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Gränsöverskridande styrning : om krav på ekonomisk styrning i social verksamhet inriktad mot barn och ungdomar

Westrup, Ulrika LU (2002)
Abstract
The aim of this study is to contribute to an increased understanding of the demands that the operation’s character places on management control. The study’s point of departure is the assumption that management control must be adapted to the operation’s character in order to be able to support strategy implementation and the achievement of objectives (contingency theory). The study deals with the demands facing management control in social operations aimed at children and young people. It is carried out in a municipal context and focuses on four different operations: pre-school, compulsory school, upper secondary school and social services.



The municipal social operations aimed at the target group children and young... (More)
The aim of this study is to contribute to an increased understanding of the demands that the operation’s character places on management control. The study’s point of departure is the assumption that management control must be adapted to the operation’s character in order to be able to support strategy implementation and the achievement of objectives (contingency theory). The study deals with the demands facing management control in social operations aimed at children and young people. It is carried out in a municipal context and focuses on four different operations: pre-school, compulsory school, upper secondary school and social services.



The municipal social operations aimed at the target group children and young people involve a large number of different actors such as pre-school teachers, teachers, remedial teachers, recreation leaders, social workers and psychologists. In order to achieve an effective and defensible utilisation of the resources aimed at the target group it may seem inevitable that these actors have to work across the organisational boundaries. In reality, however, it is unusual that the operation is described from this perspective in management control. Instead, the increasingly clear definition of operation tasks and responsibilities that is being arrived at with business sector control models, e.g. management by objectives and economic accountability units, has become a common theme in the development of municipal management control. Social operations aimed at children and young people do, however, not easily lend themselves to comparisons with goods and/or services owing, inter alia, to the fact that, in the social operations case, it is the individual herself (the child, pupil or client) that is subject to development or transition.



The study concludes that the operation’s character gives rise to demands that suggest that the operation should be viewed as a coherent whole in management control. The existing management control system mainly contributes to an understanding of and knowledge about separate parts of the operation. Separate operation parts and units are planned and reviewed from the perspective of their organisation, resources and performance. The management control system does not depict how the different parts of the operation relate to and influence each other. The study suggests that a cross-boundary form of control be developed in social operations aimed at children and young people where aspects such as objectives, operation content, results, knowledge cultivation and result and management accountability stretch across the organisational boundaries. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Popular Abstract in Swedish

Denna studie behandlar krav som verksamhetens karaktär medför på ekonomisk styrning i social verksamhet inriktad mot barn och ungdomar. I kommuner finns flera verksamheter som bedriver ett omfattande arbete inriktat mot barn och ungdomar, t.ex. förskola, skola och socialtjänst. Många olika professionella aktörer är inblandade i arbetet med denna målgrupp, såsom förskollärare, lärare, specialpedagoger, fritidspedagoger, socionomer, psykologer m.fl. Dessa aktörer måste samarbeta såväl inom som utom den egna professionen och organisationen för att uppnå goda resultat och ett effektivt resursutnyttjande. Utvecklingen av den ekonomiska styrningen i kommuner har emellertid under senare år gått mot... (More)
Popular Abstract in Swedish

Denna studie behandlar krav som verksamhetens karaktär medför på ekonomisk styrning i social verksamhet inriktad mot barn och ungdomar. I kommuner finns flera verksamheter som bedriver ett omfattande arbete inriktat mot barn och ungdomar, t.ex. förskola, skola och socialtjänst. Många olika professionella aktörer är inblandade i arbetet med denna målgrupp, såsom förskollärare, lärare, specialpedagoger, fritidspedagoger, socionomer, psykologer m.fl. Dessa aktörer måste samarbeta såväl inom som utom den egna professionen och organisationen för att uppnå goda resultat och ett effektivt resursutnyttjande. Utvecklingen av den ekonomiska styrningen i kommuner har emellertid under senare år gått mot avgränsade uppdrag för olika verksamheter och införande av ekonomiska ansvarsenheter. Frågan är dock hur väl en sådan styrinriktning beaktar verksamhetens karaktär?



