In this course we will focus on the existing knowledge about management control as well as on the research efforts undertaken to obtain knowledge about management control practice. After you have finished this course, you will have a good understanding of at least three themes. First, you will be able to understand and discuss the meaning and importance of management control as a basic part of managerial activity. Second, you will be able to understand and assess the interaction between control problems and organizational arrangements, such as performance evaluation and budgeting. Third, you will have gained significant insights into academic research in the area of management control. Finally, you will have obtained skills to adequately address control problems in actual practice.

Profound understanding of management control

- Understand and discuss the meaning and importance of management control as a basic part of managerial activity.

- Understand and assess the interaction between control problems and organizational arrangements, such as performance evaluation and budgeting.

- Gain significant insights into academic research in the area of management control.

- Pay significant attention to contemporary research in management control.

- Obtain skills to adequately address control problems in actual practice.

- Make extensive use of cases, simulating management control practice.

This is a core course. Presence is mandatory.

EDUCATIONAL CONCEPT:

In this course we attempt to provide a mix of theory and practice. While our educational setting does not allow us to engage in 'real-life' management control activities, we will include control practice along two lines. First, we will make extensive use of cases, simulating management control practice. Second, we will pay significant attention to contemporary research in management control. As we will see, the traditional ‘textbook’ literature is full of opinions about what management control is and how it should work. Empirical research, however, puts these opinions to the test. Understanding this research is therefore an important part of academic training in the field of management control. Being able to interpret the results from this research allows you furthermore to contribute to practical control problems, which will cross your way in your later working experience.

Every week we organize a 4-hour session on Monday, which is dedicated to the discussion and application of the readings to a case or the formal presentation of a case. Instead of the typical lecture style, we will follow a case-based and student-centred learning approach. We will divide most of the 4 hour session into two broad parts. In one of the parts, the course coordinator will lead the discussion of the case and the assigned readings. The other part of the meeting will be fully organized by a student-team who is responsible for structuring that part and making sure that all relevant topics are covered sufficiently. That said, in both parts, preparation and participation of all participants is absolutely crucial. This is also highlighted by the fact that 30% of the final grade depend on adequate contributions to the sessions!

PRE-COURSE PACKAGE:

There will be a pre-course package online approx. 2 weeks before the course starts. It contains information and slides for chapters 1-13 of the book Management and Cost Accounting by Bhimani/Horngren/Datar/Foster, including management and cost accounting fundamentals and accounting information for decision making. We highly recommend reading through the pre-course package, especially if you are not fully acquainted with the cost accounting basics, which we will build on. We will not do financial accounting or bookkeeping techniques in this course, the focus will lie on management accounting and control. Since we have different entry levels to the course (depending on how much of management accounting you already did in your bachelor studies), this is meant to be auxiliary material or revision material. If you have any further questions to that, please feel free to contact your course tutor.

A piece of advice: Skim through the pre-course package, but don't get carried away by the number of slides or content. It is meant to be an extensive overview, not to be learnt by heart.

The final grade for this course is calculated as the weighted average of:

1.         Group performance on Hand-in case                         15%

2.         Group performance as discussion leader                   15%

3.         Individual participation in group meetings                30%

4.         Written final exam (in English)                                 40%

            Final Grade                                                              100%

The following grading scale applies:

Excellent (1)       87.5%-100.0%

Good (2)            75.0% -<87.5%

Satisfactory (3)   62.5% -<75.0%

Sufficient (4)      50.0% -<62.5%

Fail (5)                          <50.0%