Harvard Business Review on Measuring Corporate Performance (Harvard Business Review Paperback Series) [Paperback]

Harvard Business School Press (Compiler)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0875848826 | ISBN-13: 978-0875848822 | Publication Date: September 1, 1998 | Edition: 1

In an easily accessible format from the preeminent thinkers whose work has defined an entire field to the rising stars who will redefine the way we think about business, "The Harvard Business Review Paperback" series delivers the fundamental information today's professionals need to stay competitive in a fast-moving world. The works collected in "Harvard Business Review on Measuring Corporate Performance" - including the three groundbreaking articles on the balanced scorecard by Kaplan and Norton - offer managers practical guidance for measuring their intangible assets (customer relationships, internal business processes, and employee learning) and aligning corporate strategy accordingly.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

In the knowledge economy, a company's success rests as much on its ability to measure the performance of its intangible assets (such as customer relationships, internal business processes, and employee learning) as on its aptitude for monitoring traditional financial measures. Yet evaluating the latest performance measures and aligning your corporate strategy accordingly poses a serious challenge to managers who must balance daily business demands with long-term strategic goals. The groundbreaking works collected in this volume-including three seminal articles on the balanced scorecard by Kaplan and Norton-address this challenge, offering insights from such leading thinkers as Peter Drucker, as well as practical guidance for developing today's relevant measures.
Includes Articles:
The Information Executives Truly Need (Peter F. Drucker)
The Performance Measurement Manifesto (Robert G. Eccles)
Tapping the Full Potential of ABC (Joseph A. Ness and Thomas G. Cucuzza)
How High Is Your Return on Management? (Robert Simons and Antonio Dvila)
How the Right Measures Help Teams Excel (Christopher Meyer)
The Balanced Scorecard-Measures that Drive Performance (Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton)
Putting the Balanced Scorecard to Work (Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton)
Using the Balanced Scorecard as a Strategic Management System (Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton)

About the Author

Since 1984, Harvard Business School Press has been dedicated to publishing the most contemporary management thinking, written by authors and practitioners who are leading the way. Whether readers are seeking big-picture strategic thinking or tactical problem solving, advice in managing global corporations or for developing personal careers, HBS Press helps fuel the fire of innovative thought. HBS Press has earned a reputation as the springboard of thought for both established and emerging business leaders.

Product Details

• Paperback: 229 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Business Press; 1 edition (September 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0875848826
• ISBN-13: 978-0875848822
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #504,437 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The ABC's of Balancing Your Scorecard..., February 11, 2001

By 

Mark Latta - See all my reviews

This review is from: Harvard Business Review on Measuring Corporate Performance (Harvard Business Review Paperback Series) (Paperback)

This collection of eight articles from the HBR is a must IF AND ONLY IF you want the only highlights of some of the new management tools and theories out there. If you've ever wondered what Activity-Based Costing (ABC) is or what Kaplan's "Balanced Scorecard" is all about, this may be just the introductory text for you. I mention these two tools first since 2 out of 8 articles deal with ABC, either in whole or in part, while another 3 deal specifically with the balanced scorecard. So, if you've got ABC and the balanced scorecard already firmly laid out in your head, this may be a bit redundant.

The remaining three articles are still worth a quick read though. I found in one article, "How the Right Measures Help Teams Excel," ideas that I hadn't seen anywhere else (for example, the team "dashboard"). And, the "How High is Your Return on Management?" article might give managers a moment of reflection on whether or not they have a good ROM and what they can do to improve it.

As I stated before, much of this is merely highlights though. Do not expect to be able to use this book as a primary source to implement any of the measures. It's a tease that gets you excited (at least it did me), but doesn't provide much of a game plan for bringing it all about.

Still, if what you want is a quick overview and a few case studies where these principles and tools have been applied, by all means, read this. It's worth at least that much.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars very useful book, November 16, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Harvard Business Review on Measuring Corporate Performance (Harvard Business Review Paperback Series) (Paperback)

This is a vey useful books as a reprints of HBR and catagorized on the corporate reviews of companies, with big part on the famous balanced scoeboard, and a nice section on team performance. But this is not suiatble for small companies review system which i m looking for. If what you r looking for is a way of seeing hhow company performs and you r in big corporation, this is an exellent books as other HBR reprints books that now availabe at many formats... definitely 5 stars.

tanadi santoso

37 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THIS BOOK MEASURES UP TO THE BEST ON THIS SUBJECT., April 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Harvard Business Review on Measuring Corporate Performance (Harvard Business Review Paperback Series) (Paperback)

Looking for some informative, original and clear thinking about measuring performance? This book is a great choice! This is a collection of eight outstanding articles selected from past editions of the HBR. The articles cover such subjects as activity-based costing, the use of nonfinancial criteria, and tools executives require to generate the information needed. Each article begins with an executive summary which, for the fast-forward crowd, is a big plus.

So many books are merely ONE GOOD ARTICLE embedded in a thicket of verbiage. Chopping away through such a jungle of verbosity for the gist-of-it-all often proves tedious and disappointing. (Blessed are the laconic!) This book, on the other hand, just serves up a bunch of 'gists' -the pure meat and potatoes of ideas. Happily, the HBSP has published several other collections of this sort on such topics as knowledge management, change, and strategies for growth. Each of these is collection of first-rate 'gists'. Reviewed by Gerry Stern, founder, Stern & Associates, author of Stern's Sourcefinder The Master Directory to HR and Business Management Information & Resources, Stern's CyberSpace SourceFinder, and the Compensation and Benefits SourceFinder.