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This paper seeks to consider the impact and potential impact of social accounting at the macro level. It aims to explore the potential for “silent” or “shadow” social accounting to hold Anglo‐American capitalism to account for its social outcomes relative to other “varieties of capitalism”.

The role of accounting in spreading Anglo‐American capitalist values is outlined. This is followed by a discussion of macro social indicators and their potential to problematise social outcomes. In particular the paper reports on, and updates, an investigation of comparative child mortality figures in wealthy countries that appeared in the medical literature. This evidence is used both as an exemplar and as a substantive issue in its own right.

The specific empirical evidence reported, based on a cross‐sectional and longitudinal analysis of child mortality and its relationship to income inequality, exemplifies the consistently poor and relatively worsening performance of the Anglo‐American capitalist model. A rationale, and evidence, is also presented for the potential of such social reporting to act as an accountability mechanism.

The paper introduces to the accounting literature specific evidence of poor social outcomes associated with Anglo‐American capitalism. It considers the wider potential role of social indicators, as a component of silent and shadow reporting at a macro‐level, in problematising dominant forms of economic and social organisation.

Even as sites for higher education work to transform curricula and strive for greater diversity among students and faculties, little is done to create safe, inviting environments for people to openly discuss the contradictions and challenges in teaching about differences. The authors' purpose is to examine multiple and intersecting systems of power and privilege that deny marginalized voices a forum to challenge conventional hegemonic discourses of differences and stereotypical representations within learning. The recognition of contradictory subjective locations occupied by all the participants in the classroom, including the teacher, is accounted for in critical feminist pedagogies that challenge who speaks, who listens and why. As such, bridging the gaps, cracks, holes or crevices from which commonalities and differences emerge is part of the process required in understanding the differences.

This paper provides suggestions for college faculty who want to critically challenge their students to explore their beliefs about persons deemed “different” in society, and examine the nature of stereotypical perceptions embedded in the representations of the “other”.

The authors maintain that faculty must provide opportunities for discussion while creating a safe environment free of judgment during this time of exploration and discovery for all participants.

Multiple strategies for exposing college students/teacher candidates to differing views on cultural perceptions and misconceptions are provided. The authors challenge college faculty to not only expose students to an array of views but also encourage students to voice their own views by interrogating the inherent systemic power of inequity in society.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the critical success factors (CSFs) associated with the Six Sigma (SS) implementation in companies operating in Brazil.

The research was tested based on survey questionnaire responses from a sample of 45 Brazilian manufacturing and services companies that have implemented SS programmes. An exploratory factorial analysis (EFA) was conducted to statistically identify conclusions regarding CSFs in SS implementation.

Based on the survey of empirical data, the investigated individual CSFs were reduced in five main critical factor categories: data availability, prior infrastructure and training, goals and gains, implementation of the solution and resistance to change. They have been shown to be the extremely important factors for SS implementation in Brazilian companies.

This study helps SS managers focus on the most effective factors (best practices) in SS implementation. Consequently, this may guide a company’s resources allocation and efforts to guarantee a successful SS implementation.

Despite a vast body of literature in SS CSFs, this paper demonstrates those factors within a Brazilian context. Moreover, the tested content of this study fills the research gap by providing reliable and useful CSFs of SS implementation, which contributes to increase the external validity of the SS construct. On top of that, although the results reinforce the importance of well-known, traditional CSFs in SS implementation, they also identify contingent factors related to risk perception, which are barely mentioned in previous literature.

This paper aims to clarify emerging aspects and trends of Six Sigma literature over 17 years, from 1992 to 2008.

The literature on Six Sigma from 417 referred journal articles in business and management disciplines, information systems and computer science, engineering, healthcare, etc. were systematically analyzed based on a scheme that consists of four distinct dimensions: publication year and journal, major themes, research type, and application sector (i.e. manufacturing vs service).

A number of key findings emerged: Six Sigma research is growing rapidly, covering various disciplines and domains with a great focus on Six Sigma tools and techniques; empirical research is dominant with more emphasis on case study approach; and the growing gap between manufacturing‐ and service‐focused articles implies the return of Six Sigma to manufacturing as its initial base. Although a large volume of literature is available on Six Sigma, the topic is still under development and offers potential opportunities for further research and applications.

The paper provides both academics and practitioners with a useful framework for pursuing rigorous Six Sigma research through explaining the chronological growth of Six Sigma, challenging themes of Six Sigma research, dominating research types and application areas in Six Sigma, and the major sources of Six Sigma information.