Stan Brignall and Joan Ballantine
Points out that the topic of performance measurement (PM) has received a lot of attention in recent years, with many competing PM models vying for management attention, and…
Abstract
Points out that the topic of performance measurement (PM) has received a lot of attention in recent years, with many competing PM models vying for management attention, and recently much of the literature on PM has been summarized in a taxonomic framework by Ballantine and Brignall (1995). Drawing on this taxonomy, describes research which updates the original model for PM in services developed by Fitzgerald et al. (1991), as summarized by Brignall et al. in the November 1991 issue of Management Accounting (UK). Shows that the new model considers PM at all levels of a business, not just at the strategic business unit (SBU) level, and makes propositions relevant to PM system design including information technology (IT) aspects.
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Robert Johnston, Stan Brignall and Lin Fitzgerald
This paper suggests that there is a natural tension between operations managers and management accountants. This tension is particularly evident when decisions are being made…
Abstract
This paper suggests that there is a natural tension between operations managers and management accountants. This tension is particularly evident when decisions are being made about process change. Semi‐structured interviews with 40 operations managers revealed that accountants were only involved in about half of change processes. Surprisingly this proportion was the same for both continuous and radical change programmes despite the latter involving greater risk and capital investment. Six case studies were then used to identify the factors which underpin the degree of involvement where there was close interaction between accountants and operations managers. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for operations managers and some suggestions for further research.
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Robert Johnston, Lin Fitzgerald, Eleni Markou and Stan Brignall
Considers the relationship between the types of targets or benchmarks used and reward structures adopted in two contrasting performance improvement strategies – continuous…
Abstract
Considers the relationship between the types of targets or benchmarks used and reward structures adopted in two contrasting performance improvement strategies – continuous improvement and radical change. Hypothesises that the process of target setting and the reward structures adopted will be different between the two strategies. The propositions are that organisations involved in continuous improvement of a process will base their performance targets on past performance and internal benchmarking, arrived at through consultation and with a mixture of financial and non‐financial rewards for achieving targets. For processes involving radical change, targets will be based on external benchmarks imposed by senior management, with financial rewards for their achievement. The findings from a semi‐structured questionnaire conducted in 40 UK service organisations reveal that most continuous improvement targets were based on past performance and that processes undergoing radical change made limited use of external benchmarks. In the majority of cases, targets were imposed by managers without consultation, with rewards linked to theachievement of those targets. Financial rewards, particularly financial bonuses, predominated in both improvement strategies. The implications are that the potential benefits of adopting process changes are being constrained. In continuous improvement the lack of participation in target setting could be undermining the team‐based empowerment philosophy of the strategy. The aim of radical change is to achieve a paradigm shift involving revolutionary rather than evolutionary change which is less likely to be fulfilled with targets based on past performance.
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Presents a number of papers from the Performance Measurement Association conference held in July 2002. Reveals that all the papers investigate developments in the field of…
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Presents a number of papers from the Performance Measurement Association conference held in July 2002. Reveals that all the papers investigate developments in the field of performance measurement and management since the Kaplan and Norton Balanced Scorecard was first introduced.
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Christian Plesner Rossing and Carsten Rohde
– The purpose of this paper is to critically review the empirical transfer pricing literature as a means of determining the agenda for future research.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to critically review the empirical transfer pricing literature as a means of determining the agenda for future research.
Design/methodology/approach
The review is carried out primarily by searching databases, academic journals and books. Second, professional surveys are reviewed to inform the development of research ideas.
Findings
The understanding and ability to explain international transfer pricing in practice remain limited despite a rapidly increasing tax regulatory pressure on multinational enterprises. One important explanatory factor is that accounting and tax research has not been integrated to a sufficient extent. As a consequence, rather isolated research streams and knowledge building have taken place, failing to leverage the synergies of a combined research approach.
Research limitations/implications
A stronger emphasis on the outcome of specific transfer pricing system designs would improve the literature’s current status in terms of whether the objectives aimed at by the system are actually achieved. A new framework and promising research questions are proposed to guide future work on this issue.
Practical implications
The proposed framework may serve as guidance for practitioners seeking to assess the performance of specific transfer pricing systems and potentially provide directions for refinement of current system designs when dysfunctional consequences are identified.
Originality/value
Previous transfer pricing research has taken a rather isolated approach. This paper is an attempt to guide future transfer pricing research towards an inter-disciplinary approach.
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Developing an accurate standard of service quality within professions which require specialist knowledge is not easy. Outlines the measures which have been developed by the…
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Developing an accurate standard of service quality within professions which require specialist knowledge is not easy. Outlines the measures which have been developed by the Metropolitan Police, the Environmental Health Department of Braintree District Council and parts of the Legal profession.
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Monika Łada, Alina Kozarkiewicz and Jim Haslam
This article explores the influence of duality in institutional logics on internal accounting, with a focus on a Polish public university. More particularly, we answer the…
Abstract
Purpose
This article explores the influence of duality in institutional logics on internal accounting, with a focus on a Polish public university. More particularly, we answer the research question: how does illegitimacy risk arising from the divergent pressures of the institutional environment impact management accountings in this institution?
Design/methodology/approach
This paper seeks to uncover intricacies of notions of internal legitimacy façade, decoupling and counter-coupling in practice. It explores details of organizational responses involving management accounting aimed at reducing illegitimacy risk. Achieving good organizational access, the authors adopt a qualitative case study approach involving contextual appreciation/document analysis/participant observation/discussion with key actors: facilitating building upon theoretical argumentation through finding things out from the field.
Findings
The authors uncover and discuss organizational solutions and legitimizing manoeuvres applied, identifying four adaptation tactics in the struggle to support legitimacy that they term ‘ceremonial calculations’, ‘legitimacy labelling’, ‘blackboxing’ and ‘shadow management accounting’. These can be seen in relation to decoupling and counter-coupling. Ceremonial calculations supported the internal façade. Shadow management accounting supported pro-effectiveness. Legitimacy labelling and blackboxing helped bind these two organizational layers, further supporting legitimacy. In interaction the four tactics engendered what can be seen as a ‘counter-coupling’ of management accounting. The authors clarify impacts for management accounting.
Research limits/implications
The usual limitations of case research apply for generalizability. Theorizing of management accounting in relation to contradictory logics is advanced.
Practical implications
The article illuminates how management accounting can be understood vis-à-vis contradictory logics.
Originality value
Elaboration of the tactics and their interaction is a theoretical and empirical contribution. Focus on a Polish university constitutes an empirical contribution.