Descripci´ on del Sistema de Control No 2

In the private sector enabling provides the adaptability necessary for a commercial orientated organisation in the pursuit of profit through characteristics of system uses (Ahrens and Chapman 2004) and processes (Wouters and Wilderom 2008). However, in the situated context of the public sector enabling control may also have to take on more ensuring notions. This is because an ensuring bureaucracy can sometimes operate in the state that is concerned with making sure guarantees are received and outcomes are achieved for political priorities regardless of who delivers

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the public services and public goods (Giddens 2009; Schuppert 2004, 2006). This is within appropriate visible and transparent boundary rules and risks (Power 1997, 1999, 2007; Beck 1992; Hopwood 1984; Simons 1995). In addition, clienteles must be reliably informed and assured in terms of what is and what is not possible in achieving political priorities. Expectations management therefore becomes central to the concept, and is an ongoing activity as situations change and shift (Hood 2010; Pollitt 2010). Transparency is critical to the functioning of the system for it to be enabling (Wouters and Wilderom 2008), and even more so from an ensuring notion whereby citizens can understand what is actually being meant by the guarantees. This is because there will undoubtedly be various boundaries, risks, clauses and exclusions that will form part and parcel of the apparatus.

From the literature review and analysis in this thesis, it will be shown that the concept of enabling can take on more ensuring notions through a number of aspects. These will now be discussed within the microcosm of the Local Authority waste management service. They include the ongoing strategic alignment of policy and practice (Giddens 2009; Hood 2010; Hopwood 1983, 1987, 1989; Simons 1995; Ahrens and Chapman 2004); linking global issues with local needs (Giddens 2009; Hopwood 2008; Hood 2010; Pollitt 2010); harnessing partners and resources to make things happen, which could be on an inter-organisational basis for competition, co-operation and collaboration and with citizens for co-production purposes (Hood 1991, 1995, 2010; Giddens 2009; Pollitt 2010); taking account of long term thinking and equitable intergenerational shifts between current and future citizens (Hopwood 2008; Hood 2010; Giddens 2009); considerations of time (Hopwood 1987; Mintzberg 1994, 2007; Simons 1995; Davila 2005; Bower 1970; Noda and Bower

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1996) and space (Hood 1991, 1995, 2010; Pollitt 2010); new genealogies of calculation (Hoskin and Macve 1986; Miller and Kurunmaki 2006; Boyce 2000; Giddens 2009; Hopwood 2008); and expectations management and assurance (Hood 2010; Pollitt 2010; Hopwood 1984; Radcliffe 1998, 1999; Gendron et al 2007; Power 1997, 1999, 2007; Simons 1995, 2005; Wildavsky 1964, 1975).

The first aspect, the strategic alignment of policy and practice, can be seen to be an ongoing and messy activity (Giddens 2009; Hood 2010; Hopwood 1983, 1984, 1987, 1989; Simons 1995; Ahrens and Chapman 2004). It will be shown that the Local Authority used budgeting practice interactively during meetings and diagnostically in reports (Simons 1995; Tuomela 2005; Henri 2006; Ahrens and Chapman 2004; Wouters and Roijmans 2010). During these processes experienced controllers continuously re-established a temporal order between policy and everyday operational actions, as the situation changes.

The second aspect involves linking global issues with local needs (Giddens 2009; Hopwood 2008; Hood 2010; Pollitt 2010). Often local needs and demands may win over global issues given the short term political imperative inherent in democratic institutions and pressures at the Local Authority level to constrain council tax increases (Hood 2010; Pollitt 2010; Jorgenssen 1982, 1985, 1987). After all, votes are a local not a global affair for the Local Authority. It is citizens in the locality that matter, and the here and now is immediate with tomorrow being someone else‟s problem (Wildavsky 1964, 1975). Ensuring can therefore look to how global issues may be better reconciled with local needs (Giddens 2009). This could be in terms of political convergence whereby the policy in question is locked into other policies of

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the Local Authority, economic convergence whereby there are benefits in the global policy for local citizens, and political transcendence whereby the global policy has all party support and therefore is deemed vote neutral to citizens (Giddens 2009). It will be shown that the Local Authority looked to incorporate all of these ideas in its practice.

The third aspect looks at harnessing partners and resources to make things happen (Giddens 2009; Hood 1991, 1995, 2010; Pollitt 2010). This could be through co- production with citizens and on an inter-organisational basis for competition, co- operation and collaboration. To do so, it will be shown that management accounting and performance management arrangements could have managerial agency and a practical character (Hopwood 1987; 1989).

The fourth aspect looks at taking account of long term thinking and equitable intergenerational shifts between current and future citizens (Hopwood 2008; Hood 2010; Giddens 2009). This is interested in the costs that have to be borne now to benefit future generations, or the benefits that are being reaped now that will cost future generations (Hopwood 2008). Long term thinking is important but politically difficult to see into implementation in practice (Hood 2010; Pollitt 2010; Jorgenssen 1982, 1985, 1987; Wildavsky 1964). This is because whilst clienteles stress they are willing to pay for future sustainability, such costs conflict with their immediate concerns around tax rises (Giddens 2009). The problems of the future do not always seem as pressing to the here and now. An equitable situation had to be considered. It will be shown that accounting practices could facilitate this process.

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The fifth aspect considers time (Hopwood 1987; Simons 1995) and space (Hood 1991, 1995, 2010). The concept of time is concerned with the fact that many actions cannot be taken immediately and may in fact take several actions over a long period (Hopwood 1987; Bower 1970; Noda and Bower 1996). It will be shown that the Local Authority had to ensure the planned outcomes within boundary rules and risks, and emerging patterns of action are therefore controlled over time, so the realised strategy is beneficial (Mintzberg 1994, 2007; Simons 1995). The concept of space is also concerned with ensuring how services are delivered (Hood 1991, 1995, 2010; Pollitt 2010) and it will be shown that services maybe procured in many ways.

The sixth aspect is the new genealogies of calculation (Boyce 2000; Hoskin and Macve 1986; Hopwood 2008; Giddens 2009). This is concerned with the fact that Local Authorities now have to account more broadly than in only an economic sense expressed in financial and performance terms (Hopwood 1984; Hood 2006). They now have to ensure environment and society based measures are constructed, making visible a different range of issues, which in turn will ensure actions (Hopwood 2008; Giddens 2009; Boyce 2000). It will be shown that budgeting and performance management arrangements can assist this process.

The final aspect of ensuring notions of enabling control relates to the expectations management, assurance around guarantees and risk management (Hood 2010; Pollitt 2010). In the confederation of practices (Schatzki 2000), groups including clienteles have to be brought into supporting the policies and practices and be suitably assured that activities are working otherwise expectations may not be met (Wildavsky 1964, 1975). In addition, groups and clienteles must be assured when activities cannot be

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undertaken due to resource pressures and be brought into accepting a lower level in the achievement of objectives and political priorities (Hood 2010; Pollitt 2010; Jorgenssen 1982, 1985, 1987; White and Wildavsky 1989).

It is therefore suggested that organisation changes occur between coercive control and enabling control, but in the situated context of the public sector enabling control may also extend into more ensuring notions to manage the rules and objectives of what makes sense to do and the understanding of how to do it for the long term, inter-generational citizenry and broader social, environmental and economic well being considerations for society that would not be necessary in a commercially orientated private sector organisation that pursues profit as its primary goal.

The research also illustrates that little is known about how the changes to enabling control are embedded in practice. To address this, the situated functionality of accounting for ordering activities, making agendas and accomplishing political priorities will now be considered.

2.7 Management Accounting Practices and the Situated Functionality of