Metrics

Assignment 1: Discussion—Business Metrics

Understanding business metrics as key performance indicators (KPIs) is a key part of business strategy and management. In this assignment, you will look at financial performance measures.

Financial performance measures are vitally important to assessing corporate performance. However, financial measures are primarily backward looking in that they measure the results of past actions, and do not always give a reliable indication of future direction.

Using the module readings, Argosy University online library resources, and the Internet, respond to the following:

• For your own organization, give three examples of key performance indicators (KPIs) and how they are measured that are forward looking and more predictive.
• What aspect of the value chain are they measuring?
• How do these measures tie to specific strategies in your business unit?

Write your initial response in approximately 300 words. Apply APA standards to citation of sources.

By Friday, February 8, 2013, post your response to the appropriate Discussion Area. Through Tuesday, February 12, 2013, review and comment on at least two peers’ responses.

Consider the following when you respond to your peers’ posts:

• Comment on one of the measures described in your peers’ posts about how their organizations are alike or different from your own organization.
• Explain how your organization might benefit from considering the measures stated by your peers.

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Assignment 1 Grading Criteria	Maximum Points
Explained with examples forward-looking performance measures and the corresponding strategies of the business unit.
Actively contributed to the discussion by providing points of view with rationale, challenging points of the discussion, or drawing relationships between points of the discussion.
Wrote in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrated ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; displayed accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
Total: