The ASEAN-EC International Seminar 2006 on Managing for Results: Using Balanced Scorecard to Achieve Breakthrough Performance and Good Governance


Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh,
Bismillah Hirrahman Nirrahim and a very good morning to everyone.

Managing Director, Urban Forum Ltd, Malaysia, Ms Mal Tennekoon;

Acting Director of ASEAN-EC Management Centre, Awang Hj Junaidi bin Hj Omar;

Yang Amat Mulia;
Yang Mulia, Deputy Ministers;
Permanent Secretaries;
Deputy Permanent Secretaries;

Distinguished speaker;

Distinguished guests;

Ladies and Gentlemen.

It is indeed a pleasure and honour for me to be with all of you this morning in this auspicious ASEAN-EC INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR 2006, which has been planned about a year ago. I am sure that it has been all worth waiting for, especially when the Guru of Balanced Scorecard, Dr Robert Kaplan himself, will deliver it.

I am encouraged to witness for the last few years, ministries and departments are actively engaged in strategic planning exercises to formulate strategies of their respective organisations. This clearly indicates the concern and commitment of the leadership to improve their performance.

This is also in line with the aspirations of His Majesty’s Government to have an effective and efficient system of government particularly in the delivery of services to the public. I therefore wish to congratulate ASEAN-EC Management Centre for their initiatives in organizing this Seminar and to invite Dr Robert Kaplan to Brunei Darussalam. To Dr Robert Kaplan, I wish to extend a warm welcome and hope that you’ll be able to explore Brunei Darussalam, a Kingdom of Unexpected Treasures.

I have been made to understand for the last three years that the Centre has made valuable contributions towards increasing the level of understanding and sharing of regional economic knowledge and experiences between its people and the ASEAN communities.

As the world is moving towards globalisation and our country towards regionalisation, the country faces uncertainties of foreseen and unforeseen forces and challenges. The private sector as engine of growth will need to be more effective and be more self driven towards meeting the challenges and to turn them into opportunities.

The rapid development and advancement of information technology, competition and complex environments demand leaders to look for innovative approaches in managing their organizations. Thus, the leaders and relevant policy makers will have to create their own visions and missions, and to implement planned strategies to address certain and uncertain issues.

With the vision, missions and strategies that have been developed and implemented, cooperation inter- and intra-ministries within the government and private sector is very important. I do hope that everyone who is here today will get an insight into Dr. Kaplan’s mechanism, to further enhance everyone’s achievement in moving towards more efficient and effective organisations.

This is also in line with His Majesty’s Titah during His Majesty’ birthday on 15^th July 2003;
Quote "….. One of the efforts which has been recently introduced is the alignment programme in which each ministry and government department are required to formulate their own organisational strategic planning. It is hoped that the efforts made by respective organisations would be coordinated in tandem with the outlined national vision and aspirations. I hope all government agencies would give their serious attention to this programme" unquote.

The Balanced Scorecard is a conceptual framework for translating an organisation's vision into a set of performance indicators distributed among four perspectives: Financial Performance, Customer Knowledge, Internal Business Processes, and Learning and Growth. It is one of the management tools which can be used and applied not only as performance measurement but also to align various missions and strategies developed by ministries and departments to our country’s national development goals and aspirations, amongst which are to maintain and improve the quality of life of the people through economic growth, productivity enhancement and wider economic diversification.

The Balanced Scorecard is a management system that enables organisations to clarify their vision and strategy and translate them into action. It provides feedback around both the internal business processes and external outcomes in order to continuously improve strategic performance and results. When fully developed, the Balanced Scorecard transforms strategic planning from an academic exercise into the nerve center of an enterprise. It is also through the Scorecard that an organisation monitors both its current performance and its efforts to improve processes, motivate and educate employees, and enhance information systems-its ability to learn and improve.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We hope that Dr Kaplan’s ideas and all that he will be sharing with us today, ways and means of implementation methods and its development in particular alignment processes, can bring individual organisations, departments and ministry into focus to be able to deliver the right decisive results.

For Brunei Darussalam, the contribution of Good Governance has a fundamental role to play in realising our National Projects and programmes which require initiative efforts, sincerity and commitment of government agencies, especially to attract FDI. It is important for every ministry to materialise our national industrial projects and one way is by using implementation tools like Balanced Scorecard.

You will learn today, that this seminar will prepare you to go beyond the concept of the art of leadership to the practical techniques of strategic thinking and action to plan and build a better future for our organisation and country, resulting in its sustainability.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The most important benefit derived from using a Scorecard eludes many organisations be it in the public or the private sector. That benefit is the ability to make strategy operational and to achieve operational commitment, in which associates and business units are committed to achieving the strategic outcomes outlined in the Scorecard and to using operational resources in support of the Scorecard. Without achieving this result, the strategy cannot be implemented. It remains just words on paper.

Successful execution of a Balanced Scorecard methodology requires specific dynamics. The first step involves getting the CEO and the board of directors to accept the following:

· Firstly, the need for change in today’s rapidly evolving global market;

· Second, a Scorecard initiative will take time and is a living process that will change the way the organisation identifies and responds to the marketplace pressures and opportunity; and

· Finally, to change the future, the past, with its errors, has to be exposed and excised.

Should any of the above points be a cause for concern, then the organisation may not be a good fit for a Scorecard initiative.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

There are various key critical success factors for Balanced Scorecard to work especially in a government organisation. First, strategy must be supported. Consistent support of senior management is particularly critical, but there must be support for the effort at all levels of the organisation. Secondly, strategy must be operationalised. The best strategy benefits no one unless it is put into action. Finally, strategy must be communicated. After all, it takes the entire organisation and all of the people who are part of it to translate vision and strategy into outcomes.

Competition is healthy for organisations that want to continue its success; if you are complacence, then you will be left behind, the globalised world will not wait for you to act and your organisation relies on you entirely to lead them to greater profitability for private sectors and better or excellent government services for the public sector.

In concluding, I would like to thank ASEAN-EC Management Centre and the Prime Minister’s Office for inviting me to this International Seminar 2006.

With the kalimah Bismillahir Rahman Nirrahim, I hereby declare the International Seminar 2006 officially open.

Thank you.

Wabilahit Taufik Walhidayah Wassalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.