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1 – 10 of over 1000The purpose of this paper is to outline an ecofeminist lens for the analysis of accounting, which is applied to: first, the critique of corporate social responsibility reporting…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to outline an ecofeminist lens for the analysis of accounting, which is applied to: first, the critique of corporate social responsibility reporting (CSRR); second, the elaboration of elements of a framework for a new accounting – corporate nature responsibility reporting (CNRR) – as a response to the critique of CSRR; and, third, the consideration of elements of an enabling and emancipatory praxis in the context of CNRR, including a sketch of a research agenda.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents a critical application of aspects of the ecofeminist critique of Western dualism and its emphasis on wholeness, interconnectedness and relatedness, including its particular delineation of nature, to the critique and design of accounting.
Findings
Insights from the application of an ecofeminist lens to the critique of CSRR raise questions about the suitability of the western notion of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and its associated accounting currently in use. In order to go beyond critique, the paper introduces the notions of corporate nature responsibility (CNR) and CNRR and offers an outline of key elements of CNRR and an emancipatory praxis in the context of CNRR, including a sketch of a research agenda. The author’s elaborations suggest that in order to overcome the limitations of CSR and CSRR, a corporation ought to be concerned about its broader and holistic CNR. And, it should provide a CNR report, as part of a holistic CNRR concerned with the performance of the company in the context of CNR.
Social implications
Through creating new visibilities, CNRR has the potential to enhance the well-being of people and nature more generally.
Originality/value
Ecofeminism’s critique of western dichotomous thinking has been given little consideration in prior studies of accounting. The paper thus draws attention to the relevance of an ecofeminist theoretical lens for the critique and design of accounting by focussing on CSRR. The paper introduces the concepts of CNR and CNRR to address the limitations of CSRR as currently practiced.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine what counts as knowledge in the organization/management field.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine what counts as knowledge in the organization/management field.
Design/methodology/approach
Conventional, legitimated knowledge is analyzed through research into representations of an influential management text. Management and management accounting textbooks and research papers are investigated to establish the types of knowledge produced.
Findings
Mainstream representations of this book are partial, focusing on a “model” of what is likely to ensure successful organizational change – structural and systemic adaptations. What has been ignored is the problematization of structural change and the role of human agency. The foci and omissions of these representations cohere with divisions in the social sciences more generally – between “objectivist” and “subjectivist” ontologies and epistemologies.
Research limitations/implications
There is a need for further research into representations of texts about organizational change, the way the objectivist/subjectivist divide is played out, and its significance for organization/management studies and more widely for the social sciences.
Practical implications
Questions arise as to the validity and sustainability of such knowledge. Omissions about the difficulties in implementing structural change raise epistemological and practical difficulties for students, managers and consultants.
Social implications
Omissions of human subjectivities and agency from mainstream knowledge is problematic regarding successful organizational change and social issues more widely.
Originality/value
The paper's value lies in the in‐depth analysis of representations of a text in the organization/management area and the linking of the type of knowledge produced with broader epistemological and methodological issues in the social sciences.
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Oswald A. J. Mascarenhas, Munish Thakur and Payal Kumar
This chapter focuses on ecofeminism that primarily refers to feminist theory and activism informed by ecology. Ecofeminism is concerned with real connections between humans and…
Abstract
Executive Summary
This chapter focuses on ecofeminism that primarily refers to feminist theory and activism informed by ecology. Ecofeminism is concerned with real connections between humans and Nature, as also by the domination of Nature by man and, specifically, by women's subservience to men. The foundational ecofeminist assumption is that environmental issues are basically feminist issues, and vice versa. It believes that ecofeminism, best understood and operationalized, can restore Mother Nature (endangered by industrial extraction and exploitation) and reassure rights to animals (deanimalized and threatened by factory farming). Although ecofeminism is a diverse movement, ecofeminist theorists share the presupposition that social transformation is necessary for ecological survival, that intellectual transformation of dominant modes of thought must accompany social transformation, that Nature teaches and reveals nondualistic, nonhierarchical systems of relations that are models for social transformation of values, and that human and cultural diversity are values in social transformation; some of these values and movements even influenced the world via the UN. Accordingly, this chapter highlights major positive contributions of ecofeminism.
