Lisa Lin is the manager of a large retail store specialising in children’s clothing and accessories. As Lisa is the longest-serving employee, she believes that she knows what is best for the store. Lisa does not consult with her departmental managers in relation to operational plans, and prepares all budget estimates by herself. Over the past several years, unfavorable budget variances have become more significant. When questioned about the variances, departmental managers have given many excuses to explain their department’s lack of performance against budget. The situation has not been helped by the high turnover of employees at all levels.

Required
a. Comment on the style of budgeting used by Lisa Lin.
b. Suggest any improvements that could be made to the budgetary process, and how such changes would benefit the retail store.