The optimal level of budgetary goal difficulty: an experimental study

Budgets are commonly used for multiple purposes. Whereas planning budgets reflect organisations' 'best guesses' of future events, control budgets are intended to motivate high levels of effort. Budgetary control mechanisms modelled in a principal-agent setting typically find that the use of such schemes is Pareto optimal only when the budgetary goals are set to very difficult levels. This project studies how individual effort levels vary with different levels of goal difficulty in an experimental setting. We use a between-subjects factorial design. Subjects are assigned to either linear or budget-based compensation schemes at levels of goal difficulty ranging from 10% to 50% probability of goal attainment after controlling for skill and learning effects. An ink-stamping task is used to measure subjects' effort levels. Results indicate that the optimal level of budgetary goal difficulty may be less than that prescribed by information economics models.accounting; budgets; experiments; budgetary control; budgetary goals; budgetary goal difficulty; linear compensation; budget-based compensation; goal attainment probability; skills effects; learning effects; information economics; modelling.

The mediastinal staging accuracy of 18F-Fluorodeoxyglycose Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography in non-small cell lung cancer with variable time intervals to surgery.

BACKGROUND: PET/CT scanning can determine suitability for curative therapy and inform decision making when considering radical therapy in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Metastases to central mediastinal lymph nodes (N2) may alter such management decisions. We report a 2 year retrospective series assessing N2 lymph node staging accuracy with PET/CT compared to pathological analysis at surgery. METHODS: Patients with NSCLC attending our centre (excluding those who had induction chemotherapy) who had staging PET/CT scans and pathological nodal sampling between June 2006 and June 2008 were analysed. For each lymph node assessed pathologically, the corresponding PET/CT status was determined. 64 patients with 200 N2 lymph nodes were analysed. RESULTS: Sensitivity of PET/CT scans for indentifying involved N2 lymph nodes was 39%, specificity 96% and overall accuracy 90%. For individual lymph node analysis, logistic regression demonstrated a significant linear association between PET/CT sensitivity and time from scanning to surgery (p=0.031) but not for specificity and accuracy. Those scanned <9 weeks before pathological sampling were significantly more sensitive (64% >9 weeks, 0% ≥9 weeks, p=0.013) and more accurate (94% <9 weeks, 81% ≥9 weeks, p=0.007). Differences in specificity were not seen (97% <9 weeks, 91% ≥9 weeks, p=0.228). No significant difference in specificity was found at any time point. CONCLUSIONS: We recommend that if a PET/CT scan is older than 9 weeks, and management would be altered by the presence of N2 nodes, re-staging of the mediastinum should be undertaken