Essay on Balanced scorecard framework: ACF International

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the customer perspective of the balanced scorecard framework for the chosen organization. This analysis will be performed using the following steps: identification of three objectives of customer service perspective, analysis of their relationship to mission, vision and strategy of the chosen organization, identification of metrics, targets and actions or programs which should be implemented to reach the objectives, and analysis of the relationship between customer service and financial objectives. The chosen organization is ACF International, nonprofit company which works to eliminate hunger and malnutrition in the world.

1. Analysis of customer service perspective

The “product” of ACF International is its mission, vision and values along with the their implementation. In the broad sense, the “product” of ACF International is the worldwide reduction of malnutrition and hunger. Precise impact of such nonprofit organizations is hard to measure, and it is generally evaluated through implicit characteristics, such as the level of malnutrition within the country, access to water and sanitation, indices of agricultural sustainability, etc. The “customers” of ACF International are all people in countries with burning social and economic problems, arising due to overpopulation, poor educational, social or economic situation, political instability, armed conflicts, natural disasters, etc. The majority of recipients of services of ACF International are people living in countries with high level of child malnutrition, high rates of world hunger index or high rates of child malnutrition. The areas where ACF International provides its services include nutrition, food security and livelihoods, water, sanitation and hygiene, and emergency response (ACF International, 2012).

2. Objectives for customer service perspective

Basing on the scope of services provided by ACF International, it is possible to determine three important objectives for customer service perspective: helping people with acute malnutrition, promotion of sanitation and hygiene in communities with low access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, and improvement of public health systems in countries with high rates of malnutrition. Each of these objectives directly influence the rates of malnutrition and hunger in the target countries, and have a direct effect on the health and well-being of the recipients of services of ACF International. For each of these objectives, measures, targets and actions are outlined in the next section.

3. Measures, targets and actions for customer service perspective

Table 1 contains appropriate measures, targets and recommended actions for each of the customer service objectives outlined in the previous section.

Table 1. Customer service perspective objectives, measures, targets and actions

4. Relationship to financial perspective

The above-mentioned customer perspectives are directly related to two financial objectives of ACF International: increase of operational effectiveness and improvement of the structure of assets. Indeed, increased number of community-based programs for acute malnutrition care, new programs for improving water and sanitation conditions in the communities at risk, and improvement of public health systems will lead to better use of funds and, therefore, to greater share of program services related to net assets, and to greater proportion of supporting services in relation to total expenses. Customer service objectives do not directly affect the financial stability of ACF International, but greater effectiveness and greater international resonance which will emerge after the implementation of new programs will most likely lead to more diverse flow of donations (and, therefore, to the decrease of revenue concentration index). Therefore, all selected customer service objectives are related to financial objectives, and no changes in the latter should be done.