ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF BALANCED SCORECARD IMPLEMENTATION: THE CASE OF GURAGE ZONE SELECTED GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Although Balanced Score Card has been adopted by the Government of Ethiopia at all levels of the government structure for some time now, effectiveness of its implementation is not adequately studied empirically. The current study was, thus, conducted to assess the effectiveness of BSC implementation in Gurage Zone selected government organizations. The study employed mixed type of research to achieve intended objectives of the study. Simple random sampling and stratified sampling techniques were used to select 144 respondents from 1052 civil servants in the government offices. The data was gathered through pretested questionnaire and interview. The study used SPSS Version 20 for processing the data. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation presented by using table. Besides, regression and correlation analysis were used to show cause effect relationships. Though the departments made efforts to realize of the effectiveness of BSC Implementation, the findings of the study revealed that they were not at good deal in attaining their intended objectives. To mention few: lack of leadership commitment, absence of continuous training and participation of employees during BSC Planning, lack of awareness in reform concept, no close supervision, no relevant rewarding system, no adequate evaluation and monitoring activities. Here, 57.2 % of the variations in the effectiveness of BSC Implementation were jointly accounted by the nine variables at 5% level of precision. The major finding of this study depicts that BSC Implementation practice is not at good deal in the selected public sectors. Therefore, it is recommended that the departments should focus on strengthening reform team and change agents to achieve the effectiveness of BSC implementation and enhancing communication at every stage of reform implementation. It is also recommended that the top managers to be highly committed towards avoiding taking more time in finalizing reform implementation and putting incentives in place to motivate the best performers. Genuinely speaking, to realize effectiveness of BSC implementation, the departments suggested to employ the implementation practices by incorporating the necessary components of BSC.