Tre kommunala utvecklingsarbeten har studerats för att analysera och beskriva verksamhetens karaktär. Det ekonomiska styrsystemet har undersökts utifrån hur det är utformat och hur det uppfattas. I studien visas att verksamhetens karaktär ställer krav som innebär att olika verksamheter borde hanteras som sammanhängande i stället för som separata delar i det ekonomiska styrsystemet. Man kan därför inte nöja sig med t.ex. målstyrningens enkla logik, utan större uppmärksamhet bör ägnas åt dialog och beskrivningar kring vad som skapar resultat. Vidare konstateras att det behövs ett kompletterande perspektiv på förskola, skola och socialtjänst i den ekonomiska styrningen, ett perspektiv som utgår ifrån en mer gränsöverskridande styrning. Studien avslutas med en diskussion kring hur ett sådant styrperspektiv kan börja att ta form. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
supervisor
opponent
  • Professor Gröjer, Jan-Erik, Uppsala University
organization
alternative title
Cross-boundary control. On the demands facing management control in social operations aimed at children and young people.
publishing date
type
Thesis
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Human service organisations, Economic planning, Ekonomisk planering, Accountability, Co-operate, Dialogue., Budget, Management control, Municipality
pages
302 pages
publisher
Department of Service Management, Lund University
defense location
Ekonomicentrum 3, sal 207. School of Economics and Management
defense date
2002-11-29 10:15:00
ISBN
91-628-5384-8
language
Swedish
LU publication?
yes
id
b5e740b8-9411-461a-ab99-72307253f661 (old id 20859)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 11:36:30
date last changed
2018-11-21 21:05:59
@phdthesis{b5e740b8-9411-461a-ab99-72307253f661,
  abstract     = {{The aim of this study is to contribute to an increased understanding of the demands that the operation’s character places on management control. The study’s point of departure is the assumption that management control must be adapted to the operation’s character in order to be able to support strategy implementation and the achievement of objectives (contingency theory). The study deals with the demands facing management control in social operations aimed at children and young people. It is carried out in a municipal context and focuses on four different operations: pre-school, compulsory school, upper secondary school and social services.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
The municipal social operations aimed at the target group children and young people involve a large number of different actors such as pre-school teachers, teachers, remedial teachers, recreation leaders, social workers and psychologists. In order to achieve an effective and defensible utilisation of the resources aimed at the target group it may seem inevitable that these actors have to work across the organisational boundaries. In reality, however, it is unusual that the operation is described from this perspective in management control. Instead, the increasingly clear definition of operation tasks and responsibilities that is being arrived at with business sector control models, e.g. management by objectives and economic accountability units, has become a common theme in the development of municipal management control. Social operations aimed at children and young people do, however, not easily lend themselves to comparisons with goods and/or services owing, inter alia, to the fact that, in the social operations case, it is the individual herself (the child, pupil or client) that is subject to development or transition.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
The study concludes that the operation’s character gives rise to demands that suggest that the operation should be viewed as a coherent whole in management control. The existing management control system mainly contributes to an understanding of and knowledge about separate parts of the operation. Separate operation parts and units are planned and reviewed from the perspective of their organisation, resources and performance. The management control system does not depict how the different parts of the operation relate to and influence each other. The study suggests that a cross-boundary form of control be developed in social operations aimed at children and young people where aspects such as objectives, operation content, results, knowledge cultivation and result and management accountability stretch across the organisational boundaries.}},
  author       = {{Westrup, Ulrika}},
  isbn         = {{91-628-5384-8}},
  keywords     = {{Human service organisations; Economic planning; Ekonomisk planering; Accountability; Co-operate; Dialogue.; Budget; Management control; Municipality}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  publisher    = {{Department of Service Management, Lund University}},
  school       = {{Lund University}},
  title        = {{Gränsöverskridande styrning : om krav på ekonomisk styrning i social verksamhet inriktad mot barn och ungdomar}},
  year         = {{2002}},
}