Search results

1 – 10 of 231
Article
Publication date: 2 August 2011

Richard K. Fleischman, David Oldroyd and Thomas N. Tyson

The aim of this paper is to focus on the transition from slavery to wage workers in the American South and British West Indies, and the corresponding nature of the reporting and…

1773

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to focus on the transition from slavery to wage workers in the American South and British West Indies, and the corresponding nature of the reporting and control procedures that were established in both venues, in order to create a disciplined workforce, and establish regular relations between employees and employers. It seeks to explain the differences in labour control practices between the two regions and to discuss the impact on these practices of accounting and other quantitative techniques c.1760-1870. In particular, it aims to consider the central role played by government in the process.

Design/methodology/approach

The study forms part of an archival research project, in which the authors have consulted archives in four Southern States (Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and North Carolina), three Caribbean island nations, formerly British colonies (Antigua, Barbados, and Jamaica), and record repositories the length and breadth of Great Britain. The records of the Freedmen ' s Bureau (FB), located in the National Archives, Washington, DC, have been likewise visited. These primary sources have been supported by the extensive secondary literature on slavery and its aftermath.

Findings

In the USA, accounting for labour in the transition from slavery was typically ad hoc and inconsistent, whereas in the BWI it was more organised, detailed, and displayed greater uniformity – both within and across colonies. The role of the British Colonial Office (BCO) was crucial here. A range of economic and political factors are advanced to explain the differences between the two locations. The paper highlights the limitations of accounting controls and economic incentives in disciplining labour without the presence of physical coercion in situations where there is a refusal on the part of the workers to cooperate.

Originality/value

There is a relatively small volume of secondary literature comparing US and BWI slavery and its legacy. Likewise, the accounting implications of labour-control practices, during the transition from slavery to freedom, are largely understudied. The research also points to a need to assess the decision-influencing capabilities of management accounting systems in other transitional labour settings.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 24 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2004

Thomas N. Tyson, Richard K. Fleischman and David Oldroyd

The paper focuses on accounting for slave workers during one of the most morally culpable periods in Western civilization and is concerned with issues central to labor – modes of…

2301

Abstract

The paper focuses on accounting for slave workers during one of the most morally culpable periods in Western civilization and is concerned with issues central to labor – modes of production, labor control, and labor productivity. It incorporates secondary sources and examination of records from over 150 different US and BWI plantations to identify contextual factors that motivated planters to organize their workforce in a particular way. The paper specifically describes the ganging and tasking methods of extracting surplus value and indicates how these methods fit within three common paradigmatic interpretations of accounting history – labor process, power/knowledge/discipline, and economic rationalism. In summary, ganging exemplified a pre‐modern approach to organizing labor in which planters relied primarily on physical power to compel work effort and increase output. Tasking incorporated individual work rates and included more sophisticated practices of surveillance, measurement, normalization, and socialization. Tasking became economically rational by responding to changing market conditions and by incorporating procedures and incentives to spur greater productivity. Therefore, tasking may be perceived as a thematic precursor to accounting‐based disciplinary controls like standard costing and a transitionary element from pre‐modern to modern control systems.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 17 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 1989

Joe G. Thomas and J.M. Koonce

In a feast of differentiation, Tyson Foods slices up more than 57 varieties of chicken products for four different major markets. Instead of selling broilers at 69 cents a pound…

Abstract

In a feast of differentiation, Tyson Foods slices up more than 57 varieties of chicken products for four different major markets. Instead of selling broilers at 69 cents a pound, Tyson is a Fortune star selling marinated fillets at more than six times as much.

