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21 – 30 of over 132000Geraldine Robbins, Breda Sweeney and Miguel Vega
This study examines how an externally imposed management control system (MCS) – hospital accreditation – influences the salience of organisational tensions and consequently…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines how an externally imposed management control system (MCS) – hospital accreditation – influences the salience of organisational tensions and consequently attitudes of management towards the system.
Design/methodology/approach
Data are collected using a case study of a large public hospital in Spain. In-depth interviews were conducted with 27 senior and middle managers across different functions. Relying on the organisational dualities classification in the literature, tensions are unpacked and analysed.
Findings
Evidence is presented of how hospital accreditation increases the salience of organisational tensions arising from exposition of the organisational dualities of learning, performing, organising and belonging. Salient tensions were evident in the ambivalent attitudes of management towards the hospital accreditation system.
Practical implications
The role of mandatory external control systems in exposing ambivalence and tensions will be of interest to organisational managers.
Originality/value
The study extends the management control literature by identifying an active role for an external MCS (accreditation) in increasing the salience of organisational tensions and triggering ambivalence. Contrary to the prior literature, the embedding of both poles of an organisational duality into the MCS is not a necessary precondition for increased tension salience. The range of attitudes towards MCSs beyond those specified in the previous literature (positive/negative/neutral) is extended to include ambivalence.
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The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of developing the “right” attitudes toward change.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of developing the “right” attitudes toward change.
Design/methodology/approach
The viewpoint is based on more than 20 years of experience gained and insights developed through consulting projects and training conducted for numerous multinational companies and public sector organizations across Asia. An overview of international and national competency frameworks that include change management from Australia, United Kingdom, and Singapore is also presented.
Findings
A competent change manager requires a combination of knowledge, skills, and attitude to effect change. While knowledge and skills have traditionally been emphasized, there is a need to develop the “right” attitude as well.
Research limitations
This article is based on the author's personal viewpoint which may be subjective.
Practical limitations
The paper provides researchers with an insight on the importance of attitudes as a key contributing factor to change management competency. For the practitioners, it provides another perspective for designing more effective education programs to train change managers with an emphasis on attitudes.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the existing change management literature by providing insights on the importance of competency, in particular, the “right” attitude required of a change manager.
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Smith (2003) responded to the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act by suggesting that government rules and regulations cannot preserve a profession where people lack integrity. He suggests that…
Abstract
Smith (2003) responded to the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act by suggesting that government rules and regulations cannot preserve a profession where people lack integrity. He suggests that leaders in the profession and academe “call individuals to excellence” and “inculcate in practitioners and students ethical behaviour and personal integrity”. This study investigates whether auditors’ attitudes towards creative accounting are associated with ethical judgement, their evaluation of the quality of financial reporting and their perceptions of factors that influence preparers of financial statements to use aggressive accounting techniques. The results of this study reveal a significant relationship between auditors’ assessments of the relevance and reliability (but not ethical judgement) of reported information and their attitudes to creative accounting. Some insight is gained into auditors’ perceptions of the factors that influence preparers to use creative accounting in South Africa.
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Pussadee Laor, Yanasinee Suma, Vivat Keawdounglek, Anuttara Hongtong, Tawatchai Apidechkul and Nittaya Pasukphun
Chiang Rai is the northernmost province of Thailand. Municipal solid wastes (MSWs) was generated 430,828.2 ton/y in this area; however, only 24 percent of waste was properly…
Abstract
Purpose
Chiang Rai is the northernmost province of Thailand. Municipal solid wastes (MSWs) was generated 430,828.2 ton/y in this area; however, only 24 percent of waste was properly disposed, and 43 percent of waste was properly managed. The purpose of this paper is to explore knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of highland residents in order to provide a basis for the development of waste management in the study area.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional study was conducted in Mae Fah Luang district, Thailand, from November 2016 to January 2017. A random sample of 451 respondents constituted the study population. Data were gathered using a structured questionnaire. Pearson Correlation and χ2 were applied to identify the association among variables.
Findings
Overall, 73 percent of respondents had high level of knowledge; 85 percent of respondents showed neutral attitude; and 59 percent of respondents performed moderate practice on MSW management. The results highlighted that age and education levels were statistically significant associated with KAP levels on MSW management at (p=0.05).
Originality/value
The respondents who have good knowledge also have a good level of practice; and those who have good attitude also have a good level of practice. Socio-demographic factors and suitable way to promote an effective MSW management should be considered.
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James Kagaari, John C. Munene and Joseph Mpeera Ntayi
The purpose of this paper is to establish the relationship between performance management practices, employee attitudes and managed performance.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to establish the relationship between performance management practices, employee attitudes and managed performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a disproportionate stratified purposive approach, a sample of 900 employees was drawn from four public universities in Uganda.
Findings
The paper reveals that performance management practices and employee attitudes are crucial for achievement of managed performance in public universities.
Research limitations/implications
This was a cross‐sectional study that inherently has common method biases. Such biases could be minimised with replication of the study using a longitudinal study approach that would also unearth all salient issues that could have remained untouched.
