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The purpose is to understand the manner in which companies use management accounting and control systems (MACS) for dialogical communication in assisting collaboration and the coordination of actions. The task of the research is to answer the following questions: why is it important to support dialogical communication by MACS in the organisation? Who are the salient stakeholder(s) in a company implementing collaboration and cooperation? How does one analyse and understand the role of MACS as a medium for supporting dialogical communication? Which aspects of dialogical communication are (not) fulfilled in the implementation of MACS and why?

This study's philosophical assumptions are based on relational constructivism as a social science perspective. This study uses a participative action and observation case study as its methodology.

Based on this case study, it can be concluded that most of the assumptions that dialogue could take place were fulfilled in departments in need of changes for competition and economic reasons. In the departments that did not need changes, assumptions of mutual openness, mutual confirmation and non-manipulation were not fulfilled – information from MACS was hidden and censored. The open dialogue by MACS between ground and senior groups was prevented resulting in a lack of information on different practices at the organisational level. One assumption that was problematic even in departments in need of changes was the assumption of non-evaluation. There is a paradox or contradiction between the contemporary business environment needing innovativeness and creativity, which means free and open communication without evaluation, and the coordination and control function which is a common part of MACS.

In this study, the data collection, documentation and analysis were carefully conducted and several methods applied to deal with possible bias. Nevertheless, the problem of the observer bias cannot be entirely eliminated since an individual researcher can never be separated from his or her background, philosophical views and experiences.

The paper makes a strong practical contribution. Based on this case study, it has been demonstrated that MACS could be a medium to support dialogue between senior and ground levels if: senior management sees the need for dialogue between organisational members; management and other organisational members support and believe in dialogue which could be mediated by MACS.

The conceptual novelty of the research lies in tying the concept of dialogue in the environment of stakeholder capitalism with the MACS framework. The contribution of this research is to shed more light on the role of MACS as one option of mediums for supporting dialogue between top and ground-level managers.

The purpose of this paper is to argue for the importance of allowing operational or ground level employees to participate in the process of organizational innovation.

The paper looks at various examples of employee innovation. It suggests five ways of enacting active empowerment of employees.

Participation of operational or ground level employees in the innovation process can be facilitated through active empowerment. Active empowerment can be fostered through sharing accurate information, active listening, encouraging employees to take risks, using failure as a learning tool, and fostering mutual trust.

Organizations can enhance the overall innovation process by empowering employees to participate in the process. This approach leverages creative resources that may, otherwise, remain untapped.

Leveraging employee innovation through active empowerment will not only enhance the overall organization, but will also encourage employee learning, thus collectively contributing to the workforce within society.

A discussion on the importance of allowing employees to participate in the process of innovation lead to the identification of five suggestions for enacting active empowerment.

Management of power distribution companies (discoms) in India has been historically criticized on the ground of inefficient management. Inefficiency in operations triggered management by private franchisees for promotion of managerial and technical expertise. However, franchise contracts have achieved mixed outcomes despite the business model being a decade old in the Indian power distribution sector. Therefore, this study sheds light on the drivers of discoms (principal) with the franchisees (agent) for the achievement of the common performance goals, highlighting the agency issues at multiple levels across the organizational hierarchies. The study seeks to acknowledge the commonalities and differences between and across varying levels.

A qualitative embedded single case study was conducted in an Indian state, namely Odisha. The study was built on archival analysis, personal observations and semi-structured interviews with the franchisors and franchisee officials across the organization's hierarchical levels. A conceptual model based on the review of prior literature formed the set of coding and presentation for the study.

The study provides insights on factors that play a role in effective power distribution management, operational efficiency and improved financial performance through the partnership of the principal and the agent.

The study is predominantly dependent upon interviews. This paved the way for the limitation of human biases. Additionally, deep insights were drawn from a single case study of a discom's decision to hire franchisees. However, this was at the cost of the number of organizations interviewed. The findings of the study could be built across other areas or nations.

There is adequate literature on franchising as a business model. However, literature is lacking in highlighting the commonalities and differences between different contracting parties and their impact on the performance of the contract. Additionally, there is a dearth of literature on franchising in the power distribution sector. Therefore, studying the model from multiple perspectives would contribute to the literature on the power sector and franchising.

EU social policy is perhaps the most controversial aspect of European integration yet, despite all the political clashes on the matter, concepts like “social Europe” or “social dimension” remain ill‐defined and imprecise terms. Intends to outline and clarify in detail the debate about whether or not the European Union should have competence with regard to labour market affairs. A key message is that social policy has been controversial because it has become embroiled in the debate about the future political direction of the EU. In particular, three contrasting political models –symbiotic integration, integrative federalism and neo‐liberalism – have been put forward as organizing principles for the EU and each has a coherent view of what form social policy should take at the European level. It is the clash between these three models that has caused EU social policy to be so contestable and intractable.

The purpose of this study is to provide a new perspective for effective management of the merger and acquisition (M&A) process by making use of a case study of a merger in the Japanese pharmaceutical industry. As corporate governance and culture are notably employee‐oriented in Japanese firms, the paper seeks to explore whether M&As in the industry may follow different paths from those in Western companies and lead to competitive advantage.