Leah M. Omilion-Hodges and Stacey M. B. Wieland
As teachers of leadership, we have noticed that our students often get “stuck” thinking about leadership in overly simplistic ways that dichotomize task and…
Abstract
As teachers of leadership, we have noticed that our students often get “stuck” thinking about leadership in overly simplistic ways that dichotomize task and relationship-orientations, often resulting in overly simplistic understandings of leadership processes. In this reflective essay, we draw upon two approaches to leadership theory—leadership psychology and discursive leadership—to consider why the leadership dichotomy occurs and provide ideas for how leadership instructors might restructure and refocus their courses to help students transcend it to develop more reflexive, contextualized understandings of leadership. We suggest four ideas for innovating leadership pedagogy: 1) rethink the typical chronological organization, 2) challenge students to identify leadership myths, 3) engage students in applied leadership contexts, and 4) emphasize leadership as a communicative practice.
WILLIAM H. DESVOUSGES, F. REED JOHNSON, RICHARD W. DUNFORD, K. NICOLE WILSON and KEVIN J. BOYLE
Preparing forces and their allies to operate in a world where asymmetry appears to be the only logical option for adversaries will require some significant and innovative…
Abstract
Preparing forces and their allies to operate in a world where asymmetry appears to be the only logical option for adversaries will require some significant and innovative adaptations to training and education methods. New models in leadership, selection, training, and education of leaders and troops are necessary to cope with complexity, non-predictability in conflict solving, and peace support operations. Multidimensional thinking and acting in military decision-making and applying new learning models to build up a climate of change and innovation on all levels of the armed forces is necessary. Organizational learning models, already applied in reshaping civil enterprises, are also useful in restructuring military forces and prepare them for the new challenges. T. Edmunds argues that the emerging new roles of the military cannot only be derived from an “objective functional reassessment” of the nature of new threats but are emerging, rather, as “a consequence of domestic and international socio-political influences that shape state’ perception of what their Armed Forces should look like and the purposes they should serve.” There is a higher priority for intercultural competences for leaders of all levels of responsibility, especially regarding the operational regions of the future and the globalized outcomes of conflicts in general. Research in this domain shows that methods of “face work” are best accomplished by Ting-Toomey's “identity negotiation.” Reshaping, restructuring, and preparing for new core rolls of the military and civil task forces are only to master when the responsible leaders manage to overcome the so-called “blind spot in leadership theories” (C.O. Scharmer), so leadership seems to be more and more a collective method of finding the “self.”
Michael Haslam and Keir Harding
This discursive paper considers the use of restrictive practices in mental health inpatient settings and how these are often prioritised over relational approaches, especially…
Abstract
Purpose
This discursive paper considers the use of restrictive practices in mental health inpatient settings and how these are often prioritised over relational approaches, especially where the diagnostic label of personality disorder intersects with risk.
Design/methodology/approach
Key concepts from Orwell’s 1984 are studied for their pertinence to mental health inpatient settings, supporting our argument that restrictive practices arise from dichotomous thinking and externalised fears.
Findings
Drawing upon Orwellian themes of power, social control and digital surveillance from 1984, the authors highlight the role of fear in perpetuating restrictive practices under a guise of benevolent care in mental health inpatient settings, especially for those who are diagnosed with a personality disorder. A lack of preparedness to work with complexity in such environments, coupled with a deficit in self-reflexivity and critical thinking, can exacerbate challenges.
Research limitations/implications
To transcend damaging dichotomies and reduce restrictive practices in inpatient settings, the authors make the argument for the adequate preparation and education of the mental health nurse and authentic, collaborative, user-involved care.
Originality/value
The authors use Orwell’s novel to support a critical discourse around those damaging dichotomies and inherent contradictions that contribute to restrictive practice in contemporary mental health settings and to question whose interests’ these restrictive practices serve.
