scholarly journals Situated rationalities and management control change – an empirical note on key actors, situated rationalities and generalised practices

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Bertz ◽  
Martin Quinn
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Style ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
Service Organisation ◽  
Control Change ◽  
Empirical Note

Purpose This paper aims to offer an incremental contribution, augmenting the notion of situated rationality as proposed by terBogt and Scapens (2019). Through insights from empirical data, the authors explore the role of situated rationalities of key individual actors in processes of management control change. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research approach was adopted with qualitative data collected in a single public service organisation through face-to-face interviews, organisation documentation and observations. Findings The findings present the important role of key individual actors in bringing about a new situated rationality in a housing department. External austerity forces combined with actors’ experience rationalities acted as a stimulus to change existing management control practices in the management of public services. Originality/value The paper conceptualises “experience” rationality, capturing the experiences of a key actor, including elements of leadership style. Drawing on a story of a complex process of management control change, this paper thus reveals interactions between generalised practices and situated rationalities which were not highlighted by the extended framework of terBogt and Scapens.

Pakistani prison libraries: an assessment of services and challenges

2019 ◽  
Vol 68 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 47-59
Author(s):  
Tauseef Hussain ◽  
Syeda Hina Batool ◽  
Saira Hanif Soroya ◽  
Nosheen Fatima Warraich
Keyword(s):  
Professional Staff ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Main Role ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Rehabilitation Programs ◽  
Access To Books ◽  
Unique Study

Purpose The purpose of the paper is to examine the current status of prison libraries, their role, services and collection in Pakistani context. It also attempts to highlight the main problems faced by selected libraries. Design/methodology/approach The qualitative research approach was adopted to achieve the study objectives. Data were collected using face-to-face interviews to find out respondents’ views about libraries in prison. Findings Findings of the study confirmed that inmates’ library queries are mostly related to the legal matters, and it is quite natural. One of the significant services of the Pakistani prison libraries is to help prisoners in their education. The main role of the library caretaker was to educate and offer rehabilitation programs. Unavailability of library space, lack of professional staff, limited collections, poor budgetary situation and censorship issues are the major challenges that Pakistani prison libraries are facing. Social implications The study findings further implicate that open libraries and access to books would promote positivity within society and reduce criminal and immoral acts. Originality/value It is the first of its kind and unique study that presents the current situation of prison libraries in the Pakistani context. The study has practical implications for policymakers to give importance to prison libraries in terms of finance, professional staff and the availability of information sources.

The role of learning management in agile management for consensus culture

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 364-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aytac Tokel ◽  
Gokmen Dagli ◽  
Zehra Altinay ◽  
Fahriye Altinay
Keyword(s):  
Vocational Education ◽  
School Administrators ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Learning And Development ◽  
Social Phenomena ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Technology And Learning ◽  
Learning Management

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the formation of a consensual culture of agile management used in schools where school administrators and teachers work. Design/methodology/approach This research is based on a qualitative research approach that highlights social phenomena and explores the environment in which they belong. In this context, five managers and seven teachers working in six vocational education institutions were asked semi-structured questions during face-to-face interviews. Findings The research revealed that technology has a great impact on foster learning management and the development of school culture based on consensus. Research limitations/implications The data of the research is limited to the participants who are Five managers and seven teachers working in six vocational education institutions within Nicosia context. Practical implications The school gained awareness on the uses of technology for learning and development. Social implications Merits of technology for consensus culture were examined in this paper. Originality/value The paper is original in that it gives insights for the education system on the technology and learning.

