The document discusses the balanced scorecard (BSC) as a performance management tool that evaluates financial and non-financial aspects of a company, highlighting the importance of assessing customer performance, internal processes, and organizational growth beyond just financial metrics. It includes perspectives from various authors on the effectiveness of the BSC approach, its application in real-world business settings, and its correlation with service defects and customer loyalty. Additionally, biblical integration is presented to emphasize values such as forgiveness and excellent service as key to maintaining consumer trust and company reputation.

1. Running head: DISCUSSION BOARD 2: BALANCED
SCORECARD 1
DISCUSSION BOARD 2: BALANCED SCORECARD 7
Ciara Diehl
Discussion Board 2: Balanced Scorecard
Discussion Board 2: Balanced Scorecard
Key Concept Explanation
According to Khomba (2015), “[t]he Balanced Scorecard (BSC)
model was developed to address the problems and limitations of
relying solely on traditional financial measures when business
executives are assessing corporate performance” (para. 1). The
balanced scorecard evaluates the financial and non-financial
aspects of a company, the customer’s perspective, the internal
process perspective, and learning and growth within the
company (Blocher, Stout, Juras, & Cokins, 2016). Evaluating a
company by more than their financial assets and capital can
provide a more thorough assessment of the company’s true

2. value.
Comparison
The Meredith and Shafer (2016) text also identifies the
balanced scorecard approach as evaluating the financial
perspective, customer performance, internal business process
performance, and organizational learning and growth (p. 205),
as did the authors in the previous section. It is easy for
companies and individuals when assessing firms to only
evaluate their financial assets, profitability, capital, and equity,
however, evaluating from a balanced scorecard approach allows
for insight into the overall growth of the company; for a
company can be growing in more areas that financials. One
thing almost every article I read, as well as the text, did
mention was that it is important for a company to be expanding
financially, but without the other aspects the growth may be
short lived as it is crucial for companies to expand in all four
areas. The text also talked about the role of competitors in the
environment and how they will affect the company and
obtaining competitive advantage. Threw ways such as
benchmarking, companies are able to document the level of
competence of their competitors or other businesses within the
market. Analyzing the firm’s competitors is essential because it
allows for managers to understand why their customer
performance or financial performance may need improvement.
Article Summary
The article by Constandache & Chiru (2015), evaluates
performance management and how the balanced scorecard
approach is able to better further these performance indications.
The author noted that overall, within the past couple of years,
the organizational performance within companies or firms have
been improving based on simple reports that are being provided.
The author evaluates Corporate Performance Management and
how this approach is required to provide reports of their
business strategy and how the balanced scorecard can help to
achieve this as it is now “one of the most internationally used
management instruments” (para. 13). The author then referred to

3. a study that was conducted including 80 different companies
and interviewed them. The study resulted in finding that 60% of
those that answered revealed that there was not a consecrated
management system in use, 85.6% have strategies that are set
into place, 89.94% said that the operational activities that are
taking place to correlate with the company’s strategies and more
than 50% of these use the balanced scorecard approach, and
74.9% said that they have implemented performance
managements systems, if it is something other than the balance
scorecard approach. The author concluded with stating that
26.8% align their assessing from that of a balanced scorecard
perspective or of one that is similar.
Biblical Integration
The relevance of a balanced scorecard to God’s law and a
biblical perspective is that is allows for a company to be
assessed on levels other than financial capital or their internal
business processes, just as Christ does not judge us by how
many mission trips we are able to go on or how many times a
day we read our Bible. As Proverbs 3: 15 says, “Don’t assume
that you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil!” Ecclesiastes
11:6 also says, “Sow your seed in the morning and do not be
idle in the evening, for you do not know whether morning or
evening will succeed, or whether both of them alike will be
good.” Christ tells us that we do not know what is ahead and we
should not assume that we know it all. John 7:24 says, “Do not
judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment”.
Application
The balanced scorecard approach has been applied to real-
world business because it is being used in businesses all over
the globe to better assess their strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, and threats. It allows for companies to see where
it is that they are thriving and also areas where they may need
to improve. This approach is significant also because it allows
for companies to not be valued based on one area of their
company; if they are not excelling in training and learning but
are doing well in internal business performance, there is a

