Higher education in the UK has been subject to extensive changes. Government policy has stressed the need for an increase in student numbers. Discusses the changes needed in degree course management to create a system which is sufficiently flexible and efficient to cope with more students without loss of quality. Applies the theory of total quality management to higher education, indicating the need to treat degree courses as continuous production systems, rather than batch runs with standardized components and early detection of faults (unlearned work) to reduce quality costs (student failures and exam resits). Proposes that the US higher education system should be used as a model for the UK.

PurposeThe objective of this paper is to address the question of whether the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) can be utilized in non‐profit organizations, in particular hospital sector organizations. A secondary objective addresses the issue of whether the BSC can be utilized employing the methodology encountered in the literature.Design/methodology/approachA case is presented of a private Spanish hospital, specializing in psychiatric patients, which is owned by a religious congregation and which utilizes a very primitive and informal information system. The case describes the design of the strategic map and the BSC for this hospital.FindingsThe paper concludes that the BSC is applicable to any type of organization, albeit with modifications; a BSC for non‐profit organizations must be modified to include a mission perspective, thus supporting Kaplan's model for non‐profit organizations. Hospitals should also include an additional perspective which provides specific information on social demographic factors regarding the hospital's operating environment.Originality/valueThe contribution of this paper is threefold. First, the case supports Kaplan's inclusion of a mission perspective for non‐profit organizations. Second, it further modifies the non‐profit BSC by including an additional perspective which provides specific information on social demographic factors regarding the hospital's operating environment. The authors are unaware of any instance where this additional perspective has been included in the model. Finally, the case provides a fully developed BSC and strategy map for a hospital which can be used as a template for other health‐care organizations.

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