| Course | MT460 Management Strategy and Policy |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 9 |
| Paper type | Balanced scorecard |
| Length | About 840 words, 6 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MT460 Unit 9
Ten Objectives, One Measure Each: An MT460 Unit 9 Balanced Scorecard for a Seed Pod Subscription
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
MT460: Management Strategy and Policy
Unit 9 Balanced Scorecard
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
Sprigwell Gardens, its people and every baseline and target are composite; the sources cited are real.
Why One Page
A scorecard that cannot be read at a glance will not be used in a monthly review. The table therefore fits on one page, with ten rows across the four perspectives and columns for objective, measure, owner, baseline, target, frequency and the earlier finding each row answers. Kaplan and Norton (1992) introduced the balanced scorecard to keep financial results in view alongside the customer, process and learning drivers that produce them, and they warned against scorecards so long that no one can say which measures matter.
Financial Perspective
Objective one: shift profit toward consumables. Measure: pods and nutrients as a share of gross profit. Owner: chief financial officer. Baseline 34 percent, target 45 percent within three years, reviewed quarterly. Source: the Unit 2 margin comparison.
Objective two: reduce dependence on the national chains. Measure: chain revenue as a share of total sales. Owner: chief executive. Baseline 37 percent, target 30 percent within three years, quarterly. Source: Unit 2, buyer power.
Objective three: make the subscription pay its way. Measure: subscription contribution against plan. Owner: consumables general manager. Baseline zero, target $31 million cumulative over three years, quarterly. Source: Unit 5.
Customer Perspective
Objective four: keep subscribers. Measure: twelve-month subscriber retention. Owner: consumables general manager. Target 70 percent, monthly. Source: the Unit 8 phase three gate.
Objective five: make retailers the subscription's channel. Measure: retailer-signed subscriptions as a share of all sign-ups. Owner: head of retail sales. Target 40 percent, monthly. Source: the Unit 6 seminar objection about retailer conflict.
Objective six: hold the retailer network. Measure: active independent retail accounts. Owner: head of retail sales. Baseline 1,100, target at least 1,100, quarterly. Source: Unit 3, sustained resource.
Internal Process Perspective
Objective seven: turn data into reorders. Measure: share of app reorder reminders that lead to a pod order within fourteen days. Owner: lead data analyst. Baseline 18 percent, target 35 percent, monthly. Source: Unit 3, grow data.
Objective eight: improve the product faster. Measure: months between garden model releases. Owner: head of product. Baseline 26 months, target 18, reviewed yearly. Source: Unit 4, weakness W2.
Learning and Growth Perspective
Objective nine: give retailers the skills to sell subscriptions. Measure: number of retail staff certified in the subscription program. Owner: head of retail sales. Baseline zero, target 1,500 within eighteen months, quarterly. Source: Unit 8 retailer program.
Objective ten: put people on the data. Measure: analysts assigned to grow data. Owner: consumables general manager. Baseline zero, target three by month six, reported once. Source: the Unit 3 organization gap.
Leading and Lagging
Leading measures, which move before results and can be acted on, are shaded in the table: reorder conversion, retailer-signed share, staff certified and analysts assigned. Lagging measures report results after the fact: consumables share of gross profit, chain share of revenue and subscription contribution. Retention and active retail accounts sit in between. A monthly review should start with the leading measures, because by the time a lagging measure moves, the cause is months old.
The Cause-and-Effect Chain
The chain reads upward. Analysts assigned to the grow data improve the timing and content of reorder reminders, which raises reorder conversion. Certified retail staff sign more subscribers and answer owners' questions, which raises the retailer-signed share and retention. Higher retention and more subscriptions raise consumables' share of gross profit, and a larger pod business with its own channel reduces the company's dependence on the chains. Kaplan and Norton (1996) argue that a scorecard should tell the story of a strategy through such chains, so that each measure's place in the story is clear.
If analysts are never assigned to the data, every measure above them in the chain is a hope rather than a plan.
Defending the Choices
Every row cites the finding it answers, so no measure floats free of the analysis. Where a finding produced more than one possible measure, the one chosen is the one a manager can change within a quarter, since a scorecard reviewed monthly needs measures that respond to monthly action. Each objective has exactly one measure, because two measures for one objective invite arguments about which counts. Targets are set from evidence: the 70 percent retention target matches the Unit 8 gate, and the 30 percent chain share reflects the revenue the Unit 10 analysis is prepared to give up. Porter (1996) sees strategy in what a firm declines, and the scorecard leaves out garden unit sales entirely, because the strategy no longer treats them as the goal. That omission will be uncomfortable in the first review, when garden sales fall as chain co-op money is cut, and the scorecard is designed to keep that discomfort from pulling the company back toward the measure it has deliberately set aside.
