Marc J. Epstein

Implementing corporate strategy:: From Tableaux de Bord to balanced scorecards

Defining a clear strategy can be a difficult process for a large company. Translating this strategy into action can be even more difficult. This paper presents and compares two related tools that can help companies articulate and cascade their strategy: the Tableau de Bord, a concept popularized in France, and the Balanced Scorecard. We discuss why, although the notion of Tableau de Bord appeared long before the Balanced Scorecard, the Balanced Scorecard still represents a welcome addition to both theory and practice. The paper also illustrates how tools such as Tableau de Bord and Balanced Scorecard can be cascaded down the organization to support the development and implementation of strategy, identifies some implementation difficulties that companies may encounter, and discusses the role of top management and controllers in the definition and use of such tools.1

Social Disclosure and the Individual Investor

The demand for social information by individual investors is supported by the survey reported in this study. Based on the results of the 1991 survey on the usefulness of annual reports to corporate shareholders, there appears to be a strong demand for information about product safety and quality, and about the company′s environmental activities. Furthermore, a majority of the shareholders surveyed also want the company to report on corporate ethics, employee relations and community involvement. Since there appears to be a strong demand for social information by shareholders, serious consideration should be given to requiring certain social disclosures in annual reports. Furthermore, a large minority of those surveyed would like these disclosures to be audited. It may be in the interest of the auditing profession actively to support those areas of social disclosure that it feels comfortable auditing and to develop the skills to provide such audits. If not, the profession may find itself in the position of ...

Managing corporate environmental performance:: A multinational perspective

In the environmental arena, multinational companies are faced with important strategic decisions that will set a direction for their corporate environmental performance. As part of their environmental strategy, they must decide whether they will adopt a global company standard or otherwise adapt their standard to meet local requirements. These are important issues that will affect the companys long term financial health. Managers deciding upon a strategy need an appropriate framework to evaluate and weight the long term impacts of their decisions. The article highlights some of the strategic issues surrounding environmental management for multinational companies and proposes key elements for implementing an environmental strategy worldwide. The ISO 14001 standard is also presented as a framework for improved corporate environmental management in a multinational perspective.