Balanced scorecard: A contemporary management tool for performance management

Abstract

Changes are part of any kind of development, economic development included. The increased transfer of information and technology development lead to swift and inherent changes in today’s economy. These changes became a guideline and even an asset in the past few decades. As the amount and intensity of the information increased, the information provided by conventional financial statements was not enough for management to respond properly and promptly, and remain a leader in the market through cost reduction and created added value. For this purpose, the aim of researches conducted in 1980s and 1990s was to discover and establish a tool that would balance between the stability that every organization is striving for, and the swift and intensive changes that are integral part of any environment of any organization. Through extensive research, the concept of measuring the scorecard in a balanced way was developed during that time. The balanced scorecard as a concept was to link the gap between the past and conventional financial statements, and the future, meaning the mission and vision of the organization. Over the years, the balanced scorecard has evolved and proved to be an enduring business management idea since its conception. The aim of this paper is to present the meaning, role and development stages of the balanced scorecard method, which enables management to have a share in the inevitable changes of the business environment. Methods used in this paper are methods of analysis and synthesis, and methods of induction and deduction.