Strategic management process and Balanced Scorecard
The strategic management process in the context of the Balanced Scorecard approach comprises two phases:
1. In the first phase, the company's strategy must be established on the basis of strategic analysis. Within the scope of this analysis, all data relating to competition are being recorded. The aim of this analysis is to identify and assess trends, opportunities, and risks pertaining to the development of the business environment, and to determine the company's own core competencies. At the end of this phase, the company's individual corporate strategy is defined.
2. The implementation of the corporate strategy takes place in the second phase. In this phase, the BSC method can help. The corporate strategy may be refined with partial strategies (e.g., business segment-specific strategies). This leads to further strategic objectives. These are concretized on the basis of targets for particular measurement categories. An action program in the form of instructions on how to proceed determines how these objectives are to be achieved. Within the scope of business planning, this action program is broken down into various corporate divisions or departments. Budgeting can be used to put actions into more concrete terms. With the help of individual strategy-related scorecards, the achievement of objectives can be measured by the KPIs generated. Based on the scorecards defined, a review process takes place during which further initiatives are specified or the strategy is 'reworked' due to possible deviations.