What is the main goal of using a balanced scorecard in business?

Using a balanced scorecard as a strategic planning and management tool primarily aims to align an organization’s activities with its overarching strategic vision. This approach allows businesses to translate their vision and strategies into a coherent set of performance measures, balancing both financial and non-financial metrics.

By utilizing a balanced scorecard, organizations can ensure that various departments and teams are working towards common strategic objectives. It integrates different perspectives, including financial performance, customer relationships, internal processes, and learning and growth, which helps an organization to not only assess its performance but also to drive initiatives that are aligned with its long-term goals. This holistic approach makes it easier to identify areas for improvement and ensures that all facets of the organization are contributing effectively to the overall strategy.

The other options focus on specific outputs or aspects of business operations rather than the broader strategic alignment the balanced scorecard promotes. While improving employee engagement, tracking financial outputs, and enhancing customer loyalty are important facets of business, they do not encapsulate the main goal of the balanced scorecard framework, which is fundamentally about strategic alignment across the organization.