Designing a performance appraisal system based on balanced scorecard for improving productivity : Case study in Semnan technology and science park

Article history: Received December 25, 2011 Received in Revised form March, 25, 2012 Accepted 24 April 2012 Available online May 1 2012 Today, organizations for holding and improving their competing merit use performance measurement for evaluation, control, supervision and improvement of their trading processes. Medium and small companies in technology and science parks are very useful in economic revivification and technology development. Technology and science parks have provided necessary consultations, information, suitable equipments, and services for developing technology unites and prepare them for independent presence in industry. One of the necessary elements for the success and improvement of performance in these companies is to establish and implement balanced scorecard, which can be used to reach desired goals, strategies and to improve performance. In this article, we use a structured method for calculating efficiency of four perspectives of balanced scorecard. Statistical society of this research was Semnan technology and Science Park and seven experts are selected for answering questions of the survey. We also complete questionnaire and determine index and relative importance of all indices. For developing strategic goals of Semnan technology and science park according to four perspectives of balanced score card (finance, growth and learning, internal process), six meetings were hold and finally all crisis macro goals index were identified and they were analyzed for evaluating performance. © 2012 Growing Science Ltd. All rights reserved.


Introduction
These days, we see different reports on the average number of years people live in the world and realize the average life expectation is somewhere between 60 to 80 years but the average life cycle of in industry in many European and North American enterprises are only limited to 12.5 years.The primary objective of many science park organizations is to increase the average life cycle as much as possible.This is a fact that many small and medium scale businesses (SMEs) are the basis of economic growth in developing countries and science park units could significantly contribute to the growth of such organizations.
Performance measurement is one of the most important management techniques to see how effective management team performs his/her duties.There are literally different methods for measuring the relative performance of a particular firm and many of them rely on financial figures.However, there are always some non-financial indices, which are more important than financial data.Although traditional performance measurement relies solely on financial figures but Kaplan and Norton (1992) explained that intangible assets are the most important part of an organization.These days, we witness that a small group of people build a business unit with virtually small amount of investment and in less than a few years; the business model is sold billions of dollar.An example of this event is a one billion dollar take-over bid that facebook offered for a small firm who were operating with 13 people in 2012.
Therefore, we can conclude that performance traditional measurements established based on management accountancy system is not reliable (Koskela & Stenbacka, 2009;Dobisi, 2011).
Because of these limitations, characteristic of non-financial performance measurement has been emerged in this field.Basically, these properties are associated with organizational strategy and they have emerged to non-financial measurement.Therefore, multi-dimensional and uniform performance management systems have been extended, which could divide them to two separate groups (Wongrasem & Simmons, 2003;Wu et al., 2009;Khan et al., 2011 In this article, we consider a method for modeling of performance evaluation system based on balanced scorecard for improving performance of Semnan science and Technology Park.Kaplan and Norton (1992) are believed to be the first who in traduced the idea of BSC.They introduced their results with the name of performance measurements in future organization (that has been done in 1990) as BSC.They believed that BSC is capable of translating strategic goals and organization mission into a group of performance measurement.In addition, these two researchers improved BSC to prepare strategies and to increase in organization and control management with three articles in 1993, 1994 and 1996 office of growing centers of science ministry, researches and technology (Kaplan & Norton, 1996).The primary objective of BSC is to provide a comprehensive perception on organization financial and non-financial figures, which would help them implement organization strategies.The results of this article is to investigate the relationship between financial and non-financial items (Huang, 2009).BSC was a measurement system that place financial index by non-financial index.Four measurement perspectives in this method include (Kaplan & Norton 1992;Ashley et al., 2008;Tohidi et al., 2010, Wu et al., 2011):

Research conceptual framework
A: Financial B: Customers C: Internal process D: Learning and growth In 1996, BSC has been emerged to measurement instrument and indices have been associated with each other using cause and effect relationships.So financial indices were final output, which show financial results and lead to growth and promotion of organization in long term.Therefore, for promotion financial performance of organization, there are two solutions: 1: Income growth 2: Productivity improvement To setup a long term strategy, we need to look for long term objectives while we measure the shortterm goals in terms of productivity (Kloot & Martin, 2008) and Kaplan and Norton consider the following classification for intangible assets, 1: Human capital 2: Informational capital 3: Organizational capital (Kaplan & Norton, 2000).
Today, BSC has been specified as a strategic management and learning system, which is based on company general goals.BSC pays attention to create values in long term and the primary objective of BSC is to shape strategy (Kaplan & Norton, 2005).