Levers of control, complementariness, tensions and budget use: a case study

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 401-416
Author(s):  
Kaveesha Rathnasekara ◽  
Tharusha Gooneratne
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Domain Theory ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Control Framework ◽  
Budgetary Control

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the complementariness and tensions in the use of management control systems diagnostically and interactively, using a budgetary control example, drawing empirical evidence from a clustered firm, “Pattern On”, which is engaged in the manufacture of apparels. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses the qualitative methodology and case study approach. Face-to-face in-depth interviews were carried out as the main source of data collection, supplemented by an analysis of internal documents. Findings The field data from this study shows that both diagnostic and interactive controls appear in the clusters of PatternOn. However, the extent of use, the way they are perceived by employees, consequences, complementariness and tensions differ among the clusters. It further suggests that interactive and diagnostic controls have their own positive and negative implications on organisational activities. Therefore, rather than ruling one type as superior; what is best depends on the particular organisational circumstances. Research limitations/implications This paper is a useful addition to the current body of management accounting literature, particularly to budgeting and to the levers of the control framework and highlights the use of a domain theory in a research study. Practical implications It provides insights to practitioners regarding the simultaneous use of controls, diagnostically and interactively, and how any resulting tensions are managed. Originality/value Using a budgetary control example, this paper shows how controls are used diagnostically and interactively while emphasising the complementariness and tensions created by such levers. This is important as most prior research has explored diagnostic and interactive use in isolation, while budgetary control, as well as the role of domain theory has not been their focus.

Beekeeping as a family artisan entrepreneurship business

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 717-730 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veland Ramadani ◽  
Robert D. Hisrich ◽  
Leo-Paul Dana ◽  
Ramo Palalic ◽  
Laxman Panthi
Keyword(s):  
Family Business ◽  
Transition Economy ◽  
Rural Families ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Depth Interviews

Purpose Throughout Macedonia, beekeeping is becoming popular regardless of ethnicity. Studying ethnicity, the purpose of this paper is to determine what beekeepers in Macedonia thought in their own words about their beekeeping entrepreneurship. The objective is to identify whether motivations of ethnic Albanian beekeepers in Macedonia were the same or different compared to those of ethnic Macedonians in the same country, and if different, how. Design/methodology/approach To accomplish this objective, in-depth interviews were conducted with 40 beekeepers in Macedonia. A total of 29 interviews were conducted face-to-face and the other 11 by phone. The first set of interviews took place between December 2016 and February 2017, followed by more interviews in June 2017. In total, 27 respondents said they were ethnic Albanians, and 13 identified themselves as ethnic Macedonians. Also, ten respondents were women. While eight were full-time beekeepers, 32 were part-time beekeepers. Findings The results indicated that beekeeping businesses play a significant role in the transition economy of Macedonia. Beekeeping provides additional earnings that support rural families and keeps them financially stable. The majority of both Albanians and Macedonians understood that beekeeping on a part-time job basis provided a needed supplement to their income. Some part-time beekeepers are also working as auto-mechanics, locksmiths, medical doctors, restaurant/cafeteria owners, and tailors. A few in the sample were retired from their jobs or full-time beekeepers. An important difference between ethnic Albanian beekeepers and ethnic Macedonians in Macedonia is that the majority of ethnic Albanian participants see beekeeping as following in “my father’s footsteps”, while most Macedonians were motivated by the perceived opportunity of having a good business. Research limitations/implications Limitations of the research are twofold. First, financial data of family beekeeping are not available, which would be useful in determining the contribution made to economic development. It is common, especially in transition economies such as the western Balkans, that financial results are very sensitive to their owners. Second, unavailable databases for beekeepers make any quantitative approach difficult, if not impossible, resulting in most research using the qualitative research approach. Originality/value This paper is one of the first to treat beekeeping as a form of artisan entrepreneurship, which also contributes to the understanding of family business. As in other countries, the important and operation of the family business among family members in Macedonia is passed from generation to generation. The results of this research revealed the value of networking, which was found to be very important to income. For beekeepers to develop, grow, and be branded in the community, networking is an important ingredient.

