Having Trouble with Your Strategy? by Kaplan & Norton

Table of Contents

Introduction
Summary of the Reading
The Authors Findings and Conclusions
Practical Implications of the Article
Conclusion
Reference

Introduction

It is hard to disagree that businesses depend greatly on the efforts and commitment of employees. When willing to implement a major and significant change, the readiness of workers to be loyal and contribute to the companys success severely impacts the achievement of expected outcomes. However, not all organizations are aware of the best way to motivate their staff and raise their productivity, especially during times of change. Strategy maps are underestimated by many leaders, and the purpose of this writing is to explain how a selected article explains the value of the identified method.

Summary of the Reading

As mentioned in the introduction, the authors aim to enhance the audiences perception of strategy maps and improve and prove the significance and value of the latter. As stated by Kaplan and Norton (2000), organizations need tools for communicating both their strategy and the processes and systems that will help them implement that strategy, and ignoring this necessity is the primary mistake of many leaders (p. 168). Some key terms that are used in the writing are the following:

Strategy map (a visual representation of a firms purposes and the ways that they are connected and should be achieved);
Balanced scorecard (a management tool that outlines the skills that employees need to contribute to the four areas: financial, customer, internal process, and learning and growth (Kaplan & Norton, 2000, p. 169).

The Authors Findings and Conclusions

It is possible to say that the authors findings are valuable for various industries and government and nonprofit firms. The main contribution of Kaplan and Norton (2000) is in their development of a standard template that executives can use to develop their own strategy maps (p. 170). In their opinion, any company can use this template that addresses four areas, such as customer, financial, learning and growth, and internal process, to illustrate its objectives, performance measurement tools, and strategic direction linkages. As a consequence, each step is outlined in detail, and some common mistakes or the best solutions are mentioned in the article.

Practical Implications of the Article

Evidently, the writing under analysis is a valuable guide for all companies, even if they do not plan any changes in the nearest future. The template developed by Kaplan and Norton (2000) is a practical tool that leaders may use to learn more about their business, motivate employees, alter or support their mission and values statements, and define an effective measurement system. What is more, the article may be useful for those firms who mistakenly choose to measure only the cost and quality of their operationsand not their innovations or their customer management processes (Kaplan & Norton, 2000, p. 169). This writing would motivate them to change their perceptions and analyze whether they have other errors.

Conclusion

To draw a conclusion, I find the article to be rather detailed, strong, and well-written. I believe I captured the main idea of the authors, who managed to explain it in an engaging yet concise manner. What I liked most about the writing is the comparison between a general commanding their troops in a foreign territory and a leader of a firm trying to get their employees motivated for a change. One point for me to take away from the article is that employees should always be provided with the most detailed information about all the objectives and steps of the change process for the latter to be efficient. In relation to this necessity, I have a question: How are the best ways for firms to inform their employees to both motivate their involvement, earn their trust and loyalty, and avoid resistance to change included in strategy maps?