Management control in the agile organizations: New wine or just new bottles?

Journal title MANAGEMENT CONTROL
Author/s Bruno De Rosa
Publishing Year 2022 Issue 2022/1
Language Italian Pages 28 P. 121-148 File size 1158 KB
DOI 10.3280/MACO2022-001008
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

The agile archetype poses a series of control instances that at first glance might appear completely innovative and specific. However, a careful examination of the existing literature on the subject of management control reveals how many of the needs connected to the search for flexibility pursued through the radical decentralization of decisions and with the organizational redesign realized around the teams, have in fact already been examined. This article aims to develop a comparative analysis of the main approaches developed thus far in this regard, comparing them with the reconstruction of the agile phenomenon. The objective is to demonstrate that the novelty of the agile approach, if it exists, lies in the manner in which the logic and mechanisms of control are combined in a coherent set of design choices that give effectiveness to the overall system. Particularly important, therefore, are the balancing methods that are identified to obtain a balance between opposing needs: between the dynamism and stability of the system, between decentralization of decisions and unity of action, and be-tween effectiveness and efficiency.

Keywords: Agile organizations, Management control systems, Empowerment, Decentralization, Small teams.

  1. McChrystal S., Silverman D., Collins T., Fussell C. (2015), Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World, Penguin Random House.
  2. McKinsey Agile Tribe (2017), The Five Trademarks of Agile Organizations, McKinsey Quarterly, December.
  3. Merchant K., Otley D. (2007), A review of the literature on control and accountability. Handbook of Management Accounting Research (Ed.) C. S. Chapman, AG Hopwood, and MD Shields, pp. 785-804.
  4. Miya H. (1998), Micro-profit Center System for Empowerment: A Case Study of the Amoeba System at the Kyocera Corporation, Gakushuin Economic Papers, 35(2), August.
  5. Moran A., (2015), Managing Agile. Strategy, Implementation, Organization and People, Springer
  6. Mundy J. (2010), Creating dynamic tensions through a balanced use of management control systems, Accounting, organizations and society, 35(5), pp. 499-523.
  7. Newman W.H. (1975), Constructive Control, Prentice-hall
  8. Ostergren K., Stensaker I. (2011), Management control without budgets: A field study of ‘Beyond Budgeting’ in practice, in European Accounting Review, 20(1), pp. 149-181.
  9. Ouchi W.G. (1979), A Conceptual Framework for the Design of Organizational control Mechanisms, Management Science, 25(9), pp. 833-848.
  10. Pflaeging N. (2014), Organize for Complexity. How to get life back into work to build the high-performance organization, BetaCodex Publishing
  11. Player S. (2003), Why Some Organizations Go «Beyond Budgeting» published online in Wiley InterScience.
  12. Rickards R.C. (2006), Beyond Budgeting: Boon or Boondoggle?, Investment Management and Financial Innovations, 3(2), pp. 62-76.
  13. Rigby D., Elk S., Berez S. (2020), Doing Agile Right, Harvard Business Review Press.
  14. Shimizu T. (1995), A comparison of the KPI forecast management model of Japanese companies and the Beyond Budgeting Model.
  15. Adler R.W., Hiromoto T., Amoeba Management: Why it Works at Kyocera and which other Firms Could Benefit from its Adoption – Part I; Working paper non pubblicato.
  16. Adler R.W., Hiromoto T. (2012), Amoeba Management: Lessons From Japan’s Kyocera, MIT Sloan Management Review, Fall
  17. Adler R.W. (2018), Kyocera’s use of amoeba management as a performance management system. Why it works?, in Harris E. (ed.), The Routledge Companion to Performance Management and Control, Routledge.
  18. Aghina W., De Smet A, Weerda K. (2016), Agility: it rhymes with stability, McKinsey on Organization, McKinsey
  19. Ahlbäck K., Fahrbach C., Murarka M., Salo O. (2017), McKinsey Global Survey Results: How to create an agile organization, October, McKinsey.com.
