Search results
1 – 10 of over 5000Shakoor Ahmed, Larelle (Ellie) Chapple, Katherine Christ and Sarah Osborne
This research develops a set of specific modern slavery disclosure principles for organisations. It critically evaluates seven legislative Acts from five different countries and…
Abstract
This research develops a set of specific modern slavery disclosure principles for organisations. It critically evaluates seven legislative Acts from five different countries and 16 guidelines and directives from international organisations. By undertaking an in-depth content analysis, the research derives an index comprising nine principles and 49 disclosure items to promote best-practice disclosure in tackling modern slavery. We promote nine active principles for organisations to implement and disclose: recognising modern slavery practices, identifying risks, publishing a modern slavery risk prevention policy, proactive in assessing and addressing risks, assessing efficacy of actions, garnering internal and external oversight, externally communicating modern slavery risk mitigation, implementing a suppliers' assessment and code of conduct to ensure transparency and specifying consequences for non-compliance. The research is motivated by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 8, which focusses on economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work. The research findings will assist practitioners seeking to discover and disclose evidence of modern slavery practices and their mitigation to minimise and encourage the elimination of this unethical and illegal practice in domestic and global supply chains and operations.
Details
Keywords
The literature has been searched for experiments on communication within organizational frameworks. Some apparently relevant work is cited and discussed in terms of an “anxiety…
Abstract
The literature has been searched for experiments on communication within organizational frameworks. Some apparently relevant work is cited and discussed in terms of an “anxiety arousal” hypothesis of communication within organizations. The effects upon communication of hierarchical status, organizational mobility, power and ingratiation are discussed. The paper concludes with a series of hypotheses about communication within school systems that could be the subject of empirical investigation by students of educational administration.
The paper sets out to explore the idea that anxiety is an endemic factor in organizational membership. Harry Stack Sullivan's concept of anxiety as “threatened self esteem” is…
Abstract
The paper sets out to explore the idea that anxiety is an endemic factor in organizational membership. Harry Stack Sullivan's concept of anxiety as “threatened self esteem” is accepted. Mention is also made of the relevance of the work of Eric Berne, of Edward Jones and his colleagues and of the Johari Window model.
Katherine Leanne Christ, Roger Leonard Burritt and Stefan Schaltegger
With the initial focus on the extreme end of the work conditions continuum where, in the last decade, legislation has been introduced to combat illegal and illegitimate practices…
Abstract
Purpose
With the initial focus on the extreme end of the work conditions continuum where, in the last decade, legislation has been introduced to combat illegal and illegitimate practices, this issue's lead paper provides an overview on key topics of extreme work conditions of modern slavery and accounting. The paper introduces the Special Issue on “Accounting for modern slavery, employees and work conditions in business” and its selected papers.
Design/methodology/approach
The method adopted is a wide-ranging literature review exploring the continuum of work conditions and their relationship to accounting, especially extreme exploitation of workers through modern slavery.
Findings
Employment and workplace conditions and practices in business can be viewed as a continuum ranging from the illegal and illegitimate practices of modern slavery, through unethical and often illegal practices such as wages theft, to decent work. Given this continuum, in this Special Issue avenues are identified for accounting research to provide an account of the effectiveness of actions taken to eliminate modern slavery and overcome grey areas of work conditions.
Practical implications
The paper helps to create an improved understanding of different types of exploitation in work conditions in different industries and the role accounting might play in research and practice.
Social implications
Slavery did not end with abolition in the 19th century. Instead, it changed its forms and continues to harm people in every country in the world especially in certain industries, of which several are discussed and accounting advice proffered. Likewise, as reflected in Special Issue papers, the role of accounting in reducing less extreme forms of poor work conditions is also considered.
Originality/value
The paper provides an overview of different forms and degrees of exploitation in work conditions and identifies the need for and areas of accounting research in this emerging area.
Details
Keywords
MR. A. ROSS THOMAS and MR. R.C. SLATER
For almost a decade the OCDQ has proven to be one of the most “popular” instruments in research in educational administration. Developed by Halpin and Croft, the instrument claims…
Abstract
For almost a decade the OCDQ has proven to be one of the most “popular” instruments in research in educational administration. Developed by Halpin and Croft, the instrument claims to measure eight dimensions of a school's organizational climate. Such scores are then used to classify the school according to which one of six climate categories it belongs. Increasingly, the OCDQ is being subjected to closer scrutiny. Currently in the U.S.A. intense validation studies are in progress. This article reports on a similar study conducted in a sample of 72 primary schools in South Australia. Data from 727 respondents are analysed to produce a four factor solution. The factors are identified as supportiveness, operations emphasis, intimacy and disaffiliation.
