ERIC Number: ED469330
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2002
Pages: 47
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: ISBN-1-56972-020-7
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Responsibility Center Management: Lessons from 25 Years of Decentralized Management.
Strauss, Jon C.; Curry, John R.
Decentralization of authority is a natural act in universities, but decentralization of responsibility is not. A problem faced by universities is the decoupling of academic authority from financial responsibility. The solution proposed in this book for the coupling is Responsibility Center Management (RCM), also called Revenue Responsibility Budgeting (RRB). RCM attempts to couple decisions with their consequences by making a fundamental trade: ownership of revenues for financial responsibility, including the indirect costs of programs. Since its evolution 25 years ago, RCM has met with mixed success. This book explores how well it is working, contrasting the promise of RCM with its performance. The history and current state of RCM confirm, in part, the early claims of efficiency and effectiveness, but the criticisms and lessons learned make very clear that formal decentralized management requires never-ending vigilance to assure that the fundamental incentives are not being subverted. The chapters are: (1) "Introduction"; (2) "Principles"; (3) "Budgeting and Planning"; (4) "Guidelines"; (5) "Details"; (6) "Answering the Critics"; (7) "Promise and Performance"; (8) "Lessons Learned"; and (9) "Conclusions." (Contains 14 references.) (SLD)
Descriptors: Budgeting, College Administration, Colleges, Decentralization, Educational History, Higher Education
National Association of College and University Business Officials, P.O. Box 362, Annapolis Junction, MD 20701-0362 ($19.95, members; $24.95, nonmembers). Tel: 866-348-6300 (Toll Free); Web site: http://www.nacubo.org.
Publication Type: Books; Guides - Non-Classroom
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: National Association of College and University Business Officers, Washington, DC.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A