The balanced scorecard as an integrated model applied to the Portuguese public service: a case study in the waste sector

Abstract Municipal solid waste management is an area where improvements are needed, in accordance with European Union regulations, in order to ensure sustainable development principles and best management practices. In this context, Portugal implemented a strategy in 2003 under the title “New Public Management”, the main objective of which is to create value for citizens, with a particular focus on improving performance in the public management of wastes and allocating resources. This strategy is based on the introduction of market mechanisms, thus adopting management tools common in the private sector. The objective of this paper is to propose and implement a management tool − the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) − suited for the needs of the Public Administration (PA) service in the waste sector. The BSC was applied to the Urban Hygiene and Solid Waste Division of the Loule Municipality in the south of Portugal. Four perspectives were used, namely, clients, internal processes, learning and growth and finances. Results indicate an overall management performance of 52.45%, which was considered a good result since it was the first implementation approach. Out of the four BSC perspectives, the learning and growth perspective (15% weighting of overall management performance) and the financial perspective (10% weighting) had the smaller achievement performances, of just 4% and 1.75% of the indicators achieved, respectively. The internal process perspective (50% weighting) and the client perspective (25% weighting) had higher achievement performances at 34.2% and 12.5%, respectively. Overall, in the Portuguese PA service, the BSC is able to: i) contribute to the precepts of modern public waste management; ii) focus on the strategic management of the client–customer relationship; iii) guarantee the best combination of improvement in service, through monitoring and a follow-up process; and iv) achieve management objectives.

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