David Shackleton, Leyland Pitt and Amy Seidel Marks
Decision styles and Machiavellianism were studied among four groupsof managers in pharmaceutical companies. Using a Decision StylesInventory, directive, analytic, conceptual and…
Abstract
Decision styles and Machiavellianism were studied among four groups of managers in pharmaceutical companies. Using a Decision Styles Inventory, directive, analytic, conceptual and behavioural decision styles were studied, each representing a different combination of cognitive complexity and brain hemisphere preference in decision making. Machiavellianism was assessed using the Mach IV scale of Christie and Geiss (1970) and its components, namely, tactics, views and morality. The sample studied comprised 39 marketing, 23 financial, 35 medical and 21 operations managers. No significant interdependence was found between decision style, Machiavellianism and managerial group. Further research is recommended to investigate differences in decision style between managers and non‐managers, and to establish the effects of Machiavellianism in the workplace.
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Enoch Atinga and Richard Kwasi Bannor
This current review examines the scientific literature report on non-timber forest products (NTFPs) commercialisation and forest conservation in different jurisdictions.
Abstract
Purpose
This current review examines the scientific literature report on non-timber forest products (NTFPs) commercialisation and forest conservation in different jurisdictions.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic review using Scopus-indexed articles on NTFP commercialisation and forest conservation was done using the PRISMA framework.
Findings
The review categorised the factors influencing the commercialisation of NTFPs and forest conservation into five broad factors and sub-factors: socioeconomic, market-based, ecosystem, cultural and institutional factors. The scholarly publications on NTFP commercialisation and forest conservation have been undulating, with two years recording no publication on the subject matter under review. Besides, China and India in Asia are leading in the number of publications on NTFPs’ commercialisation. The review revealed ambivalence and symbiotic relationship among the factors influencing the commercialisation of NTFPs and forest conservation. Specifically, tenure arrangement, strict regulations to forest entry, market information asymmetry, bureaucracy in certification acquisition, seasonality and distance were identified as barriers to NTFPs’ commercialisation. While market demands for NTFPs increased, NTFPs’ prices and unsustainable harvesting activities were threats to forest conservation. Policymakers should focus on safeguarding customary property rights and indigenous knowledge in forest conservation, designing workable capacity-building schemes for NTFP entrepreneurs and reducing the cost and processes in certification acquisition.
Originality/value
There are reviews on NTFPs’ commercialisation and livelihoods, but a synergy between NTFPs’ commercialisation and forest conservation for forest policy direction is yet to be done in the literature. Also, while earlier studies systematically reviewed literature on NTFPs’ commercialisation, they did not relate the studies to forest conservation.
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The purpose of this paper is to introduce counterfactual analysis and reasoning to the study of accounting history. The counterfactual focus is the institutionalisation of public…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to introduce counterfactual analysis and reasoning to the study of accounting history. The counterfactual focus is the institutionalisation of public accountancy in the UK.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopts a counterfactual research design using Ferguson and Bunzl and asks a “what if” question of an event of importance to accounting historians in order to create a plausible counterfactual outcome that is grounded in rationality and causal analysis. The specific counterfactual question relates to the royal charter granted to public accountants practicing in Edinburgh in 1854. The counterfactual outcome is compared to the actual timeline of public accountancy institutionalisation in the UK.
Findings
The “alternative” history reveals uncertainties that confronted public accountants in the past and provides a basis for suggesting that the current fractured and inefficient state of institutionalised public accountancy in the UK has its origins at least partially in the 1854 royal charter. It also suggests that attempts to register and unify public accountants in the UK have been hindered by nineteenth century royal charters.
Research limitations/implications
The study argues that counterfactual analysis is a useful historical tool with which to understand the consequences of historical decisions made in the professional project of British public accountancy. In addition, the study reveals the potential for counterfactual analysis to illumine the consequences of decisions in other areas of accounting and auditing history.
Originality/value
This study is the first counterfactual analysis in the accounting history literature and therefore provides a template for further studies and improved research design.
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The management accountant has played an important part in commercial/industrial life. However, this role development is of comparatively recent origin compared with the wider…
Abstract
The management accountant has played an important part in commercial/industrial life. However, this role development is of comparatively recent origin compared with the wider profession of financial accounting. Whilst the early involvement of accountants in business organisations was concerned with the financial accounting aspects of the entity, organisations became more complex. This called for a re‐adjustment by the accountant in an endeavour to meet organisational demands for information. The historical development of cost accounting has been documented by David Solomons and it is clear that the major seminal influences were;
Jasvinder Sidhu, Peta Stevenson-Clarke, Mahesh Joshi and Abdel Halabi
The purpose of this paper is to provide a historical account of four unsuccessful merger attempts between Australia’s two major professional accounting bodies over a 30-year…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a historical account of four unsuccessful merger attempts between Australia’s two major professional accounting bodies over a 30-year period (1969 to 1998), each of which ultimately failed. An analysis of the commonalities and differences across the four attempts is provided and social identity theory is used to explain the differences between members level of support for these merger bids.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopts a qualitative approach using a historical research methodology to source surviving business records from public archives and other data gathered from oral history interviews.