References
Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (1992). The balanced scorecard: Measures that drive performance. Harvard Business Review, 70(1), 71-79.
Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (1996). Using the balanced scorecard as a strategic management system. Harvard Business Review, 74(1), 75-85.
Porter, M. E. (1996). What is strategy? Harvard Business Review, 74(6), 61-78.
MT460 Unit 9 instructions, in plain terms
MT460 Unit 9 asks for a balanced scorecard that translates a strategy into objectives and measures. Spread a small number of objectives across Kaplan and Norton's four perspectives. Give every objective one measure, one owner, a baseline, a target and a review frequency, and cite the earlier finding it answers. A one-page table is easier to use in a monthly meeting than a longer one. Mark leading measures, which move before results, apart from lagging ones. Draw a cause-and-effect chain showing how learning and process measures drive customer and financial outcomes. Defend targets with evidence rather than round numbers. Consider what the scorecard leaves out on purpose. Around five pages, with the table first and the chain and defense after it, is a common shape for this assignment.
How this MT460 Unit 9 example is built
The scorecard explains why it fits on one page, citing Kaplan and Norton's original warning about overlong scorecards. Financial objectives follow, each with measure, owner, baseline, target, frequency and source finding. Customer objectives cover retention, the retailer-signed share and holding the retailer network. Process objectives cover reorder conversion and product cycle time. Learning objectives cover certified retail staff and analysts on the data. A section separates leading from lagging measures and says which a monthly review should read first. The cause-and-effect chain runs from analysts to reorders, from certified staff to retention and retailer sign-ups, and up to profit share and chain dependence, with Kaplan and Norton's 1996 article, under a highlighted line on the chain's weakest link. A defense of the choices, citing Porter, explains omitting garden unit sales.
Reading the MT460 Unit 9 grading rubric
Balanced scorecards are graded on coherence with the strategy and usability. Instructors credit one measure per objective, each with an owner, baseline and target, because scorecards fail when no one is accountable. Citing the finding behind each row shows the scorecard grows from the analysis. Distinguishing leading from lagging measures is a frequent marking point. A cause-and-effect chain that explains how lower rows drive upper ones demonstrates understanding of the framework's purpose. Targets defended with evidence earn more than round numbers. Deliberate omissions, explained, show the scorecard encodes strategic trade-offs. A one-page table that can actually be used in a review is rewarded. Kaplan and Norton's articles are the expected sources, cited where they support a design choice.
MT460 Unit 9 help: mistakes that cost points
The commonest Unit 9 weakness is a scorecard with many measures per perspective and no owners, which reads as a list of things to track. Another is choosing measures that do not connect to the strategy, such as generic employee satisfaction. Targets frequently appear with no starting figure, leaving no way to tell whether a quarter moved anything. Leading and lagging measures are rarely distinguished. Cause-and-effect chains are frequently missing or drawn without explanation. Before submitting, trace one learning and growth measure upward through your chain to a financial measure, writing a sentence for each link. If any link is a hope rather than a mechanism, revise the measure or the chain. Then check that every row names a single owner who could actually change that number.
Get an MT460 Unit 9 example written to your instructions
Along with your Unit 9 prompt and rubric, include the strategy your earlier units recommended and any required perspectives or number of measures. The composite scorecard sent back gives each objective one owned measure with a starting value and a target, a cause-and-effect chain and reasons for every choice. A first sample is free, within 24-48h. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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MT460 Unit 9 questions, answered
How many measures should an MT460 balanced scorecard have?
Commonly two to four per perspective, so eight to sixteen in all, though your prompt may set a number. Fewer measures that clearly follow the strategy read better than a long list. If a measure would not change any decision when it moved, it probably belongs in an operating report rather than on the scorecard.
What separates leading measures from lagging ones?
Lagging measures report results after the fact, such as gross profit or retention over twelve months. Leading measures move earlier and predict those results, such as reorder conversion or staff certified. A balanced scorecard needs both: lagging measures confirm the strategy worked, and leading ones give managers time to act before the results arrive.
Do scorecard targets need to be justified?
Usually, yes. A target chosen for being round or ambitious invites the question of where it came from. Base it on the case data, a benchmark, past performance or what the strategy needs to pay for itself, and say which. Graders tend to accept a modest target with reasoning over an impressive one without any.
Where can I find a free MT460 Unit 9 sample paper?
This page holds the complete MT460 Unit 9 scorecard of ten objectives for a composite garden maker's seed pod subscription, with owners, baselines and targets.
Why does the MT460 Unit 9 sample leave out garden unit sales?
The strategy no longer treats garden volume as the goal, and garden sales will fall as chain co-op money is cut, so tracking them would pull managers back to the old strategy.