Introduction
A balanced scorecard is an advanced strategy that examines and uses performance management and compares results with benchmarks. It ensures flexibility and revision. Britain’s Terminal 5 construction required highly technical expertise. Therefore, the Balanced Scorecard became the best tool to use for all the major activities, including procurement and transactions. The building of the Airport applied the economic focus, internal focus, learning and growth focus, and the customer experience focus.
Heathrow T5’s Application of the BSC
The balanced scorecard is a strategic planning and management system that is relevant to business and industry. Governments and organizations come up with visions and align their strategies and activities with these scorecards (Customer Perspective, 2016). The BSC helps to improve both the internal and external needs of the business for both profitable and non-profitable organizations. The plan involves putting the vision into two primary focus points that the organization’s leadership will use to measure performance.
The Financial Focus
The construction of T5 terminus had been a result of various studies conducted by a team of experts. They discovered that air transportation worldwide was becoming very expensive because of the increased costs of managing airports. There was also the necessity to build a world-class airport with affordable charges to the customer. The Airport was also supposed to bring good income to the British Airports Authority. Due to the demands, the management had to find cost-effective means of putting up an airport with world standards.
The BSC financial focus requires that the financial department comes up with data. The data should have standards that each commercial activity should measure up to successfully (Basu, Little, & Millard, 2009). Finding private contractors that have proven records of success was not easy. It also involved costs. The government centralized and automated the process of construction and service bids, qualifications, and approvals. Therefore, the BAA outlined its objectives for the success of the project right from inception to completion.
Before the project started, the public had the opportunity to raise questions on whatever issue was relevant to the achievement of the goals. They would also advise the management through a systematic approach given by the management for the project. On the same project, the forecasted view was that the project would remain automated throughout its lifespan. There would be future adjustments that would help the Airport continuously grow to become world-class.
Internal Focus
T5 was supposed to increase efficiency in customer service. The project required that all payments should become automated. Customers would pay for services at the airport using any technological systems (Jones, 2011). The use of credit cards, debit cards, and any online methods was to ensure a quick delivery. Customers would get replies to the services they applied for from wherever they were operating and could reply in their chosen method. It was to include phone responses.
Another concept was to ensure that all transport mechanisms that would serve the port align themselves with this new way of doing work. The rail and bus transport had to adapt to the new techniques. They would pick and drop passengers at well-refurbished centers. They would also use specified means to pay the airport for the renewal of their contract to the utilization of the airport.
BAA had to consider a strategic contracting and procurement strategy. The process had to have the support of the performance management system and an audit process. The project also documented the best practices and learning points of the T5 Agreement and balanced scorecard-based performance management system. It also adopted best practices and learning points from the other constructs of project quality project excellence.
The process would save thousands of hours that had gone to waste in the previous years when people were seeking for the airport’s services. It would also enhance the security of information. Customers would be secure from any third party getting their information. It would lead to an increase in surveillance and hence safety improvement. Since there was the rise of terrorism all over the world, the Airport would be one of the safest in the European region. Therefore people traveling through the European continent would find it safe to use the airport facilities and services.
Learning and Growth Focus
Every corporate should seek ways to grow and improve its services to the customers. The best way to do this is through continuous learning. Learning can be in different forms. Sometimes the organizations can plan for workers to go back to school. It may be a college or a university for improving their professionalism (Sherwood & Sherwood, 2009). On another scale, they can go through rigorous training at the place of work. The training can be through a method of staggering the lessons to achieve a mission. New approaches and systems can also become useful to the company. When such things happen, the staffs have to undergo particular experiences.
Heathrow Airport had to train some of the teams that would be involved in the project. They would become the primary resource for the professionals who would undertake the job of construction of the terminal 5. Training had to happen again at the completion of the project. It was to include the staff who would work in the refurbished terminal and those who would be linking up to the new operations. It also had to include airport suppliers (Sherwood & Sherwood, 2009). A majority of them had to undergo a brief introduction seminar to the new ways of doing things at the airport.
The Airport authorities were also organizing for the research and technology to be a continuous process in the airport. The new developments that management would seek would have to undergo a study and verification procedure. The mechanism would enable the airport to be continuously on the growth pattern for service delivery to its clients. The management staff would need to undertake leadership training so that they can continue setting the organization on a growth strategy (Jones, 2011).
The future developments required that the team goes through continuous training so that they align their objectives with the organization’s vision (Sherwood & Sherwood, 2009). It will also help the firm to know the staff’s capability to grow within the system and later become great leaders (Raynus, 2011). First, the management has to set the right objectives for the training that will lead to the achievement of the company’s vision. Whenever there is a change in an organization, it causes discomfort if the workers do not understand the direction that the organization is undertaking.
Customer Perspective
Every organization exists because they serve the interest of the client. The primary reason for the continuous growth in every organization is customer satisfaction. If customers do get satisfaction in the company’s products, they will look for another firm or product that meets their needs. Therefore, the customer determines how far the organization should go regarding pursuing objectives.
Heathrow Airport is one of the busiest places in Europe and the world. The client’s flow was and has been growing as trade increases. Britain trades with European countries, the United States of America, Africa, and the Asian countries. As business transactions increase, there is continuous inflow and outflow of customers. It also serves tourists visiting and leaving for other nations. There is luggage that goes through the system (Magoon, 2011).
The construction would make it easy for customers to access the airport services. They would also give their suggestions and concerns about the development of the service at the facility. Movement within the airport was also of primary concern. Previously, some of the routes were not easy for customers to find, especially new ones. It was also not easy for them to access some services because of the difficulty in the search for the right places.
The construction also focused on people with disabilities. They had to have their climbing Rams and proper lifts that would ease their movement. The computerized systems that customers would use are available in tens of languages (Basu et al., 2009). It means that if someone is not an English speaking customer, he or she would still access the required services in the language that he or she understands.
Some instructional areas would guide the customers to find the services they needed without getting lost. Security measures were also of great concern (Magoon, 2011). The CCTV cameras would help to locate any suspicious activity and sort the matter in the shortest time possible.
The Terminal 5 construction was one of the major projects carried out in Europe. The management process linked the BSC fundamentals into the project in a very strategic manner. The application of this strategic method led to very successful completion of a world-class airport.
References
Basu, R., Little, C., & Millard, C. (2009). Case study: A fresh approach of the BalancedScorecard in the Heathrow Terminal 5 project. Measuring Business Excellence, 13(4), 22-33. Web.
Customer Perspective. (2016). Web.
Jones, P. (2011). Strategy mapping for learning organizations. Farnham, UK: Gower Pub.
Magoon, O. (2011). Coastal engineering practice. Reston, VA: American Society of Civil Engineers.
Raynus, J. (2011). Improving business process performance. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press.
Sherwood, P. & Sherwood, P. (2009). Heathrow. Stroud, UK: The History Press.