Adoption of the Balanced Scorecard in Strategy Implementation at the Kenya Wildlife Service

Abstract

Technological advances and increasing competition are forcing organizations to monitor their performance ever more closely. The concept of the balanced scorecard offers a systematic and coherent method of performance measurement and strategy implementation that in particular concentrates on assessing present performance in the light of an organization’s strategy and takes into account the importance of the various policy aspects. This paper discusses the concept of the balanced scorecard and its application in the adoption process of strategy implementation at the Kenya Wildlife Service. The research established that the balanced scorecard is a useful tool in driving the strategy implementation process chiefly because it can enable an organization to align its activities with the balanced scorecard perspectives drivers and thereafter do strategy maps which link the activities to the corporate strategy. The balanced scorecard shows any user where the progress in proceeding, where it is blocked and what needs to happen to resolve bottlenecks. It helps organizations turn visions into reality with precision and efficiency. Strategy implementation therefore requires that all business units, support units and employees be aligned and linked to the strategy. And with the rapid changes in technology, competitions and regulations, the formulation and implementation of strategy must become a continual and participative process. Organizations today need a language for communicating strategy as well as processes and systems that help them to implement strategy and gain feedback about their strategy. Success comes from having strategy become everyone’s everyday job.