  20. Aronowitz S., De Smet A., McGinty D. (2016), Getting organizational redesign right, McKinsey on Organization, McKinsey
  21. Bazigos M., De Smet A., Gagnon C. (2016), Why agility pays, McKinsey on Organization, McKinsey
  22. Sharifi H., Zhang Z. (1999), A methodology for achieving agility in manufacturing organisations: an introduction, International Jurnal Production Economics, 62(1-2), pp. 7-22.
  23. Simons R. (1995-A), Control in an Age of Empowerment, Harvard Business Review, March-April, pp. 80-88.
  24. Simons R. (1995-B), Levers of Control: How Managers Use Innovative Control Systems to Drive Strategic Renewal, Harvard Business School Press, Boston.
  25. Strauß E, Zecher C. (2013), Management control systems: a rewiew, Journal of Management Control, 3(4), pp. 233-268.
  26. Sugahara S., Daidj N., Ushio S. (2017), Management Accounting Practices as Organizational Learning: Continuous Value Creation in a Japanese Company, Value Creation in Management Accounting and Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach, First Edition, ISTE Ltd and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
  27. Takeuchi H., Nonaka I. (1986), The new new product development game, Harvard Business Review, January-February, pp. 137-146.
  28. Walter A.T. (2020), Organisational agility: Ill-defined and somewhat confusing? A systematic literature review and conceptualisation, Management Review Quarterly.
  29. Welch J. (2005), Winning, Harperbusiness.
  30. Zhang Z., Sharifi H. (2007), Towards theory building in agile manufacturing strategy – a taxonomical approach, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 54(2), pp. 351-370.
  31. Becker S., Messner M., Schäffer U. (2010), The Evolution of a Management Accounting Idea: The Case of Beyond Budgeting.
  32. Berry A.J., Broadbent J., Otley D. (1995), The domain of organisational control, in Berry, A. J. Broadbent J., Otley D. (ed.), Management Control. Theories, Issues and Practices.
  33. Bogsnes B., Larsson D., Olesen A., Player S., Röösli F. (2016), Update of the Beyond Budgeting Principles, BBRT White Paper.
  34. Bossert O., Kretzberg A., Laartz J. (2018), Unleashing the power of small, independent teams, McKinsey Quarterly, July.
  35. Bourton S., Lavoie J., Vogel, T. (2018), Leading with inner agility, McKinsey Quarterly, March.
  36. Bradley C., Hirt M., Smit, S, (2011), Have you tested your strategy lately?, McKinsey Quarterly, January.
  37. Brown S.L., Eisenhardt K.M., (1988), Competing On the Edge : Strategy As Structured Chaos, Harvard Business School Press.
  38. Bubbio A. (2012), Il Controllo di getsione che si dovrebbe fare, ma non si fa, Sviluppo & Organizzazione, Gennaio-Febbraio.
  39. Bunce P., Hope J., Fraser R. (2004), The principles of Beyond budgeting, BBRT White Paper.
  40. Burns T., Stalker G.M. (1961), The Management of Innovation, Oxford University Press.
  41. Chapman C.S., (2005), Controlling Strategy, in Chapman C. S. (ed.), Controlling Strategy. Management Accounting and Performance Measurement, Oxford University Press.
  42. Chenhall R.H. (2005), Content and Process Approaches to Studying Strategy and Management Control Systems, in Chapman C.S. (ed.), Controlling Strategy. Management Accounting and Performance Measurement, Oxford University Press.
  43. Comella-Dorda S., Paquette C., Schonberger L., Thareja S. (2018), Busting a digital myth: The naturally gifted product owner, McKinsey, Digital blog.
  44. Cooper R. (1995-B) Kyocera Corporation: The Amoeba Management System, HBS No. 195-064, Harvard Business School Publishing.
  45. Cooper R., Slagmulder R.R.A. (1998-B), Strategic cost management - Cost management for internal markets, Management Accounting (USA), April, 79 (10), pp. 16-17.
  46. Cooper R., Slagmulder R.R.A. (1998-A), What is Strategic Cost Management?, Management Accounting (USA), Janyuary, 79 (7), pp. 16-17
  47. Cooper R., Slagmulder R.R.A. (1988-C), Cost Management for Internal Markets (Continued), in Management Accounting (USA), May, 79 (11), pp.16-18;
  48. Cooper R., Slagmulder R.R.A. (1988-D), Micro Profit Centers, Management Accounting (USA), June, 79(12), pp. 16-18;
