Alternate Ways of Measuring Performance Essay -- Essays Papers

Balanced Scorecard Alternate Ways of Measuring Performance Abstract Many organizations are usefully viewed as a web of relationships between and among various stakeholder groups. An organization may be defined as a "nexus of contracts," where said "contracts" are relationships that are marked by contributions from the various stakeholders in return for inducements provided by the organization. Over the long haul, the success of an organization is a function of the extent to which the needs and requirements of its various stakeholders can be integrated and balanced, without sacrificing any one to the other. There is, in this arrangement, mutual influence and accountability. It is the main thesis of this paper that many organizations would be well served by making use of the Balanced Scorecard as an alternate way of evaluating a company’s performance. Introduction Since its introduction in the Harvard Business Review in 1992, many corporate executives and information technology (IT) professionals have found the concept of Balanced Scorecard it to be a key strategic measuring stick of corporate success. Robert Kaplan and David Norton created balanced Scorecard, often referred to as BSC, in the early 1990’s. Today many large consulting firms like Pricewaterhouse Coopers and Earnst and Young have adopted the balanced scorecard concept. A balanced scorecard is a framework for translating strategic goals and visions into measurable results for the entire enterprise. The balanced scorecard starts with corporate strategies and objectives, and then uses financial and non-financial measures from across the company to create positive and negative indicators of corporate success for all levels of the organization (Kaplan and Norton, 1992). These indicators provide an in depth snap shot of corporate performance that managers and executives can use to clearly manage the company for success on a daily basis. Since the scorecard is based on key performance indicators (KPIs) that are directly linked to corporate goals, it provides a true measure of corporate success. These KPIs consist not just of financial indicators, but also of performance measures in customer satisfaction, internal process, and innovation and improvement (Kaplan Norton, 1992). The breadth and diversity provided by all four perspectives give managers an ideal cross-func... ...to a system of performance measurements that effectively communicate a powerful, forward-looking, strategic focus to the entire organization. This balanced concept allows an organization to evaluate its performance in different aspects other than financially acceptable balance sheets or income statements. Bibliography 1.) Atkinson A. A., Waterhouse, J.H., and Wells, R.B. (1997). â€Å"A Stakeholder Approach to Strategic Performance Measurement.† Sloan Management Review (Spring, 1997, pp25- 37): Cambridge. 2.) Kaplan, Robert S. and Norton, David P., (1992). â€Å"The Balanced Scorecard: Measures that Drive Performance.† Harvard Business Review (January-February 1992): 71-79. 3.) Kaplan, Robert S. and Norton, David P., (1996a). â€Å"Linking the Balanced Scorecard to Strategy.† California Management Review (Vol. 39 No.1, Fall, 1996): 53-77. 4.) Kaplan, Robert S. and Norton, David P., (1996b). â€Å"Using the Balanced Scorecard as a Strategic Management System.† Harvard Business Review (January-February 1996): 75- 85. 5.) 5.) Nickols, Fred (1999). â€Å"Reconciling and Integrating Stakeholder Needs and Requirements.† COG News (Spring 1999)