4. balance and auditors can see that there is still growth and
competence in the firm.
Annotated Bibliography
Blocher, E. J., Stout, D. E., Juras, P. E., & Cokins, G. (2016).
Cost management: A strategic
emphasis (7th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill. P. 70
This source is a previous textbook, not online article. I will skip
this annotated – there are 5 additional below.
Constandache, N., & Chiru, G. (2015). Balanced scorecard:
Organizational performance
management instrument. Euroeconomica, 34(2), 97-112.
The author noted that overall, within the past couple of years,
the organizational
performance within companies or firms have been improving
based on simple reports that are being provided. The author
evaluates Corporate Performance Management and how this
approach is required to provide reports of their business
strategy and how the balanced scorecard can help to achieve
this as it is now “one of the most internationally used
management instruments” (para. 13). The author then referred to
a study that was conducted including 80 different companies
and interviewed them. The study resulted in finding that 60% of
those that answered revealed that there was not a consecrated
management system in use, 85.6% have strategies that are set
into place, 89.94% said that the operational activities that are
taking place to correlate with the company’s strategies and more
than 50% of these use the balanced scorecard approach, and
74.9% said that they have implemented performance
managements systems, if it is something other than the balance
scorecard approach. The author concluded with stating that
26.8% align their assessing from that of a balanced scorecard
perspective or of one that is similar.
Janes, A. (2014). Empirical verification of the balances
scorecard. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 114(2), 203-

5. 219. Doi: 10.1108/IMDS-04-2013-0195
This article seeks to overall verify the usefulness and value of
the balanced scorecard approach. The article evaluated the YM
Company, that is of which produces appliances, machines, and
electric-motors for different various in-home appliances. The
research conducted applied all four aspects of the balance
scorecard approach and concluded that it is a valid study that
had proven effective multiple times and provided long-term
competitive capability. The author also stated that the BSC
approach was easy to use and allows for effective forecasting.
The author also mentioned that this approach is able to be used
by either small or large businesses.
Khoma, J. K. (2015). Conceptualization of the balanced
scorecard (BSC) model. International Journal of Commerce and
Management, 25(4), 424-441. Doi: 10.1108/IJCoMA-12-2012-
0077
This author focused on analyzing the four different areas of
assessment. The author notes that the balanced scorecard
approach was designed because many managements operations
were frustrated in trying to assess the overall successfulness of
companies. The article stated that other short-term
measurements systems were not up to par and thus, the balanced
scorecard approach was invented. The article notes that when
observing non-financial aspects of a company, is to determine
whether it is private or public but states that the priority of a
company should be to “create and keep customers”. Each of the
four aspects, the author analyses and breaks down for further
understanding.
Sainaghi, R., Phillips, P., & Corti, V. (2013). Measuring hotel
performance: Using balanced scorecard perspectives’ approach.
International Journal of Hospitality Management, 34, 150. Doi:
10.1016/j.ijhm.2013.02.008
This author looked into hotel performance research that
was published by seven different tourism and hospitality

6. journals. The article looks into the previous approaches that
were short-term and did not provide accurate results for
companies. The author does emphasize that when it comes to
companies and firms obtaining competitive advantage in their
market and field it is essential to evaluate not only the financial
aspects but the non-financial and the other three performance
indicators. Also, the balanced scorecard approach can be used
by companies that are newly established, those that have been
around for many years, or those who are wanting to evaluate
where their firm stands; it is not only for those firms who are in
a time of difficulty.
Porporato, M., Tsasis, P., & Marin Vinuesa, L. M. (2017). Do
hospital balanced scorecard measures reflect cause-effect
relationships? International Journal of Productivity and
Performance Management, 66(3), 338-361. Doi: 10.1108/IJ
The author of this article observed a study that was conducted
in a hospital in Canada. The research was implemented to
further understand how certain measures within the hospital
correlated with the balanced scorecard approach and if cause-
effect relationships were implicated. When researched the
Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) found that 39 measures of
organization had been implemented within the hospital based on
the four aspects of the balanced scorecard approach. The article
goes on to examine how the balanced scorecard can be
implemented within a medical profession; due to medical
facilities having to integrate more efficiency as well as the
financial and other 3 aspects of the approach. The hospital has
brought on the BSC approach as a means to “improve quality,
reduce inefficiencies, increase overall organization
effectiveness and maintain economic sustainability”.
Running head: SERVICE DEFECTIONS

7. SERVICE DEFECTIONS 10
Discussion Board Forum 2- Service Defections
Sydnie Harris
Liberty University
Busi 650
Service Defections
Key Concept Explanation
In this discussion post, I have decided to observe the term
service defections in order to understand how this impacts a
consumers’ loyalty to a company. When organizations produce a
product or service, quality is always measured to determine if
there are any defections. Defections can be measured by a
customer’s return to a company. Per (Meredith, R., & Shafer,
M., 2017), “in many services, the analogy to a product defect is

