Implementing Balanced Scorecard with System Dynamics Approach

This paper discusses the potential of system dynamics modelling to support balanced scorecard. The balanced scorecard is a conceptual framework for translating an organisation's strategy into a set of performance indicators. These performance indicators are distributed across the 'classic'model's four perspective: Customers, Internal Business Processes, Financial, and Learning and Growth. This balanced scorecard, whilst having significant strength, suffers from the limitation of all performance indicator systems, namely that the interrelationships between indicators are overlooked and there is no way of taking into account the impact of delayed feedback which flows from introduction of new policy and legislative changes. System Dynamics is a methodology for understanding complex problems where there is dynamic behaviour and where feedback impacts significantly on system outcomes. System dynamics provides a rigorous basis for qualitative testing of the effects of performance indicators in complex environments such as health or social security. This can be supplemented with quantitative system dynamics simulation tools that further test the validity of indicators and the business rules implicit in them. System dynamics modelling has an important role to play in extending feedback cycle in performance measurements to a full systems approach.