting records should be designed. 3. Not enough communication channel: Simply put, chief purpose of communication is to turn difference into something identical to then attain agreement of actions and to achieve organizational and personal goals. During process of promoting a balanced scorecard by the bank, it rigidly adheres to system mode communication channels and thus causes problems of not good communication. Besides routine formal communication channels, suggest the bank should also adopt informal communication that contains anything written, oral, brought up in face-to-face contact and by electronic transmission. Not limited by time and location, policy makers should set up special websites about building a balanced scorecard, and name it mechanism handled with priority. The number of ideas expressed by every division should be compiled into formal records and included in the control. Continuous track and check how results posed in conferences and meetings are handled and how it goes. CONCLUSIONS Looking back on domestic and foreign researches, most of them focus on advantages of a balanced scorecard and results of carrying them out by enterprises. Not mentioned are upcoming difficulties and problem discussions. Examples are uncertainty of vision and strategies in enterprises, deficient support and identification among high executives, rejection of employees towards new managerial activities, increase of workload on information system and employees, and unclarity among indicators and strategies of enterprises. Therefore, an objective assessment and judgement can not be acquired when talking about incentives of adopting a balanced scorecard, steps of execution, possible bottleneck and solutions (Wu, 2000). All these factors influence the effect of execution so that some enterprises even give up the usage of a balanced scorecard. Starting with the discussion of related researches, this research founds some fundamental notions concerning a balanced scorecard. By comprehensive information gathering and hands-on interviewing, details and insights are obtained that have something to do with the bank. These are the reasons why the bank adopted the usage of a balanced scorecard, process of popularization, steps of execution, contents of a balanced scorecard and difficulties and solutions during the execution. On the pretext of these research issues, we can look deep into the experiences when designing and fulfilling a balanced scorecard and we can analyze bottleneck and problems the organization faces. At last, through theory and practical experiences, possible solutions are posed to improve or enhance the execution performance of a balanced scorecard. The conclusion and proposed suggestions in this research are all beneficial to effectively implement the balanced scorecard. These can all be the future references if any enterprise or organization wants to install the managerial mode of a balanced scorecard. 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