Practical implications
The paper emphasises the need for public universities to institutionalise result‐oriented relationships and adapt in the external hyper changing environment.
Originality/value
The paper calls for a new approach to managing employees in public universities with increasing demand for university education and stakeholder interests in delivery of cost‐effective quality services.
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William E. Shafer and Zhihong Wang
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of Chinese industry accountants' perceptions of the ethical context in their organization and Machiavellianism on attitudes…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of Chinese industry accountants' perceptions of the ethical context in their organization and Machiavellianism on attitudes toward earnings management.
Design/methodology/approach
The research is based on a survey of professional accountants employed by companies in Mainland China.
Findings
The results indicate that perceptions of a strong organizational emphasis on serving the public interest (benevolent/cosmopolitan climate) significantly reduced professional accountants' willingness to condone accounting earnings management. Professionally certified accountants also judged accounting earnings management more harshly. Consistent with our expectations, high Machiavellians judged earnings management more leniently, although this effect was only marginally significant in the case of accounting earnings management. In contrast to prior studies of earnings management in the USA, the participants judged accounting earnings management more leniently, but judged operating earnings management more harshly.
Originality/value
This is the first study to document that an organizational emphasis on serving the public interest can restrain aggressive behavior among industry accountants. Claims of serving the public interest in accounting have traditionally focused on the role of the independent auditor in protecting the public from misleading financial reporting. The results indicate that appeals to public interest obligations also have resonance for professional accountants in industry. The fact that certified accountants were less tolerant of accounting earnings management also has important implications, demonstrating the practical value of professional certification programs and their associated training and socialization processes. The contrast observed between the ethical judgments of our Chinese participants and US accountants surveyed in previous studies raises important questions for further research.
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Ayodeji Peter Ifegbesan, Biodun Ogunyemi and Isaac T. Rampedi
Waste management is a critical element of the campus sustainability movement in which Nigerian universities are yet to actively participate. The purpose of this study was to…
Abstract
Purpose
Waste management is a critical element of the campus sustainability movement in which Nigerian universities are yet to actively participate. The purpose of this study was to investigate prevalent waste management practices and the disposition of undergraduate students in a Nigerian University.
Design/methodology/approach
Data collection involved the use of a questionnaire, focus group discussion and participative observation. Respondents consisted of 840 students drawn from four academic faculties of the university. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to address the research questions raised to guide the investigation.
Findings
Indiscriminate littering, open dumping of waste, weedy and overgrown lawns, proliferation of power generating sets, uncollected refuse sites and defaced walls with postings were the major observed environmental challenges. Open burning of refuse was found to be the single most prevalent way of managing large volumes of waste generated on the university campus. Although the problems were widespread, only 40.5 per cent of the students expressed serious concern for the solid waste practices. Also, while the students were positively disposed to innovative ways of addressing the challenge of waste management in the university, there were significant differences in students’ awareness and disposition according to sex, age, academic level and faculties.
Research limitations/implications
The implications of the findings for campus-based sustainability education are discussed.
Originality/value
This study is an original research article which interrogated the students’ attitudes to solid waste management in a Nigerian University. It used a combination of both qualitative and quantitative techniques, such as questionnaire, focus group discussion and participative observation.
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The librarian and researcher have to be able to uncover specific articles in their areas of interest. This Bibliography is designed to help. Volume IV, like Volume III, contains…
Abstract
The librarian and researcher have to be able to uncover specific articles in their areas of interest. This Bibliography is designed to help. Volume IV, like Volume III, contains features to help the reader to retrieve relevant literature from MCB University Press' considerable output. Each entry within has been indexed according to author(s) and the Fifth Edition of the SCIMP/SCAMP Thesaurus. The latter thus provides a full subject index to facilitate rapid retrieval. Each article or book is assigned its own unique number and this is used in both the subject and author index. This Volume indexes 29 journals indicating the depth, coverage and expansion of MCB's portfolio.
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Following the Hayes Report, the TSA commissioned a survey to be carried out by ITRU on the current problems in the management of human resources in this country. Opinions…
Abstract
Following the Hayes Report, the TSA commissioned a survey to be carried out by ITRU on the current problems in the management of human resources in this country. Opinions, feelings, attitudes, perceptions, and proposals on the subject have been collected by five ITRU research staff from about 100 people closely concerned with the subject. Three main groups were involved: Line managers, general managers, and personnel specialists from all sizes of company — ‘industrial’ respondents. Directors, training officers, and advisers from industrial training boards — ‘training board’ respondents. Principals, heads of departments, and lecturers from universities, polytechnics, technical colleges, and other institutions concerned with management studies — ‘management education’ respondents.
Although recent years have seen heavy investment in management education programmes, relatively little effort has been made at evaluation. Kane, however, has noted that the time…
Abstract
Although recent years have seen heavy investment in management education programmes, relatively little effort has been made at evaluation. Kane, however, has noted that the time when training and development activities are no longer questioned “appears to be well on its way to passing from a reality to a memory”.