Maverick Case

After having a very successful performance and getting second place on the first Littlefield simulation game we knew what we needed to do to win the second simulation game. We were very eager to outperform our competition and we almost did so, but ended up in second place again with a cash balance of $2,660,393.

In 1999, the Maverick Lodging company implements balanced scorecard to establish a measurement system and control the hotel level management. The balanced scorecard has several attributes, such as tracking financial performance, tracking nonfinancial measures and communicating franchisees and owners objectives of growth. For financial performance, according to Exhibit 7, the Maverick Courtyard has 3.77% growth rate, Maverick Fairfield Inn has 2.22% growth rate and Maverick Residence Inn has 3.5% growth rate. For flow-through flexible budget, both Maverick

Businessballs. (1995-2011). Performance Appraisals. Retrieved October 2, 2011, from businessballs.com: http://www.businessballs.com/performanceappraisals.htm#360 degree feedback 360 degree feedback

1. (TCO B) Identify four categories of measures that might constitute a Balanced Scorecard of performance measures and provide an example of each. Also explain how a Balanced Scorecard could assist your organization. This answer must be in your own words—significant cut and paste from the text or other sources is not acceptable. (Points : 30)

¿Compare the information in the current scorecards for each company to the cultures you can discern from the case study. Do you think the scorecards adequately address the strengths and weaknesses? Why or why not?

1. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the balanced scorecard in this type of an organization.

6. Outline a plan, based on the information provided in the scenario, which the company could use in order to evaluate its financial performance. Consider all the key drivers of performance, such as company profit or loss for both the short term and long term, and the fundamental manner in which each factor influences managerial decisions.

20 5. Corporate-level strategy 25 6. How is the effectiveness of the company’s strategies? (ROIC) 26 7. What strategic problems does the company have?

Open-ended questions such as these will generate energy in the class, though the instructor should take care to limit the amount of time spent in this phase of the class, since students will find it easy to offer observations about the firm’s apparent strategy and financial performance. By letting the students assess the problems of this company in a nondirective fashion, the instructor can gauge students’ abilities and build students’ “ownership” of the analysis. The next three questions are a directive approach to problem assessment and could supplement this question or be used in place of it.

How would you characterize the operational and financial performance of Astor Lodge & Suites, Inc.?

Information Technology (IT) is a foundation for conducting business today. It plays a critical role in increasing productivity of firms and entire nation. It is proven that firms who invested in IT have experienced continued growth in productivity and efficiency. Many companies' survival and even existence without use of IT is unimaginable. IT has become the largest component of capital investment for companies in the United States and many other countries.

* Designing a balanced scorecard had been a considerable challenge because of the complicated nature of the hotel industry

With this information a key question to ask when conducting a strategic analysis of Maverick Lodging can be formulated. Does the current balanced scorecard completely parallel the overall objectives and strategic goals of the organization? The answer is no. Maximum differentiation will not be produced. As a result, growth will not be maximized. This represents the main issue with the case discovered by this strategic analysis. The following issues are all responsible for the failure of the balanced scorecard to reach the company’s strategic targets.

Despite the challenges, I am very thrilled with how much I benefited from this class and how useful this material will be for me, in both my personal and professional life. As an incoming associate at a public accounting firm, I will continue to pursue the traditional framework and integrated framework to measure firm performance. This process will include looking at profitability and accounting ratios to find how PwC is performing compared to their competitors, operationally and financially, and examine how profitable each client engagement is for the firm. Also, when determining if PwC should take on a new client, I will have to examine not only accounting profitability, but shareholder value creation and and economic value creation to evaluate the financial health of that firm to see if they would be a risky client or not. This screening process of potential new clients will also include using balance scorecard questions to examine how that company is viewed by customers and shareholders, their core competencies, and how they create value. The answers to all these questions will not only determine if PwC should audit that client, but it will help locate areas in the financial statements that pose risks of material misstatement and help determine the best testing of controls for the audit team to conduct.

This paper will discuss the processes and pitfalls faced by Information Technology managers in today’s world of business. Today’s IT managers need not only be savvy about existing equipment and upcoming technology; but must also understand the budget issues they face and how to properly address them. The IT manager is asked to look into a crystal ball and predict what products will be beneficial and which requirements can be cut from the budget. They must be able to differentiate between the new shiny fad and products that will be a true asset to the company’s visions and goals. An IT budget can no longer be a static number on the company’s finance sheet; it must be a clear vision of the department’s future spending while falling in line with the goals and expectations of the company.