4. The balanced scorecard has been used successfully by many organizations. firms tend to adhere to five common principles: a) Translate the strategy into operational terms b) Align the organization to strategy c) Make strategy everyone’s everyday job d) Make strategy a continual process e) Mobilize change through executive leadership 5. The balanced scorecard doesn’t refute the traditional approach to strategic planning. It does, however, caution business leaders to look at strategy and performance as a multidimensional issue. Financial measures, though important, simply cannot tell the whole story. 6. The balanced scorecard forces organizations to explicitly consider during factors that are critical to strategy execution. strategy formulation Issues within the balanced scorecard such as employee training, corporate culture, organizational learning, and executive leadership are critical to the implementation of any strategy. Questions for Discussion 1. In many organizations, marketing does not have a place of importance in the organizational hierarchy. Why do you think this happens? What are the consequences for a firm that gives little importance to marketing relative to other business functions? Student answers to this question will vary based on their professional experiences. One key issue deals with the background and training of the senior management team. Those that rise through the ranks from marketing have a stronger appreciation for marketing activities. Others tend to see the marketing function as an expense rather than an investment. Another reason is that some firms place more emphasis on shareholders than on customers. In these cases, financial issues, rather than marketing, rise to the top. The consequences of shirking marketing activities should be obvious. Firms without customers tend to have limited life spans. 2. Defend or contradict this statement: Developing marketing strategy is more important than implementing marketing strategy because, if the strategy is flawed, its implementation doesn’t matter. Students should recall from Chapter 1 that there are very few universal rules in marketing. Hence, it is difficult to determine if a strategy is flawed prior to its execution. Likewise, even perfect strategies can be poorly implemented. In the end, it is impossible to separate strategy from implementation—both are vitally important to business success. 3. What are some of the potential difficulties in approaching strategic planning from a balanced perspective? Isn’t financial performance still the most important perspective to take in planning? Explain.
4. The balanced scorecard has been used successfully by many organizations. firms tend to adhere to five common principles: a) Translate the strategy into operational terms b) Align the organization to strategy c) Make strategy everyone’s everyday job d) Make strategy a continual process e) Mobilize change through executive leadership 5. The balanced scorecard doesn’t refute the traditional approach to strategic planning. It does, however, caution business leaders to look at strategy and performance as a multidimensional issue. Financial measures, though important, simply cannot tell the whole story. 6. The balanced scorecard forces organizations to explicitly consider during strategy formulation factors that are critical to strategy execution. Issues within the balanced scorecard such as employee training, corporate culture, organizational learning, and executive leadership are critical to the implementation of any strategy. Questions for Discussion 1. In many organizations, marketing does not have a place of importance in the organizational hierarchy. Why do you think this happens? What are the consequences for a firm that gives little importance to marketing relative to other business functions? Student answers to this question will vary based on their professional experiences. One key issue deals with the background and training of the senior management team. Those that rise through the ranks from marketing have a stronger appreciation for marketing activities. Others tend to see the marketing function as an expense rather than an investment. Another reason is that some firms place more emphasis on shareholders than on customers. In these cases, financial issues, rather than marketing, rise to the top. The consequences of shirking marketing activities should be obvious. Firms without customers tend to have limited life spans. 2. Defend or contradict this statement: Developing marketing strategy is more important than implementing marketing strategy because, if the strategy is flawed, its implementation doesn’t matter. Students should recall from Chapter 1 that there are very few universal rules in marketing. Hence, it is difficult to determine if a strategy is flawed prior to its execution. Likewise, even perfect strategies can be poorly implemented. In the end, it is impossible to separate strategy from implementation—both are vitally important to business success. 3. What are some of the potential difficulties in approaching strategic planning from a balanced perspective? Isn’t financial performance still the most important perspective to take in planning? Explain.