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Liangyan Wang, Shijian Wang, L. Robin Keller and Jie Li
This article aims to examine how a person’s thinking style, specifically holistic versus analytic, and a firm’s crisis apology with the remedial solution framed in “why” (vs…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to examine how a person’s thinking style, specifically holistic versus analytic, and a firm’s crisis apology with the remedial solution framed in “why” (vs “how”) terms can interactively impact consumers’ perceived efficacy of the firm to respond to the crisis and their impression or evaluation of the brand.
Design/methodology/approach
Hypotheses were tested through three experimental studies involving 308 participants recruited in China. Participants answered survey questions investigating the interactive effects from consumers’ thinking style (culture as a proxy in Study 1, measured in Study 2 or primed in Study 3) and a brand’s crisis apology with the remedial solution framed in “why” (vs “how”) terms on consumers’ perceived efficacy and evaluation of the firm.
Findings
The frame of the remedial solution resulting in a higher evaluation improvement depended on a consumer’s thinking style. For holistic thinkers, a “why” (vs “how”) framed remedial solution resulted in a higher evaluation improvement; however, for analytic thinkers, a “how” (vs “why”) framed remedial solution resulted in a higher evaluation improvement. Additionally, the results showed that a consumer’s perceived efficacy of the brand being able to successfully respond to the crisis mediated the interactive effects of the remedial solution framing and thinking styles on the evaluation improvement.
Practical Implications
The findings provide evidence that framing of the remedial solution can be leveraged as a tool to reduce negative impact resulting from a brand crisis. Specifically, the results suggest that companies may do well to employ a “why” framed remedial solution, particularly in cases where consumers are likely to process information holistically. Conversely, a “how” framed remedial solution may be effective in situations where consumers are likely to process information analytically.
Originality/value
This research contributes to the literature, being among the first to consider how the remedial solution framing in a firm’s apology can enhance people’s evaluation of the brand and decrease the perceived negative impact resulting from the brand crisis.
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Brendon Fox and Jeff Bourgeois
The internationalization of United States higher education has been described as a “two-way street” where students arrive at knowledge transfer. That transfer occurs through a…
Abstract
The internationalization of United States higher education has been described as a “two-way street” where students arrive at knowledge transfer. That transfer occurs through a curriculum deemed “unidirectional” with no relevance to local issues or needs and results in limited application and educational colonialism perceptions. Specific to leadership education, the extant literature presents implications of neglect to cultural contexts traditionally reflected in the curriculum within a host nation. We used an explanatory mixed methods design for this study to investigate the degree to which undergraduate Western-based leadership studies courses taught in China reflect the notion of “neocolonialism” by prioritizing Western interests and values.
While the study’s quantitative results reveal cultural differences in leadership education concepts, the qualitative follow-up phase finds students’ appreciation in the utility of leadership concepts and knowledge gained from the leadership curriculum. Students could cite specific situations in which they employed leadership concepts acquired from their respective leadership courses.
The study of international business has become increasinglyimportant in recent years. So important that the American Assembly ofthe Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) has…
Abstract
The study of international business has become increasingly important in recent years. So important that the American Assembly of the Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) has called for the internationalisation of business curricula. In 1992 and beyond, successful business people will treat the entire world as their domain. No one country can operate in an economic vacuum. Any economic measures taken by one country can affect the global economy. This book is designed to challenge the reader to develop a global perspective of international business. Globalisation is by no means a new concept, but there are many new factors that have contributed to its recently accelerated growth. Among them, the new technologies in communication and transport that have resulted in major expansions of international trade and investment. In the future, the world market will become predominant. There are bound to be big changes in the world economy. For instance the changes in Eastern Europe and the European Community during the 1990s. With a strong knowledge base in international business, future managers will be better prepared for the new world market. This book introduces its readers to the exciting and rewarding field of international management and international corporations. It is written in contemporary, easy‐to‐understand language, avoiding abstract terminology; and is organised into five sections, each of which includes a number of chapters that cover a subject involving activities that cross national boundaries.
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