Read the Case Study 8-2, Balanced Scorecards in BIOCO. Answer the following questions:
What benefits has BIOCO realized from its use of balanced scorecards?
Do you think the BIDCO Way was useful in helping the IT department align its goals with that of the company? Why or why not?
Do you think the BIDCO approach could be implemented successfully in large companies? Why or why not? If so, what, if any, adjustments need to be made?
BIDCO recently was sold and now has a new CEO. Do you think the BIDCI way will be as successful under the new CEO? Why or why not?
Case Study 8‐2 Balanced Scorecards at BIOCO
BIOCO was a profitable and growing medium‐sized biopharmaceutical company located in the southeast United States. It developed, produced, and marketed vaccines and antibody‐based pharmaceutical products. As part of the company’s strategic transformation, BIOCO’s CEO introduced a top‐down, strategy‐driven management process called the “BIOCO Way.” The CEO had a strong conviction that the success of a company starts with a clear vision of what the company wants to be and a corporate strategy that reflects that vision. In the BIOCO Way, the corporate vision and strategy were translated into a long‐term corporate strategic plan, which in turn was used to generate the corporate strategy map. To measure progress against the strategy map, a cascade of balanced scorecards (corporate, division/department) were developed and used. As a result of the full integration of the levels of balanced scorecards into the planning process, the BIOCO Way emphasized how the strategies and related tactics should be carried out and measured at all levels. The CEO was a strong champion of balanced scorecards and was considered an in‐house guru for the method.
Each year, BIOCO managers at the corporate and department levels reviewed performance and assessed the appropriateness of their respective balanced scorecards for the prior year. Based on the results of the performance reviews and a short‐term execution plan for the upcoming year, strategic initiatives were added, modified, or removed, and the metrics in the scorecards were adjusted accordingly. The CIO thought that the balanced scorecards helped the departments look beyond their own operations, and the vice president thought they mobilized everyone in the company by setting up tangible goals that were clearly linked to the overall goals of the company. The CIO thought the scorecard enhanced communications because it “provides a focal point and common language around the key value drivers of the organization,” and it helps IT understand other business areas. To overcome cultural differences among the departments, he added culture as a fifth perspective in the scorecards.
