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Article
Publication date: 11 May 2012

Amy Chang and Kawanna Bright

The purpose of this paper is to: address how the library middle management role has changed; assist middle managers in identifying new opportunities and broadening their horizon…

2403

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to: address how the library middle management role has changed; assist middle managers in identifying new opportunities and broadening their horizon within middle management; offer strategies for middle managers to be more efficient and effective in the changing era; and lay out the challenges middle managers are facing to further discussions.

Design/methodology/approach

Both authors have been middle managers for many years and are experiencing the change from the traditional roles. As the new roles are emerging, the authors have done literature reviews in order to understand what factors have caused the changes, how middle managers can deal with these changes, and identify the challenges they will face. Through research, the authors have also studied how business managers handle changes and identify areas from which library middle managers can gain insight.

Findings

The authors identify the causes of the changes that impact middle managers in academic libraries, through evaluation of day‐to‐day experiences and literature research.

Research limitations/implications

Since this is a new trend, the data are difficult to collect and the best practices are still under development in many academic libraries. Research implications are in the new roles for middle managers, including roles in communication channels, management teams, collaboration, and responsibilities.

Practical implications

The authors identify the new roles in middle management in a few areas: communication, management teams, collaboration, and responsibilities. The paper also outlines keys for being effective in middle management, including total quality management, staff readiness, and thinking outside of the box.

Originality/value

The paper addresses the cause of the changing roles for middle management and the specific impact that these changes are having on middle managers. This paper also identifies the new roles being undertaken by middle managers.

Article
Publication date: 27 September 2022

Dinushika Samanthi and Tharusha Gooneratne

This paper aims to explore the changing role of the accountant amid multiple drivers, responses of accountants and situated rationality in a multinational firm, Max-choice Lanka.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the changing role of the accountant amid multiple drivers, responses of accountants and situated rationality in a multinational firm, Max-choice Lanka.

Design/methodology/approach

It adopts the single-site case study approach under the qualitative methodology and leans on institutional theory, specifically Ter Bogt and Scapens (2019) framework.

Findings

The case study findings reveal that the role of the accountant has undergone change amid local and broader institutions linked to organizational culture/norms, the influence of the parent company, global trends and technological advancements. Based on evolving situated rationalities, the contemporary accountant performs an agile role as a value-adding business partner; data scientist; strategic decision-maker; and a cross-functional team member.

Practical implications

At the practice level, identifying drivers influencing the changing role of accountants enables organizations to shape their accounting functions attuned to evolving needs by implementing appropriate strategies and recruiting competent personnel. In the realm of education, it calls for incorporating areas such as big data analytics, artificial intelligence, reporting nonfinancial information and integrated accounting software to the accounting curricular and upskill students based on industry expectations catering to changing roles.

Originality/value

This paper adds to the ongoing debate on the contemporary role of the accountant. Capitalizing on case study data, this research illuminates the influence of multiplicity of institutions, different forms and situated rationality within this changing role and extends the Ter Bogt and Scapens (2019) framework.

Details

Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, vol. 19 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1832-5912

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2002

Raymond Caldwell

The role and significance of people management professionals in managing change has become increasingly important with the growing ascendancy of “HRM” in its various…

5616

Abstract

The role and significance of people management professionals in managing change has become increasingly important with the growing ascendancy of “HRM” in its various manifestations. Yet there is persistent concern that “traditional personnel managers” may be less willing or able to act in this arena when compared with apparently new style HR specialists. Is it possible that individuals with an HR job title will perceive their role as more proactive or effective in managing change? The survey findings presented here of 98 people management professionals in a sample of 350 major UK companies, explore four key areas of HRM often closely associated with change management interventions. While the findings indicate important areas of agreement between “personnel” and “HR” sub‐groups, defined by job title, they also demonstrate significant differences in role perceptions and evaluations of practice in the change management arena. It is concluded that people management professionals with an HR job title appear to identify more strongly with the change‐oriented agenda of HRM. However, there were no significant differences between personnel and HR sub‐groups in their perceived effectiveness at managing change. The implications of these findings for the future of the personnel job title are then discussed.

