Boston Lyric Opera Case Solution

1. The Boston Lyric Opera (BLO) working group has selected eight customer objectives for its three strategic themes (see bulleted items on pages 5-7 of the case, also summarized in the Customer row of Exhibit 5):

• Develop loyal and generous supporters

• Build a reputation on national and international opera scene

• Reach the Boston area community

What measures should the project team select for these eight objectives?

Objective 1: “Target loyal and generous contributors and prospects”

Project team should identify and find loyal and generous contributors who contributed and helped the project team in their financial matters, somehow or the other. They should ask these targeted individuals or parties for donations by sending materials on behalf of BLO.

Objective 2: “Enhance involvement and recruitment of board members”

Project team should encourage the existing members to attend trainings sessions in order to appoint and recruit new board members.

Objective 3: “Launch a unique, comprehensive residency program that would attract the best young

Talent- singers, conductors, directors, production and stage personnel, and administrators-who would subsequently perform with the most prestigious opera companies in North America and the world”

A full time or part time residency program should be initiated, which will offer an excellent platform for learning and exposure to attract the best talent in the region. This human resource should be trained keeping the international audience and demands in consideration.

Objective 4: “Present a diverse and exciting repertory that included famous, lesser known and contemporary works”

Project team should focus on new ideas, stories and performances for making its name in the national and as well as international opera scenario. Young talent should be encouraged to produce unique contemporary works which have an identity of their own.

Objective 5: “Institutionalize an artistic/production style and set of standards, characterized by “crisp and

Clean, clear and strong, elegant” that would become identified with BLO productions”

A team should be prepared to focus only upon the quality and uniqueness of style and sets. To make an identity, the work of BLO should be highly refined, and the standard should be kept similar every time.

Objective 6: “Collaborate with prestigious partners to strengthen BLO’s position in the international and National opera scene”

Project team should build relationships with leading opera companies and local relationship building in order to train and develop co productions resulting in quality work.

Objective 7: “Build community support for BLO as an important part of the greater Boston community”

BLO staff should organize and participate in a number of events and activities in order to build community support by bringing awareness to them.

Objective 8: “Develop value-added opera education programs, targeting greater-Boston children, their Families, and their schools”

Boston schools should be targeted, and coordination with every school should be maintained. Fun fairs and art fairs can prove to be an exciting opportunity to target the kids and their parents.

2. What changes were required to adapt the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) to a nonprofit organization?

Nonprofit organizations need to be carefully and strategically planned, even more than organizations which are meant for profit. The success of a NPO depends upon ongoing support, good will and the reputation among the community. Strategic planning in this field is intangible and thus ignored causing financial losses to the NPO.

However, a balanced scorecard can be helpful in the strategic planning by modifying some of its aspects for NPO’s and by converting intangible assets into tangible outcomes. BSC relies on its perspectives that are financial measures, internal processes, customers and growth. This 4 perspective model helps in the formation of a strategy model which quantifies values and become an efficient communication tool among the employees. It enables them to translate and understand the strategic model and work according to it for the betterment of the organization.

BSC can also be used as a communication tool for stakeholders, board of directors and artistic staff. BSC can be used to an opera scenario. The intangible asset like music could be turned into tangible asset like their high premium brand names.

3. What are the benefits from developing the Balanced Scorecard at BLO? What challenges and barriers must Del Sesto and Dahling-Sullivan overcome to capture these benefits?

The benefits from developing the Balance scorecard at BLO are as follows:

• Definition of performance indicators in relation to the end results, with regard to the four perspectives of BSC which are; financial, customer, growth and internal processes.

• BSC clears out the linkages between performance indicators and a driving force controlling them.

• Identification of key resources affecting performance drivers.