assist in everyday management and real-time operative
decision-making. Being unsystematic or detached from the
pre-planned official management schedules brings in features
of informality.
The rule dimension considers formal and informal
feedback in relation to why certain flows of feedback
are provided. Obligatory feedback relates to hierarchical
accountability relations between superiors and subordinates
and is based on official operating procedures.
Monthly performance reports for the headquarters or performance
appraisal reviews exemplify obligatory feedback.
As officially directed by management, obligatory feedback
can be largely controlled so that at least a certain minimum
level of feedback occurs everywhere. This makes the role of
individual preferences and differences between superiors
less crucial. However, even this kind of rather formal communication
between superiors and subordinates includes
qualitative and personal evaluation.
In contrast to obligatory feedback, voluntary feedback
requires an active attitude at the individual (or group) level:
Hence, it is connected to personal relations and networks,7
personal abilities, styles and preferences that offer and
receive feedback (managers’ personal attitudes to feedback
practices). Being connected to individuals and their mindsets,
theflowsof voluntary feedback are difficult to manage,
but choosing capable superiors, educating people, and having
a good feedback culture opens up additional feedback
flows as well.
It should be noted that the horizontal and vertical
arrows in Fig. 2 refer to our key argument of not regarding
formal and informal feedback or the three analytical
dimensions as strictly dichotomous notions. Rather we
argue for their nature as tendencies, which can overlap
and co-exist in an intertwined manner. Hence, a certain
feedback can be viewed differently depending on the
party evaluating the communication situation (superior
or subordinate). In addition, while there certainly can be
“clear” examples of formal feedback (system-based, regular
and obligatory feedback) and “clear” examples of infor-
7 For research on social networks in management accounting, see e.g.
Chapman (1998).
mal feedback (interpersonal, instant and voluntary), all
other combinations are also possible. Hence a certain piece
of feedback can be, for instance, system-based, but still
instant and voluntary (see the interactive control systems
by Simons, 1995). For these reasons the analytical matrix of
Fig. 2 should be read as depicting a space, where feedback
can “travel” rather fluidly.
Regarding the use of feedback, control by receiving
only available, and mainly formal, feedback loops results
in reactive and passive adaptation to existing conditions.
Instead, control by seeking additional, and mainly
informal, feedback loops tends to require proactive and
co-operative behaviour from managers (Ashford and Tsui,
1991). The challenge for many managers is that they do
not limit themselves entirely, or too much, to the use
of the regular, system-based and obligatory feedback,
such as monthly accounting-based performance reports.
In the end, the ability to produce and use both formal
and informal feedback effectively depends more on the
skills and abilities of each manager and the conditions
emerging from the organisational history and culture than
the existence of systems per se.