Details

Planning Review, vol. 17 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0094-064X

Article
Publication date: 1 June 1994

Keith Hoskin and Richard Macve

In a 1977 publication Alfred Chandler singled out the Springfield Armoryas the site where single‐unit management was pioneered in the UnitedStates, crediting Superintendent…

1167

Abstract

In a 1977 publication Alfred Chandler singled out the Springfield Armory as the site where single‐unit management was pioneered in the United States, crediting Superintendent Roswell Lee (1815‐1833) with establishing a first “managerial” approach to work discipline and labour accounting. However, as economic breakthrough came only in 1841/2, it has since been argued that Lee′s role has been overestimated. Re‐examines archival evidence to show that: the changes of 1842 at Springfield were not due to external economic pressures, but to pressure exerted by West Point graduates in the Ordnance Department; Lee, as the dominant arms manufacturer in the 1820s, was not “held back” by economic factors from implementing any changes he desired; and his system of work organization was never even potentially managerial, with his accounting system in particular having been fundamentally misinterpreted. The evidence reinforces the case for viewing the invention of modern business and managerialism as primarily a disciplinary breakthrough.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 7 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 September 1943

THIS month will see, we understand, the publication of the results of months of regular work of the Library Association Post War Policy Committee, which we believe has been…

Abstract

THIS month will see, we understand, the publication of the results of months of regular work of the Library Association Post War Policy Committee, which we believe has been working with exemplary industry. We hear that the Council has endorsed the scheme and that it will deal with such points as the central control of libraries, the sort of area that can support a library service efficiently, the ideals of an efficient system, the training of librarians and many other matters. These topics could be envisaged as obvious ones for any such report to pronounce upon. We shall deal in some detail with them when the report is released but, even now, we can express our gratification that a programme and a policy have been enunciated well before the end of the war is in sight. This does not mean that the report is in any way sacrosanct; it can have no character of a legal document; it can and will be criticised and, no doubt, amended.

Details

New Library World, vol. 46 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4803

Article
Publication date: 17 December 2021

Yingwei Yang, Karen Liller, Dinorah Martinez Tyson and Martha Coulter

A safe environment is critical for adolescents’ well-being. The purpose of this photovoice study is to explore reasons that make adolescents feel safe in their community.

Abstract

Purpose

A safe environment is critical for adolescents’ well-being. The purpose of this photovoice study is to explore reasons that make adolescents feel safe in their community.

Design/methodology/approach

This study was conducted in Florida through both online and in-person recruitment. After a training session on the ethical and technical use of cameras and a brief introduction of the photovoice methodology, six adolescents took photos (n = 66) in their community and discussed their photos guided by the revised SHOWeD framework. Abridged transcripts were used to match photos with corresponding discussions. Thematic analysis was conducted by the research team.

Findings

This study identified four main themes related to adolescents’ safe perceptions, including community protective factors (n = 22 photos) such as safe physical environments and community cohesion; family protective factors (n = 14 photos) including safe home and caring parents; traffic safety (n = 14 photos), such as proper road signs, seat belts for car safety and helmets and locks for bicycle safety; and public safety (n = 8 photos), such as emergency numbers, fire departments and police cars and officers.

Research limitations/implications

Due to the limited number of participants, this study did not compare the similarities and differences of safety perceptions between adolescents living in high crime areas (urban communities) and those in low crime areas (suburban and rural communities). Future photovoice studies are recommended to further explore the influential factors associated with adolescents’ perceived community safety in urban and rural areas with different levels of crime rates to provide more evidence on targeted strategies for community safety promotion in each area.

Practical implications

By exploring the reasons for adolescents’ safe feelings in their community using photovoice, this study provides insights for future intervention programs to promote community safety for children and adolescents from the community, family, traffic and societal perspectives.

Social implications

This photovoice study not only empowers adolescents to identify community assets related to their safe perceptions but also illustrates valuable insights for researchers and public health professionals for safety promotion.

Originality/value

This study has used a broad research question to explore the reasons that make adolescents feel safe, providing them the opportunities to express their opinions by photo taking and photo discussions. Moreover, rich information at the community, family and societal levels has been collected as related to factors contributing to adolescents’ safe perceptions, adding to the literature on community safety. In addition, this photovoice study has offered both in-person and online participation. Such combination not only provides adolescents with an opportunity to choose a participation method that works best for them but also adds to the photovoice methodology by extending the data collection from in-person to online.

