But executives also know that none of these ambitions are achievable without changing the way the business is run. While most companies have tried to address these issues by reducing management layers and focusing on the customer, few have been successful. One of the reasons is the inability to shift the management philosophy from one of top-down control to bottom-up empowerment. It is because budgets are most commonly used by organizations to exercise control that they are at the centre of this tricky issue.