Management control in the agile organizations: New wine or just new bottles?
The agile archetype poses a series of control instances that at first glance might appear completely innovative and specific. However, a careful examination of the existing literature on the subject of management control reveals how many of the needs connected to the search for flexibility pursued through the radical decentralization of decisions and with the organizational redesign realized around the teams, have in fact already been examined. This article aims to develop a comparative analysis of the main approaches developed thus far in this regard, comparing them with the reconstruction of the agile phenomenon.
The objective is to demonstrate that the novelty of the agile approach, if it exists, lies in the manner in which the logic and mechanisms of control are combined in a coherent set of design choices that give effectiveness to the overall system. Particularly important, therefore, are the balancing methods that are identified to obtain a balance between opposing needs: between the dynamism and stability of the system, between decentralization of decisions and unity of action, and be-tween effectiveness and efficiency.
Keywords: Agile organizations, Management control systems, Empowerment, De-centralization, Small teams.