Details

Safer Communities, vol. 21 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-8043

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 July 2018

David Oldroyd, Thomas Tyson and Richard Fleischman

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the labour contract system (LCS) established by the Freedmen’s Bureau after the American Civil War to normalise relations between…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the labour contract system (LCS) established by the Freedmen’s Bureau after the American Civil War to normalise relations between freed-slaves and their former masters and to uphold their rights as free citizens. In particular, it explains the lack of accountability of employers under the LCS and how this contributed to the system’s failure.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper adopts an archive-based approach to develop and illustrate the labour contracting relationship between freed-persons and property owners and the role accounting played in sustaining this relationship in the immediate post-bellum period.

Findings

The paper finds that the LCS was coercive compared to contemporary business practice in the USA; did not conform to the high ideals of contracting as portrayed by the abolition movement; and was adopted by default rather than design. In the event, the reluctance of the federal government to infringe individual autonomy by imposing an over-arching system of regulation to hold employers to account for upholding their contractual obligations prevailed over the desire to defend the freed-people’s property rights.

Research limitations/implications

This research examines the relationship between labour contracting and property rights as well as the role of accounting in sustaining racial prejudice against freed-persons after the American Civil War. As in many archive-based studies, illustrations are selective and not randomised.

Originality/value

The paper examines the various accountings and accountabilities within the LCS in the context of the underlying ideological tensions and priorities in post-conflict US society.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 31 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 1982

Devi Jankowicz and Laurie Thomas

As occupational applications of repertory grid technique continue to grow, there is a need for a method of analysis which can be carried out as conveniently by hand as by…

Abstract

As occupational applications of repertory grid technique continue to grow, there is a need for a method of analysis which can be carried out as conveniently by hand as by computer, particularly in the field of human resource development. This article describes such a method, a cluster analysis called “Focus”, and outlines some applications in personnel and training work by means of an annotated algorithm.

Details

Personnel Review, vol. 11 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0048-3486

Article
Publication date: 1 August 1998

Noeleen Doherty

Explores redundancy as a significant and pervasive outcome of organisational change. Argues that the need to manage the redundancy transition has provoked the development of new…

4102

Abstract

Explores redundancy as a significant and pervasive outcome of organisational change. Argues that the need to manage the redundancy transition has provoked the development of new HRM policies and practices. Highlights that interventions such as outplacement are often used by companies with little rigorous evaluation of their utility or benefit, yet their continued proliferation would suggest that they appear to have assumed intrinsic credibility and value. Maintains that while the pluralist, contingent nature of the organisational change and individual transition issues are recognised, many organisations appear to resort to normative methods when faced with the challenge of managing the human resource issues associated with redundancy. Argues that the pervasive and complex nature of current changes dictates not only the need for a better understanding of the practices that exist but also an exploration of how HRM theory can contribute to and enhance that understanding.

Details

Personnel Review, vol. 27 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0048-3486

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 1991

Shaun Tyson and Noeleen Doherty

Research undertaken to examine the relationship between personalityand careers is reported. A study of the personality characteristics of204 executives who had been made redundant…

Abstract

Research undertaken to examine the relationship between personality and careers is reported. A study of the personality characteristics of 204 executives who had been made redundant compared 16PF profiles with those of similar populations and it is argued that there are identifiable characteristics amongst the redundant sample, which show them to be more creative and unconventional, but that they also possess a lack of social skills and poor organisational survival abilities. This suggests it is both personality and “social fit” which are significant in suffering an enforced job change. Further research drew on the experiences of 299 executives who had been made redundant. This study explored their reactions to the job loss event and their subsequent learning from experience, in terms of “psychological growth” and the changing patterns of their careers. This suggested that there is a wide variation in the response to the enforced job change and that the personality factors associated with this type of executive may strongly influence their subsequent career paths.

Details

Personnel Review, vol. 20 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0048-3486

Keywords

1 – 10 of 231