This paper examines two budgeting approaches — Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB) and Planning-Programming Budgeting (PPB) — outlining the distinct advantages and disadvantages of each. It then applies both frameworks to the D.A.R.E. drug awareness program, illustrating how each method would function in practice. Finally, the paper recommends PPB as the superior approach for the Jacksonville Police Department, arguing that it enables goal-driven program design while better protecting human personnel resources compared to the more disruptive zero-based model.
A number of distinct advantages, as well as disadvantages, apply to Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB). Essentially, this budgeting format requires an organization to completely re-analyze every single expenditure in its budget. It works by starting with a blank slate, then evaluating all aspects of expenditures in order to determine how they can be reduced while still meeting organizational objectives. The benefits of this approach include the fact that organizations can increase their degree of competitiveness and restructure themselves according to the results of the budget — which is particularly useful in situations where transformational leadership is employed or required.
Other benefits include the fact that a number of expenses can be reduced, leading to alternative means of accomplishing the same objective, such as through consolidation, outsourcing, and other modern forms of downsizing. Conversely, drawbacks include the fact that there is considerably less stability in an organization that is restructuring itself in this manner, and employees might lose their jobs or see their livelihoods reduced in the process. Additionally, ZBB is extremely time-consuming (The Economist, 2009), as it requires analyzing every single expenditure and determining how to justify and decrease it.
There are also benefits and drawbacks associated with Planning-Programming Budgeting (PPB). This process requires an organization to plan out its objectives, then design programs that can specifically meet those objectives (Donvito, 1969). Finally, the organization produces a budget around those programs. The benefit of this approach is that it enables an organization to create a specific means of facilitating its objectives. There is a degree of specificity in this approach that is highly beneficial. Additionally, it requires an organization to consider its objectives over the long term. Drawbacks include the time-consuming nature of this method, which requires extensive statistical and financial analyses and is not well suited for low-latency implementation.
Implementing the ZBB method for D.A.R.E. would require examining every single aspect of the program's budget. The first step would be to compile a list of all current expenditures related to D.A.R.E. One would then have to systematically examine each item and look for ways in which those expenses could be reduced by streamlining operations and increasing the program's efficiency while reducing its cost. No expenditure is too small for a ZBB approach.
For example, one would need to consider the cost of police officers traveling to elementary schools, as well as the costs associated with creating and maintaining materials used by students. It would also be beneficial to attempt to quantify the costs that would be incurred if the program proved ineffective and students subsequently developed drug and alcohol problems.
"PPB objectives and measures for D.A.R.E."
"PPB recommended over ZBB for police"
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