Findings
The study found that, across all four merger attempts between Australia’s two professional accounting bodies, there was strong support from society members (the perceived lower-status group) and opposition exhibited by institute members (the perceived higher-status group). This study also found that the perceived higher-status organisation always initiated merger discussions, while its members rejected the proposals in the members’ vote.
Research limitations/implications
This paper focusses on the Australian accounting profession, considering a historical account of merger attempts. Further research is required that includes interviews and surveys of those involved in making decisions regarding merger attempts.
Originality/value
This paper is the first to examine in detail these four unsuccessful merger attempts between the largest accounting organisations in Australia.
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EACH September the eyes of the aeronautical World turn towards the S.B.A.C. Air Display and Exhibition with interest unequalled by any other event. It is fitting that the Display…
Abstract
EACH September the eyes of the aeronautical World turn towards the S.B.A.C. Air Display and Exhibition with interest unequalled by any other event. It is fitting that the Display is now held each year at the airfield of the Royal Aircraft Establishment, one of the world's most prominent aeronautical research centres. This interest becomes increasingly keen too, as the preview day comes closer, because new prototypes of unorthodox designs often appear a short time before the Show to illustrate the results of years of careful planning, development and research of the particular company. These designs often mould the path of progress for smaller countries without the economic resources to forge the way ahead alone. Most British citizens are very proud of their country's place in aviation today, both in the military and civil fields. This is understood by most foreigners because it is clear that Britain has won a place in aeronautical development second to none.
I must confess to having something of a soft spot for abbreviations and for what I think are called acronyms. I suppose a good many years' familiarity with all those mellifluous…
Abstract
I must confess to having something of a soft spot for abbreviations and for what I think are called acronyms. I suppose a good many years' familiarity with all those mellifluous military condensations like ‘tpt.’ for transport and ‘arty.’ for artillery rather tended to form a habit, but I find them useful and practical, in moderation. Nevertheless, when first confronted with your own acronymic title, I was a little puzzled. The immediate expectation conjured up by those five letters was of a pretty uninhibited, trendy outfit—perhaps some sort of a night club even—at any rate whose purpose was rather indefinite. This was encouraging but I had to admit I could think of no reason why such a liberated body should want me to be their President, except that it seemed to have its headquarters in the house where I was born, which perhaps was a good enough reason. And then of course the sight of Lord Shackleton's name at the bottom of the letter instantly removed all doubts about the Association's standing, although it was still some little while before I was able to understand precisely what Aslib meant.
Stephen P. Walker and Ken Shackleton
Explores the genesis of a plan to erect a statutory “ring fence” around the accountancy profession in Britain during the 1960s. Focuses on two elemental problems in actualising a…
Abstract
Explores the genesis of a plan to erect a statutory “ring fence” around the accountancy profession in Britain during the 1960s. Focuses on two elemental problems in actualising a closure strategy: defining a basis for inclusion and exclusion; and, gaining the sanction of the state. Reveals that the complexities of devising an exclusionary code permitted opportunities for “inclusionary usurpation” by “outside” practitioner groups. Examines the quest by accountants to elicit government support for monopolisation during a period in which restrictive practices were outlawed and the professions were “under fire”. The achievement of de jure closure is shown to be dependent on the predilections of senior bureaucrats and the capacity of the profession to negotiate an “informal contract” with the state. Contends that the profession‐state interface primarily engages the apex of the organisational élite and mandrinate Civil Servants.
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In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of…
Abstract
In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of material poses problems for the researcher in management studies — and, of course, for the librarian: uncovering what has been written in any one area is not an easy task. This volume aims to help the librarian and the researcher overcome some of the immediate problems of identification of material. It is an annotated bibliography of management, drawing on the wide variety of literature produced by MCB University Press. Over the last four years, MCB University Press has produced an extensive range of books and serial publications covering most of the established and many of the developing areas of management. This volume, in conjunction with Volume I, provides a guide to all the material published so far.
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Investigates the business benefits achievable through the process of recognition for investors in people (IIP). The policy context of IIP is examined. The possitbility of links…
Abstract
Investigates the business benefits achievable through the process of recognition for investors in people (IIP). The policy context of IIP is examined. The possitbility of links between human resource initiatives such as IIP and business performance raises questions about a wider range of HR issues and their value. The potential benefits are explored through interviews with a variety of organisations which have achieved recognition. Two measurement frames are used, employee and organisational performance, allowing a wide range of measures to be examined. The study finds that motives for recognition are varied, leading to a widespread failure to identify the benefits which are in fact gained. Suggests that a wide range of benefits derive from the IIP process and that organisations which change substantially to achieve recognition would gain substantially greater benefits.