A new framework for performance evaluation system using strategy map: A case study of Islamic Azad University of Semnan

Article history: Received October 20, 2012 Received in revised format 28 January 2013 Accepted 26 March 2013 Available online March 26 2013 During the past few years, there have been extensive developments on Islamic Azad University, which has led on reduction of managerial flexibility. Therefore, these organizations concentrate on their strategic management via usage of the Balanced Model such as Balanced Score Card (BSC) to consider different organizational perspectives and it is important to have good description of organizational strategies and goals. The strategy map is a primary factor to assess the performance in different organizational activities. In this paper, the performance evaluation system of Islamic Azad University of Semnan is designed by the utilization of strategy map as a prominent part of BSC. © 2013 Growing Science Ltd. All rights reserved.


Introduction
The assessment of the organizational activities performance is considered as an initiating point of scientific management processes in various researches (Maltz, 2003).In management research, the primary objectives of most managers in different organizations are grouped in five categories: Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing, Coordinating, Reporting and budgeting (Gulick & Urwick, 1973).According to this categorization, the assessment and a good control on organizational performance is a prominent function for managers (Neely & Adams, 2000).In addition, the organizational performance is divided in: (1) Result (outcome); (2) behavior (input).The behaviors are originated from the player and lead to outcome (performance) (Anthony & Govindarajan, 2001).
The performance management is an integrated and strategic process, which plays essential role on the success of organization through the optimization of role player (personnel) performance (Otley, 1999).The performance measurement system is a portion of performance management system and is utilized as a quantitative measurement for an activity efficiency and effectiveness (Neely & Adams, 2000).
As noted by Paddock (1997), the performance evaluation is a process according to management concept and principles for goal attainment.Evans and Lindsay (2005) believe that the performance evaluation system is a competitive advantage for organizations.Besides, Simon (2000) recount that performance evaluation system is a key factor for responding to customer expectations.The researches in the field of performance evaluation proceed in two steps.In first step lasted until 1980, the main consideration was about the financial measurement of accounting system (Lebas, 1995).
The second step has started from 1980 and it has been growing, steadily.Some research named this step as "the revolution of performance evaluation" (Baldwin & Clark, 1992).Many studies (Prowse & Prowse, 2009;Sole, 2009;Banwet & Deshmukh, 2008;Hassab et al., 2010;Ramstad, 2009;Lester et al., 2010;De Waal, 2010) focus on the comparison of performance evaluation systems and their effect on the organization.Meanwhile, some researches introduce BSC as the best model for performance evaluation.
For the first time, this model is presented in 1992 by Professor Robert Kaplan and Doctor David Norton as a contemporary system in management and identified the requirements for effective execution of strategies and the implementation of the comprehensive management system and performance improvement.The BSC is a thorough framework for performance evaluation and strategies development.It leads to balance between short-term and long-term goals, financial and non-financial measurements, internal and external performance, internal and external stakeholders, strategies stimuli and obstacles (Grigoroudi et al., 2012).
BSC is a framework for describing and operations of the organizational strategies (Makhijani, & Creelman, 2008).Therefore, in BSC design the key factors that lead to the readiness of organizational strategies for value creation in future; should be evaluated (Kaplan & Norton, 2004).BSC is a complete managerial system for managing the strategies execution and measuring organizational performance from four aspects: financial, customer, internal processes, learning and growth but these aspects could be modified according to industrial structure and organizational dynamics (Kaplan & Norton, 2000;Chen, et al., 2006;Chytas, 2008).It causes to transfer the mission, vision, strategies and functional expectations to the organizational stakeholders.It means that the BSC explains the organizational missions and visions as a causality set in four aspects and considers the organization as an integrated system (Nissen, 2006).These outstanding traits of BSC cause the apllication of it in various industrial and service portions (Xu & Yeh, 2012).
According to Makhijani and Creelman (2008), the BSC is composed of four dependent components as follows: 1-The strategy map that identifies and explains the organizational strategic goals (if this goal is met, the strategy will execute, successfully).
2-Performance measurements that clarify the progress of organization to the strategic goals.
3-Quantitative goals defined for measurements.
4-Selection and execution of strategic innovation due to link between quantitative goals and performance and meet the strategic goals.
The researcher who proposed BSC believe that the successful execution of organizational strategies is depended to the personnel comprehension of strategies.For access to this comprehension, the complex processess that cause the conversion of intangible assets to the tangible outcomes; must be developed (Kaplan & Norton, 2000).To do so, the researchers proposed the strategy map as a first component in their model that could link between organizational strategies structure by the recognition and extract of key strategic goals and the depiction of cause-effect relations between them (Kaplan & Norton, 2000).It means that the successful implementation of BSC is expedited with a model that is developed with base the BSC on strategy map (Makhijani & Creelman, 2008).For example, many research (Jassbi et al., 2011;Huang et al., 2011;Chang et al., 2011;Cebeci et al., 2009;Buytendijk et al., 2011;Tohidi et al., 2010a;Tohidi et al., 2010b) expedite the execution of BSC with the usage of strategy map.
In this paper, the authors concentrate on the identification of goals structure and organizational key measurements, link between as a cause-effect relation and preparation of a comprehensive performance evaluation system.

