Modern management instruments - control of a water resources management association by means of an agreement on targets (balanced scorecard)

Since the matter of water supply and sewage disposal is safeguarded in Germany, public concern would no longer appear to be directed at questions of disposal reliability, but almost exclusively to economic efficiency. The requirements with respect to sewage disposal are dominated not only by growing environmental regulations and technical challenges, but also to a major extent by a discussion on the costs arising. In order to ensure a viable and at the same time economic water supply and sewage disposal despite this, it is necessary to have a holistic corporate control system. As a counterpart to the river basin management approach adopted at the Wupperverband there is, on the business management side, the agreement on targets (balanced scorecard) as a management and controlling approach. This incorporates purely financial variables as well as non-financial variables in the economic valuation of corporate success. The starting point is the formulation of strategic goals, while including customer-oriented, in-company and forward-looking perspectives, taking into account at the same time the interactions between them. A major perspective of such balanced scorecards is customer satisfaction. By means of an intensive dialogue with members, licensing and supervisory authorities of the Wupperverband within the framework of a holistic corporate control, it has been possible not only to improve corporate success, but also, and more importantly, to achieve an appreciable increase in confidence.