Foreword by Dr. Robert Kaplan

"I am very pleased to introduce this important book to Chinese managers, executives, academics, and students...

"The Balanced Scorecard management system addresses a systemic issue that organizations in all cultures and economies must solve - how to describe and implement the organization's strategy. Since 1990, when Dave Norton and I developed the Balanced Scorecard, this innovative measurement approach has been adopted and successfully applied by a wide variety of organizations throughout the world manufacturing and service, private-sector and public sector, for profit and nonprofit, large and small.

"In each region…we rely on local experts to adapt and apply the system to their particular context. I have been impressed with the extensive experience and expertise that Irv Beiman and Yong Ling Sun have gained in implementing the Balanced Scorecard with Chinese organizations. Their book reveals an in-depth understanding of the essence of the Balanced Scorecard measurement and management system. It provides important foundational material about the Balanced Scorecard and shows how to apply the BSC in a way that is consistent with Chinese culture and traditions, and in the contexts of diverse Chinese organizations. It highlights how to balance the tension between the Chinese Confucian legacy of respect for authority with the competitive imperative to encourage individual empowerment and initiative. This book provides Chinese managers with an excellent introduction to the theory and application of the Balanced Scorecard in their culture and context.

"Dr. Beiman and Dr. Sun describe the principles organizations must follow to become strategy-focused. They address the significant behavioral and organizational issues that can arise and that must be overcome for successful implementations. Every chapter is richly illustrated with relevant examples from Chinese organizations.

"As a specific example, the book describes how to link the Balanced Scorecard management system to new human resource management processes, such as performance appraisal and performance management systems. The authors demonstrate how to align key HR processes such as recruitment, selection, retention, and variable pay to the organization's strategy. As another example, the book devotes an entire chapter to linking the strategic Balanced Scorecard framework to current Chinese initiatives on total quality management. A third example is the book's identification of the imperative for developing a new model for executive leadership and organizational learning in the Chinese context.

"I am very impressed with the contents of this book. I highly recommend it to Chinese managers in all organizations, whether tiny embryonic and entrepreneurial ventures, town and village owned-enterprises, FDI subsidiaries, up through giant state-owned enterprises searching for new management models to become more competitive, efficient, responsive, and effective. Organizations that follow the principles articulated in this book will become healthier and more successful Chinese enterprises. I look forward to tracking the journey that such organizations will be following in the years ahead."

Robert S. Kaplan [June, 2003]
Marvin Bower Professor of Leadership Development, Harvard Business School, and
Chairman, Balanced Scorecard Collaborative
Boston, Massachusetts, USA