Strategic control financial control and strategic planning 
Question 11: Strategic control, financial control, and strategic planning are three ways of dividing responsibilities between corporate centre and its business units. Discuss these three ways of control and their links with three corporate rationales (portfolio manager, synergy manager, and parental developer). Give examples to support your argument. Read 450-452 of text
Goold and Campbell identified 3 parenting styles reflecting the degree to which staffs at corporate headquarters become involved in the process of business strategy development.
The responsibilities for strategic decision making between business units and corporate centre are divided in the following:
i) Strategic planning refers to the particular style of relationship between the centre and business units. This is the most centralised form among all 3 styles. The centre is the master planner recommending detailed roles for departments and business units, whose role is basically limited to the operational delivery of the plan. The centre orchestrates, coordinates and controls all of business unit activities through the extensive use of the formal planning and control system. The centre also directly manages the infrastructure and provides many corporate services.
ii) Financial control is the most extreme form of decentralization, dissolving the organisation into highly independent business units. In this style, the role of the centre is limited to setting financial targets, allocating resources, appraising performance and dominant to avoid or correct poor performance. These involvements would usually be replacing business unit managers rather than dictating changes in strategies. Therefore, the dominant processes are performance targets and business unit managers are held strictly responsible for meeting these targets. Current financial performance is the critical measure of achievement. The financial planning style fits with the portfolio manager.
iii) Strategic control mostly operates in
Goold and Campbell identified 3 parenting styles reflecting the degree to which staffs at corporate headquarters become involved in the process of business strategy development.
The responsibilities for strategic decision making between business units and corporate centre are divided in the following:
i) Strategic planning refers to the particular style of relationship between the centre and business units. This is the most centralised form among all 3 styles. The centre is the master planner recommending detailed roles for departments and business units, whose role is basically limited to the operational delivery of the plan. The centre orchestrates, coordinates and controls all of business unit activities through the extensive use of the formal planning and control system. The centre also directly manages the infrastructure and provides many corporate services.
ii) Financial control is the most extreme form of decentralization, dissolving the organisation into highly independent business units. In this style, the role of the centre is limited to setting financial targets, allocating resources, appraising performance and dominant to avoid or correct poor performance. These involvements would usually be replacing business unit managers rather than dictating changes in strategies. Therefore, the dominant processes are performance targets and business unit managers are held strictly responsible for meeting these targets. Current financial performance is the critical measure of achievement. The financial planning style fits with the portfolio manager.
iii) Strategic control mostly operates in