Robert Hutchinson and Carlos Amador
Metaphor is the foundation upon which all scientific disciplines, from basic to applied, construct the mental models used in theory development and organizing research phenomena…
Abstract
Purpose
Metaphor is the foundation upon which all scientific disciplines, from basic to applied, construct the mental models used in theory development and organizing research phenomena. The authors posit that a navigational science metaphor might provide a useful framework, or at least an additional “waypoint,” with which to evaluate extant accounting theory and further discourse in accounting research and practice. This study aims to critically examine the base metaphors of accounting theory and practice through the lens of navigational science.
Design/methodology/approach
The supreme dominance of the Positive Accounting Theory paradigm (Watts and Zimmerman, 1986) is critically evaluated using a navigational metaphor as a literary device for cognitive estrangement.
Findings
The authors suggest that accounting, as both a practical and academic field, might benefit from the multifarious approach of navigational science in the computation of longitude, particularly with regards to the use of external (societal) referents, moving toward a more “heteroglossic” model of accounting (vid. Macintosh and Baker, 2002) as a means of “situating” accounting research and practice with regards to said external referents (cf. Bayou et al., 2011).
Originality/value
This work brings together existing streams of literary theory and epistemology in accounting, and views them through the lens of a navigational science metaphor. Cognitive estrangement, a well-established device for reorganizing perplexing problems in any science, is used to reimagine an accounting science as navigational situating.
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“All things are in a constant state of change”, said Heraclitus of Ephesus. The waters if a river are for ever changing yet the river endures. Every particle of matter is in…
Abstract
“All things are in a constant state of change”, said Heraclitus of Ephesus. The waters if a river are for ever changing yet the river endures. Every particle of matter is in continual movement. All death is birth in a new form, all birth the death of the previous form. The seasons come and go. The myth of our own John Barleycorn, buried in the ground, yet resurrected in the Spring, has close parallels with the fertility rites of Greece and the Near East such as those of Hyacinthas, Hylas, Adonis and Dionysus, of Osiris the Egyptian deity, and Mondamin the Red Indian maize‐god. Indeed, the ritual and myth of Attis, born of a virgin, killed and resurrected on the third day, undoubtedly had a strong influence on Christianity.
This chapter takes a critical perspective on the conventional wisdom that more advanced cost allocation methods have the potential to provide a more accurate picture of “true”…
Abstract
Purpose
This chapter takes a critical perspective on the conventional wisdom that more advanced cost allocation methods have the potential to provide a more accurate picture of “true” cost, inevitably leading to optimal product mix and pricing decisions, and ultimately to greater profitability.
Methodology
Two concrete examples of the growing divergence between cost accounting theory and practice – the failures of activity-based costing and the reciprocal method of service department cost allocation to take root in practice – are examined through the lens of post-structuralist literary theory.
Findings
The findings suggest that economic truth has been devoured in an accounting simulation. The accounting model no longer reflects any profound economic reality; it precedes reality.
Research/practical implications
Much of the mainstream management accounting literature remains theoretically grounded in the belief that ‘true’ cost exists, as an object, which is revealed through our cost accounting systems. This chapter raises serious questions about this foundation, and therefore the practical applicability of a great deal of research.
Social implications
Society has granted the accounting profession a great deal of responsibility and autonomy, largely on the confidence that it has historically provided an objective and truthful model of economic reality. The findings in this chapter suggest that the basis for the accounting profession’s preferential charter in society ought to be critically examined.
Originality/value of paper
At a time where research has advanced toward an ever-narrower focus on self-referential tautologies and ever more complex modeling techniques, this chapter provides a new and stimulating, albeit provocative, perspective to yet unresolved issues in management accounting research and practice.
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The main emphasis of nutritional study, until within comparatively recent years, was placed on a consideration of the energy or calorie value of a diet. A diet was considered…
Abstract
The main emphasis of nutritional study, until within comparatively recent years, was placed on a consideration of the energy or calorie value of a diet. A diet was considered sufficient or otherwise depending on the number of calories it contained. The modern trend in nuitrition, however, has tended to follow an opposite direction—the quantitative aspect has been relegated to a subsidiary position, and the quality of the diet is now considered as of supreme importance. In this qualitative assessment vitamins have been placed in the forefront, and there has been a tendency to overstress the nutritional importance of these essentials to the exclusion of perhaps as important dietary constituents.
