CHANGING OWNERSHIP AND CONTROL STRUCTURES AND THE ROLE OF BUDGET AS A CALCULATIVE PRACTICE: THE CASE OF CEYLON PETROLEUM CORPORATION (AN INTERPRETATIVE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE)

Abstract

This study is a case analysis of Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), a state owned corporation established in the early nineteen sixties. The motive behind was to compete with other foreign organizations that were the players of the petroleum market in Sri Lanka, at that time. The government of Sri Lanka declared this corporation as a nationalized enterprise. CPC operated as the state monopoly since the act for privatization was passed towards the latter pf eighties. Afterwards a series of changes took place and now it has been enly asked to compete with another oil company. Among the MA practices used budgeting and pricing took a prominent place. “Everybody’s contribution” is a must in the process of budgeting, where different professional groups get the opportunity to get involved in the scenario. Hence, this study is directed at deriving various definitions given by different professional groups had served the purposes expected from the above practices at the moment of changing its control structures. Interpretative approach has been used as the theoretical framework in the analysis of the findings. The reality is socially created and how the symbolic interactions have dominated the MA practices in CPC is discussed in detail in my study. Further the “question is answered apart from the question of “what”.

Keywords: Management accounting controls, Calculative practices, Budgets, Interpretative sociological approach

For full Paper: fmscresearch@sjp.ac.lk