  49. Cooper R. (1995-A), When Lean Organizations Collide: Competing Through Confrontation, Harvard Business School Press.
  50. Davila T. (2005), The promise of Management Control Systems for innovation and strategic Change”, in Chapman C. S. (ed.), Controlling Strategy. Management Accounting and Performance Measurement, Oxford University Press.
  51. De Smet A. (2018), The agile manager, McKinsey Quarterly, March.
  52. De Smet A., Lund S., Schaninger B. (2016), Organizing for the future, McKinsey on Organization, McKinsey
  53. De Smet A., Lurie M., St. George A. (2018), Leading agile transformation: The new capabilities leaders need to build 21st-century organizations, McKinsey Quarterly, September.
  54. De Smet A., Lurie M., St. George A. (2018), Leading agile transformation: The new capabilities leaders need to build 21st-century organizations, McKinsey, September.
  55. Denning S. (2028), The Age of Agile: How Smart Companies Are Transforming the Way Work Gets Done, AMACON
  56. Dodd D., Favaro K. (2006), Managing the Right Tension, Harvard Business Review, December, pp. 62-74.
  57. Dugdale D. (2018), Management control systems. Theory and lessons from practice, in Harris, E. (ed.), The Routledge Companion to Performance Management and Control, Routledge.
  58. Gunther McGrath R. (2012), How the Growth Outliers Do It, Harvard Business Review, January-February.
  59. Hancock B., Schaninger B., Rahilly L. (2021), The vanishing middle manager, McKinsey Organization Practice.
  60. Handscomb C., Jaenicke A. Kaur K.,Vasquez-McCall B., Zaidi A. (2018), How to mess up your agile transformation in seven easy (mis)steps, McKinsey Quarterly, April.
  61. Hansen S.C., Otley D.T., Van der Stede W.A. (2003), Practice Developments in Budgeting: An Overview and Research Perspective, Journal of Management Accounting Research, 15, pp. 95-116.
  62. Hope J., Fraser R. (1997), Beyond budgeting ... Breaking through the barrier to the third wave, Management Accounting (UK), December.
  63. Hope J., Fraser R. (1998), Measuring Performance in the new organisational model, Management Accounting, June.
  64. Hope J., Fraser R. (1999), Beyond Budgeting: building a new management model for the information age, Management Accounting, January.
  65. Hope J., Fraser R. (2003-A), Who needs budgets, Harvard Business Review, February, pp. 108-115.
  66. Hope J., Fraser R., (2003-B), New Ways of Setting Rewards:The Beyond Budgeting Model, California Management Review, 45(4), pp. 104-119.
  67. Hope J., Fraser R. (2003-C), Beyond budgeting: how managers can break free from the annual performance trap, Harvard Business School.
  68. Hope J., Fraser R., Bunce P., Röösli F., The Coherent Model that reunites, leadership thinging, management processes and information systems for sustained success in a changing world, Beyond Budgeting Round Table.
  69. Hope J.D., Bunce P.G., Röösli F. (2011), The Leader’s Dilemma: How to build and empowered and adaptive organization without losing control, Jossey Bass.
  70. Huy Q.N., Mintzberg H. (2003), The rhythm of change, MIT Sloan Management Review, 44(4), pp. 79-84.
  71. Inamori K. (1999), Respect the Divine and Love People, University of San Diego Press, citato in Adler R.W. (2018), Kyocera’s use of amoeba management as a performance management system. Why it works?.
  72. Libby, T., Lindsay, R. M., (2003-A), Budgeting – an unnecessary evil, CMA Management, March, articolo ritratto da The Free Library in data 9 maggio 2021.
  73. Libby T., Lindsay R.M. (2003-B), Budgeting – an unnecessary evil part two: how the BBRT envisions a world without traditional budgeting, CMA Management, April, articolo ritratto da The Free Library in data 9 maggio 2021.
  74. Lin C.T., Chiu H., Tseng Y.H. (2006), Agility evaluation using fuzzy logic, International Journal Production Economics 101(2), pp. 353-368.
  75. Lisca F. (2017), Il quinto paradigma. Come trasformare la propria azienda in un’organizzazione agile, FrancoAngeli.

Bruno De Rosa, Il controllo nelle "agile organizations": new wine or just new bottles? in "MANAGEMENT CONTROL" 1/2022, pp 121-148, DOI: 10.3280/MACO2022-001008