Performance is neither good nor poor until operational goals are defined. For instance, a financial loss may be a planned rebate of excessive income to customers or a matter of poor financial performance. An increase in catering food costs may mean that the service has attracted more high-end catering events or that serving portions and inventory are not being properly managed. It has been noted that sometimes there are complex tradeoffs to achieve a balance among a set of performance measures. Productivity can be at the expense of responsiveness to customer needs.
Customer satisfaction can overlook financial viability.
Financially sound operations may be on the brink of obsolescence in respect to technology. A work force may not be able to sustain a high output level over time. Understanding how adjustments in operations affect facets of performance is best gained through using a set of measurements that look at the balanced scorecard perspectives. One can track the effect of physically moving an operation, of the disruption in the changeover to new software, of improving responsiveness to telephone calls and e-mail messages, introduction of improved supervision, etc.