SPAN OF CONTROL, TASK INTERDEPENDENCE AND USEFULNESS OF MAS INFORMATION IN NOT-FOR-PROFIT GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS

This study examines the relationships between subunit supervisors' span of control, their perceived task interdependence, and their perceived usefulness of MAS (management accounting systems) information in not-for-profit government organizations. One hundred and forty-nine subunit supervisors/managers working in twenty-one public hospitals in New Zealand participated in the study. The study used structured questionnaires for data collection. The results suggest that supervisors' perceived task interdependence intervenes in the relationship between their span of control and their perceived usefulness of MA information for decision making. The types of MAS information considered were broad in scope, timely available, aggregated and integrated. A path analytic technique was applied to test the model used in the study.