Implementing responsibility centre management in a higher educational institution
Date
2021-01-12
Authors
Rigby, John
Kobussen, Glen
Kalagnanam, Suresh
Cannon, Robert
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Emerald Publishing
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Preprint
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Abstract
The purpose of this study is to examine the design, development, and implementation of responsibility centre management at a mid-sized Canadian university, within the context of decentralized decision making. More specifically our study focused on the design, development and implementation of a revenue and cost allocation process known as transparent activity-based budgeting system (TABBS).
The authors conducted this study using a qualitative case study methodology, rooted in grounded theory, as the primary approach to collect and analyze data, and report the findings. Primary data was collected from ten participants using semi-structured interviews.
The main takeaways from our research are that (1) such systems take time to design, develop and implement, (2) consultation, communication and information sharing, and model adjustment and refinement are important enabling mechanisms, (3) internal and external events posed significant challenges, (4) although such systems are often designed keeping in mind several intended outcomes there exists the possibility of experiencing some unintended consequences, and (5) the juxtaposition of the above has the potential to negatively or positively impact organizational performance.
The research demonstrates that the design, development, and implementation of a complex resource allocation model is an important element of a responsibility centered approach to planning and decision making. It highlights the importance and contribution of enabling mechanisms as well as the challenges that large, complex organizations may confront when introducing change.
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Keywords
Responsibility centre management, Management control systems, Resource allocation, Budgeting, Higher educational institution
Citation
Rigby, J., Kobussen, G., Kalagnanam, S. and Cannon, R. (2021), "Implementing responsibility centre management in a higher educational institution", International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-05-2020-0218
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Citation
Rigby, J., Kobussen, G., Kalagnanam, S. and Cannon, R. (2021), "Implementing responsibility centre management in a higher educational institution", International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-05-2020-0218