Management control systems: whence and whither?

Abstract

Planet-wide, the increase in knowledge each year is enormous, and the pace of generation of new knowledge seems also to be increasing. One of the challenges facing the human species is how to assimilate and then harness this new knowledge in ways which are likely to lead to the more effective use of the planet’s limited resources whilst maintaining and developing an environment in which it is progressively more satisfying to live. Few would claim that anyone on the planet currently has a satisfactory way of handling that problem in practice. Research aimed at developing better ways of managing the use of both physical and mental resources is, therefore, both intellectually challenging and critically important for the future of the species. The potential area for research is so vast, however, that the biggest problem (rather like a child facing an enormous cream bun) is deciding where to start.