| Chargeback, whether it involves money or not, is a method for regulating use of computer resources. Financial chargeback attracts the accountant in an organization, but can cripple standard functions necessary for the success of the whole. It diverts staff time and energy from production into internal administration and politics. At best, it is an imperfect solution to fiscal concerns, but is often adopted for lack of a better idea. At worst, it will do more harm than good.;Now that distributed and client-server systems are here, not only does the traditional chargeback application need to be redesigned, but a new twist has been introduced into the managerial, political, and administrative dynamics of chargeback. Control over the computer system has decentralized and a large proportion of the costs has shifted from hardware and software to personnel.;A case study is presented in which these aspects are examined. |
