Planning et contrôle II

Strategic planning & control and management control concerns the set of methods, frameworks and “technologies” that allow the organisation to execute all activities and processes necessary for “goal achievement”. These strategic goals are set outside the discipline of “controlling”: management control focuses on execution. This focus is systematic, transparent, dynamic and involves all members of the organisation. Each of these “members” have their own responsibilities and contribute in their own specific way (depending on their expertise, role and function) to the success of the organisation. The strategic management control system, therefore, has as most important objective, to align all these individual contribution, such that coherence and consistency is safeguarded (“goal congruence”).
Thus, management control makes sure that strategies are implemented and executed in the most efficient and effective way possible. This is organisational performance and organisational performance is more than just the sum of all individual performance. Management control indeed focuses on the “added value” of the organisation as such. This is the second most important objective of our discipline: how to go from high-performance individual contributions to overall organisational performance? In other words, how do we add “structural, organisational” capital to “individual, human capital”?
A lot of important decisions have to be made to get there … Management control helps provide the necessary information for optimal decision making. This is the third important contribution of controlling to management: analysing and synthesizing all relevant information and making sure this information is shared with and understood by all parties involved. In short, optimal decision making is focused efficient and effective goal achievement in a “controlled” way.
This course will focus on sustainability and innovation. How do we move towards sustainable business? How do we innovate in a controlled way, i.e. in function of our strategic goals? Why is control so important for really including sustainability and innovation into the business performance management systems? Why is inclusive, critical thinking so important? How does diversity add value to organisational capitals?
What if we use the “wrong” controls? What if we do not include the right “controls”?

1. Students demonstrate the capability of applying knowledge, insight and problem-solving skills to semi-structured or unstructured management control challenges and problems.
2. Students have the capability to integrate various perspectives when encountering complex problems in the field of managerial control with a focus on innovation, change, sustainability and inclusive decision making.
3. Students possess insights and skills to critically reflect on developments and proposed solutions to the above mentioned challenges and problems.
4. Students possess intercultural skills and are able to operate in an international/global business setting.
5. Students are capable in self-directed learning and critical reflection and demonstrate a professional attitude (competitive collaboration, open-mindedness, performance-driven resilience & perseverance).

During the course, and after an introduction of the topics (Sustainability; Innovation & Change; Inclusive Decision Making), students study academic articles, present these articles, give examples, lead a discussion and give formal feedback (peer learning assessment).
The academic articles are related, but it is the students´ contribution to present them in a structured way and analyse complex problems by using the (diverse) insights in an interactive and participative learning process.
A critical opinion is necessary, both in assessing the course literature, the discussion thereof, as well as in delivering a feasible solution.
We strive to mix the subgroups of students in such a way that this will form intercultural teams that can deal with the complexity of different cultural background.

Connaissances et compétences pré-requises ou co-requises

No formal pre-requisites: in general, an introductory course management accounting (often part of a general accounting course), is (more than) sufficient. accounting,
This course will give a concise, non-specialist overview of the most used, very intuitive management accounting methods and instruments; which will be more than enough of a start for the discussions, exercises and project work.
The project work is meant to help students discover themselves accounting logic and methodologie and will lead to students identifying themselves their needs for further knowledge. This need will be addressed in class (discussion classes) as follow-up of the group/project work.

Cours pré-requis

The course consists of two parts. The first part will introduce some contemporary management control models like, e.g. Robert Simon’s “Levers of Control” framework. In part two, will use this controlling framework to adapt and extend it with respect to sustainability and innovation. The second part will consist of (interactive) key overview lectures, after which the students themselves take the floor with presentations and (structured) discussions. The lecturer will provide the students with mandatory reading material to be used for these presentations and discussions. A precise course schedule will be announced in due time

The meetings will be a mixture of:
- the first lectures are focused on knowledge transfer: the professor introduces the foundations and basics
- exercises in class to make students familiar with the instruments and methods of managerial (or management) accounting
- an extensive project (group work) will focus on "peer learning": students will help each other and co-educate each other as peers while working through the case (40-60 hours)
- discussions, open Q&A related not only to the project, but also to the topics of the course
- the individual work focuses on "critical thinking" and as the students will receive (to be decides and dependent on number of students) (a) a "blind" copy of one of their peers, also on the competence to give structured feedback. Part of the final grade of the individual work will thus depend on the grade given by a fellow student or (b) will be asked to give feedback to the project work presentations of the other groups in class.   

Références, bibliographie et lectures recommandées

Incluses dans les textes proposés

As examples of articles used in the course:
- Aczel et al. 2015
- Alvessen & Spicer 2012
- Ball & Milne 2005
- Bedford 2015
- Davila et al. 2009
- Epstein et al. 2010
- Frattini et al. 2009
- Frezatti et al. 2017
- Lopez-Valeiras et al. 2015
- Mella 2017
- Renaud 2014
- Schaltegger & Burritt 2010
- Scodanibbio 2012

Support(s) de cours

• Université virtuelle

Contacts

Philip Vergauwen
philip.vergauwen@ulb.be

Campus

Solbosch

Méthode(s) d'évaluation

• Travail personnel
• Examen écrit
• Projet
• Présentation orale
• Travail de groupe
• Autre

Travail personnel

Examen écrit

• Question ouverte à développement long
• Question ouverte à réponse courte

Projet

Présentation orale

Travail de groupe

Autre

The overall course grade for each individual student is composed as follows:
- exam 55 % of the total grade (professor evaluates):
The examination for this course normally takes place in May/June 2022. If the student fails (a score of less than 27,5/55 on the exam, a re-sit is required. In this case, the other partial grades are maintained for the re-sit, but are NOT calculated in the total grade for the first session of the examination;
- the preparation for the final exam is a set of “take-home” assignments/essays (open book preparation, internet connection permitted). Before the oral part, the students submits his/her answers/essays and during the oral part of the exam, the student and the professor will discuss the student´s essays (probably via recorded Microsoft Teams);
- group work 20% of the total grade (10% professor & 10% group peer evaluation);
The group assignment consists of the presentation and discussion (peer review grading) of academic articles related to (one of the three) the topics of the course;
- individual case work 15% of the total grade (professor evaluates).

The individual assignment consists of a 5 page essay based on a case study (to be determined) and on a “relevant literature search” by the student in the context of this case study;
The criteria for the peer evaluation of the group work are as follows:
- The introduction of the presentation clearly describes the background and rationale of the work, articulates the purpose of the research presented, states the originality and the contribution to knowledge (including scientifically relevant problem definition and indication of practical relevance);
- The main explanation of the theoretical framework presented accurately discusses the general relationships of things related to the research problem, keeps in mind the theories discussed in class and provides accurate guidance on the tools and methods employed (including research design, motivation of why the chosen investigation method is the most appropriate one for the problem statement, results of the pilot (if applicable), the actual data collection process (if applicable), an explanation of how data analysis worked in practice (if applicable), …
- Conclusions and discussion: there is a clear presentation of the results in logical order while answering the research questions on the one hand and interpretations thereof on the other hand, and of the limitations of the research results. - Suggestions and recommendations are given if appropriate.
- Assessment of the style, grammar, … of the presentation.

Construction de la note (en ce compris, la pondération des notes partielles)

Voir ci-dessus

Langue(s) d'évaluation

• anglais
• français