Using the Balanced Scorecard as a Strategic Management System (HBR OnPoint Enhanced Edition)

This is an enhanced edition of HBR article 96107, originally published in January/February 1996. HBR OnPoint articles save you time by enhancing an original Harvard Business Review article with an overview that draws out the main points and an annotated bibliography that points you to related resources. This enables you to scan, absorb, and share the management insights with others. As companies transform themselves to compete in the world of information, their ability to exploit intangible assets is becoming more decisive than their ability to manage physical assets. Several years ago, Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton introduced the balanced scorecard, which enabled companies to track financial results while monitoring progress in building the capabilities they would need for growth. Recently, some companies have gone further and discovered the scorecard's value as the cornerstone of a new strategic management system. Traditional management systems rely on financial measures, which bear little relation to progress in achieving long-term strategic objectives. The scorecard introduces four new processes that help companies connect long-term objectives with short-term actions.