In a recent study from Bain & Company, the Balanced Scorecard was ranked among the top 10 most used management tools in the world. Organizations who had adopted tools like the BSC were found to be more secure through the downturn and are now looking to the future positioned for success.

This year marks the first time that firms in emerging markets used more tools than their counterparts in developed markets. Their increased interest in management tools suggests that companies in areas with booming economies--places like Brazil, India and China--are becoming more sophisticated competitors, relying more heavily on business tools to improve their chances at success.

Sometimes the difference is dramatic. Take balanced scorecards. Over half of the emerging-market executives have used the tool to help gauge whether their strategies are delivering results. In contrast, more than one-third of the established market respondents are using the tool. The disparity in the use of decision rights is even greater: three times as many emerging-market users are employing it to improve their decision making than executives in established markets.

For full review of the Bain r& Company Report “Management Tools and Trends 2011”, see: http://www.bain.com/Images/BAIN_BRIEF_Management_Tools.pdf.