Why do companies like Apple and Volkswagen use the Balanced Scorecard?

The Balanced Scorecard approach aids in setting business goals by improving strategic communication and execution, aligning processes, and enhancing performance reporting. It provides a framework that translates a company's strategic objectives into a set of performance measures. These measures are often categorized into four perspectives: financial, customer, internal process, and learning and growth. This approach ensures that the company's strategy is reflected in the objectives, measures, targets, and initiatives of these four perspectives, thus aligning the company's activities with its strategy and ensuring that the company's goals are met.

The best practices for implementing the Balanced Scorecard include: setting clear and measurable goals, aligning these goals with the company's strategic objectives, ensuring all employees understand their role in achieving these goals, regularly reviewing and updating the scorecard, and using it as a tool for continuous improvement and strategic communication. It's also important to align processes with the scorecard and use it for performance reporting.

The Balanced Scorecard can be customized for different industries by identifying the key performance indicators (KPIs) that are most relevant to each industry. These KPIs should align with the strategic goals of the business. For example, a manufacturing company might focus on metrics related to production efficiency and product quality, while a service company might focus on customer satisfaction and service delivery speed. The BSC can also be adapted to reflect the unique organizational structure and processes of each business.