Using the balanced scorecard to facilitate strategic management at an academic information service

Abstract

This article reports on the implementation of the Balanced Scorecard model for facilitating strategic management at the Academic Information Service (academic library) of the University of Pretoria, South Africa. Robert Kaplan and David Norton developed the concept of the Balanced Scorecard in the early 1990s for motivating and measuring business performance. This management methodology is seen as an excellent vehicle for implementing organisational transformation measures in the Academic Information Service. The article starts by giving a short theoretical introduction to the concept of the Balanced Scorecard, followed by an outline of the implementation of the Scorecard on both the strategic and operational levels. It concludes by examining the ways in which the Balanced Scorecard is currently being used to facilitate the strategic management process at the Academic Information Service.