Balanced Scorecard Essay

A balanced scorecard is very helpful to any organization and should be viewed as a very important document throughout the company. Wal-Mart has developed a scorecard so that their customers can see what goals that the company wants to achieve and also how to achieve those goals. If you look at the scorecard on a regular basis, then you will know exactly how your company is running and what areas you need to work on. Wal-Mart wants everyone to know where to look at their scorecard and how to achieve the goals that they feel will make them even more successful. Wal-Mart also expects that every employee should follow this scorecard to guarantee they are doing the right things to make the company grow even faster and stronger than they already are (Balanced Scorecard Basics, 2014). The financial part is a very important part to Wal-Mart. With this part being successful you will be able to pay all the employees the right amount and also pay all the bills so that the company can make more money and keep thriving in the world today. Also with the financials down, the shareholders will see an increase in the amount of what the shares are selling for and that lets them know what they are making for owning those shares in the company. A competitive position is a major key within a huge retail chain like Wal-Mart. They are number one compared to other store chains similar to them. They continue building stores all over the world while a lot of the competitors keep shutting their stores down. Staying atop of this list is what makes Wal-Mart the leader in general merchandising stores (Wal-Mart Stores, 2013). Another major area of a balanced scorecard is how the customers see what Wal-Mart is doing. This is the most important part other than the  financials but work hand in hand with the financials. If the customers see Wal-Mart as a bad company then they will not buy the items that Wal-Mart is selling and then Wal-Mart will not be able to afford their bills and payroll and eventually have to close down. If they see Wal-Mart as a great place to shop then they will tell everyone that they know to shop there and that will make the revenue rise and make more profit for the company so that they can become even more successful in the future. The customers perspective always pays a big role in any company, if you keep them happy, then the will spend more money and time and energy with your company instead of your competitors (Balanced Scorecard Basics, 2014). Innovation is what you need to do to improve the company and learn how to grow and become a stronger economy. Wal-Mart is trying to be innovative in how they get their ads out to the general public. They are starting to email adds out to individuals emails letting their customers know of great deals and opportunities that are coming up in the local stores (Balanced Scorecard Basics, 2014). They are also developing an app for the smart phones of today with the deals and specials going on within the company. They are trying to get their products and service out in the community. Last but not least are the internal methods. They look at areas they think they will excel in and also the areas that will not excel so much at. The areas that Wal-Mart plans to excel at are usually the electronics. They look at other ideas to help them excel even more than usually and develop a plan to implement how to excel further in these areas. The Ares that are weak, they look for reasons that they are weak and how can they implement a plan to make those areas excel in also. When they can get all the areas in the store to excel greatly then they will become very successful and continue to grow beyond measure. This paper has demonstrated how a strategic plan of a balanced scorecard can help any company grow to a different standard. With these scorecard in effect and followed out completely then any company will succeed in everything that they want to do and become very successful. References Wal-Mart Stores. (2013, November 6). Retrieved March 31, 2014, from Forbes. Balanced Scorecard Basics. (2014). Retrieved March 31, 2014, from Balanced Scorecard INstitute: https://balancedscorecard.org/Resources/AbouttheBalancedScorecard/tabid/55/Default.aspx