In the past, the View pages have been given over to educationists and politicians who share our belief in equality in education. This month, Jack Jones — general secretary of the…
Abstract
In the past, the View pages have been given over to educationists and politicians who share our belief in equality in education. This month, Jack Jones — general secretary of the giant Transport and General Workers Union and one of the country's foremost trade union leaders — puts forward his philosophy of education. As a former Liverpool docker who fought in Spain, Mr Jones outlines his view that, whatever progress has been made in education, the child of the manual worker is still at the bottom of the pile. However unpalatable that view is, it is backed up both by Newsom and Plowden, and we believe it to be true.
The purpose of this paper is to question our faith in numbers. It asks how much credibility can numbers and quantification of data offer us as researchers?
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to question our faith in numbers. It asks how much credibility can numbers and quantification of data offer us as researchers?
Design/methodology/approach
The research asked the question “Does gender matter?” in the case of banks lending to male and female business owners. To test this the bank loan officers were given an identical fictional bank loan proposal from either Jack or Emma Jones. It was assumed that the more positive statements made, the more likely there would be a positive decision to lend to either Jack or Emma.
Findings
The main finding was that no link was found between the number of positive statements made and the final decision on whether or not to lend to either gender. While counting, we assume, injects precision into analysis, in this case it provided no support for the existence of a relationship between the numbers of positive statements and final decision on whether or not to lend. Some reasons are presented.
Research limitations/implications
The paper features a small sample of 35 interviews. It would be interesting to see if this same finding is replicated in other studies of bank loan decision making using bank loan proposals and investigating the effect of gender on decisions.
Originality/value
This research builds upon the 1993 research of Fay and Williams.
Sinclear R. Ndemewah, Kevin Menges and Martin R.W. Hiebl
It is difficult to develop an overall picture of the practice of management accounting (MA) in farms and farm enterprises (FEs) because little research has been published on the…
Abstract
Purpose
It is difficult to develop an overall picture of the practice of management accounting (MA) in farms and farm enterprises (FEs) because little research has been published on the topic, and these studies are mostly discrete and unconnected to the others. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the available research, develop an explanatory framework for MA practices in farming entities and identify some major avenues for future research on the topic.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses systematic literature review methods. After an extensive database search and an examination of references/citations, 41 empirical journal articles published between 1964 and 2016 are identified, described and analyzed in this research paper.
Findings
The findings reveal that the practice of MA in farms is subject to information problems and that the empirical research on this topic largely lacks a theoretical explanation. Therefore, the explanatory framework of MA practices in farming entities reveals that these practices are subject to influencing factors such as familism, government farm policies, market competition, technological changes, the seasons and the weather/climate.
Research limitations/implications
The overall limited findings on the practice of MA in FEs indicate that caution should be taken when generalizing the current knowledge on the use of MA practices in other organizational forms to farming entities. Moreover, future research should draw on explicit theories to explain empirical results.
Originality/value
This paper is the first comprehensive literature review of studies on MA practices in farms and FEs.
Details
Keywords
A number of schemes have recently been proposed all of which wish to channel funds into industry. One such scheme was Mr. Jack Jones's plan to form a £2 billion companies'…
Abstract
A number of schemes have recently been proposed all of which wish to channel funds into industry. One such scheme was Mr. Jack Jones's plan to form a £2 billion companies' investment fund, which, in liaison with the National Enterprise Board would channel funds into new investment. The scheme which, unfortunately, has not been published in detail has already been attacked by both Government and Opposition on the grounds that public bodies are not competent to make investment decisions, and a plan of this nature would necessitate major changes in the financing pattern of industry.
The issue of union power never seems to be far from the centre of political debate and, indeed, during the last year, its prominence would seem to be more marked than usual. For…
Abstract
The issue of union power never seems to be far from the centre of political debate and, indeed, during the last year, its prominence would seem to be more marked than usual. For example, the Social Contract and the Concordat between the previous Labour Government and the TUC have been used as illustrations of the way in which union power was influencing and, to a large extent, determining national policy over a wide range of subjects. The familiar cartoon of James Callaghan asking the advice of Jack Jones and Moss Evans bore witness to this. Similarly, industrial democracy—principally the idea of workers on the Board—has been regarded by many industrialists as a basic attack upon the traditions of private enterprise and a way in which trade unions will infiltrate the decision‐making processes within companies.
Michael Thomas Hayden, Ruth Mattimoe and Lisa Jack
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of the financial decision-making process of farmers and to highlight the potential role that improved farm…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of the financial decision-making process of farmers and to highlight the potential role that improved farm financial management (FFM) could play in developing sustainable farm enterprises.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper adopts a qualitative approach with 27 semi-structured interviews exploring farmers’ financial decision-making processes. Subsequently, the interview findings were presented to a focus group. Sensemaking theory is adopted as a theoretical lens to develop the empirical findings.
