And the problems would be greatly simplified if none of these multiple roles conflicted with any of the others. The problems the design engineer and the company controller face in these hypothetical examples arise from the fact that both automobiles and budgeting systems serve multiple roles-at the same time they must be many things to many people. Like the design engineer, the controller rightly asked, “How can one budget be expected to do everything?” Finally, a consultant came in and told the controller that he ought to be using the budget as a tool for management development. The president asked that the budget be used as the primary coordination device to harmonize all the company’s activities.
The production chief told the controller he needed it to evaluate operating efficiency. The marketing vice president said he needed a budget that would motivate the sales force. The treasurer said he wanted a budget that was realistic enough for cash planning purposes. The frustrations of the automobile design engineer are not entirely different from those of the company controller who was recently asked why he could not design a budgeting system to meet all the requirements that managers throughout his company were placing upon it. What the hell do they expect? One car can’t do everything.”
Define budget planning series#
They’ve decided that what they need in the next design series is ‘The All-American Car.’ They say it’s got to be large enough for a family of five (plus dog), small enough to drive in city traffic, powerful enough to pull a camp trailer, sporty enough so that the man of the house feels that what he’s driving is only a few steps removed from a Formula One, luxurious enough to be seen at the country club, safe enough to meet all the federal standards, and it must get 35 miles per gallon and list for under $3,499. A senior design engineer for a large American automobile manufacturer recently complained to one of his colleagues.
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