Literature review
Some reasechers believe that the BSC is not suitable for academic organizations and is more suitable for profitable organizations (Umashankar & Dutta, 2007).Therefore, the researchers do not pay attention to the deveelopment of BSC model in academic field such as university and training institutions.Nevertheless, the academic universities implement BSC, extensively.For example, Rossir training institution of south california college applied the BSC as a training effectiveness measurement (Umashankar, & Dutta, 2007).In addition, the Edenburg college, the south California university, the Ohio university, the California college, the Ukrine college are the other examples that implement the BSC (Walker & Ainsworth, 2007;Karathanos & Karathanos, 2005;Umashankar & Dutta, 2007).As noted by Kaplan and Norton (2000) in non-profit organization, the BSC model is orderly sorted as: vision, customer, internal processes, learning and growth, financial.Wilson et al. (2002) demostrate that the financial part of BSC is changed to stakeholders and is located in the same level with customer in a research which is executed by National British Colombia Office in Canada.In addition, despite they perceive the financial part as the prominent part of BSC in three offices which implement the Balance Card or strategy map; do not explain whether the selected model is related to organizational culture.
However, four key aspects of BSC can be modified with the unique requirment of organization in spite of the similarity between the applied structural aspect in business organization with non-profit and governemental organization.Without understanding the compelete financial structure including reources and budget, the organization is not able to meet vision and mission; so, the non-profit organization must emphasize the financial cost and advantages of performance management.Many non-profit organizations have admireable vision and mission, nevertheless, support it, less financially.Meanwhile, the research demonstrates that fourty-nine percentage of organization believe that the financial measurement is paramount aspect (Niven, 2002).The creation of an active unit that is responsible for relations with industries

Design of performance evaluation system with implementation of strategy map in Islamic Azad University of Semnan (IAUS)
The creation of an outsourcing unit for relations with industries as a percentage of contracts

Customer
The industrial relationship process The appropriation of the defined percentage of study projects' income to their members Financial

The empowerment professors
To hold on-the-job training courses for professors

Learning and growth
The professor empowerment process The creation of sabbatical for professors in foreign universities Creating an efficient system of intellectual and moral ownership for the sale of scientific patents An independent legal unit for university Creating an independent and powerful legal unit for university

Academic credits
The legal process The part time cooperation with external legal centers A marketing unit for sale of the scientific patents Creating a marketing unit for patents

Customer
The patent marketing process The part time contract with external marketing centers Financial Step III.Fig. 2 illustrates the strategy map of the IAUS as the outcome of this step.

Financial Cost reduction
Increase in income

Academic process
The process of being unique The incentive IT development process

Scientific patent process creation
The legal process

Customer
The patent process identification

Industrial relationship process
Welfare and culture  Step V.According to the information acquired in former steps, the performance evaluation system of IAUS is introduced in Fig 3.

Conclusion
One of the main goals of this paper, according to the presented principles, has been the provision of a system for the performance evaluation in Islamic Azad University of Semnan.This system has been developed by strategy map and the result has been illustrated in a comprehensive diagram (Fig. 2).This diagram is practically covered all aspects of critical factors for the success and the strategies of Islamic Azad University of Semnan.In addition, the relationships between BSC's aspects, critical factors for success and value-added processes have been defined based on strategy map.These relationships are some bases for the performance evaluation, the ranking of strategy levels, the critical factors for success, value-added processes and performance measurements.

Fig. 1
Fig. 1 demonstrate how different steps of performance evaluation system design is related to each other and the following steps summarizes the proposed model of this paper, Step I.The main mission of the Islamic Azad University (IAU) is the spread of knowledge and skill and the training of the creative person in different fields of sciences and technologies with the quality development of academic life.In addition, it is responsible for the development of research and training services and responding to the various research and training expectation of their stakeholders.The IAU as one of the biggest universities in the Middle East region account for the science development and spread, so, the economic, social and cultural promotion.In addition, it must be hold the national championships in the applied field and relationships with the research centers in the applied field 2. To hold the national and international conference in the applied field Creation of incentive points for development of software capitals( the empowerment of existing personnel and the employment of new professor,

Fig. 2 .
Fig. 2. The strategy map of the IAUS

Fig. 3 .
Fig. 3.The performance ev valuation system m of IAUS