8. a defecting customer-that is, a customer who takes his or her
business elsewhere” (p.217). In other words, defections in
services or products generally drive customers away from those
specific services or products, which is known as a customer
defection. Companies who can reduce service and customer
defections will benefit from profit growth and efficiency.
Service defections are important in process control because a
customer who decides to take their business elsewhere is
parallel to a product defect.
Comparison
After further investigation on this topic, I have discovered that
customers who decide to take their business elsewhere are
known as defecting customers and they must be monitored for
several different reasons. Meredith and Shafer (2017), explains
the benefits of long-term customers, and the necessary feedback
needed from unhappy customers to identify areas of
improvement. In researching my selected topic, the articles
reviewed the relationship service defections have with customer
satisfaction and retention. For example, both service defection
and customer satisfaction are measured using a balanced
scorecard to measure and monitor a company’s performance.
The balanced scorecard gives owners and managers in a
corporation an idea on how internal and external customers
view a company. Companies with a developed balanced score
card can, “clarify and gain consensus on the strategy,
communicate the strategy throughout the entire organization,
align departmental and personal goals to the strategy, ensure
strategic objectives are linked to annual budgets and receive
timely feedback” (Meredith, R., & Shafer, M., 2017, p.204).
Organizations that are capable of developing strategies that help
improve their services and products will improve how customers
view the company.
Another observation after continued research on the topic
of service defection is the influence on the customers’
emotional state. Customers experience different emotional
behaviors due to desirable or undesirable experiences with a

9. product or service. For instance, “someone who has wrecked
their car because they were talking on their mobile telephone
and therefore distracted may experience guilt, whereas someone
whose car was wrecked by someone to whom they lent their car
may be angry” (Watson, L., & Spence, T., 2007, p.492). The
reason for different emotions towards this situation is the
difference in being angry with someone else or oneself. These
different emotions will impact a customer’s behavior towards
selecting where and how much they are willing to pay to have
their vehicle fixed. Companies who can identify these issues
will develop several strategies to serve different types of
customers.
Other observations that were collected that impact service
defections include price competition and the downsizing of an
organization. The loss of customers due to a service defection
results in companies having to increase their prices to
compensate for their losses. “In the face of competitive price
threats, developing relationships with customers may be
effective in discouraging customer defection” (Kaltcheva, D.,
Winsor, D., & Parasuraman, A., 2010, p.5). The downsizing of
an organization will help reduce organizational cost, but “has an
immediate negative impact on customer satisfaction levels and
on projected retention rates” (Williams, P., Khan, M. S., &
Naumann, E., 2011, p.405). Customers quickly lose loyalty to
the brand, products, and services which lead to the
diminishment of long-term customers.
Article Summary
The article I have chosen to further analyze for this post is Four
Steps to Reduce Product Defects (2017). This article begins by
discussing how imperative it is for brands to remain competitive
in today’s environment by facing and keeping up with their
customer’s evolving needs. All over the world, a consumers’
perception of the quality of a product or service has transformed
and customers no longer have the same expectation when
purchasing apparel. For instance, when consumers find a
clothing item that is damaged in the stores, they will typically

10. ask a store clerk if there are any more in stock. However, online
retail shoppers behave differently when they are shipped a
defected product. They will likely return and usually do not
rebuy the item and often find another brand. “Poor products
quality can have costly future consequences for companies,
including direct impact on the brand and customer loyalty”
(2017).
In order for organizations to meet a consumers’ expectations,
maintain their brand strength, and reduce the amount of product
defects they must follow four key steps, “evaluate quality
control sampling plans, employ a tightened inspection level III
sampling plan, adopt a zero-defect policy, and shift the focus to
quality assurance” (2017). Following these steps can help
organizations reduce the loss of their customers and ensure they
can surpass customer expectations by firming the brand equity.
Companies who also adopt new quality control plans and
acceptable quality levels will allow them to grow into their
clients’ desires.
Biblical Integration
In order for companies to avoid and maintain service defections,
organizations must practice excellent service and produce
quality work, while customers must learn how to practice
forgiveness. In Colossians 3:23 (New International Version),
Paul tells us, “whatever you do, work at it with all your heart,
as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” Leaders and
employees who serve the Lord through their work will drive
them to produce and provide the best they possibly can to their
customers. Producing quality and excellence daily is pleasing to
Jesus. This chapter then evolves into speaking towards those
who have made a mistake but work towards correcting it.
Colossians 3:25 (New International Version) states, “anyone
who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no
favoritism.” Companies who produce a defected service or
product will be forgiven for their wrong doing. Consumers, on
the other hand, will have a much more difficult time at
forgiving a company for their wrong doings since they can

11. always go find another producer. I believe it is important for
Christian consumers to practice forgiveness when an
organization makes a mistake. In Colossians 3:13 (New
International Version), we are told, “bear with each other and
forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against
someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” Giving companies a
second chance will allow them to learn and grow from their
mistakes so it does not occur again.
Application
Service defections, the key topic I have chosen to discuss, is
applied to the real world of daily business by companies losing
profits and business due unhappy customers. Customer retention
and quality assurance methods must be established within an
organization in order to maintain customers and avoid any
errors. Even the most successful businesses must deal with
service defections at some point in time, and it is crucial they
haves strategies in place to address it. Whether that be a
discount for free product/services to a unhappy customer, a
backup plan in place will show a company’s loyalty to their
brand and customers.
Annotated Bibliography