Findings
The evidence highlights that FFM has a dual role to play in farmer decision-making. Some FFM activities may act as a cue, which triggers a sensebreaking activity, causing the farmer to enter a process of sensemaking whilst some/other FFM activities are drawn upon to provide a sensegiving role in the sensemaking process. The role of FFM in farmer decision-making is strongly influenced by the decision type (strategic or operational) being undertaken and the farm type (dairy, tillage or beef) in operation.
Originality/value
The literature suggests that the majority of farmers spend little time on financial management. However, there are farmers who have quite a high level of engagement in FFM activities, when undertaking strategic farm expansion decisions. Those FFM activities help them to navigate through operational decision-making and to make sense of their strategic decision-making.
Details
Keywords
Ian Gordon and Sarah Jack
The need to develop a greater understanding about the creation of social capital and how this might impact on entrepreneurship and the development of the small‐ to medium‐sized…
Abstract
Purpose
The need to develop a greater understanding about the creation of social capital and how this might impact on entrepreneurship and the development of the small‐ to medium‐sized enterprise (SME) sector requires further research. This paper aims to consider to what extent engagement with higher education institutions (HEIs) by SMEs creates social capital and network benefits.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper follows the experiences of five SME owners who participated in the Lancaster University LEAD programme (a leadership programme for owner/managers who want to develop their leadership capabilities and grow their business) between 2004 and 2006. Qualitative techniques are used to consider networking activities, use and development of social capital and experiences. A framework for data collection and analysis was developed from the literature review.
Findings
Results show that the experience of engaging with the HEI sector was beneficial. Networks provided the opportunity to create social capital and had a positive impact on the development of the SME and the individual. A number of key elements supported this process namely trust in the individuals running the programme, the creation of a supportive environment where individuals were able to share experiences and social events.
Originality/value
This paper has implications for practitioners and the designers of SME engagement programmes at HEIs. For practitioners, this paper demonstrates that by engaging with the HEI sector, entrepreneurial networks can be extended. For designers, this paper demonstrates that the creation of trust and sociability are key aspects for the success of the experience of engaging. However, this must be coupled with content that is rich in reflection.
Details
Keywords
Joanne Louise Tingey-Holyoak, John Dean Pisaniello and Peter Buss
Agriculture is under pressure to produce more food under increasingly variable climate conditions. Consequently, producers need management innovations that lead to improved…
Abstract
Purpose
Agriculture is under pressure to produce more food under increasingly variable climate conditions. Consequently, producers need management innovations that lead to improved physical and financial productivity. Currently, farm accounting technologies lack the sophistication to allow producers to analyse productivity of water. Furthermore water-related agricultural technology (“agtech”) systems do not readily link to accounting innovations. This study aims to establish a conceptual and practical framework for linking temporal, biophysical and management decision-making to accounting by develop a soil moisture and climate monitoring tool.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper adopts an exploratory mixed-methods approach to understand supply of and demand for water accounting and water-related agtech; and bundling these innovations with farm accounting to generate a stable tool with the ability to improve agricultural practices over time. Three phases of data collection are the focus here: first, a desk-based review of water accounting and water technology – including benchmarking of key design characteristics of these methods and key actor interviews to verify and identify trends, allowing for conceptual model development; second, a producer survey to test demand for the “bundled” conceptual model; third and finally, a participant-based case study in potato-farming that links the data from direct monitoring and remote sensing to farm accounts.
Findings
Design characteristics of water accounting and agtech innovations are bundled into an overall irrigation decision-making conceptual model based on in-depth review of available innovations and verification by key actors. Producer surveys suggest enough demand to pursue practical bundling of these innovations undertaken by developing an integrated accounting, soil moisture and climate monitoring tool on-farm. Productivity trends over two seasons of case study data demonstrate the pivotal role of accounting in leading to better technical irrigation decisions and improving water productivity.
Originality/value
The model can assist practitioners to gauge strengths and weaknesses of contemporary water accounting fads and fashions and potential for innovation bundling for improved water productivity. The practical tool demonstrates how on-farm irrigation decision-making can be supported by linking farm accounting systems and smart technology
Details
Keywords
Britain's exports are threatened by another London dock strike. Dockers who last stopped work in April are angered by what they regard as further delay in legislative plans to…
Abstract
Britain's exports are threatened by another London dock strike. Dockers who last stopped work in April are angered by what they regard as further delay in legislative plans to give them the right to pack and unpack containers, and their former leader, Jack Dash, steps out of retirement to deliver the warning: “This time, the issue will be settled once and for all.” In this background account of the dispute, Derek Coomber — Editor of Freighting World — tells of labour‐management intransigence and Government inertia.