Employee's lying behavior and the role of self-awareness

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirk Chang ◽  
Sylvain Max ◽  
Jérémy Celse
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Deductive Reasoning ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Laboratory Setting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Employee’s lying behavior has become ubiquitous at work, and managers are keen to know what can be done to curb such behavior. Managers often apply anti-lying strategies in their management and, in particular, the role of self-awareness on lying intervention has drawn academic attention recently. Drawing on multi-disciplinary literature, this study aims to investigate the efficacy of self-awareness in reducing lying behavior. Design/methodology/approach Following the perspectives of positivism and deductive reasoning, a quasi-experimental research approach was adopted. Employees from Dijon, France were recruited as research participants. Based on the literature, different conditions (scenario manipulation) were designed and implemented in the laboratory, in which participants were exposed to pre-set lying opportunities and their responses were analyzed accordingly. Findings Unlike prior studies which praised the merits of self-awareness, the authors found that self-awareness did not decrease lying behavior, not encouraging the confession of lying either. Employees actually lied more when they believed other employees were lying. Practical implications This study suggests managers not to rely on employee’s self-awareness; rather, the concept of self-awareness should be incorporated into the work ethics, and managers should schedule regular workshops to keep employees informed of the importance of ethics. When employees are regularly reminded of the ethics and appreciate its importance, their intention of lying is more likely to decrease. Originality/value To the best of the atuhors’ knowledge, the current research is the first in its kind to investigate lying intervention of employees in the laboratory setting. Research findings have brought new insights into the lying intervention literature, which has important implication on the implementation of anti-lying strategies.

Outsourcing relationship management: accounting in the decision mix

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 41-49
Author(s):  
Mirghani Nimir Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Management Accounting ◽  
Accounting Information ◽  
Relationship Management ◽  
Internal Audit ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Monitoring Cost ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The paper aims to examine the role of management accounting and accounting information in decisions to outsource and manage outsourcing relationships. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses a case study method. Data are collected through semi-structured interviews and informal discussions with executives of the participating companies. Official documents and secondary materials were analysed. Findings The findings of these cases present evidence of some roles given to accounting information and varying tasks assumed by accountants and finance staff in the outsourcing projects undertaken. These roles and tasks range from financial evaluation of new outsourcing proposals and alternatives, consultation and price negotiations in the planning and feasibility stages to the management of outsourcing relationships including monitoring, cost analysis, performance measurement, internal audit, design and implementation of risk-reward payment schemes. Managing the outsourced functions in one case involved in the use of informal control mechanisms such as trust, knowledge sharing, mutual understanding and cooperation between partners. Practical implications The paper highlights the role of management accounting and information in outsourcing relationship management and evaluation. The case findings provide the opportunity for management practitioners to understand the strategic role of management accountants in the management of inter-firm relationships. Originality/value The case study presents new empirical evidence of the role of management accounting and accounting information in the management control of outsourcing relationships.

The role of team leadership in achieving LEED certification in a green building project

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sepani Senaratne ◽  
Prasanna Rajitha Hewamanage
Keyword(s):  
Green Building ◽  
Team Leadership ◽  
Project Team ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Building Projects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Leed Certification ◽  
Certification Procedure ◽  
Building Project

Purpose – Leadership of the project team is vital for green building projects in achieving LEED certification. Literature findings confirm the need for managing green building projects differently from ordinary projects. The team leader should be able to work with the project team to manage the general project activities while following the LEED certification procedure to finally achieve LEED certification. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – This paper presents a research project which was aimed to explore the role of team leadership in achieving LEED certification in a green building project through a case study research approach. Findings – The research findings revealed the importance of utilizing the appropriate leadership roles of project team members in addition to the project leader’s role to achieve LEED certification for green building projects successfully. The research proposed four team leadership processes required to meet the LEED challenges; namely, proactive planning and visualization; collective implementation; teamwork for win-win; and, continuous learning and knowledge sharing. Originality/value – Based on these findings, the research suggests a new project team environment enabled by effective team leadership to meet the LEED challenges. It is argued that the team leadership role of every team member is unique and best suited when used synergistically to achieve LEED certification for the project. The research is original in applying team leadership concepts to green building projects in a real-life setting.

scholarly journals The voice of dwellers – developing a place brand by listening to its residents

