Article: A Three-Dimensional Approach to Management Control Systems Journal: Journal of Business and Management (JBM) 1995 Vol.2 No.2 pp.35 - 73 Abstract: Traditional management accounting and control practices have come under severe criticism in recent years, indicating that the time may be ripe to reconsider our approach to management control system (MCS) design. To accommodate the call for a more holistic approach in management accounting research a typological framework is developed by positioning the formal MCS along the feedback/feedforward, the financial/non-financial and the formal/informal dimensions of control. The framework developed through cross-fertilization of these dimensions in three steps across eight archetypal MCS designs and characteristics is outlined. An overall contingency perspective is applied and contextual factors with a potential influence on systems design are discussed briefly in conjunction with the presentation of the typology, while recommendations for more thorough research in this respect are given. Also, closer integration between management control and human resource management theory is recommended, particularly when conducting control research in human resource intensive service organizations. Inderscience Publishers - linking academia, business and industry through research

Title: A Three-Dimensional Approach to Management Control Systems

Authors: Sven Modell

Addresses: Author address listing can be found in the "About the Authors" section at the end of the article.

Abstract: Traditional management accounting and control practices have come under severe criticism in recent years, indicating that the time may be ripe to reconsider our approach to management control system (MCS) design. To accommodate the call for a more holistic approach in management accounting research a typological framework is developed by positioning the formal MCS along the feedback/feedforward, the financial/non-financial and the formal/informal dimensions of control. The framework developed through cross-fertilization of these dimensions in three steps across eight archetypal MCS designs and characteristics is outlined. An overall contingency perspective is applied and contextual factors with a potential influence on systems design are discussed briefly in conjunction with the presentation of the typology, while recommendations for more thorough research in this respect are given. Also, closer integration between management control and human resource management theory is recommended, particularly when conducting control research in human resource intensive service organizations.

Keywords: Management control systems; management accounting; control practices; MCS design; human resource management.

DOI: 10.1504/JBM.1995.141003

Journal of Business and Management, 1995 Vol.2 No.2, pp.35 - 73

Published online: 05 Sep 2024 *

Title: A Three-Dimensional Approach to Management Control Systems

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