Critical Issues Concerning Deforestation and Its Environmental Effects

Over half of the worlds† forests have already been destroyed if the rate of deforestation is not reduced, the forests will suffer even more damage. Imagine this; every minute twenty-six hectares (estimated) of the forest are destroyed, this is equal to thirty-seven football fields. The forest is not only the home to some of the most important species on earth, but it also helps control the climate and makes the planet able for us to live in. The expanding human population has cleared many of the trees, once covering much of the earth, a long time ago. Agriculture took a toll early of the landscape, and now the once great forests are reduced to tiny pockets scattered throughout the earth. Recently is when the tropical forests have become under severe attack of deforestation. Only seven hundred of the original one and a half billion hectares of the rain forest remain. At the turn of the twentieth century there was twice as much rain forest as there is today. Causes of deforestation include; commercial logging, clearance for agriculture, roads and railways, forest fires, mining and drilling, fuelwood, and clearing land for living are just some of the main reasons, of which we have not found the worst culprit. The two most common found reasons for deforestation are shifting cultivation and commercial logging. The problem starts when the soil becomes less fertile from animals grazing and walking repeatedly over the small land space. This not the threat to the forest however, the threat is when the land is not allowed enough time to recover and causes soil degradation. Felling of trees for charcoal, and clearing trees for mining and the extraction of oil are other factors leading to deforestation, but are not considered as damaging as shifting cultivation and commercial logging. Nonetheless they are still a threat to the existence of the rain forest. When trees are cleared the topsoil erodes in just one decade, of which it took thousands of years to accumulate. The land is now unusable and can lead to disastrous flooding since there is no soil to soak up the rain. The most disastrous effect of deforestation is the effect it has on the earth†s climate. The greenhouse effect and global warming is caused by the build-up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere mainly. The amount of carbon dioxide would be greatly affected by the destruction of the rain forest; this would lead to a build up in the atmosphere and in result would increase climate change. Most of the burnt or rotting trees release even more carbon dioxide. Scientists believe that only a small fraction of the plants and animals that live in the rain forests have been identified, and of these are believed to hold the cures for some of the most deadly diseases, such as cancer and aids. An obvious solution would be for us to quit cutting down trees altogether, but there is no way we could do that. Forest management plans are being used all over the world, putting sustainability as the emphasis. These plans allow logging to take place by putting into the earth what we take out. These plans are carried out so that logging can be done with the least enduring effects taking place to the earth. Some parts of the rain forests, which are labeled as too sensitive for even well managed logging, are restricted as protected areas. These protected areas along with the help of enforced legislation, can be an effective defense against the many problems that affect the rain forests. The most important step in stopping the process of deforestation is to inform and educate the people whose actions either directly or indirectly create a problem for the rain forests. Developed countries and their consumers have to realize the devastating impacts on the forests from which the products cause that they buy. By doing this will be the only way we can stop the deforestation process and maybe eventually reverse it and the rain forests will flourish.

Chinua Achebe s No Longer At Ease - 1383 Words

Nick Polanosky SS110 9:15 MWF Book Review on Chinua Achebe’s No Longer at Ease Throughout life there is chaos and calm, ups and downs, good fortune and seemingly insurmountable challenges. For the majority of life, it is chaotic but controlled; you deal with issues as they come, and occasionally good things happen and give your mind a break. Obi’s fortune is good for most of his life; he gets the first scholarship from Umuofia and studies literature in England before coming home and pursuing a job in the civil service. Eventually things settle down and he ends up stuck in the middle. Although he has a good job that pays very well, he has debts to pay and an unhealthy mother. His fiancà ©e is an Oso, an outcast and he cannot get the approval†¦show more content†¦Obi worked in a European Post job on the Civil Service’s Scholarship Board, under the supervision of Mr. Green. Early on, he commits himself to honesty and integrity, rejecting a monetary bribe from the brother of a scholarship applicant and also rejecting the applicant herself fr om bribing him with her body. He maintains this mentality for as long as he can, but once things start going wrong, he has second thoughts. He ends up with serious financial problems and has to borrow money in order to pay his debts; â€Å"Digging a new pit to fill up and old one† (p.124). Because of his financial difficulties and the sudden problems which arise with the death of his mother and the loss of Clara, he begins questioning his ideals and has a change of heart. During his grief he certainly has an identity crisis, and gives in to the temptations. He begins to take bribes from people in order to pay his debts, in contrast with his die-hard honesty from earlier on. He eventually realizes that he was doing the wrong thing and vows to stop taking bribes, but one more would be okay. It happened to contain marked bills and proved his guilt, so just one more was too little too late to prevent the inevitable tragic end to Obi’s story. No Longer at Ease is almost a t extbook Shakespearean tragedy. Obi (â€Å"Tragic Hero†) is in an elevated position as a university-educated man with a government job. His fatal flaw (taking bribes) is hinted at early in the book, before flashing