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1 – 4 of 4The purpose of this paper is to examine how a particular form of environmental accounting, energy accounting, is negotiated in practice and how energy accounting may act as a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how a particular form of environmental accounting, energy accounting, is negotiated in practice and how energy accounting may act as a productive organizing device in organizational contexts. Energy accounting is considered as performative in organizational practices rather than as a representation of resource use.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on a longitudinal case study of the design phase in a construction project. Data collection entailed observational and document studies as well as interviews with those involved in the design processes. This paper draws on actor-network theory, notably the notions of framing and overflowing, in analyzing the role of energy accounting in design processes and in affecting organizational practice.
Findings
The paper provides several insights regarding energy accounting in the making, energy accounting’s performative role in enacting possible futures, the narrative importance of numbers, and the entangled nature of designing, accounting and organizing practices. The findings demonstrate the strong links between accounting and organizing.
Originality/value
This paper adds to the extant literature on environmental accounting by directing attention to how such accounting practices contribute to forming rather than just informing management decisions. By focusing on how the calculative practices of making such accounts mediate ideas and help assemble new entities, this paper provides useful insights into the performative role of environmental accounting.
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Marianne Stang Våland and Susse Georg
– The purpose of this paper is to examine the managerial implications of adopting a design attitude to organizational change.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the managerial implications of adopting a design attitude to organizational change.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on an ethnographic study of a merger, the paper investigates the intricate interplay between architectural design and organizational change in the context of physically relocating an organization to a new office building. Emphasis is given to the socio-materiality of this double design process.
Findings
The data suggests that taking a design attitude toward managing organizational change can allow different actors to participate in organizational design processes, releasing management from its traditional role as the keeper of the design solution.
Research limitations/implications
Although based on a single case, the paper provides insights into the socio-materiality of organizational change that is relevant in other settings where developing new collective understandings of change processes are needed.
Practical implications
A design attitude allows for multiple contributions to organizational change processes that can help reduce anxiety among those involved. The approach calls for openness, experimentation and the ability to balance different concerns. It can provide new ways of attending to resistance and produce valuable inputs to shaping organizations.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the growing research on the role of material artifacts in organizational studies by providing a detailed account of organizational change as a socio-material achievement.
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The purpose of this paper is to introduce librarians, faculty, and other interested individuals to contemporary German literature in English translation.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to introduce librarians, faculty, and other interested individuals to contemporary German literature in English translation.
Design/methodology/approach
German‐language authors born in 1950 or later and listed on the Contemporary Living Authors Comprehensive List developed by the German vendor Otto Harrassowitz are searched in OCLC's WorldCat database to determine the existence of English translations. A bio‐bibliographical list is then developed featuring all contemporary German‐language authors who have achieved an English language translation of at least one of their literary works.
Findings
Of the approximately 1,400 writers on Harrassowitz's comprehensive list, a surprisingly large number of almost 80 authors of the younger generation (born in 1950 or later) have been translated into English.
Originality/value
This bio‐bibliography of contemporary German belles lettres (of the younger generation) in English translation is the first of its kind. It can be used by librarians to check their current library holdings and to expand their collections of German literature in English translation.
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