THE USEFULNESS OF MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS, FUNCTIONAL DIFFERENTIATION AND MANAGERIAL EFFECTIVENESS

~tis study examines the role of broad scope information, made available by management accouming system* (MAS), in enchanging mamgerial performance. It is proposed that differentiation of activities into area such us marketing and production in an organizational response to manage uncertainty. The paper argues that such different of activities moderates the association between the extent to which managers use broad scope MAS information and peffornmnce. A study off 75 managers indicated that the association between the extent of use of broad scope MAS inf0rmmion and performance was strottger for managers of marketing than production activities

Management control systems have evolved to address the need for innovation

Traditional accounting control systems aren't seen as doing the job, argue Robert Chenhall and Frank Moer

The Role of Management Control Systems in Planned Organizational Change: An Analysis of Two Organizations

Accounting, Organizations and Society, 32 (7-8), 2007, 601-637.In the management control literature there is growing interest in the role of management control systems (MCS) in planned organizational change. The existing literature is concerned with either rational, technical change principles or more social and political interpretations of MCS facilitated change. This paper aims to extend the literature by combining technical approaches to MCS facilitated change with a behavioral approach in the study of two similar organizations. Moreover, the paper employs a holistic approach to change to develop a comprehensive understanding of the role of MCS in planned organizational change. A framework by Huy [Huy, Q.N. (2001). Time temporal capacity, and planned change. Academy of Management Review 26(4), 601-623] is used to provide an integrative approach that focuses on both rational, systematic practices and the behavioral processes involved in their implementation. This is achieved by identifying four idealized intervention types: commanding, engineering, teaching and socializing. Understanding the application of these four intervention types requires analysis of the way they interact through times

Managing identity conflicts in organizations: a case study of one welfare non-profit

How nonprofit organizations manage multiple and conflicting identities is not well understood. In a case study of a nonprofit welfare organization, we use Pratt and Foreman’s (2000) framework of identity management responses to illuminate different ways that nonprofit organizations can seek to manage and potentially resolve identity conflicts. We focus on the actual practices nonprofit organizations use to manage multiple identities and, in particular, reveal the important role of organizational routines and artefacts in facilitating or constraining particular identity management responses

The expressive role of performance measurement systems: a field study of a mental health development project

The management control systems (MCS) literature has long recognized the importance of values and beliefs (e.g., Ouchi, 1979; Simons, 1995). However, in this literature, values and beliefs are typically presented in the context of mission statements or company slogans that can play little substantive role in shaping actions and behaviours. In this paper we focus on how MCS can play a more active role in values expression, and examine the potential for performance measurement systems (PMS) to be used within organizations to express the values and beliefs of organizational members. This use of PMS, which we term its expressive role, is important as pluralistic and expressive forms of organizing are becoming more prevalent. Furthermore, prior research indicates that enabling the expression of values and beliefs by organizational members can generate energy and commitment that are important to the achievement of organizational objectives. In a field study of a mental health development project in a non-government organization, we examine the design and operational characteristics that are important for the expressive role of PMS. We also examine the interplay between the expressive role and the instrumental role of PMS and identify circumstances in which these roles can clash and/or be complementary

Content and process approaches to studying strategy and management control systems

[Extract] This chapter is concerned with developing our understanding of the role of management control systems (MCS) in formulating and implementing strategy. Strategy has become a dominant influence in the study of organizations. Researchers in areas such as economics (Milgrom and Roberts 1992; Seth and Thomas 1994), human resource management (Miller 1991; Kochan and Osterman 1994), information technology (IT) (Grover et al. 1997), and organizational behaviour (Knights and Morgan 1991; Rowe et al. 1994; Rouleau and Seguin 1995) all seek to understand\ud the ways in which their disciplines assist in understanding how managers use strategy to achieve desired outcomes. Management accounting has been informed by these literatures to such an extent that strategic management accounting is seen by many commentators as the key to understanding the effective design and implementation of\ud MCS (Simmonds 1981; Bromwich 1990; Ward 1992).\ud \ud Costing has developed a strategic focus whereby activity-based cost management (ABCM) has moved from refining the attribution of fixed costs to cost objects to systems that link costs and value drivers to alternate strategies, thereby enabling cost-benefit analysis and an\ud understanding of process requirements to effect strategies (Shank and Govindarajan 1995; Kaplan and Cooper 1998). Performance measurement has evolved from enhancing the usefulness of performance measures by including both financial and non-financial measures to more complex systems based on a balanced suite of measures that provides\ud strategic performance management, including causal maps that show the operational implications for different strategies (McNair et al. 1990; Kaplan and Norton 1992, 1996, 200l). More recently, attention has been focused on how MCS can be used interactively to assist in developing\ud responsiveness throughout the organization to the strategic uncertainties facing the organization (Simons 1995, 2000). These advances are reflected in the emphasis given in most contemporary management accounting textbooks to a strategic orientation to management control.\ud \ud This chapter draws on the distinction between content and process approaches to help develop understanding of existing strategy-based MCS research and provide a unifying perspective for thinking about a future research agenda. The potential contribution is to clarify the different\ud purposes of content and process approaches, thereby opening debate to reflect on past findings in management control research. Also, a variety of issues concerning both content and process are presented as key areas for future research. First, the difference between content and process approaches is discussed. Second, the ways in which management control has been related to content approaches is examined and the potential for future research in this area explored. Third, process approaches are examined,\ud again with an eye to the extant literature and future directions. Finally, the issue of strategic change is discussed to show how both content and process approaches can help consideration of this research agenda

Management control systems as a tool for planned organizational change

This article presents an overview of the Huy model of planned organizational change and uses the model to interpret the evolution of the management control systems of two similar organizations over approximately a ten-year period

Social capital and management control systems: a study of a non-government organization

In this paper we use the concept of social capital to outline a distinctive approach to understanding the interplay between management control systems and the development of social connections in and between organisations. Social capital provides a comprehensive framework for examining the nature of social connections through its focus on both structural networks (bridging) and interpersonal relationships that predispose individuals towards mutually beneficial collective action (bonding). In doing so, social capital provides a means of considering how individuals react to management control systems in terms of the social ties that exist both within the organization and external to the organization. Using a case study of a non-government organization, we show how social capital is implicated in efforts to attract economic capital and cultural capital. We demonstrate how elements of a management control system can either enhance or inhibit the bonding and bridging dimensions of social capital with potential consequences on both economic and cultural capital. We highlight the mixed and sometimes contradictory effects of management control systems on social capital, and provide a powerful illustration of the role of management control systems in brokering alliances and bridging structural holes