Research goals
• Designing and evaluating performance of Semnan University Technology and Science based on BSC, • Specifying and evaluating essential goals related to park's strategies and determining indices for each goal, • Considering measure of effect of variables of BSC on performance of Semnan University Technology and Science Park, • Continues improvement of Semnan University Technology and Science Park by redirecting the necessary feedbacks to park performance layers.

Research questions
• What is the effect of weights of four perspectives on performance of Semnan University Technology and Science Park?• What are essential goals related to park strategies and what is index of each goal?
• What is the evaluating performance of Semnan University Technology and Science Park based on BSC model?

Research variables
Different methods have been provided for implementing and modeling BSC and the proposed model of this paper uses "Niyon" method, which is based on activity for implementing and modeling BSC in Semnan University Technology and Science Park.Niyon (2002) divides stages of implementation of BSC into the following three phases as follows, 1: planning phase 2: developing phase 3: performing and establishing phase

Research statistical Population
Statistical population of this research include experts, managers and experts of Semnan University Technology and Science Park in different unites.Because, method of collecting data in this research is survey, so the data has been collected by holding meetings with park's managers and staffs.

Research executing stages
Stages of implementing BSC can be divided to three total steps:

First step: planning stage
Stages of this step include: 1: Developing goals for BSC When starting, the biggest principles, which create difficulty in this project, are deleted.

2: Determining organizational unit for BSC
In this stage all unites of Semnan University Technology and Science Park have been determined and specified for establishing and implementing.
3: Getting executive supporter: Executive supporter of this project is Semnan University Technology and Science Park.
4: Building balanced score card team.
This team includes park's chief, public relations responsibility, support manager, responsible of office of relation to industry, etc.

5: Preparing project program
Semnan university technology and Science Park for implementing BSC could prepare a plane of development (strategic goal map) for implementing this project.
6: Developing a plane of establishing relation BSC project needs participation of all staff and is first condition for participating park's people, establishing relation and intercourse with them about BSC.

Second step: development step
Stages of this step include: 1: Collecting and distributing required materials Preparing forms of collecting information and BSC for measuring each of respects have been done in this stage.

2: Development with endorsing on commission, respective and strategy
In this stage commission, respective, goals, duties and preparing park's performance aspects of different unites have been considered and analyzed.

3: Interviewing with park's top managers
Making cultural, educational aspects of BSC model and stages of performing BSC have been performed in this stage.
4: Developing strategic goals in each of aspect of BSC Achieving and grouping them in balanced scorecard aspects have been done in this stage.

5: Selecting performance measurement for strategic goals
In this stage, vital goals and their indices for evaluating and measuring performance have been considered and analyzed.

Third step: establishment and executing step
Stages of this step include: 1:Determining proportional value of BSC using analyzes data hierarchy Determining relation among goals, criteria, indices and programs for park's process, unites; staff for determining proportional values of BSC are executed in this stage.

2: Calculating efficiency and achieving to goals of indices in different domains
In this stage, efficiency of each goals and indices has been calculated.

3: Calculating efficiency of park
This stage is last stage from implementing steps of balanced scorecard.In this stage, efficiency of park total has been calculated.In Fig. 1 algorithm and flowchart of executive stages have been provided.
Also output these meetings and their stages have been provided in Table 1 and Fig 2.   We have calculated different weights associated with four BSC perspectives and they are summarized in Table 3 and Table 4.

Calculating indices in different perspective
In Semnan University Technology and Science Park balanced scorecard team from interviewing with experts and elites, competitor information and also with regarding to relation each measurement with other measurement, targeted measurement.As it mentioned, four perspectives and balanced scorecard indices have specific values that are effective in calculations related to different levels.Recent rate of achieving to each index related to ideal value and to total efficiency for each balanced scorecard perspective and Semnan University Technology and Science Park's efficiency received regarding to following calculations.Internal process perspective plays important role in performance improvement of parks.In other words, they help technology units and provide strategies for keeping, attracting and accepting technology units to park, and in order hand they move along park's financial goals to meet beneficiary's expectations.Today commission of all firms is focuses on customers: "Best and first commission in providing value to customer".Customer perspective indicate park's strategy and process for providing service to technology unit and reflect what is important for units that really is value chain for technology units.Learning and growth perspective identify necessary substructure for long-term growth and park's duration.This perspective with strengthening park's principle resources, which includes people, system and trends can decrease existing gap in park between capabilities and capacities.Table 8 provides macro goals, performance measurement, indices values also efficiency of learning and growth perspective of Semnan University Technology and Science Park in 2010.

