Kinetic validity; redox reactions
When you balance the equation for a redox reaction, the process of balancing it or the balanced equation itself say nothing about kinetics.  That said, redox reactions, as the name implies, deal with electron transfer.  Unless you are dealing with unusual molecules (bulky ligands for example) or unusual conditions (solids, glasses, very low temperature, etc.) electron transfer reactions are close to diffusion controlled, so kinetics is usually not an issue and is often glossed over in such reactions.