| dc.description.abstract | The study sought to examine the adoption of the balanced scorecard by state corporations within the Ministry of Information and Communication in Kenya. The study was guided by the following specific objectives: to establish the extent to which balanced scorecard has been adopted in state corporations in the Ministry of Information and Communication; and to determine the benefits derived from adoption of the balanced scorecard practices in state corporations in the Ministry of Information and Communication. Survey design was used to undertake the study. The population of interest was all state corporations in the Ministry of Information and Communication, whose number stood at 10 as at June 30th 2011. Primary data was collected through a questionnaire sent to respondents who are involved with the formulation and implementation of organization strategies. This ensured data collected is useful to meet specific objectives of the study. The questionnaires were sent to Customer Relation Managers, Heads of Finance, Heads of Business Development and Heads of Operations in those parastatals. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze data pertaining to objectives of the study. Computation of frequencies in tables was used in data presentation. In addition, the researcher used standard deviations and mean scores to present information pertaining to the study objectives. The information was presented and discussed as per the objectives and research questions of the study. The balanced scorecard may serve as a strategic management system in an organization. Findings of the study indicate that the BSC in practice is a system, which primarily has encouraged managers at all levels in parastatals in the ministry of Information and Communication in Kenya to make strategic decisions based on the company’s common strategies. In developing the BSC concept further, the study findings indicate that the benefits from using the BSC in state corporations are to clarify and gain consensus about strategy; communicate strategy throughout the organization; align departmental and personal goals to the strategy; link strategic objectives to long-term targets and annual budgets; identify and align strategic initiatives; perform periodic and systematic strategic reviews; and obtain feedback to learn about and improve strategy.
The balanced scorecard acts like as a new strategic management system. From the findings in state corporations in the Ministry of Information and Communication, BSC has played a vital role in linking the organization’s long-term strategy with its short-term actions. A well developed and implemented balanced scorecard should clarify and translate vision and strategy, communicate and link strategic objectives and enhance strategic feedback and learning.
This study sought to raise ideas and issues in the hope that the various stakeholders and persons directly addressing issues related to implementation of the balanced scorecard in the public sector in Kenya will continue the discussion. It does not presume to offer a prescription for the ideal measures to be employed by the stakeholders so as to reverse the trends. The major contribution of this study lies in the description of the balanced scorecard in its practical context. There is scarcity of literature on how the relatively new balanced scorecard works in practice; especially in the public sector as studied here. Because of the dominance of normative balanced scorecard studies in contemporary literature, managers might benefit from these empirically grounded studies that not only highlight the positive aspects of the balanced scorecard but also the shortcomings or critical areas. Accordingly, from a managerial perspective, the actual problems experienced when implementing and using the tool might be perceived as the most valuable information of this study. Similarly, the specific organizational factors that were identified as influential for the evolution process might help managers to avoid mistakes when implementing and maintaining the balanced scorecard. This study has contributed to practitioners by identifying the attributes present in a balanced scorecard, indicating some of the issues of implementation and by comparing levels of Balanced Scorecard adoption to performance criteria. From a practitioner’s perspective, the results of the study will provide a benchmark from which managers can compare performance measurement systems. Moreover, a better understanding of the structure and use of the balanced scorecard will allow managers to alter their systems to fully utilize the balanced scorecard and derive its purported benefits. | en |
