The application of organisational cybernetics to the design and diagnosis of financial performance management systems

Morlidge, Stephen Philip

Abstract

The object of this study is the processes that govern the flow of financial resources around an organisation. This is addressed in the context of the need for organisations to survive and prosper in an uncertain and dynamic world. Specifically, interest is focussed upon the mechanisms responsible for its ability to respond in an appropriate way to environmental disturbances in the short term and adapt to changes in the pattern of environmental disturbances over the longer term. The aim is to identify how this process is carried out and what implications this might have for the efficient and effective design of an organisations and practices and procedures.

These are fundamental issues for any sort of social organisations. However, over the last fifty years a body of knowledge has accumulated – often described as systems theory – which seeks to identify and codify the principles that underpin all forms of organisation, whether it is sociological, biological or psychological. Advocates of systems theory claim that invariant principles can be applied, and knowledge transferred, across phenomenological domains.

In academia, the study of the mechanisms that govern the flow of financial resources has received considerable attention. The study of Management Control Systems (MCS) in general and budgeting in particular is one of the most densely populated fields of accounting academic research. There has, however, been a surprisingly limited amount published on the application of systems theory to financial control processes.

The broad issues that this thesis seeks to address are therefore:

• What principles and concepts from systems theory can be applied to study of
the management of financial resources in organisations?
• How might they contribute to knowledge and understanding of such systems?
• How can they be used to design and operate systems in practice?

Citation

Morlidge, S. P. (2010). The application of organisational cybernetics to the design and diagnosis of financial performance management systems. (Thesis). University of Hull. Retrieved from https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4219581

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Sep 6, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 23, 2023
• Keywords: Business
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4219581
• Additional Information: Business School, The University of Hull
• Award Date: Nov 1, 2010