The purpose of this paper is to examine how an enabling management control system (MCS) affected intellectual capital (IC) development in an organisation. The study explores the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how an enabling management control system (MCS) affected intellectual capital (IC) development in an organisation. The study explores the effect of a change from a coercive to an enabling control system on situated learning and the development of IC.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study was conducted in a large manufacturing organisation to explore the effect of a redesigned MCS on IC development. Semi-structured interviews were used to elicit understanding of the effect of the new system on situated learning and valuable local knowledge and relationship development.
Findings
The enabling way in which the MCS was designed introduced empowerment and accountability for financial and operational performance at all levels of the organisational hierarchy, which stimulated situated learning in a way that developed the organisation’s IC.
Originality/value
New insight is provided into the way management accounting practice can deliver valuable outcomes to organisations. First, into how MCSs design can stimulate the development of valuable local knowledge and relationships as IC. Second, into how MCS design can affect non-management employees. While prior studies have focussed on managers, this research is novel in showing how enabling controls affect non-management employees.
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Gary R. Oliver and Rodney Coyte
The purpose of this paper is to reflect upon and describe the introduction of an articulated engagement learning and teaching approach to a diverse cohort in a postgraduate…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to reflect upon and describe the introduction of an articulated engagement learning and teaching approach to a diverse cohort in a postgraduate management accounting unit of study.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study, based on the authors' experiences teaching diverse cohorts applies Bandura's social learning theory. Observation and modelling (which shaped earlier educational experiences and dominate student behaviour and classroom engagement) were used to overcome passive learning behaviour in diverse cohorts.
Findings
Better preparation for class by students is engendered by showing how study is applied. High engagement during class time is a combination of careful team construction and a task that has work relevance. Diversity need not be a constraint on teaching nor a barrier to learning. Diversity can be harnessed to facilitate learning. Reflection of the experience of students indicates high engagement, more confident, flexible and non‐scripted student responses and awareness of the value of diversity in the team.
Originality/value
An articulated engagement learning and teaching approach is described which caters for diversity, using resourcing problems with alternative recommendation choices, requiring justification, critique and defence.
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Rodney Coyte, Federica Ricceri and James Guthrie
The paper's aim is to examine processes used to control the management of knowledge resources in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and to compare the findings with the…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper's aim is to examine processes used to control the management of knowledge resources in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and to compare the findings with the underlying assumptions and prescriptions of intellectual capital guidelines designed for SMEs.
Design/methodology/approach
An in‐depth case study of a successful Australian SME is conducted to identify the means used to control strategizing and the management of knowledge resources.
Findings
It was found that informal, intensive dialogue based processes, structured by an overriding management philosophy, governed strategization and the management of knowledge resources. These governance processes were affected by a combination of formal and informal controls and serendipitous outcomes.
Research limitations/implications
The paper examines only one organization and the study can be extended to other SMEs to develop more detailed specific policy recommendations.
Practical implications
Intellectual capital management guidelines developed for SMEs may have little benefit due to assumptions of resource availability and the fundamental importance of formalization of strategy and control, ignoring possible scarcity of resources and the benefits of flexibility and responsiveness afforded by informal controls in SMEs. The research shows that knowledge harvesting is affected through the way knowledge is used rather than what is developed.
Originality/value
The paper empirically examines the management of knowledge resources in an Australian SME and outlines the way formal and informal controls were interwoven in organizational practices to manage knowledge harvesting. It provides a critique of intellectual capital guidelines in SMEs, highlighting a potential mis‐match between practice and key assumptions underlying the guidelines.
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Interview data is often the cornerstone of qualitative field studies, yet problems with getting sufficient, rich, reliable data in a cost effective manner can inhibit the progress…
Abstract
Purpose
Interview data is often the cornerstone of qualitative field studies, yet problems with getting sufficient, rich, reliable data in a cost effective manner can inhibit the progress of field study research. The purpose of this paper is to describe the use of a novel interview method, the cognitive interview, in an exploratory field study of management accounting change where in‐depth access was impractical.
Design/methodology/approach
The cognitive interview was developed by cognitive psychologists for use in police witness interviewing. It has been found to substantially improve the amount of information that subjects recall while maintaining or slightly improving accuracy levels.
Findings
The cognitive interview was found to be effective at gathering rich, detailed data despite the restriction of conducting only one or two interviews at each company. The cognitive interview uncovered information that did not fit with the participants' initial account of events. The structure of the cognitive interview often led participants to provide narrative accounts, allowing narrative analysis techniques such as genre analysis to be used. Asking participants to retell their accounts in reverse order may allow researchers to discern the schema (mental template) that the participant was using to organise their memories of the change process.
Originality/value
In its first known use for business research, the cognitive interview was effective at moving beyond the rationalized accounts that participants often provide initially. Researchers who conduct interviews to collect data may find this of particular interest.
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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.