12. Four steps to reduce product defects. (2017, March 19). just-
style.com. Retrieved from
http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com.ez
proxy.liberty.edu/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=vic_liberty&v=2.1
&it=r&id=GALE%7CA486101330&sid=summon&asid=71978d5
97969c9f5714b4b439ff854e3
The journal discusses the importance of companies to remain
competitive with their brands and being able to adopt to new
quality control levels and quality assurance with their products.
For example, when a shopper finds a damaged piece of clothing
in the store they typically try to find another one without the
flaw. If an online shopper receives a damaged product they will
return the product and more than likely not rebuy a new one.
Product quality that is poor will have a costly impact on a
brands future and the loyalty of their customers. The article
then begins to explain how to reduce product defects, maintain
brand strength, and meet changing customers’ expectations by
the following: Evaluating quality control, employing a tightened
inspection plan, adopting a zero-defect policy, and shifting their
focus to quality assurance. This article believes following these
steps will help companies reduce the loss of customers and
product defects.
Kaltcheva, V. D., Winsor, R. D., & Parasuraman, A. (2010).
The impact of customers' relational models on price-based
defection. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 18(1), 5-
22. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?url=https
://search-proquest-
com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/docview/212247334?accountid=12 085
This article explains the results from a study that was conducted
in order understand the relationship between customer defection
and price competition. The loss of customers’ places retailers in
the position to charge more for their products (no matter the
quality) to compensate the loss of clients. Resource-intensive
strategies are then needed to be in place to ensure their
customer retention rates. The article also discusses how price
competition is unavoidable for companies today and it creates a

13. negative atmosphere for company owners. If retailers do not
compete with others on prices, they are forced to develop new
strategies that will help them defend their market share.
Meredith, J. R., & Shafer, S. M. (2017). Operations
management for MBAs (6th ed.). Jefferson
Piha, L. P., & Avlonitis, G. J. (2015). Customer defection in
retail banking. Journal of Service Theory and Practice, 25(3),
304-326. Retrieved from
http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-
com.ezproxy
.liberty.edu/docview/1768593188?accountid=12085
The purpose of this article is to provide organizational owners
and managers insight on why customers depart and services fail
in the retail banking industry. A European bank with an
international presence that provides retail banking services is
observed for this study. The bank experienced an increased
defection rate in their customer credit sector, and they were
curious as to why customers were leaving. Gathering
information from 6,000 retail customers who has defected, and
in this companies case a defected customer is someone who has
closed at least one of their bank accounts. Research explains
how customers who feel appreciated and are being provided
excellent customer service and service quality will improve a
customers’ intents to stay with a firm. By companies
eliminating anything that causes customer dissatisfaction, stress
decrease will help improve areas that drive customer
satisfaction. Customer dissatisfaction must be monitored
regularly in order to avoid any others to follow their lead.
Watson, L., & Spence, M. T. (2007). Causes and consequences
of emotions on consumer behavior. European Journal of
Marketing, 41(5/6), 487-511. doi:10.1108/03090560710737570
The purpose of this article is to recognize how consumers
experience different emotional behaviors due to either desirable
or undesirable situations. The article gives a great example
explaining how if someone wrecked their car on accident they
would experience guilt when buying a new car or having it

14. fixed. Whereas someone whose car is wrecked by someone else
would experience anger when buying a new car or fixing it.
These different emotions affect a consumers’ behavior and how
they do or do not appreciate a company’s services or products.
The article then explains how there are three approaches to
studying emotions which are: dimensions, categories, and
cognitive appraisals. These approaches groups customers’
emotions based off similarities rather than determining the
cause of their emotions. Companies who can maintain a holistic
perspective on emotionally charged decision making will allow
them to dive into many different strategies that assist and serve
many different types of customers.
Williams, P., Khan, M. S., & Naumann, E. (2011). Customer
dissatisfaction and defection: The hidden costs of downsizing.
Industrial Marketing Management, 40(3), 405-413.
doi:10.1016/j.indmarman.2010.04.007
This article discusses how there is very little research on how
customers are impacted through a company downsizing its
services or products. The overall goal of downsizing is to
reduce costs for a company. Research in this article has shown
that companies who downsize have a negative impact of
customer satisfaction and there are lower retention rates. This
will lead to companies experiencing financial losses and create
unknown for their expected future revenue. Jobs are also lost or
financially impacted when companies downsize. Customers lose
loyalty to the brand, products, and services which leads to the
diminishment of long-term customers.