Measuring the performance of PEs in Morocco: An exploratory study on the use of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC)

Abstract

The purpose of this exploratory study of public establishments and enterprises (EEP) in Morocco is to study the method and tools of their overall performance measurement. Management control provides several methods of control and performance measurement (dashboard, reporting, budget variance, costs,...). Public administration in Morocco has moved towards a new management mode with the reforms and the good governance approach. The objectif is to use the private sector management methods in the public sector.  The budgetary approach widely used for the control and evaluation of performance has experienced limitations with the changes and evolution of the context of the entities.  The Balanced Scorecard (Kaplan and Norton, 1992) combines several dimensions of performance. It is a model with four axes: financial, customer, internal process and organizational learning. We focused our interest on the possibility of using the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) within EEP and its impact on their overall performance. Our objective is to define the main tools of performance measurement and to verify if the implementation of the Balanced Scorecard in the EEP in Morocco would improve their overall performance. Through this exploratory study, we were able to determine the tools for measuring the performance of EEP, which are mainly dashboards and the budget approach. And we have shown that the use of BSC can have a positive impact on performance measurement.