Results
Table 10 shows BSC perspectives, parks strategic, essential macro goals measurement index, final score and efficiently of each perspective.The proposed model of this article indicates that one can evaluate park's performance with total efficiency and it is possible to do corrective actions in activities to determine appropriate measurement indexes, efficiency of Technology and Science Park of Semnan University.
As we can see from the results of Table 10, total efficiency of financial perspective was 13.4%.Therefore, we can say that this perspective in Technology and Science Park has acceptable score, since there were some limitations on budgets.
Learning and growth perspective efficiency was 37.4%.Since Semnan University Technology and Science Park's growth and learning perspective has been made out of two essential goals and five indices, one can say that this perspective in Technology and Science Park has relatively good performance.In addition, the same arguments hold for customer perspective, which maintains a total efficiency of 21.3%.
Customer perspective includes some public measurement such as customer satisfaction, customer keeping, customer attracting, customer profitability, customer loyalty, market share, etc. Finally Semnan Technology and Science Park's internal process perspective was 7.9%.Since Semnan University Technology and Science Park's internal process perspective has been made from one essential goal and three indices, one can say that this perspective in Technology and Science Park has lowest score.The reason for having low performance was that the unit was recently established Park.Thus, the programs for receiving these goals and determinants must be prepared by Park's managements.

Conclusion
We have explained that research parks play essential role in developing economy since they these units could provide new ideas for industries.Industries could implement the ideas developed in pilot plan scales in research parks.In fact, many premature ideas could be first initiated in such units and interested investors or venture capitals could use new ideas to start new businesses, which could end up having some value added firms.
The proposed model of this paper implemented BSC for one of recently established research parks in province of Semnan, Iran.We have made an assessment on four measures of BSC perspectives and determined the present status of these units.
and executing Different organizations based on the nature of their activities perform various activities depending on their priorities to determine their balanced scorecard values.Park's managers, experts and elites determine these values in Semnan university science and Technology Par using a continuous improvement.In this article based on Fig 3 and using technique of group analytical hierarchy process (AHP), we determined importance and indices values(Wongrassamee et al., 2003).

Fig. 3 .
Fig. 3. Hierarchy plane of strategies set (Niazi, 2011) Percent rate of achieving to I index to goal value.goals setF i = Real rate of I index.T i = Ideal rate of I index Y j = ∑ W ij *X ij Y j = Efficiency of J perspective W ij = Value of I perspective in J perspective X ij =Percent rate of achieving I index in J perspective Z = ∑ W j * Y j Z = Park's efficiency total W j = Value of J perspective Y j = J perspective's efficiency totalTable 5 macro goals, performance measurement, indices values, also efficiency score of Semnan University Technology and Science Park in 2010.
). 1) The first group is associated with evaluation techniques.Examples of these kinds of techniques include Deming Award in Japan, Malkom Baldrig in U.S.A, European Award for Quality Award or EFQM, etc. 2) Performance measurement based on comprehensive factors associated with financial and non- financial figures.Examples of these techniques include data envelopment analysis (DEA), balanced score card (BSC), etc.So, one of problems that necessitate research is manner of recognition, prioritizing of model variable.

Table 1
Macro goals i

Table 3
Pair comparisons matrix of balanced scorecard perspective in the respective of experts

Table 4
Values of pair comparisons matrix of balanced scorecard perspective in the respective of experts

Table 5
Calculating balanced scorecard indices from financial perspective in Semnan University Technology and Science Park Table 6 provide macro goals, performance measurement, indices values and also efficient of internal process perspective of Semnan University Technology and Science Park in 2010.

Table 6
Calculating balanced scorecard indices from internal process perspective in Semnan University Technology and Science Park Table 7 provides macro goal, performance measurement, indices values and efficiency score of Semnan University Technology and Science Park in 2010.

Table 8
Calculating balanced scorecard indices from learning and growth perspective in Semnan University Technology and Science ParkWith calculating park's total efficiency index, park's performance in four perspectives of learning and growth, internal process, customers and financial have been measured that can show these calculations in table 9.With inserting above cases in performance evaluation system, one can expect that this system cause to increasing stimulation staff, managers and technology units and therefore improving Semnan University Technology and Science Park.As we can observe from the results of Table9, learning and growth perspective" with 37.4% score has highest score in Semnan University Technology and Science Park, and "internal process perspective" with 7.9% score has lowest score in Semnan University Technology and Science Park.

Table 10
Perspective efficiency , goals and indices in Semnan University Technology and Science Park