Journal of Business and Administrative Studies

Abstract

This paper intends to outline an academic scorecard that serves as a strategic
framework for measuring institutional performance in Ethiopia. It gives major
emphasis for producing initial portfolio of key performance indicators that will
serve as a springboard for measuring performance in academic institutions. The
study relied on meta-analysis of existing BSC-related literature in business and
mission-driven organizations across the globe with an intention of benchmarking
the best practices in the area. A comprehensive analysis and synthesis of an extant
literature resulted in an architectural blueprint of BSC for academic institutions
operating in Ethiopia. This has been built around five strategic themes that serve as
pillars of excellence for HEIs (viz., academic excellence, diversity of student
community, outreach and engagement, resource management, and networking and
partnership) and four perspectives, which are different views of what drives the
institution and those which provide a framework for measurement of its
performance. The identified perspectives include the stakeholders, the internal
business process, financial stewardships, and learning, innovation and development
(LID). A number of strategic objectives and measurement metrics have been
forwarded under each perspective in line with the HEI’s mission. The researcher
expects that such BSC framework will arouse a great deal of interest in opening
discussions and debates among academics, HEIs officials, policy makers, reform
consultants and others in a way they serve as a good ground for developing
common understanding and outlining a skeleton of academic scorecard to be
standardized for more or less uniform application in the Ethiopian HEIs.