Management Control System of the University of Southern California
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this case study is to describe and analyse the features of the management control system (MCS) of University of Southern California (USC). Before commencing the analysis a brief background of USC is provided.
The USC, located in Los Angeles, was established in 1880 as a private research institution. The university's academic and administrative programs are led by the president's cabinet, which is comprised of a provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, senior vice president for finance and chief financial officer, senior vice president for administration, senior vice president for university relations, and senior vice president for advancement. USC is governed under the direction of the university's board of trustees and in accordance with the university bylaws (Merchant & Van der Stede 2007).
Prior to the implementation of Revenue Centre Management System (RCMS) the decision-making power was centralised, meaning that one senior administrative officer played the main role in all allocation of resource decisions. In 1981 the transition to the decentralised model took place. A Task Force on Budget Incentives was appointed in 1981 with the charge to understand the changes that had been taking place at the university (Merchant & Van der Stede 2007). The Task Force developed eight organisational principles which clarified the weaknesses in the university's old system and became the guidance of the decentralised program. The USC program became known as the revenue centre management system.
i) THE FEATURES OF THE MANAGEMENT CONTROL SYSTEMS IN THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
The main goal of USC was to have a decentralized management system so that they could achieve university's academic and fiscal success. They established a system which provided some central resources which accommodated and supported the requirements of the whole university. It was known as the RCMS.
The new RCMS established two
The purpose of this case study is to describe and analyse the features of the management control system (MCS) of University of Southern California (USC). Before commencing the analysis a brief background of USC is provided.
The USC, located in Los Angeles, was established in 1880 as a private research institution. The university's academic and administrative programs are led by the president's cabinet, which is comprised of a provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, senior vice president for finance and chief financial officer, senior vice president for administration, senior vice president for university relations, and senior vice president for advancement. USC is governed under the direction of the university's board of trustees and in accordance with the university bylaws (Merchant & Van der Stede 2007).
Prior to the implementation of Revenue Centre Management System (RCMS) the decision-making power was centralised, meaning that one senior administrative officer played the main role in all allocation of resource decisions. In 1981 the transition to the decentralised model took place. A Task Force on Budget Incentives was appointed in 1981 with the charge to understand the changes that had been taking place at the university (Merchant & Van der Stede 2007). The Task Force developed eight organisational principles which clarified the weaknesses in the university's old system and became the guidance of the decentralised program. The USC program became known as the revenue centre management system.
i) THE FEATURES OF THE MANAGEMENT CONTROL SYSTEMS IN THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
The main goal of USC was to have a decentralized management system so that they could achieve university's academic and fiscal success. They established a system which provided some central resources which accommodated and supported the requirements of the whole university. It was known as the RCMS.
The new RCMS established two