The paper examines the case of a merger of a Japanese pharmaceutical company, Astellas Pharma, which was formed as a result of one of the largest M&As in Japanese M&A history. The case is analyzed in line with previous theories on M&A process management.

The case was characterized by a strong momentum created by a core merger team consisting of a few members of management and workforce representatives, and the merger process was facilitated by both top‐down leadership and ground‐level support from the workforce. While broad engagement and non‐rapid rationalization of the workforce can slow the execution of the merger process and delay efficiency savings, it can also consistently drive the merger process and place the merged firm on a solid foundation with strong commitment from all levels.

This study suggests a new mode of the M&A process by focusing on a particular merger case of a Japanese pharmaceutical company. The mechanisms observed in the case should be applied with appropriate modifications to the M&As of Western companies.

This paper focuses on the behaviour and character of enterprises in modern Ireland by examining the extent to which high performance employment practices are being adopted by organisations. This paper draws on the results of an establishment‐level survey of work organisation and human resource management practice in three sectors of the Irish economy. This paper has three specific objectives: measuring the extent to which high performance work practices have been adopted by enterprises in Ireland; examining whether these innovations in the practical organisation of work are being supported by new ways of managing the broader employment relationship; and analysing precisely how establishments are combining innovative work practices and supporting HRM practices to achieve coherent overall employment models. Also finds that Irish firms are experimenting widely with workplace innovation and the changes in work organisation are matched by supporting adjustments to firms' HR policies and indicates that there is no single Irish “model” of industrial relations.

This paper reviews a number of studies that has examined the use of workplace innovations in the Republic of Ireland. It is argued that despite having quite different sampling and technical properties, the surveys reach similar findings on many matters – the high degree of experimentation with innovative work practices, and the piecemeal nature of workplace reform in most companies for example. Yet disagreement has occurred about how these findings should be interpreted. One view is sceptical about whether the surveys point to meaningful innovations in enterprise level employment systems in Ireland. A less pessimistic perspective suggests that the high level of experimentation occurring on new employment practices should be seen as significant as most organisations adopt an evolutionary approach to workplace reform.

Resulting from large government interventions, India could attain 99% electrification in March 2019. However, the consequences are revenue losses due to lack of real-time efforts in bringing operational efficiencies of the power distribution companies (discoms). Distribution franchisees operate as agents to the discoms for performing their contracted functions in smaller high-loss making areas under jurisdiction of a discom. This study aims to explore how rural franchisees help or hinder requisite results.

A qualitative embedded multiple-case study was conducted. The case focused on two franchisees engaged in metering, billing and collection functions of a high-loss-making rural area dominated Indian state-owned discom. Data were collected through documents, personal observations and semi-structured in-depth interviews with franchisee employees situated at different levels of the organizational hierarchy. A review of pertinent literature and government documents was utilized in forming the codes for collecting the data.

It could be argued that franchisees with strong financial capability, human resources support and monitoring and control facilities could contribute effectively in generating revenue from rural and interior electrified mass. The analysis revealed various challenges serving as hindrances in achievement of contracted targeted outcomes. The analysis resulted in highlighting factors that if implemented could result in the needed outcome.

This study could be generalized only to similar socio-economic conditions. The findings could provide policy makers with valuable insights to emphasize on creating win–win situations for all the stakeholders to encourage franchisee participation.

This study is unique, as there is a dearth of empirical evidences relating to operational efficacies of these franchisees.

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Innovation is essential for organizations to gain competitive advantage and financial success. The leadership style of managers can directly influence employee attitudes and behaviours, which can lead to increased innovation and creativity. A servant leadership style, which puts employees’ growth, learning, development and well-being first, leads to employees reciprocating in positive behaviours. They feel invested in and supported, and feel able and encouraged to suggest new ideas. They feel psychologically safe and feel able to thrive at work. This leads to increased innovation which leads to improved outcomes for the organization as a whole.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

Leadership.

The case is suitable for MBA, Executive level courses.

Yongye Group is a biotechnological enterprise in Inner Mongolia, China. In China, people lack trust in economic transactions due to the transitional state of the economy, especially regarding food safety. To respond to this situation, Wu Zishen, the chairman of the Board of Directors of Yongye Group, was determined to build trust among employees, distributors, farmers, and consumers towards the company. To this end, he started using a creative incentive system with employees and stakeholders: the pay-before-performance incentive system. According to this system, the reward is delivered in advance, contrary to be paid after the fulfillment of the task. This practice is meant to transform employees' work attitude from a passive “being told to work” to a more proactive “I want to work” mentality. When such an incentive system is practiced with customers and external distributors, it sends a message that the company is “treating customers as company employees”, which means that they are trusted as if they were part of the company itself. Wu Zishen also introduced a coherent series of leadership practices that generate a truly proactive culture in the organization.

From this case, students will learn how to create a proactive culture in business organizations and the effect of pay-before-performance on employees' work motivation.

Teaching notes and an exercise for class-based discussion are available.