Los responsables de cada uno de los cuadros de mando de los diferentes departamentos han de tener en cuenta una serie de aspectos comunes en cuanto a su elaboración. Entre dichos aspectos cabría destacar los siguientes:.
• - Los cuadros de mando han de presentar solo aquella información que resulte ser imprescindible, de una forma sencilla y por supuesto, sinóptica y resumida.
• - El carácter de estructura piramidal entre los cuadros de mando, ha de tenerse presente en todo momento, ya que esto permite la conciliación de dos puntos básicos: uno, que cada vez más se agreguen los indicadores hasta llegar a los más resumidos y dos, que a cada responsable se le asignen solo aquellos indicadores relativos a su gestión y a sus objetivos.
• - Se debe destacar lo verdaderamente relevante, ofreciendo un mayor énfasis en cuanto a las informaciones más significativas.
• - No se puede olvidar la importancia que tienen tanto los gráficos, tablas y/o cuadros de datos, etc., ya que son verdaderos nexos de apoyo de toda la información que se resume en los Cuadros de Mando.
• - La uniformidad en cuanto a la forma de elaborar estas herramientas es importante, ya que esto permitirá una verdadera regularización de los informes con los que la empresa trabaja, así como facilitar las tareas de comparación de resultados entre los distintos departamentos o áreas.
De alguna manera, lo que se incorpore en esta herramienta, será aquello con lo que se podrá medir la gestión realizada y, por este motivo, es muy importante establecer en cada caso qué es lo que hay que controlar y cómo hacerlo. En general, el Cuadro de Mando debe tener cuatro partes bien diferenciadas:.
• - Primero: se deben constatar de forma clara, cuáles son las variables o aspectos claves más importantes a tener en cuenta para la correcta medición de la gestión en un área determinada o en un nivel de responsabilidad concreto.
• - Segundo: en la que estas variables puedan ser cuantificadas de alguna manera a través de los indicadores precisos, y en los períodos de tiempo que se consideren oportunos.
• - Tercero: en alusión al control de dichos indicadores, será necesaria la comparación entre lo previsto y lo realizado, extrayendo de algún modo las diferencias positivas o negativas que se han generado, es decir, las desviaciones producidas.
• - Cuarto: es fundamental que con imaginación y creatividad se consiga que el modelo de Cuadro de Mando que se proponga en una organización ofrezca soluciones cuando así sea necesario.
Preparation of the Dashboard
One should not lose sight of the elementary objectives that are intended to be achieved through the Dashboard, since, without objectives to be achieved, the creation of certain reports can hardly be understood. Among these objectives we can consider that:
• - It must be a notable information medium. Above all, it must eliminate, as far as possible, the information bureaucracy in terms of the different reports that the company can count on.
• - It should be a diagnostic tool. It is about specifying what is not working correctly in the company; in short, it must behave as an alert system. In this sense, we have to consider two aspects:
• - In relation to the confrontation between achievements and forecasts, their effectiveness must be highlighted. The analysis of deviations is essential when studying the management trajectory, as well as in the short-term decision-making process.
• - It must promote dialogue between everyone. By jointly exposing the problems by the different people responsible, much progress can be made in terms of streamlining the decision-making process. It is necessary to analyze the causes of the most important deviations, provide solutions and take the most appropriate course of action.
• - It must be useful when assigning responsibilities. Furthermore, the availability of adequate information facilitates fluid communication between the different management levels and group work that allows for improved results.
• - It must be a reason for change and continued training regarding the behavior of the different executives and/or managers. You have to achieve motivation among the different people in charge. This must be so, especially since this tool will be a reflection of its own management.
• - Lastly and as the most important objective, this management tool must facilitate decision making. To do this, the model should at all times:.
The main elements that can make the Scorecard show notable differences with respect to other accounting and management tools are:
• - The nature of the information used.
• - The relationship between the Scorecard and the characteristic profile of the recipient.
• - Solving problems through quick actions.
• - Simple and not very voluminous information.
In relation to the type of information used, the Dashboard, apart from gathering information with similar characteristics as that used in the different disciplines of an accounting nature, that is, financial, must contain information of a non-financial nature. Since its presentation as a useful management tool, the Dashboard stood out for its total flexibility in collecting such information.
Another aspect to highlight is the mutual relationship that must exist between the Dashboard and the profile of the person for whom it is intended. Precisely, the needs of each manager must set the tone that characterizes and makes this tool ideal in each case and situation, especially with respect to the level of greatest responsibility in the current hierarchy of the company, because a much greater effort at generality and synthesis is required.
Another feature of the Scorecard is problem solving through quick actions. When qualitative indicators are incorporated into the Scorecard, in a certain way, they are closer to the action than the indicators or financial results themselves. Likewise, these nominal indicators give us progress as to what results are yet to be achieved.
The last feature that would differentiate the Dashboard is the fact of using simple and not very voluminous information. The usual accounting disciplines and tools require a greater dedication of analysis and execution time and, at the time of decision-making, they always require other aspects that were not originally part of their framework of action.
The Scorecard is oriented towards the reduction and synthesis of concepts; it is a tool that, together with the support of new information and communication technologies, can and should offer simple, summarized and effective information for decision making.
CMI vs ISO. The Balanced Scorecard is compatible with other Quality management models, such as ISO9001, ISO TS 16949, etc. However, these quality standards focus more on internal process control and do not establish cause-effect relationships between the different perspectives from the financial perspective to the learning and development perspective. The CMI is perfectly compatible with these quality models and in highly developed sectors, it is common to combine different models: Lean, ISO and CMI.
Dashboard Content
In relation to the main variables to be taken into account in the General Management, Functional Directorates and Functional Subdirectorates, it is concluded that there is not a single formula for all companies, but rather that for each type of organization certain variables will have to be taken with which to carry out the measurement of management.
It is important to keep in mind that the content of any Dashboard is not just reduced to figures or numbers, it must be very specific content for each department or for each person in charge. Likewise, it must be kept in mind that the information managed in a specific Dashboard may be valid for another.
With respect to indicators, these are objective elements that describe specific situations, and that try to measure in some way the variables proposed in each case. When analyzing the necessary indicators, a basic distinction is established between financial and non-financial indicators.
The Dashboard is nourished by all these types of indicators, it takes into account the prospective and retrospective aspects, configuring a much more complete and effective global point of view. Its function is to combine a series of elements to provide an overall vision and offer solutions in each case.
Most techniques have as a common element that they show the relationships that exist between the categories of variables rather than between the variables themselves. The Dashboard should not delve so much into these techniques, but rather into obtaining the minimum necessary information, so that, together with the monetary variables, it can carry out the aforementioned globalized management.