| Course | MBAX 6431 Finance & Budgeting for the Public Sector |
|---|---|
| Week | Week 6 |
| Paper type | Discussion post |
| Length | About 520 words, 3 pages |
| Format | Discussion post, APA 7 citations |
| School | Walden University |
| Program | Master of Business Administration (MBA) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MBAX 6431 Week 6
Week 6 Discussion: Budget Formats
Budget Ashford Falls Parks by Program, Not by Object Line: What Aquatics, Fields, Forestry and Classes Would Show That Salaries and Supplies Hide
I propose that the parks department of Ashford Falls, the composite city I have used all term, present its $25 million budget by program rather than by object line, starting next year.
Today the parks budget is a line-item budget: salaries and wages $14.2 million, benefits $4.8 million, supplies $2.6 million, utilities $1.9 million, contracted services $1.5 million. A council member reading it knows what parks buys but not what parks produces. The same $25 million, sorted by program, looks like this: aquatics $5.1 million for four pools and about 180,000 swim visits; athletic fields $6.4 million for 62 fields and roughly 9,000 scheduled games; urban forestry $4.3 million for pruning and replacing street trees, about 6,500 trees a year; recreation classes $3.9 million for about 14,000 enrollments; and park maintenance $5.3 million for 1,900 acres. Each program carries a measure beside its cost, so a council member can see that a swim visit costs the general fund about $28 and ask whether that is the right price. Lee et al. (2013) describe program budgeting as a way to connect spending to purposes, which the line-item format was never designed to do.
A classmate may ask why not go further, to zero-based budgeting, which makes each program justify its entire cost every year rather than only its increase. Its appeal is real: it forces the base, the spending nobody questions, back onto the table. But the method Pyhrr (1973) developed requires each unit to build decision packages at several funding levels every year, and our budget office has three analysts for the whole city. Rebuilding every program from zero annually would take more staff time than we have and, in practice, would likely end in the same base we have now. Program budgeting gets most of the visibility at a fraction of the effort.
My question for the thread: in your organization, which budget format would make it easier for decision-makers to see what they are buying?
Reply to Celeste
Celeste, your museum's admissions money already follows visitors: more visitors, more revenue, and the director sees it monthly. That is a kind of performance link a city parks department does not have. So I wonder what a program format would add for you. Perhaps it would help most for the free programs, the school tours and community days, where no fee tells the board what they cost or whom they serve. Would your board read a cost-per-visitor figure for those programs?
Reply to Andre
Andre, you argued that your county's line-item budget is easier to control, since each object line can be capped. I agree that line items make control easier; that was why they were adopted a century ago. My concern is that control and understanding are different goals. Rubin (2020) notes that most governments now use hybrid formats, keeping line items for control while adding program information for decisions. Could your county add program summaries without giving up the line-item caps?
References
Lee, R. D., Jr., Johnson, R. W., & Joyce, P. G. (2013). Public budgeting systems (9th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Pyhrr, P. A. (1973). Zero-base budgeting: A practical management tool for evaluating expenses. Wiley.
Rubin, I. S. (2020). The politics of public budgeting: Getting and spending, borrowing and balancing (9th ed.). CQ Press.
MBAX 6431 Week 6 instructions, in plain terms
Week 6 asks you to argue for a budget format in a discussion post. State your proposal in the first sentence so classmates know what they are responding to. Compare formats through one concrete unit, showing the same spending in each so readers can see what each reveals and hides. Pair program costs with measures of what they produce. Consider the strongest alternative you are not recommending, such as zero-based budgeting, grant its appeal and explain why you decline it. Cite budgeting sources. Close by asking the class something specific; in replies, engage with how a format would work in their settings. A main post of about 400 words and two shorter replies is the usual shape.
How this MBAX 6431 Week 6 example is built
The proposal opens the post. The second paragraph shows parks spending first by five object lines, then by five programs, each with a cost and an output measure, and cites Lee, Johnson and Joyce on connecting spending to purposes. The third paragraph grants zero-based budgeting's appeal, describes the decision packages Pyhrr's method requires and declines it for staff capacity. A question invites classmates to name the format that would help their decision-makers. The reply to Celeste asks what program budgeting adds where admissions revenue already tracks visitors. The reply to Andre agrees line items aid control, then cites Rubin on hybrid formats. Both versions of the parks budget add to the same $25 million, which keeps the comparison honest.
Reading the MBAX 6431 Week 6 rubric
Format posts earn credit for a clear proposal and a concrete comparison. Stating the proposal first is expected. Showing the same spending in both formats is the most persuasive part and carries much of the grade. Pairing program costs with output measures demonstrates why program budgeting helps decision-makers. A fair treatment of the alternative not chosen earns marks; dismissing zero-based budgeting without granting its strengths does not. Sources should support claims about each format. Replies are credited when they test the proposal against a classmate's setting rather than simply agreeing. Figures should add up, and the post should stay near the assigned length. Closing on a pointed question invites real responses.
MBAX 6431 Week 6 help from the desk
Pick one unit you know well and list its spending the way the budget shows it now. Then regroup the same total by what the unit produces, its programs, and add one measure for each. Look at both versions side by side and write down what a decision-maker could learn from the second that the first hides. Make that your argument. Then ask what the strongest competing format offers and answer it honestly. Keep your numbers consistent so both versions add to the same total. A common shortfall is arguing for program budgeting in general without showing any program. If you want help regrouping a budget you know into programs, describe it to us.
Get a MBAX 6431 Week 6 example written to your instructions
Share the thread prompt, the rubric and the reply count your section grades, and the post and replies are built to that count within 24 to 48 hours; your first request is free. The parks department and both classmates are invented, so no real post is quoted and no municipality's budget format is described.
More MBAX 6431 papers and MBA samples
- MBAX 6431 Week 1: Public Finance Introductory Post
- MBAX 6431 Week 2: General Fund Revenue Analysis
- MBAX 6431 Week 3: Budget Cycle Memo
- MBAX 6431 Week 4: Expenditure Restriction Review
- MBAX 6431 Week 5: Plain-Language Budget Narrative
- MBAX 6431 Week 7: Budget Variance Write-Up
- MBAX 6431 Week 8: Fire Station Capital Request
- MBAX 6431 Week 9: Five-Year Forecast Memo
- MBAX 6431 Week 10: Capital Request Peer Feedback
- MBAX 6431 Week 11: Final Public Budget Paper
- MBAX 6007 Week 6: Model Critique Discussion Post
- MBAX 6005 Week 6: Symbolic Frame Analysis
MBAX 6431 Week 6 questions, answered
Where can I find a free MBAX 6431 Week 6 sample paper?
The budget format post and both replies are free to read on this page.
What does the MBAX 6431 Week 6 post propose?
That the parks department present its $25 million budget by program, such as aquatics and forestry, instead of by object line.
What would program budgeting show?
The cost of each service alongside what it produces, such as about $28 per swim visit.
Why is zero-based budgeting declined?
Rebuilding every program from zero each year would take more staff time than a three-analyst budget office has.
What do the replies discuss?
What program budgeting adds to a fee-funded museum and whether a county could add program summaries while keeping line-item caps.