The Balanced Scorecard approach finds its origins in the USA. It is capable of translating the enterprise?s strategy onto the operational level. What is new about this approach is the ?balanced? element. The valuation of the performance takes place from a much wider point of view, which considers both the financial and the non-financial factors equally.

The way to a BSC for small and medium enterprises and institutes for scientific research shall be shown in this term paper by using two case studies. The first part consists of the theoretical approach while the second part will introduce the approach step by step into the two case studies.

For developing a BSC it is required to have an existing strategy, which consists of the vision and the mission of the enterprise. In addition a SWOT-analysis will help evaluate the strengths and weaknesses. These results will also form part of the new strategy.

Further on the succeeding factors will have to be determined, which will help choosing the four perspectives, for which the strategic goals will be formulated. For each one of the four perspectives there will be several classification numbers, which will help measure them and lead the enterprise towards the given goals.