The 2004 financial performance was very encouraging for Varina Nissen, who was then in the second year of her role as Managing Director for Manpower Australia. Revenue had increased by 10% while costs were well below target. The overall measure of performance, return on sales, had been improved. Scott McLachlan, the CFO and Director of Corporate Services, announced confidently, 'We have achieved the budget targets. It's never happened before in the history of Manpower Australia'. The corporate strategy developed by Varina and her team, and executed through the balanced-scorecard (BSC), had achieved the short-term financial objectives for the company and a turnaround in a relative short period of time. However, future challenges awaited Varina and Scott, not least of which was how to use the BSC to secure further performance improvements.
Crafting and executing strategy: the quest for competitive advantage / Arthur Thompson, A. J. Strickland III, John Gamble (eds.)