Balanced Scorecard in a Nonprofit Rehabilitation Center

Introduction

The Cattaraugus County Rehabilitation Center (CCRC) is a nonprofit organization that focuses on the rehabilitation of disabled people in order to improve their quality of life. The organization also delivers comprehensive services for disabled individuals to help them achieve maximum independence. Similar to for-profit organizations that use the Balanced Scorecard to maximize revenues, CCRC also attempted to use this strategic planning tool to enhance its effectiveness. However, the organization faced several challenges during implementation. The new Director of Strategic Planning introduced the Balanced Scorecard "to cascade strategic planning throughout the entire organization" (Martello, Watson, & Fischer, 2008, p. 72). The goal of using the Scorecard is to align each area of the organization with the overall strategic plan.

This paper argues that the organization has done a good job implementing the Balanced Scorecard in a way that reflects its organizational vision and mission.

Analysis of the Balanced Scorecard Implementation

The outcomes of implementing the Balanced Scorecard are clearly reflected in the organizational vision and mission. The mission of the Center is to improve the quality of life of disabled people by using strategies to access and provide comprehensive services to each individual in order to achieve maximum independence. The Center also pursues a mission centered on delivering a value-based culture. Similarly, the vision of the Center is to be a leader in accessing and providing desired services to disabled people, with emphasis on quality of life, individual need, independence, and choice, while becoming a valued contributor within the community.

Unlike for-profit organizations that focus primarily on financial outcomes, the Center uses strategic initiatives to achieve both financial and consumer perspectives (Murby & Gould, 2005). The strategic objectives of the Center show that the organization places the financial perspective and the consumer perspective as equally important. The organization uses the Kaplan Scorecard model to achieve its financial outcomes, and the Scorecard model that CCRC has designed for itself is well-suited to help it achieve both its vision and mission objectives.

Consumer Perspective and Service Goals

With emphasis on the consumer perspective, the Center's intent is to enhance consumer satisfaction and improve access to services by providing support to the families of disabled individuals. The Center also strives to increase its services within the natural environment. Additionally, the Center aims to improve the quality of life of its consumers and accomplish these objectives by assisting disabled individuals in developing individualized plans, helping them explore opportunities, and providing them with job opportunities.

To support consumer service goals, the organization deepens relationships between families and consumers. The strategy involves making the public aware of the services the Center offers, and ensuring that staff are accessible to those who need them. More importantly, the Center strives to improve its operational excellence by delivering services efficiently within the natural environment, using comprehensive information systems and establishing measures to implement data analysis. The Center has also advanced its vision and mission by creating a safe and secure environment for employees, visitors, and consumers.

Financial Perspective and Stability

The Center works to achieve financial stability by improving productivity and increasing revenue through exploring new revenue sources, maximizing prior funding, and increasing discretionary funds. The Center also aims to operate at or above the breakeven level and to efficiently utilize its resources. As shown in Appendix 1, the organization realized its financial objectives by recording $13.57 million in total revenue at the end of fiscal year 2011.

The strategy for growing the revenue base includes identifying and creating new service opportunities for disabled individuals, as well as generating lasting long-term benefits in order to achieve the organization's goals and objectives. The 2011 financial records demonstrate a total excess over expenses of $1,470,821, with total net assets of $6,948,559 — figures that reflect the Center's success in managing its resources in alignment with its strategic plan.

Conclusion

CCRC has done a commendable job implementing the Balanced Scorecard in a way that genuinely reflects its organizational vision and mission. By equally weighting consumer and financial perspectives, the Center demonstrates how nonprofit organizations can leverage strategic planning tools originally developed for the for-profit sector. The operational goals — encompassing workforce development, technology improvement, and community engagement — provide the foundation needed to sustain both service excellence and financial health. The fiscal year 2011 financial records confirm that this approach has produced measurable results, validating the Center's decision to adopt and adapt the Balanced Scorecard framework.