Management Control

Introduction

The object of control has over time moved from being heavily influenced by finance, to being driven more by knowledge traits. Meaning we need to extend the function of control and steer our efforts towards knowledge-sharing and peer-to-peer collaboration and learning.

We must also understand how to incorporate concepts from organisational behaviour and knowledge management, in our control efforts.

Participants joining this course will be introduced to approaches of both conventional management control and contemporary management control. The latter is conceived as the preferred management control approach of knowledge-based firms.

Learning outcomes

• Knowledge: You will get and understanding of the difference between financial and non-financial management control systems.
• Skills: You will acquire the skills to develop new approaches for existing management control problems.
• General competence: You will learn to classify and assess your company’s existing management control system.

Course content

The course consists of (guest) lectures, group-based casework, and an individual course paper. Lectures introduce the indicated topics conceptually and explore it in terms of managerial implications and the links to other areas of management.

Lectures are categorized into three topical areas:

• Introduction: purpose of management control systems
• Conventional management control and performance measurement
• Contemporary management control

Key elements of the introduction to MCS (technology, behavioural patterns) and of contemporary management control (OKRs, non-financial performance measurement) are part of the course design and course delivery.

Faculty

Professor Hanno Roberts, Department of accounting and operations management

Associate Professor Ignacio Garcia de Olalla Lopez, Department of accounting and operations management

Associate Professor Kizkitza Biguri, Department of accounting and operations management