William F. Willoughby. The Movement for Budgetary Reform in the States, 1918
Thesis: According to William, there are several problems encountered when making a budget. The government and the states’ Union have taken measures to introduce a budgetary system. William traces the origin of the association pushing for budget reforms in America. The body of the article gives a detailed description of the steps that each state has taken towards these reforms. Several states have assumed budget laws; this is the most significant contribution of the article to budgetary reforms.
“A new spirit in American politics is manifesting itself in the powerful movement for the reform of governmental organization and procedure in the interest of popular control and efficiency,” (40).
“No single change would add so largely to both democracy and efficiency as the introduction of proper budget methods,” (40).
“These all represent the definite adoption of the most fundamental principle of a budget,”(43).
This article provides an insight about budgeting at the workplace. It gives generates ideas about how proper budgeting results in efficient allocation of resources. According to the author, the budget is a tool for promoting democracy; thus, should follow budgeting laws to achieve organizational goals and promote workplace democracy.
V.O. Key, Jr. The Lack of a Budgetary Theory, 1940.
Thesis: According to V.O. Key, the process of allocating funds for various purposes does not follow a budgetary theory. Budget authorities rarely go beyond judging estimates allocated to functions. The makers of budgets have developed few evaluation standards for estimates; mostly, they rely on their judgments for the allotments. Budgeting writers, in addition, do not reveal the economic aspects of a budget.
“Writers on budgeting say little or nothing about the purely economic aspects of public expenditure,” (109).
“They generally dispose off the subject of expenditures with a few perfunctory chapters”(109).
“Various studies of the economics of public works touch the periphery of the problem concerning the allocation of public expenditures,” (110).
The process of allocating funds to activities requires a budget theory; it is essential to follow a budget theory to ensure efficiency in the use of the resources available to an entity. Budgets that follow a theory that stipulates the motivation of its makers aid the implementation of policies at the workplace.
Allen Schick. The Road to PPB: The Stages of Budget Reform, 1966.
Thesis: According to Allen, there are three functions present in budgeting systems. These are control, planning, and management. Allen, in this article, outlines the design of budgetary systems; he argues that all systems of the budget should be designed to include these functions. The planning function should be centralized, while control and management operations are delegated to other organizational levels.
“Every budget system, even rudimentary ones, comprises planning, management, and control processes” (198).
“Very rarely are planning, management, and control given equal attention in the operation of budget systems” (199).
“A budgeting process which accepts these basis and examines only the increments will produce decisions..” (211).
This article is applicable to the workplace; it outlines the significant components that a budgetary system for any institution should include. It also outlines the patterns of responsibility that exist in a workplace. It gives insight to managers about how the various parts of a budget should be used in an organization.
Aaron Wildavsky. Rescuing Policy Analysis from PPBS, 1969.
Thesis: According to Aaron, policy analysis affects the budgeting process. He is skeptical about program budgeting and states that no one is capable of doing it. Improved public policies are meant to achieve proper budgeting. According to the author, the search for better public policies leads to proper budgeting. This means that the author believed that politics influenced the budgetary process more than the economy did.
“Policy analysis aims at providing information that contributes to making an agency politically and socially relevant” (250).
“Except for a few individual programs like proposals, the cost of most domestic policies does not rise into the billions of dollars” (253).
“Policy analysis must be made relevant” (259).
The article relates to the workplace in that the management of a given organization ought to include public policies in light of budgeting. A proper budget should account for public policies that influence its elements. Aaron implies that those intending to use program budgeting should be well aware of the public policies involved.
Charles H. Levine. Organizational Decline and Cutback Management, 1980.
Thesis: According to Charles, there are tensions experienced in an organization’s domains, in the case of publicity. Such drawbacks include decreased employee performance and motivation, and the loss of focus on organizational goals. There are two categorizes of factors that cause organizational decline; political and economic factors. The author states that the management of an entity should embrace such occurrences using the knowledge about cutback management.
“The causes of public organization decline can be categorized into a four-cell typology as shown” (350).
“The political vulnerability of public organizations is an internal property indicating a high level of fragility..”(351).
“The tactics intended to remove or alleviate the political and economic causes of decline are reasonably straightforward..” (352.)
This article provides knowledge to an institution’s management in terms of embracing and solving problems that cause organizational decline. They need to understand organizational and administrative theories to make strategic choices that eliminate these problems.
Naomi Calden. Public Budgeting Amidst Uncertainty and Instability, 1981.
Thesis: According to Naomi, the budgeting process is one filled with instabilities and uncertainties. She explains the changes that the budgeting environment faces, citing modern techniques of expenditure, taxation, and borrowing. The article describes the quest for budget reforms given the uncertainty and instability associated with budgeting. The author also gives some misconceptions about the budget reform process and the sources of budgetary uncertainty.
“Since budgeting is concerned with making financial provision for future activities, it depends on accurate predictions..” (420).
“A new agenda is urgently needed to bridge the gap and provide better instruments to cope with uncertainty and instability” (420).
“Reformers pay insufficient attention to the environment in which budgeting, conceived as a purely technical process is conducted” (424).
The article highlights some of the crises that budget committees at different workplaces are likely to experience during budgeting. The author gives insight on the budget reform steps for people at the workplace to take to avoid the confusions that arise from formulation of budgets and their execution.
Irene S. Rubin. Perennial Budget Reform Proposals: Budget Staff versus Elected Officials, 2002.
Thesis: According to Irene, there is a definition of perennials for budget reforms at the national levels; they are those that reoccur several times with minimal changes from one to another. The article provides a description of proposals that do not pass. Budget reformers should provide remedies to such proposals to minimize the tension they create. The examples of alteration perennials given in the article are capital and biennial budgeting.
“This article defines budget reform perennials at the national level as those that re-occur multiple times, with little chance of passage ..” (579).
“These proposals may fail because they run into political opposition..” (580).
“The budgeters should not address the politics or political feasibility of proposals, but rather their more technical aspects” (580).
The recognition of the causes of such proposals is essential in solving the budget issues that may arise in the workplace. The article is useful in providing managers with the remedy for flawed budget proposals. It also gives an insight on how to deal with staffs who keep budget proposals from passing.
