Hopwood’s management styles

Hopwood’s framework distinguishes budget-constrained, profit-conscious and non-accounting approaches to evaluating managers. A budget-constrained style emphasises short-term financial target achievement; a profit-conscious style considers wider and longer-term economic contribution; a non-accounting style places less emphasis on accounting numbers and more on other criteria. The labels highlight behavioural consequences rather than prescribe one universally best style. Match the approach to controllability, uncertainty, strategy and the reliability of measures.