Bottom Line on Budgeting --Dickeson

Budgeting, say Hope and Fraser in their book, almost always results in a fixed performance contract between superiors and subordinates, and becomes one of the principal drivers of managerial behavior. Was that true in the typical printing company that budgeted? Well, sort of, but not entirely.

By the time a month or two had ticked away in the new year, the budget had become more of a relic. It had become a sort of joke, showing you just how poorly you could predict. That's okay if you limit it to that and don't try to make it a promise, say the authors.