Senior management prepares the budget and passes it down to operational managers, who are given little or no opportunity to take part in setting their own targets. What is this approach called?

Correct answer: C) Imposed (top-down) budgeting

Explanation

In imposed (top-down) budgeting, senior managers set the budget with little input from the managers who must achieve it. It can be quick and consistent with strategy, but it may reduce motivation and ignore local knowledge. Participative (bottom-up) budgeting involves operational managers in setting their own budgets. Fixed and flexible budgets describe how a budget responds to activity levels, not who sets it.