Details

Personnel Review, vol. 31 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0048-3486

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 10 August 2020

Tanja Wolf, Michael Kuttner, Birgit Feldbauer-Durstmüller and Christine Mitter

Academic interest in role changes of management accountants (MAs) has increased during the past two decades. Role changes imply identity reconstructions as they do not only…

15406

Abstract

Purpose

Academic interest in role changes of management accountants (MAs) has increased during the past two decades. Role changes imply identity reconstructions as they do not only require an external legitimacy, but professionals have to internalize a new role script. Thus, this paper aims to contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the ongoing changes concerning MAs by providing an identity perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper systematically reviews the literature on the changing role of MAs from an identity perspective, based on a conclusive sample of 64 articles.

Findings

This review identified several external factors such as professional associations and educational institutions as well as organizational and individual factors that impact MAs’ identity and act as change drivers. MAs’ identity is linked with their image in the public and within the organization and is challenged by increasing demands, conflicting expectations and technological progress. Hence, the literature sample illustrates a fragmented and contradictory picture regarding the changes of MAs’ identities and roles and displays that the idea of a simple movement from one identity to another is misleading. Furthermore, the identity perspective offers new issues for management accounting research, practice and education such as nested identity, multiple or desired identities.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to review the literature of MAs’ changing identities and roles from an identity perspective. This perspective enables a novel focus on internal views, perceptions and internalized meanings of MAs connected with their role instead of exclusively debating changed external behavior expectations.

Details

Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, vol. 16 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1832-5912

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 August 2017

Katalin Pádár, Béla Pataki and Zoltán Sebestyén

Change management (CM) and project management (PM) literatures examine the key roles (change agent, project manager, project or change sponsor) played during projects or changes

3817

Abstract

Purpose

Change management (CM) and project management (PM) literatures examine the key roles (change agent, project manager, project or change sponsor) played during projects or changes only from their respective points of view. They do so even in cases where projects and changes occur at the same time – or are so-called change projects. In such cases, effective management should utilize both scientific fields’ bodies of knowledge (BoK). The purpose of this paper is to unfold how and in which domain(s) typical roles of the two disciplines correspond to each other.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is a systematic, bi-disciplinary meta-review that simultaneously studies relevant literature on roles performed during projects and changes. The common domain of CM and PM was identified; the systematic review and comparison of role definitions followed.

Findings

This paper examines and illustrates the correspondence of 7 CM and 14 PM roles; e.g., “sponsor” refers to the same role and “change agent” and “project manager” are corresponding ones, referring to the same role up to a certain degree.

Research limitations/implications

This paper does not provide an exhaustive overview of various instances of different role (and stakeholder) interpretations.

Practical implications

Findings should facilitate the better management of changes that require CM-type and PM-type capabilities and actions.

Originality/value

As a result of the meta-review, two CM roles were re(de)fined. Linking PM and CM roles provides common ground on which practitioners of both fields can rely. A step-by-step tool for the identification of such cases in practice, when both types of roles should be played and both BoK can be utilized complementarily, was developed.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 30 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 August 2015

Heba El-Sayed and Mayada Abd El-Aziz Youssef

This paper aims to, using the concept of “modes of mediation”, examine how different roles for accountants are “made present” in an Egyptian manufacturing company. The paper…

1055

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to, using the concept of “modes of mediation”, examine how different roles for accountants are “made present” in an Egyptian manufacturing company. The paper introduces the notion of “modes of mediation” as a different perspective for the opposing popular archetypes of accountants: “bean-counter” versus “business partner”. Modes of mediation emphasise the materiality of artefacts, entities and technologies, as well as organisational space and spatial settings.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on a field study in an Egyptian manufacturing company where accountants are engaged as business partners and involved in operations planning and decision-making. The data were collected over a period of four years through participant observation, interviews and ethnographic techniques.

Findings

The paper reveals the relational nature of accountants’ calculative agency and shows how roles of accountants are intimately associated with a web of technologies and artefacts, as well as spatial working arrangements that represent particular “modes of mediation”.

Research limitations/implications

The concept of “modes of mediation”, which is still under-explored in the role change literature, is useful in studying the roles of accountants. It enriches our understanding of the wider involvement of accountants in business decision-making that goes beyond the major drivers of role change and deliberate interventions discussed in the existing literature.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the literature on role change by drawing attention to the way in which different modes of mediation, involving certain material and spatial arrangements, enact different forms of calculative agency. Minor alteration to these arrangements can result in a wider involvement of accountants in business decision-making.

