Empowering middle managers in social services using management control systems

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Per Nikolaj Bukh ◽  
Anne Kirstine Svanholt
Keyword(s):  
Control Systems ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Middle Managers ◽  
Quality Care ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Management Control Systems ◽  
Top Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Conflicting Objectives

PurposeThis paper examines how a public sector organization combined management control systems (MCS) to comply with increased uncertainty and conflicting objectives of tight budget control, flexibility, and quality care simultaneously. It also analyzes how middle managers interpret management control intentions and manage conflicting objectives, and how locally developed MCS are coupled with top management goals.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses a case-study approach, based on interviews with top and middle managements, as well as document studies conducted at a medium-sized Danish municipality.FindingsBoth constraining and enabling control systems empower middle managers and facilitate tight budget controls. Furthermore, middle managers play a crucial role in the use of MCS, develop local control systems, adjust existing control systems and influence the decisions and strategies of top management.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper is context-specific, and the role of accounting in professional work varies due to the specific techniques involved.Practical implicationsThis paper shows how MCS, including budgeting and planning systems, can be applied in social services to help middle managements obtain tight budget controls while also improving service quality.Originality/valueThis paper adds to the limited extant research on the role of middle management in a control framework and demonstrates how MCS can balance conflicting goals in social services when uncertainty increases. Furthermore, this paper shows how the vertical coupling of MCS is tight when budgeting is employed for planning purposes.

Paradoxical tensions of the COVID-19 pandemic: a paradox theory perspective on the role of management control systems in helping organizations survive crises

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph Kober ◽  
Paul J. Thambar
Keyword(s):  
Control Systems ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Management Control Systems ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Strategic Objectives ◽  
Paradox Theory ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThis paper presents paradox theory as a useful theoretical lens for researchers exploring crises such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The authors argue that paradox theory, which emphasizes a “both/and” as opposed to an “either/or” approach, is ideally suited for management control systems (MCS) research on crises.Design/methodology/approachThe authors adopt a revelatory case approach to provide empirical examples of the insights that paradox theory can provide.FindingsThis paper highlights how MCS can be used to simultaneously manage short-term/operational and long-term/strategic objectives to navigate a crisis. Furthermore, it highlights how MCS can be mobilized during crises to identify and embrace opportunities.Practical implicationsThis paper illustrates the importance of MCS focusing on not just the short-term, but also the long-term, and managing multiple objectives in assisting organizations to survive crisis.Originality/valueThis paper highlights the benefits of using paradox theory to understand the role of MCS in helping organizations manage crises and to use a crisis as a source of opportunity.

Top management team’s shared leadership and ambidexterity: The role of management control systems

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 (1) ◽  
pp. 12254
Author(s):  
Timurs Umans ◽  
Elin Marianne Smith ◽  
William Andresson ◽  
William Planken
Keyword(s):  
Control Systems ◽  
Shared Leadership ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Management Control Systems ◽  
Top Management

scholarly journals Integrating environmental management control systems to translate environmental strategy into managerial performance

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 626-653 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter G. Rötzel ◽  
Alexander Stehle ◽  
Burkhard Pedell ◽  
Katrin Hummel
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Management ◽  
Control Systems ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Management Control Systems ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Environmental Strategy ◽  
Managerial Performance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose This study aims to investigate the role of environmental management control systems as mechanisms to translate environmental strategy into environmental managerial performance. Design/methodology/approach Based on survey data from 218 firms, the authors test a structural equation model. Findings The results show that environmental management control systems mediate the relationship between environmental strategy and environmental managerial performance. Moreover, the level of integration between regular and environmental management control systems significantly impacts the relationship between environmental management control systems and environmental managerial performance. Therefore, environmental management control systems are important mechanisms to translate environmental strategy into managerial performance, and a high level of integration can reinforce this role. Research limitations/implications The typical shortcomings of survey-based research apply to this study. Originality/value While previous research focuses primarily on environmental performance at the organizational level, this study addresses individual managerial performance with regard to environmental outcomes. In addition, the authors investigate how the level of integration between regular and environmental management control systems influences the relationship between environmental strategy and environmental managerial performance as well as the mediating role of environmental management control systems.

