The aims of adopt the BSC is to achieve the firm's objectives (firm's strategy) based on the firm's mission and vision.

So, I think the BSC is a mean to achieve the strategy. 

The B SC can be used as a tool for planning and performance management. That is, it can be used as a complement to the organization's strategy. To match the speedy pace of business changes, among other things, researchers came up with the B SC concept by early 1990s to create new approaches of strategic thinking that can be initiated and developed in any place and at any time in the organization.

BSC may be used to develop strategy both for profit as well as not- for- profit organisations. In fact it is also  linked to the strategic intent ( vision , mission, goals, objectives) of the organisation .

The BSC is a tool to implement the strategy. The mission and strategic objectives guide the managers to define the most important perspectives (financial, clients, processes, learning and growth, and/or for instance, sustainability) So the BSC help to define the indicators to monitor the strategy

I have to agree with the responders - it is the responsibility of the board to set strategy, and management to implement strategy. Thus the BSC is a means to an end - a successful implementation of strategy. It can be used to help measure stages, and identify challenges. But it is not the thing itself, in terms of strategy.

BSC is a management control tool incorporating both financial and non financial information. As contingency theory (organisational theory) suggests (backed up by empirical research) management controls tool must be designed (matched) according to the strategic orientation pursued by a company. Hence for a given strategic direction set by a firm, BSC may form an integral part of the control system designed by the company to implement the given strategy. However, it should also be acknowledged that control systems can in essence, bring about a change in strategy, for instance, through an interactive use of control systems. Use of BSC or other management controls interactively may result in emergent strategies that could either be implemented or otherwise.

All the above answers sound good and I will go along the same line. In fact the BSC is the perfect measurement tool to monitor the firms' performance. The KPI (metrics) are  set bearing in mind the strategic direction of the firm. Thus the BSC is a power tool for firms to list out the CSF and the KPI under the four perspectives.

The BSC is a tool used for describing, implementing and managing strategy at all levels in the organization. The BSC assists organizations in developing a better performance measurement system than one solely dependent on financial measures (Schwartz, 2005).

BSC measure the outcomes or results of enablers. Therefore can use as a strategic tool  for measuring and evaluation firm future performance based on current.

The Balanced Score Card (BSC) cannot replace your strategy. You formulate your strategy by looking at your markets, your customers, your environments, your technology, your competitors, and many other things. In a nutshell, you assess your weaknesses, opportunities, strengths, and threats by considering the environment, technology, legislation, and many other things that are both endogeneous and internal to the organization.

Having implemented your strategy, you want to assess how you are doing periodically. What BSC is saying is that financial measure alone is a poor or inadequate tool to use to assess your comapny's progress. You need to consider how well your suppliers and customers and other stakeholders think you are doing.

No, Balanced Scorecard (BSC) cannot be applied instead of preparing strategy for the companies. In fact, at first , when BSC was introduced by Kaplan and Norton in 1992, BSC and its four perspectives (financial  ,customers ,learnings and growth ,and processes ) were based  upon the firm’s strategy. Today the importance of the strategy in implementation process of the BSC is even more than before, given the international competition  ,globalization and profitability analysis.  In other words, strategy is the heart of the BSC and it’s four perspectives ,and is a vital part of the BSC implementation process.

Determining the future direction of the organization is done and then the strategies are formulated based on that, considering the internal and external environments. in the execution process the BSC is utilized. Hence, a substitution cannot be done.

Isn't Balance score card a performance measurement framework designed to assess and subsequently ameliorate the overall performance (financial and beyond) of the company. How would you replace your company's strategy (which results in performance) with balance score card (which measures performance). Strategies are precursors to BSC and not an alternative. Strategies are formulated by the upper echelons of management (mostly) and that guides the middle level management about specific tasks that needs to be executed at the lower level to attain the goal. After this exercise BSC shows up as an assessment module highlighting how good or bad the overall performance had been.

Hope I conveyed the point.

BSC is mainly for measuring performance while strategy is for a firm's future plans and actions. Managers should use both to compliment each other and to put the firm in the right course of actions. 

In theory and practice for implementation of the BSC  ,the following important elements must be taken sequentially:

1 .vision,

2.Relevant  Strategy (and relevant strategy map) to attain the designated vision,

3.goals,

4.polices and key sucess factors,

5.measures,and

6.performance evaluation.

So, obviously ,strategy is a vital part of the BSC and it is not an alternative for it., In fact,the precedings steps 3 to 6 are based upon the strategy. In effect, BSC cannot be applied insted of  strategy.

In the Strategic frame of analysis the BSC is a Tool. The Strategy  is more properly definable  as the type of action  that you intend to put in action , taking in account  the competitive envinroment  picture, to achieve your Strategic goals.

As a Company, your BSC cannot be established in absolute terms. I mean, when evaluating the single  BSC perspectives,  you should be taking as a reference your  competitors and environment,  therefore you are already doing a Strategic  Type of Analysis but,  in my opinion,  the Balanced Score Card is mainly a Managerial tool that tells you a lot for describing your Company relative status and  might be a good reference for distributing your Managerial attention in a proper way and with equilibrium of factors within the 4 perspectives.

In this sense has a real Strategic value, but  again, as a Tool , important and useful, but no more than a mean of analysis, in Strategic terms!

Kind regards

Alberto

a 'tool' has never been a project (or able to induce a project) because it is to much linked to a path dependency

Correct Yvon!

     a BSC utilization as a strategic tool cannot "by itself " induce a strategic project definition.

It is the path or strategic plan and project outline, that brings you to a proper utilization of the strategic tools.

Am I in  line with your comment?

Kind regards

Alberto

A review of the literature in BSC shows that BSC has generally gone through 3 different stages  so far:

Stage 1- BSC is used as a performance evaluation technique.

Stage2- BSC has gone beyond a performance evaluation technique , it is used as a strategic management tool.

Stage3-BSC is used as a framework for management organizational changes.

(In one of my paper ,which is published in Iran, I have described peculiar characteristics of the each stage).

A major element of each preceding stage is Strategy any way. But the application of the BSC is enhancing and changing, so the role of the Strategy is also changing and expanding. Hence,one should determine the function of the BSC first,in an attempt to discuss the role and function of the Strategy.

 Going back to the original question raised by professor Ibrahim Nour ,BSC cannot be replaced by Strategy for companies in each stage.

BSC is a strategic tool which shows where a firm:-

Dear  Abdulnaser,

First of all, you need a startegy so you can decide where to direct your company to. The balanced scorecard is just a tool to facilitate the achievement of the strategy or to improve your processes so that you can pursue the strategy more effectively. Indeed, it is not the single one developed by research and by business practice. There are other tools available like for example strategy scorecards. You can read about strategy scorecards in the CIMA paper attached. Thus, you cannont replace the strategy by a balanced scorecard. The scorecard makes you define some key performance indicators (KPI) so that you can use the scorecard to measure how well or how poor the KPIs perform against targets. But if you do not have a strategy, if you do not have an idea about what is a KPI to assess your performance, what are you going to measure?

For a general overview about the application of the Balanced Scorecard please feel free to refer to my research paper: "The Balanced Scorecard and Beyond – Applying Theories of Performance Measurement, Employment and Rewards in Management Accounting Education".  In the paper you can find further references. It was published in the International Research Journal of Management Sciences 4 (7), pp. 483-491 and thus can be used for referencing.

Paul

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