Details

Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, vol. 12 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1176-6093

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2003

Jonathan Morris and Mike Reed

Presents 31 abstracts, edited by Johanthan Morris and Mike Reed, from the 2003 Employment Research Unit Annual Conference, held at Cardiff Business School in September 2003. The…

1913

Abstract

Presents 31 abstracts, edited by Johanthan Morris and Mike Reed, from the 2003 Employment Research Unit Annual Conference, held at Cardiff Business School in September 2003. The conference theme was “The end of management? managerial pasts, presents and futures”. Contributions covered, for example, the changing HR role, managing Kaizen, contradiction in organizational life, organizational archetypes, changing managerial work and gendering first‐time management roles. Case examples come from areas such as Mexico, South Africa, Australia, the USA, Canada and Turkey.

Details

Management Research News, vol. 26 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0140-9174

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 June 2014

Ayesha Farooq and Ashraf K. Kayani

The purpose of this paper is to observed the gender roles and changes in decision-making structure in a village of the Punjab, Pakistan. Spatial mobility of young females by time…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to observed the gender roles and changes in decision-making structure in a village of the Punjab, Pakistan. Spatial mobility of young females by time periods and responsibility regarding supervision of young boys and girls are also included. Decision making regarding education, family disputes, property and domestic purchases are described from 1960 through 2008.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample survey was conducted in the village. Systematic sampling technique is used for the selection of the respondents of age 55+ years. An interview schedule was developed as a tool for data collection. The results are based on descriptive and decade wise analyses.

Findings

Results show traditional gender roles, particularly of women are changing since 1980s, mainly due to education that has partially influenced their autonomy. Positive change in attitudes toward daughters is observed to have appeared in the recent past. Fading away of role of grandparents in decision making is evident from the data. To an extent, it has replaced the autonomy of parents and grownup children.

Originality/value

This study is an original research which is significant to develop the understanding of the changing gender roles in the rural community of the Punjab, Pakistan. Furthermore, public policies might be designed to encourage or discourage the change in a structured manner.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 34 no. 5/6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 June 2019

Christina Öberg and Tawfiq Shams

With the overarching idea of disruptive technology and its effects on business, this paper focuses on how companies strategically consider meeting the challenge of a disruptive…

Abstract

Purpose

With the overarching idea of disruptive technology and its effects on business, this paper focuses on how companies strategically consider meeting the challenge of a disruptive technology such as additive manufacturing. The purpose of this paper is to describe and discuss changes in positions and roles related to the implementation of a disruptive technology.

Design/methodology/approach

Additive manufacturing could be expected to have different consequences for parties based on their current supply chain positions. The paper therefore investigates companies’ strategies related to various supply chain positions and does so by departing from a position and role point of view. Three business cases related to metal 3D printing - illustrating sub-suppliers, manufacturers and logistics firms - describe as many strategies. Data for the cases were collected through meetings, interviews, seminars and secondary data focusing on both current business activities related to additive manufacturing and scenarios for the future.

Findings

The companies attempted to defend their current positions, leading to new roles for them. This disconnects the change of roles from that of positions. The changed roles indicate that all parties, regardless of supply chain positions, would move into competing producing roles, thereby indicating how a disruptive technology may disrupt network structures based on companies’ attempts to defend their positions.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to previous research by reporting a disconnect between positions and roles among firms when disruption takes place. The paper further denotes how the investigated firms largely disregarded network consequences at the disruptive stage, caused by the introduction of additive manufacturing. The paper also contributes to research on additive manufacturing by including a business dimension and linking this to positions and roles.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 34 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 10 August 2018

Danielle A. Tucker and Stefano Cirella

In the context of organizational change, identifying, and organizing the various roles of change agents remains a challenge for practitioners and scholars alike. This chapter…

Abstract

In the context of organizational change, identifying, and organizing the various roles of change agents remains a challenge for practitioners and scholars alike. This chapter examines how different agents can enable an effective change process. Empirical evidence from three hospitals illustrates the process of transformation and its underlying arrangements to identify agents and their roles. The findings underline the importance of designing a coherent system of agents, determining where they come from, their role during the process, and how this may change throughout the change process. Managerial choices in the cases are discussed, leading to implications for theory and practice.

Details

Research in Organizational Change and Development
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-351-3

Keywords

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