15. Improving the Management Control Mix for Safety and Security

In this chapter we argue that management control with respect to financial and material resources is connected to issues of safety and security; the delivery of safety and security may be seriously hampered by improper management control. Starting from this connection we aim to decipher the dynamics that may improve current management control practices. Theoretically we endorse the distinction between so-called hard, formal and soft, informal controls. We performed an analysis of 17 interviews with financial specialists at the central staff units and 6 interviews with (deputy-) commanders of the services and support units of the Dutch defence organization; furthermore we analysed the answers to open questions in a survey study. These answers were given by employees with responsibilities in respectively financial and material resources management. We concluded that improvement in hard controls predominantly can be found in modernizing control procedures, which boils down to introducing less restrictive, simpler rules, auditing with the purpose to teach employees to improve their control practices and a smarter use of recording in the IT-systems. At the same time an improvement in soft controls—particularly feasibility, sanctionability, congruency and discussability—may be achieved if adequate attention is paid to these aspects of leadership, supervision and communication. Thus, management control is a matter of the right mix of both hard, formal instruments and soft, informal practices.