Title: Using the Balanced Scorecard in support departments in a public organisation from the employees point of view   Keywords: Organization, Leadership, Balanced Scorecard [BSC], Processes, Support Department Background: The society requires that organizations which are financed with taxes should use their resources efficiently. It requires that organizations should be driven under constant improvement. One way might be to use the Balance Scorecard [BSC] which is an instrument to lead an organization toward its goals. Problem: What is the experience of the staff of two support departments in a public organization of using of BSC in their departments? What advantages and disadvantages of using of BSC are experienced by the staff of two support departments in a public organization in their departments? How can leaders affect the staff’s experience so the job in these departments becomes more effective? Can we affect staffs motivation to use BSC with the help of the institutional theory? Purpose: The purpose of this work is to study the question if the BSC is a well-functioning control instrument in some departments of one public organization. We will increase the knowledge of how the staff of two support departments experiences the BSC in their departments. Our study can be used as a pilot study for a larger study of the practical use and development of control instruments in support departments in public organizations. Method: This study is descriptive because the purpose is to study the staff’s experience. The analysis has been done deductively. This is a case study with two cases. The method used in the study is qualitative. We take advantage of semi-structured interviews in this study. Conclusion: Our result shows that the staff from these two departments of the public organization does not engage themselves in this activity so much. It can be explained by the fact that their main work tasks which takes most of the time are to support producing departments. That is why the controlling with the help of BSC in these departments is not prioritized from the personals point of view. The staff’s experience coincide with the institutional theory which points out the difference between that what should be achieved and what really has been accomplished. The leaders can affect the staff’s motivation by communicating the BSC so these departments can work more effectively.

Problemdiskussion och syfte: Baserat på tidigare forskning noterar vi att företag möter utmaningar med att identifiera relevanta sociala hållbarhetsmål, det vill säga mål som kan kopplas till deras affärsstrategi och som genererar lönsamhet. Då vi finner att det brister i forskning som behandlar detta är syftet med denna studie att öka förståelse för de utmaningar som finns med att mäta och länka sociala hållbarhetsmål mot affärsstrategi för att generera lönsamhet.   Metod: För att uppfylla studiens syfte har vi använt ett hermeneutiskt synsätt och en deduktiv forskningsansats där genomförandet har baserats på en kvalitativ empiriinsamling som bestått av intervjuer. Empiriska data analyserades sedan med hjälp av narrativ analys.   Resultat & slutsats: Studien visar på att den största utmaningen för företag är att mäta och hitta en direkt länk mellan CSR och lönsamhet. Vidare finner vi att implementering av CSR i affärsstrategin hjälper att påvisa indirekt samband mellan CSR och lönsamhet.   Bidrag: Studien tillför ett teoretiskt bidrag till befintlig forskning som menar på att företag bör lägga ner resurser på att identifiera vad CSR innebär för dem och sedan sätta relevanta mål utifrån det. I det teoretiska bidraget menar vi även på att styrkonceptet (S)BSC bör utökas för att inkludera fokus på kommunicerbarhet eftersom det är en nyckelpunkt för sambandet mellan CSR lönsamhet. Studien presenterar även ett praktiskt bidrag som riktar sig till de yrkesverksamma där vi uppmuntrar företag att formulera en vision som inkluderar CSR och integrera det i affärsstrategin. Samt att fokusera på “what gets valued gets done”, istället för “what gets measured gets done”. Det vill säga rikta bort fokus från mätbara mål och istället fokusera på kommunicerbara mål för CSR.   Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Vi ser det intressant att vidare studera hur kommunicerbara mål för socialt ansvar kan identifieras och formuleras. Detta eftersom befintlig forskning fokuserar på mätbara mål. / Aim: Based on previous research, we found that companies face challenges in identifying relevant social sustainability goals. Meaning, goals that can be linked to the business strategy that are aimed to generate profitability. There is a lack of researches that address this problem; hence the purpose of this study is to increase understanding of the challenges that exist in measuring and linking social sustainability goals to business strategy in order to generate profitability.   Method: To fulfill the purpose of the study, we have used a hermeneutic approach and a deductive research approach. Where the implementation has been based on qualitative research consisting of interviews. Empirical data was then analyzed using narrative analysis.   Result & Conclusions: This study shows that the biggest challenge for companies is to measure and find a direct link between CSR and profitability. Furthermore, we find that the implementation of CSR in the business strategy helps to emphasize an indirect relationship between CSR and profitability.   Contribution of the thesis: The study makes a theoretical contribution to existing research, which indicates that companies should devote resources on identifying what CSR means to them and then set relevant goals based on it. The theoretical contribution also presents that the (S)BSC concept should be expanded to include focus on communicability as it is the key point for the relationship between CSR profitability. The study also presents a practical contribution aimed at the professionals in which we encourage companies to formulate a vision that includes CSR and integrate it into the business strategy. As well as focusing on “what gets valued gets done”, instead of “what gets measured gets done”. We suggest that companies should aim the focus on communicable goals instead of measurable goals for CSR.   Suggestions for future research: We find it interesting to further study how communicable social responsibility goals can be identified and formulated. This is because existing research focuses on measurable goals.

Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att skapa förståelse för hur styrkortsanvändning hos svenska kommuner upplevs av involverade chefer, särskilt sett till användbarhet och användarvänlighet. Metod: Denna studie antar ett kvalitativt och tolkningsinriktat synsätt och har en abduktiv ansats. Tillvägagångssättet omfattar en litteraturstudie samt empiri-insamling medelst semistrukturerade intervjuer, vilka sedan växelvis har ställts mot varandra genom en tematiserad analys. Slutsats: Vår slutsats är att styrkortsanvändning hos svenska kommuner uppvisar avsevärd variation, men att styrkorten överlag upplevs som användbara för organisationen; något mindre användbara för den enskilde chefen samt att bristfällig användarvänlighet är vanligt förekommande. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Se stycke 6.4. Studiens bidrag: Vår studie bidrar med empirisk bekräftelse av att balanserat styrkort upplevs vara ett användbart koncept för kommunal styrning. Vidare påvisar studien att styrkortet främst är praktiskt användbart för organisationen som helhet; sett till den enskilde chefen är användbarheten och användarvänligheten mer begränsad, och förbättringspotentialen upplevs vara stor sett till båda perspektiv. / Aim: The purpose of this study is to create an understanding for how scorecard usage in Swedish local government is perceived by the involved managers, especially in terms of usefulness and ease of use. Method: This study adopts a qualitative and interpretative stance and has an abductive approach. The mode of procedure includes a literature study and collection of empiric material through semistructured interviews, which have then iteratively been positioned versus each other in a thematised analysis. Conclusions: Our conclusions are that scorecard usage in Swedish local government organisations encompasses considerable variation, but that the scorecards in general are perceived as useful for the organisation; somewhat less useful for the individual manager and that inadequate ease of use is commonly occurring. Suggested future research: See paragraph 6.4 below. Contribution of the thesis: Our study contributes with empiric confirmation that the balanced scorecard is perceived to be a suitable concept for Swedish local government management. The study also shows that the scorecard is useful primarily for the organisation as a whole; the usefulness and ease of use seen to the individual manager is more limited, and the potential for improvement is perceived to be considerable seen to both perspectives.