According to McLaughlin and Olson (2012), “a key component of effective operations is the ability to move strategy to action” (pg. 13).  Once a health care organization has a strategy, it is then necessary to select the accurate assessment tool to implement the strategy. Balance scorecards, strategy maps, and dashboards are three organizational assessment tools that are used frequently to move a strategy into action. McLaughlin, D. B., & Olson, J. R. (2012). (2nd ed.). Chicago, IL: Health Administration Press.

Introduction

In the field of healthcare management, the successful implementation of strategies is crucial for the achievement of organizational goals and objectives. To effectively move strategy into action, healthcare organizations need to employ appropriate assessment tools. Among the commonly used tools are balanced scorecards, strategy maps, and dashboards. This paper will explore these three organizational assessment tools and their significance in the context of healthcare management.

Balanced Scorecards

The balanced scorecard is a strategic performance measurement tool that provides a comprehensive view of an organization’s performance by incorporating financial and non-financial indicators. Developed by Kaplan and Norton (1992), the balanced scorecard approach recognizes that financial measures alone are insufficient in assessing organizational performance. It introduces additional dimensions, known as perspectives, which include customer, internal process, and learning and growth perspectives.

The customer perspective assesses how the organization is delivering value to its customers and meeting their needs. This perspective helps healthcare organizations understand and improve patient satisfaction, loyalty, and retention. For instance, by tracking indicators such as patient satisfaction scores and customer complaints, healthcare organizations can identify areas for improvement and implement strategies to enhance the patient experience.

The internal process perspective focuses on the efficiency and effectiveness of internal processes within the organization. This perspective enables healthcare organizations to identify and address operational inefficiencies and bottlenecks. By measuring indicators such as process cycle time and error rates, healthcare organizations can make informed decisions to streamline processes and improve overall operational performance.

The learning and growth perspective emphasizes the development of employees and the organization’s capacity for learning and innovation. This perspective recognizes that employees are a valuable asset and that investing in their skills and knowledge can lead to improved performance. By tracking indicators such as employee training hours and employee satisfaction, healthcare organizations can gauge the effectiveness of their human resource development initiatives.

Strategy Maps

Strategy maps are visual representations that illustrate the cause-and-effect relationships between various strategic objectives and actions. They provide a visual roadmap for executing organizational strategies and help align activities across different departments or units. Strategy maps are typically developed in conjunction with balanced scorecards to further enhance the understanding and communication of organizational strategies.

Strategy maps consist of interconnected objectives arranged in a hierarchical fashion. At the top of the hierarchy, organizations define their overall strategic objectives that align with their mission and vision. These objectives then cascade down to more specific objectives and actions at lower levels.

For example, a healthcare organization’s top-level strategic objective might be to improve patient outcomes. This objective can be further broken down into more specific objectives such as reducing hospital-acquired infections, decreasing readmission rates, and implementing evidence-based practices. Each objective can then be associated with specific actions and targets, creating a comprehensive roadmap for achieving the overall strategic objective.

By visualizing the connections between strategic objectives, strategy maps help healthcare organizations better understand how different initiatives and activities contribute to the achievement of overarching goals. This understanding can facilitate decision-making and resource allocation, ensuring that efforts and resources are aligned with strategic priorities.

Dashboards

Dashboards are information management tools that provide real-time, summarized views of key performance indicators and metrics. They offer a user-friendly interface for managers and decision-makers to monitor and analyze performance data in a clear and concise manner. Dashboards can be customized to display various types of data, allowing users to access relevant information quickly and easily.

In healthcare management, dashboards serve as a valuable tool for monitoring organizational performance in real-time. They provide up-to-date information on metrics such as patient wait times, emergency department throughput, and medication error rates. By visualizing performance data in a graphical format, dashboards enable managers to quickly identify trends, anomalies, or areas that require attention.

Dashboards can also support data-driven decision-making by providing actionable insights. For example, if a dashboard indicates a sudden increase in emergency department wait times, managers can investigate the underlying causes and take appropriate actions to address the issue promptly. Furthermore, dashboards can enable benchmarking by comparing the organization’s performance against predefined targets or industry benchmarks, facilitating continuous improvement efforts.

Conclusion

Effective implementation of strategies is crucial for healthcare organizations to achieve their goals and objectives. Balanced scorecards, strategy maps, and dashboards are three assessment tools that can help healthcare organizations move strategy into action. Balanced scorecards provide a comprehensive view of organizational performance by incorporating financial and non-financial indicators. Strategy maps visually represent the cause-and-effect relationships between strategic objectives, facilitating alignment and understanding of organizational strategies. Dashboards provide real-time, summarized views of key performance indicators, enabling managers to monitor and analyze performance data in a user-friendly manner. By using these tools strategically, healthcare organizations can enhance their strategic management processes and improve overall performance.