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulla Hakala
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Conceptual Development ◽  
Place Branding ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Case Examples ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
E Mail

Purpose Listening to the customers has long been a key phrase and success element in product branding. This paper aims to highlight the importance of listening to residents during the branding of a place. The study explores ways of listening to residents to ensure they are heard and also discusses the challenges and benefits related to place branding flowing from having residents participate in decision-making processes. Design/methodology/approach Listening to residents and offering opportunities to participate requires place branders to fully attend to, comprehend and respond to residents’ comments, requests, ideas and feedback. This study reports on how two Nordic cities – Turku and Helsinki – listen to their residents. The data used comprise face-to-face interviews, telephone and e-mail conversations and documentary material. Findings Residents should not be considered as one homogeneous target; participation options and channels should be adapted to the demographics and geographic issues of the different regions and resident groups. Research limitations/implications The role of residents and the importance of listening are crucial features in the emerging concept of inclusive place branding (Kavaratzis et al., 2017); its future conceptual development could benefit from the case examples at hand. Practical implications City authorities should listen to residents and provide them with opportunities to actively contribute to decision-making. Other cities could learn from the examples introduced in the paper. Originality/value This paper documents two Nordic examples of cities putting into practice a policy of listening to the residents, a previously neglected research area.

Enabling characteristics of new budgeting practice and the role of controller

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiina Henttu-Aho
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
New Developments ◽  
Role Change ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Paper Company

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the emergence of the enabling characteristics of new budgetary practices and their implications for the role of controller. Design/methodology/approach The longitudinal perspective of this qualitative case study is based on interviews of controllers and managers involved in budgetary work. This study monitored the four enabling characteristics of management control, namely, repair, internal transparency, global transparency and flexibility (Adler and Borys, 1996), related to the new budgeting practices in one global paper company. Findings The findings of the study demonstrate that the implementation of rolling forecasting was a major attempt at “repair” to remedy the incompleteness of accounting information, which made controllers experts in producing and delivering more realistic forward-looking information in the organization. The increasing internal and global transparency of new budgetary practices enabled controllers at various levels of organization to develop new competences, which helped controller network to build a holistic view of the totality of control and supply more relevant information in organization. Moreover, the inherent flexibility of the system was a major condition for improving organizational effectiveness in budgetary work. However, the study shows that the controller’s attitude towards enabling formalization is not necessarily positive if the system is not aligned with professional mindset and competence. Originality/value This study adds to the understanding of the complementarity between new developments of budgeting and controller role by addressing the enabling uses of management control systems, which have the potential to enhance the controller role change.

Role of supplier involvement and project leader in SNPD: a conceptual model and exploratory case study

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuan Wang ◽  
Jie Yang
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
New Product Development ◽  
Leadership Style ◽  
Project Leader ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Effective Leaders ◽  
Supplier Involvement ◽  
Sustainable Product Development ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeThis paper focusses on the factors to sustainable product development (SNPD) projects success. More specifically, it aims to explore and understand the role of supplier involvement (SI) within SNPD. Additionally, it investigates how effective project leaders can facilitate effective supplier involvement and enhance focal firm's ability to successfully carry out sustainable achievement in product development.Design/methodology/approachA theoretical framework among SI, SNPD, project leader's personality and leadership style has been established. Six interviews collected from different industries are used to further explore the relationship among SI, SNPD, leader's personality and leadership style.FindingsThe difficulties in managing suppliers, the timing and extent of supplier involvement, communication method and frequency, as well as supplier contribution and challenge in SNPD has been summarized. The interviews also confirmed that effective leaders who possess certain personality traits enable appropriate supplier involvement, promote prosperous SNPD and enhance the relationship between SI and SNPD performance by allowing individual members, teams and organizations to function well.Originality/valueSustainable new product development (SNPD) has been recognized as one of the key factors to achieve environmental and economic success. The paper explores the role of supplier involvement in SNPD project and emphasizes the role of project leaders in the process.

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