The role of management control systems in situations of institutional complexity

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 395-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Utz Schäffer ◽  
Erik Strauss ◽  
Christina Zecher
Keyword(s):  
Control Systems ◽  
Radical Change ◽  
Institutional Logics ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Management Control Systems ◽  
Institutional Complexity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
Structural Responses

Purpose – This study investigates in depth how decision-making of different organisational members is shaped by various management control systems (MCSs) that reflect different institutional logics, how the entire organisation deals with the arising institutional complexity and which role different management controls as a system play in such situations. Design/methodology/approach – A case study was conducted on a German Mittelstand firm whose MCSs were shaped by three different logics over time: a family logic, a stakeholder logic and a shareholder logic. Findings – This paper shows how different actors of an organisation confronted with institutional complexity used selective coupling of different MCS components and compartmentalizing MCS components to deal with clashing institutional logics. Thereby, it was possible for the actors to balance different sub-communities within the firm that were shaped by conflicting but yet complementary logics that were required for organisational survival. Research limitations/implications – This study contributes to the understanding of how an MCS can be exploited for organisational structural responses to multiple logics. Due to this research design, the present study deals with challenges of ex post rationalization. Practical implications – The results show options for organisational leaders to deal with different kind of worldviews (i.e. logics) that shape employees’ behaviour. Particularly, this paper explains how leaders can restructure their MCSs to influence human behaviour in times of radical change. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the literature on MCSs by showing what role MCSs play in structural responses to institutional complexity.

Integrating management control systems, mindfulness and sustainability: an occupational health and safety perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wahab Shahbaz ◽  
Aymen Sajjad
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Health ◽  
Control Systems ◽  
Organizational Context ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Occupational Health And Safety ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Management Control Systems ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Corporate Social

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to integrate the notions of management control systems (MCS), mindfulness and sustainability, and introduce a framework demonstrating how sustainability outcomes – specifically occupational health and safety (OHS) improvements – can be accomplished by incorporating mindfulness-based interventions (or mindfulness-based training) as an effective MCS enabler. Design/methodology/approach The authors have conducted an integrative literature review to synthesize the knowledge of the mindfulness, sustainability and MCS literatures with a specific focus on OHS. Findings The findings revealed that there is a dearth of research that has investigated the potential linkages between mindfulness, MCS and sustainability. While some studies have explored the role of MCS in promoting sustainability and corporate social responsibility concepts, as well as the linkages between mindfulness and sustainability, this paper specifically looked at how mindfulness-based interventions can be applied in the organizational context to enhance OHS sustainability outcomes. Research limitations/implications This paper introduces a framework that shows how mindfulness-based interventions, as a means of MCS, can be used to enhance desired OHS sustainability outcomes. Originality/value This paper extends the sustainability, mindfulness and MCS literature by explicating how mindfulness-based interventions can be used as one of the key MCS enablers that support sustainability and OHS outcomes. Accordingly, the authors argue that this is one of the few early review papers that have investigated the potential connections between mindfulness, sustainability and MCS in the OHS context.

Synthesizing management control frameworks

2010 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Winnie O'Grady ◽  
Paul Rouse ◽  
Cathy Gunn
Keyword(s):  
Control Systems ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Management Control Systems ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Control Framework ◽  
Explicit Consideration ◽  
Multiple Levels ◽  
Viable System ◽  
Levers Of Control ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the holistic nature of control systems to understand how they operate across organizational levels and manage change.Design/methodology/approachThis paper takes an analytical approach using the viable system model (VSM) to assess the two main frameworks of control reported in the accounting literature.FindingsThe VSM provides an elegant framework for management control systems with explicit consideration of: multiple levels of control, communication channels, interactions with the environment, and the mechanisms for attaining balance between stability and change.Practical implicationsThe evaluation of current management control systems produces specific suggestions for improving the levers of control frameworkOriginality/valueThe VSM has not previously been aligned with management control frameworks.

The role of sustainability control systems in translating CSR into performance in Iran

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaveh Asiaei ◽  
Nick Bontis ◽  
Omid Barani ◽  
Majid Moghaddam ◽  
Jasvinder Sidhu
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Control Systems ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Agency Cost ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Superior Performance ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Resource Orchestration

PurposeThis study aims to explore the extent to which companies rely on sustainability management control systems (SMCS) to translate corporate social responsibility (CSR) into superior performance building upon the premise of the natural resource orchestration perspective.Design/methodology/approachData were collected based on a survey data set from 118 Chief Financial Officers of publicly listed companies in Iran. The theoretical model was tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM, SmartPLS 3.0) as a method that enjoys minimum demands concerning normality assumptions and sample size.FindingsThe findings support the full mediation effect of SMCS on the relationship between CSR and organizational performance. This implies that CSR affects performance only through the mediating role of SMCS.Practical implicationsThe central premise in the proposed theoretical framework is that the utilization of proper management control mechanisms (i.e. SMCS) can help the organization to better synchronize, measure and manage – i.e. “orchestrate” – the social, environmental and economic impacts, and this, in turn, leads to improved organizational performance.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study of its kind, building on a unique synthesis of the agency cost perspective and resource orchestration theory, to introduce the “natural resource orchestration” approach for examining the intervening role of SMCS between CSR and organizational performance.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document