in the course of your paper, among other things you may wish to say, address the following issues: introduction: on what specific consumer perspectives did each company focus and what measures did each company use to ascertain how well it was meeting the goals implied by those specific perspectives? analysis: in your opinion, are these measures truly "customer-centric" as described in the background reading by barber? why or why not? defend your position. use the readings done so far to decide whether the improved performance was due to viewing the company from the perspective of their potential, prospective, or present customers. conclusion: from the companies'' point of view, do you think their effort to evaluate the business from the customer''s perspective was the key contributor to improved performance? if so, defend your position. or was another perspective more important? if so, which one was the key contributor? defend your position. evaluation: identify at least one measure you would have included that they omitted. in other words, how could you have improved on their approach? the situation: gumbus, andra & lussier, robert n. (2006, july). entrepreneurs use a balanced scorecard to translate strategy into performance measures. journal of small business management, 44 (3) 407-426. htm version available in proquest at http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1074432261 & sid=1 & fmt=4 & clientid=29440 & rqt=309 & vname=pqd on may 16, 2008. pdf version also available in proquest on may 16, 2008. required resources the topics of vision, strategy, and objectives were covered in various courses during your degree, in particular mgt 301 (principles of management) and mgt 499 (strategic management). material learned in mkt 301 (principles of marketing) will be particularly helpful when discussing the customer perspective. what is the balanced scorecard and why should we care? what is the balanced scorecard? according to the developers of this instrument, drs. robert kaplan (harvard business school) and david norton, most companies today overemphasize the financial side of the organization and pay relatively less attention to other essential business functions, resulting in an organization that becomes "unbalanced." by forcing managers and planners to pay equal attention to processes involving customers and suppliers, human resources, and business processes (operations); using a balanced scorecard should increase the overall performance of the organization. for an excellent overview of the balanced scorecard and the steps in building a scorecard for any given organization, click on the links below. be sure to read both parts one and two of this article. rohm, howard (2006). part i: developing and using balanced scorecard performance systems. enterpriseleadership.org. (scroll down about half a page to see the text). available at http://www.enterpriseleadership.org/read/rohm on september 1, 2008 rohm, howard 2006). part ii: phase one: building a balanced scorecard. enterpriseleadership.org. available at http://www.enterpriseleadership.org/read/rohm2 on september 1, 2008 the following article is also an overview of the balanced scorecard. in particular, look at the definitions of relationships among objectives, measures, targets, and initiatives so that you become comfortable diagramming those relationships. author unknown (2008). the balanced scorecard (2006). 12manage rigor and relevance. 12manage - e-learning community on management. available at http://www.12manage.com/ methods_balancedscorecard.html on september 1, 2008 the balanced scorecard is data driven. managers use data to evaluate and measure key functions and processes. to see how data is used in the balanced scorecard, read the following: averson, paul (1998). what is the balanced scorecard? balanced scorecard institute, a strategy management group company. available at http://www.balancedscorecard.org/basics/bsc1.html on September 1, 2008 Vision, Strategy, Objectives, Measures, Targets, and Initiatives If you need a source to get quick reminders of how organizations define and create visions, strategies, objectives, measures, and targets, you might find Quick MBA to be useful. Initiatives are defined by Quick MBA as action plans. Author Unknown (2008). Vision, Strategy, Objectives, Measures, Targets, and Initiatives. Internet Center for Management and Business Administration, Inc. Available at http://www.quickmba.com/ on August 21, 2008. Click on the following link: Stategic Management - Available at http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/ on August 21, 2008. Click on the following links: Strategic Planning - Available at http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/ strategic-planning/ on August 21, 2008 The Business Vision and Company Mission Statements - Available at http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/vision/ on August 21, 2008