Balanced Scorecard and Leadership Competencies

Leadership Competencies
Name
Date
Institution of Affiliation
Leadership Competencies
A balanced scorecard is a system in strategic management and planning that is used by the directorate to align the objectives, vision, and strategy of the organization. It is also used to improve organizational communication as well as monitoring and evaluation of a project. Dr. Robert Kaplan develops the scoreboard which allows a non-financial performance appraisal that gives the management the complete picture of how the organization is doing (James & William, 2010).
Question one
SWOT analysis is an essential tool in management. It refers to identifying the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the organization. The model allows managers to balance the internal and the external factors that affect the business. For a balanced scoreboard, the management must ensure that the organization maximizes on the strengths and opportunities and keeping threats from occurring. The strengths of business give it a competitive advantage and the management can use this to ensure that the firm remains on edge. They should conduct research and identify gaps and opportunities that will secure a competitive advantage. SWOT analysis can be used in controlling the strengths and weaknesses which are internal factors. The management focuses on the key issues that affect the organization. To achieve this, they look into the competencies of the employees, value chain activities, the organizational culture and the resources that the organization has. Identifying these factors creates a good system of governance. While conducting an analysis of the internal factors, management should ask where the organization stands at a particular time. By understanding where they lie, they can streamline their goals to fit into the overall vision of the organization. They should ask what gives the competitors an upper hand. Benchmarking is an effective way to identify the weaknesses of the organization. When all facts are clear, balancing the elements of the organization becomes comfortable. As threats and opportunities are beyond the control of the management, being prepared is better than being reactive. Conducting market research on the technological advancements, environmental factors, and market tr...