This paper explores sustainability within supply chain management and its link towards resilience through the lens of ethics. The wicked problem of sustainability impacts supply…
Abstract
This paper explores sustainability within supply chain management and its link towards resilience through the lens of ethics. The wicked problem of sustainability impacts supply chains and society at large, and the ability of supply chains to remain viable in the future is based on the sustainability of business practices. The paper argues that a substantive proportion of sustainability mechanisms (such as the Triple Bottom Line approach and codes of conducts) can be viewed within the ethical paradigm of deontology, whereby the morality of an action is based on adherence to rules. However, there are numerous critiques of such approaches and their success in creating more sustainable practices. Therefore, the paper proposes there is a need for systems thinking approaches to be incorporated into the exploration of the link between ethics, sustainability and supply chain resilience. Using two examples of social sustainability issues in Australia – modern slavery legislation and horticultural 1 worker exploitation – the paper demonstrates the utility of various systems thinking methodologies to explore the complexity of these issues. The paper sets out a conceptual call to arms for researchers and practitioners to apply a holistic lens towards how the morality of actions is shaped and influences supply chain sustainability practices.
Details
Keywords
Among the recommendations of the first International Intervisitation Program held in North America in 1966 was the organization of a second program at a later date. The 1970…
Abstract
Among the recommendations of the first International Intervisitation Program held in North America in 1966 was the organization of a second program at a later date. The 1970 International Intervisitation Program, held in Australia, was jointly sponsored by the University Council for Educational Administration and the University of New England. The themes of the Program were Centralization and Bureaucracy, Planning and Systems Analysis, Accountability and Assessment and Teacher Negotiation and Participation in Policy Making. These themes were the subject of papers at the orientation phase, of observation in a two week visitation phase and of group discussion at a conference held in Armidale. Perhaps the most important outcome of the Program was the decision to establish a Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration, a professional association for those interested in educational administration, which seems likely to hold its first plenary meeting at the third International Intervisitation Program to be held in England in 1974.
The role of the communication process in the initiation of new programmes in a technical institute in a mid‐western state of the U.S.A. was examined. Communication linkages with…
Abstract
The role of the communication process in the initiation of new programmes in a technical institute in a mid‐western state of the U.S.A. was examined. Communication linkages with the local labour market were well developed, with ample evidence both of the growth of specialized channels and of their continued usage. Advisory committees were the most important institutions in initiating new programmes and heads of departments within the Institute were the most frequently used contact points between the organization and its environment. The role of the State Board was largely a facilitating one and the State Employment Service played only a minor part. Careful checks were made of the demand side of the labour market before new programmes were started but not a great deal of attention was given to the supply side, largely due to difficulties in estimation. Certain aspects of organization theory served a useful purpose in developing insights into the communication processes examined in this study.
Joanne Meehan and Bruce D. Pinnington
The purpose of this paper is to assess whether firms' transparency in supply chain (TISC) statements indicate that substantive action is being taken on modern slavery in UK…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess whether firms' transparency in supply chain (TISC) statements indicate that substantive action is being taken on modern slavery in UK government supply chains.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors analyse 66 of the UK government's strategic suppliers' TISC statements and 20 key documents related to the policy intent of the UK Parliament, 2015 TISC requirements. Qualitative document analysis identifies what suppliers say they are doing and what they are not saying to provide novel insights into how firms employ ambiguity to avoid timely action on modern slavery in their supply chains A set of propositions are developed.
Findings
The authors elaborate the concepts of time and change in socially sustainable supply chains and illustrate how firms use ambiguity in TISC statements as a highly strategic form of action to defend the status quo, reduce accountability and delay action for modern slavery within supply chains. The authors identify three ambiguous techniques: defensive reassurance, transfer responsibility and scope reduction that deviate from the policy intention of collaborative action.
Social implications
The results illustrates how ambiguity is preventing firms from taking collaborative action to tackle modern slavery in their supply chains. The lack of action as a result of ambiguity protects firms, rather than potential victims of modern slavery.
Originality/value
Prior research focuses on technical compliance rather than the content of firms' TISC statements. This qualitative study provides novel insights into the policy-resistant effects of ambiguity and highlights the dynamic and instrumental role of modern slavery reporting. Theoretically, we identify accountability as an essential concept to address the causes of modern slavery in supply chains and for developing collaborative supply chain environments to tackle the issues.
Details
Keywords
What do we in the schools want from the researchers? A headmaster states his belief in the individual school as the vital organism, as the unit of education, and in the need for…
Abstract
What do we in the schools want from the researchers? A headmaster states his belief in the individual school as the vital organism, as the unit of education, and in the need for greater flexibility in the staffing of our schools so that practising teachers may be free to take part in educational research. The researchers are asked whether they can find solutions to a number of problems: How do the State systems solve the problem of too great mobility of staff while maintaining equality of opportunity? What is the optimum size of a school and what is the optimum age range for a secondary school? Is there value in the boy's identifying himself with his school? What is a good school, and what is a well‐disciplined school? The researchers are asked for more standardized achievement tests; for more work on the development of reading habits and skills in schools; for further curriculum research; for help in measuring ‘readiness’; for insights into motivation and classroom interaction.