HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ASSIGNMENT

What is the balanced scorecard? Identify the four perspectives included in the balanced scorecard. How can HRM practices influence the four perspectives? The balanced scorecard (BSC) is a strategic performance management tool - a semi-standard structured report supported by proven design methods and automation tools that can be used by managers to keep track of the execution of activities by staff within their control and monitor the consequences arising from these actions.[1] It is perhaps the best known of several such frameworks (for example, it is the most widely adopted performance management framework reported in the annual survey of management tools. Balanced Scorecard at core level is a premeditated planning and management system which has been implemented in various Private sector businesses, Industrial manufacturing groups and government organizations in order to make the business activities in congruence with business objectives or vision, to stream line the interdepartmental communication and to augment the business output and above all it works as performance measurement technique. The balanced scorecard gives managers an indication of the performance of a company based on the degree to which stakeholder needs are satisfied; it depicts the company from the perspective of internal and external customers, employees, and stakeholders. The balanced scorecard is important because it brings together most of the features that a company needs to focus to be competitive. These include being customer-focused, improving quality, emphasizing teamwork, reducing new product and service development times, and managing for the long term. The four perspectives are:

Customer perspective - how do customers see the firm? Internal perspective - how well does it manage its operational processes?

Innovation and learning perspective can the firm continue to improve and create value? This perspective also examines how an organization learns and grows. Financial perspective - how does the firm look to shareholders?

For each of four perspectives it is necessary to identify indicators to measure the performance of the organizations. Customer Perspective: How do customers perceive the firm? This focuses on the analysis of different types of customers, their degree of satisfaction and the processes used to deliver products and services to customers. Particular areas of focus would include:

Customer service New products New markets Customer retention Customer satisfaction What does the organization need to do to remain that customers valued supplier?

Potential goals for the customer perspective could include:

Customer satisfaction New customer acquisition Customer retention Customer loyalty Fast response Responsiveness Efficiency Reliability Image

The following metrics could be used to measure success in relation to the customer perspective:

Customer satisfaction index Repeat purchases Market share On time deliveries Number of complaints Average time to process orders Returned orders Response time Reliability New customer acquisitions Perceived value for money

Internal Perspective This seeks to identify:

How well the business is performing. Whether the products and services offered meet customer expectations. The critical processes for satisfying both customers and shareholders. Activities in which the firm excels? And in what must it excel in the future? The internal processes that the company must be improved if it is to achieve its objectives.

This perspective is concerned with assessing the quality of people and processes. Potential goals for the internal perspective include:

Improve core competencies Improvements in technology Streamline processes Manufacturing excellence Quality performance Inventory management Quality Motivated workforce

The following metrics could be used to measure success in relation to the internal perspective:

Efficiency improvements Reduction in unit costs Reduced waste Improvements in morale Increase in capacity utilisation Increased productivity % defective output Amount of recycled waste Amount of reworking

Innovation and learning perspective This perspective is concerned with issues such as:

Can we continue to improve and create value? In which areas must the organisation improve? How can the company continue to improve and create value in the future? What should it be doing to make this happen?

Potential goals for the innovation and learning perspective include:

New product development Continuous improvement Technological leadership

HR development Product diversification

The following metrics could be used to measure success in relation to the innovation and learning perspective:

Number of new products % sales from new products Amount of training Number of strategic skills learned. Value of new product in sales R&D as % of sales Number of employee suggestions. Extent of employee empowerment

The financial perspective Timely and accurate financial data is always needed by an organisation (apart, of course, from being a legal requirement for a trading company). But too much should not be read into financial data alone; its role is as part of a balanced perspective - hence the balanced scorecard.

What is sustainability? How can Hr practices help a company become more socially and environmentally conscious? Traditionally, sustainability has been viewed as on aspect of corporate social responsibility related to the impact of the business on the environment. However, we take a broader view of sustainability. Sustainability refers to a companys ability to make a profit without sacrificing the resources of its employees, the community, or the environment. Company success is based on how well the company meets the needs of its stakeholders. Sustainability includes the ability to deal with economic and social changes, practice environmental responsibility, engage in responsible and ethical business practices, provide highquality products and services, and put in place methods that determine if the company is meeting stakeholders needs. Increasingly, companies are recognizing that social responsibility can help boost a companys image with customers, gain access to new markets, and help attract and retain talented employee. Companies thus try to meet stakeholder and general public demands that they be more socially, ethically, and environmentally responsible. For example, Bill Gates, former chief executive officer and Microsoft Corporation founder, through personal involvement in a charitable foundation dedicated to bringing science and technology to improve lives around the world, has improved Microsofts corporate reputation. Whole Foods has been praised as environmentally and socially responsible for its focus on high-quality organic products. Other companies such as Halliburton and BP are viewed less positively due to perceptions that they are responsible for environmental damage or are using political connections to profit from the Iraq war. Danone, a company that makes yogurts (Dannon) and mineral waters (Evian), recently invested in a factory in Bangladesh to make a yogurt fortified to help stop malnutrition and priced at seven cents to be affordable. This investment gives Danone access to a large market for its products, demonstrates the company is socially responsible, and at the same time helps alleviate local malnutrition as well as creating jobs.

A growing number of companies have made sustainability an important part of their business strategy. For example, at General Mills, Volunteerism is one of the ways that the company lives its corporate values. The CEO and senior leaders serve nonprofit boards and are involved in the community. As part of a wider corporate community involvement in such program can improve a companys image in the community in which it operates. By making strong links with the local community, the company is demonstrating that it take corporate social responsibility very seriously. This strengthens its reputation in the local and wider community, including the business world. This can enhance sales and can also be useful when a business wishes to expand or relocate, and is reliant on the goodwill of the community for a smooth process. This shows that the company is socially and both environmentally conscious. In fact, values-driven businesses that place an emphasis on improving the quality of life of their customers, their employees, their communities and the environment, often improve their bottom lines. Not only that, building a socially and environmentally responsible company can also:

1. Reduce employee turnover

2. Attract better employees 3. Strengthen customer loyalty 4. Gain a competitive edge 5. Increase productivity Another way to become socially and environmentally conscious is to: Produce or make environmentally sound products. Run a green facility Give back to the community Leave a lighter impact on the earth Help improve working conditions for others Donate for worthy causes.