The paper explains three elements of performance in small consulting and contracting companies, communication, personnel skill diversity and client valuation. Financial results were compared with the frequency of reporting of performance measures communicated internal in the company. The result of this test is that there is no statistical correlation between company performances by reporting performance measures. Skill diversity, being defined as the number of identifiable tasks an employee can complete, was compared with project performance data determined that there was no correlation between the number of skills an employee possess and the profitability of a project. Finally, in the valuation of clients, it was determined that the clients older than two years and younger than six years were the most valuable to the firm. --P. ii.
Canfor Pulp Limited Partnership (CPLP) is a pulp and paper manufacturing facility located in Prince George, British Columbia. The key component in making pulp and paper is wood fibre. Within the Fibre department, a clear strategy must be mapped that considers all of the internal and external forces at work. The objective of this study is to use the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) approach to build a strategy map for the Fibre department. Kaplan and Norton first recognized that financial measures alone could not be used to assess a company's overall performance. By including the perspectives of customers, innovation and growth, and internal business processes, one could build a more comprehensive strategy map. The current work of Kaplan and Norton outlines the process to link the strategic map to operations for competitive advantage. This study is limited to building a strategic map for CPLP's Fibre department. It is meant to be a prototype for a corporate-wide initiative encompassing the vision of the entire company. --P. ii.