MR. SNOWDEN'S economy speech last month has had its effect on local authorities generally and will not be without reactions upon libraries. We have already heard of several…
Abstract
MR. SNOWDEN'S economy speech last month has had its effect on local authorities generally and will not be without reactions upon libraries. We have already heard of several instances where a raid has been made upon public library estimates, in one or two cases quite drastic ones. The danger is that the generally economical past working of libraries will be ignored and retrenchments be made which do real injury. At a time such as this the enemies of libraries—there are still a few of them—become righteously articulate in the interests of what they call economy, which is generally to cut down the other fellow's expenditure.
Joseph G. Nellis, Kathleen M. McCaffery and Robert W. Hutchinson
Completion of the European Single Market Programme in Financial Services has, as expected, set in motion a rationalisation process within the European banking industry, as banks…
Abstract
Completion of the European Single Market Programme in Financial Services has, as expected, set in motion a rationalisation process within the European banking industry, as banks respond to increasing competitive pressures that are having a dampening effect on their traditional business margins. Assesses the importance of these developments in the context of the policy options that are open to the European banking community in the new millennium. In particular, given the prospect of an integrated European economy, now commonly referred to as Euroland, the paper addresses, as its central theme, the potential for the development of pan‐European banks that would then be in a position to configure longer‐term globalisation strategies. Evolution in this direction, if it occurs, is important from a European Central Bank policy perspective, since it would raise systemic risk issues if a small number of European licensed banks became “too big to fail”. We conclude, however, that the most prominent strategic response is likely to be based on the European “regionalisation” of banks and markets rather than pan‐Europeanisation.
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This study examines the impact of three cost accounting system (CAS) designs – traditional costing, activity-based costing, and time-based accounting – on manufacturing…
Abstract
This study examines the impact of three cost accounting system (CAS) designs – traditional costing, activity-based costing, and time-based accounting – on manufacturing performance as measured in terms of demand fulfillment rate, cycle time, and net operating income – within a flexible, pull-production environment. A simulation approach allows for the direct comparison of these CAS designs under various scenarios. The introduction of supply and demand stochasticity, along with differing levels of product mix complexity modeled in environments with differing levels of manufacturing overhead burden, adds practical significance to the results. The fact that no single CAS outperformed along all performance measures has considerable implications for management accounting practice vis-à-vis manufacturing strategy, in particular for competitors in time-based industries. Also, this is the first known study to operationalize and test the theoretical time-based accounting methodology, further validating the efficacy of simulation methodologies in cost management contingency research.
Ying Liao, Kun Liao and Robert Hutchinson
The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework for prototyping outsourcing.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework for prototyping outsourcing.
Design/methodology/approach
This study provides an up‐to‐date literature review and an in‐depth case study.
Findings
This study identifies three factors (i.e. the degree of the prototyping to core competence, prototyping complexity, and supplier's capability of providing knowledge and speed for prototyping) and three types of risks (i.e. losing control over suppliers, dependency on suppliers, and supplier's lack of capabilities) for prototyping outsourcing decisions.
Practical implications
This paper provides guidelines for new product development managers in order to mitigate the risks associated with outsourcing and achieve effective prototyping.
Originality/value
This study provides a strategic outsourcing framework for prototyping.
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Nicholas Alexander and Robert Hutchinson
The decision on which countries will participate in European Monetary Union (EMU) is to take place as early as possible in 1998, with the final run in, regarding the…
Abstract
The decision on which countries will participate in European Monetary Union (EMU) is to take place as early as possible in 1998, with the final run in, regarding the technicalities of introducing a single currency, starting on 1 January 1999. With this timetable in mind, examines some of the major issues which will have to be confronted by UK retailers. Even if the UK Government decides to opt out, the increasing internationalization of retailing will mean that UK retailers will have to face a Euro‐denominated environment over a significant range of its business activities. Consequently, by identifying EMU factors which specifically relate to retailing, identifies the key areas which retailers need to consider in planning a strategy to take account of the possibility that EMU will take place in at least some major EU economies.