Deconstructing Management Control Systems: A Cultural and Binary Opposition Analysis

Abstract

This research aims to deconstruct the Management Control System (MCS) concept using the cultural framework of Catur Purusa Artha (CPA) in Hindu philosophy. Balinese people believe that culture is always inherent in all their activities. Adopting a postmodern paradigm and a binary opposition synergy methodology inspired by Lyotard's perspective, the study produces a CPA-based Management Control concept, which consists of four parts. In the first part, the Dharma element finds a sense of family, open management, and communication, which are synergized with the Standard Operational Procedures (SOP). In the second part of the Artha element, there is fairness and efforts concerning employee performance measures and work plans, budgets, and expenditures. The third part contains various desires in the Kama element, expressed as integrity, empathy, and trust in synergy with implementation. The final part is the estuary of the goal, namely honesty and a sense of belonging from the elements of Moksa, which is a synergy of reporting, supervision, and audit.

Keywords

• culture
• binary opposition synergy
• communication
• management accounting
• hindu philosophy