MULTIPLICITY OF PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS

由厦门大学会计发展研究中心提供的第五届会计与财务问题国际研讨会——当代管理会计新发展论文集中的第二部分：战略管理会计与平衡记分卡1In modern organizations there is a strong emphasis on managing by numbers, as part of an approach to management that emphasizes ‘facts’ and evidence, particularly quantified facts (Locke 1996; Porter 1995; Rose 1991, Chua, 1996). This emphasis on facts, numbers and quantification is pervasive, and leads to what has been refered to as ‘a numerical view of work and management’ (Martinez Lucio & MacKenzie, 2004). The implications for accounting of managing by numbers have been most clearly articulated by Bob Kaplan. Among his many works, Kaplan (1983) stressed the importance of accounting collecting facts about manufacturing operations, Johnson and Kaplan (1987) and Cooper and Kaplan (1996) called for changes in cost systems to make cost information more meaningful and factual, and, most recently, Kaplan and Norton (1996, 2001, 2004) articulated the Balanced Scorecard to facilitate quantified, fact based, strategic management

Financial Development, Structure and Growth : New Data, Method and Results

The existing weight of evidence suggests that financial structure (the classification of a financial system as bank-based versus market-based) is irrelevant for economic growth. This contradicts the common belief that the institutional structure of a financial system matters. We re-examine this issue using a novel dataset covering 69 countries over 1989-2011 in a Bayesian framework. Our results are conformable to the belief - a market-based system is relevant - with sizable economic effects for the high-income but not for the middle-and-low-income countries. Our findings provide a counterexample to the weight of evidence. We also identify a regime shift in 2008.JEL Classification Codes: G0, O4, O16http://www.grips.ac.jp/list/jp/facultyinfo/leon_gonzalez_roberto

Inward investment, employment and government policies in Wales

This empirical paper examines the links between multinational enterprises’ countries of origin, types of inbound foreign direct investment (IFDI), related capital investment levels and the resultant effects on regional employment in Wales, a peripheral region of the UK. Longitudinal, official data are used to examine the relationships between these variables, making use of statistical techniques. The findings are used to make recommendations for inward investment policy development in Wales, focusing on the targeting of IFDI from those countries of origin whose multinational enterprises appear likely to contribute most to the future creation and safeguarding of regional employment

Strategy and Service Improvement in Local Government, 2002-2003

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.A large literature suggests that strategic management makes a difference to the performance of firms in the private sector. Little attention has been devoted, by contrast, to the impact of organisational strategies in the public sector, despite the recent concern by policy makers and academics to identify potential sources of public service improvement. This research project aimed to develop and apply strategic management models to public organisations, and to test empirically whether strategy content and processes have significant effects on performance. The objectives stated in the original application were to:apply strategic management theory to the processes and performance of local authoritiesexplain different strategic approaches to 'Best Value' performance assessment in Welsh local governmentcreate datasets on the strategy processes and performance of local authoritiesprovide the first empirical evidence on the impact of strategic management on performance in the public sector develop new strategy models that are relevant to public organisationsAll but one of these objectives were achieved; the second objective became impossible to pursue when 'Best Value' was abolished in Wales in 2002. This in fact illustrates one of the main themes of the research; the significance of the external environment for strategy and performance in the public sector. In addition to the four remaining objectives, four extra aims have also been achieved:an exploration of the effects of strategy content as well as strategy processesan analysis of the impact of the socio-economic and regulatory context on local service performancean evaluation of the relationship between strategy and performance in not only Welsh but also English local authoritiesan examination of the effects of not only strategy formulation but also strategy implementation on service performanceFurther information about the project may be found on the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Strategy and Performance in Local Government grant award web page.Main Topics:The data comprise responses to two questionnaires on strategy formulation and strategy implementation, which were distributed to local government service providers in Wales. The questionnaires covered: strategy-making; content of existing strategies; autonomy of services; peformance of and factors affecting the service; implementing strategies; socio-economic, internal and external political and financial contexts affecting the service. Alongside the questionnaire responses are a number of variables covering education provision and standards, local government services, crime, road safety, electoral data, population distribution and other socio-economic indicators, compiled from secondary data sources (see Data Sources section below).<br

Auditors and Auditing in the United States of America since the 1920s

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The driving force behind this project was the perceived problems of the company audit following the collapse of Enron and WorldCom, together with their auditors, Arthur Andersen. The problems with the audit include the so called ‘expectations gap’ between what the public believe the audit is for – mainly to uncover fraud - and what the accountants claim to deliver, together with the commercial pressures on the independence of auditors. The project set out to generate data via questionnaires and interviews with American accountants which would throw light on these issues. The results identify and quantify changes in for example: the social and educational background and training of American CPAs; their audit techniques; their opinions as to the purpose of the audit; their relationships with their clients; their attitudes to and explanations for the recent scandals, and to the regulatory regime in the US. The data will also allow comparisons with British accountants based on similar previous research.Main Topics:The questionnaire programme used the commercial internet survey – Zoomerang. 14,000 AICPA members selected at random were e-mailed, 805 responses to the 87 questions were received (including from accountants born pre-first world war) and entered on a spreadsheet. The 29 interviews conducted include both the leaders and the rank and file of the American profession past and present: those who worked in practice and those in industry; also the current and all previous chairmen of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, and some leading lights on the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and the International Accounting Standards Board; the present chairman of the AICPA, and the CEOs of the Big 4 accounting firms. The data collected by the project, is both statistical (based on box ticking in the questionnaire) and qualitative (based on written replies to the questionnaire and the transcribed interviews) in nature, and represents a rich primary source which throws light historically and at the present time on a profession which continues in the public spotlight

Trade Unions and the Representation of Non-Standard Workers, 2001-2002

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The project examined trade union representation of workers with non-standard contracts; i.e. part-timers, workers with fixed-term contracts and freelance workers. The purpose of the study was to identify the extent to which unions have developed policy on behalf of these groups and seek to recruit them and provide representation services. It also aimed to identify the correlates of union action. To secure these objectives, two questionnaire surveys were completed, the results of which are included in the dataset. The first survey was conducted in 2001 and was directed at all trade unions in Britain with more than 3,000 members. The second survey was conducted in 2002 and was sent to all paid union officers, employed by 19 UK unions. A total of 1,600 questionnaires were distributed. While the prime purpose of the surveys was to examine union representation of non-standard workers, a condition of access was that additional questions should be included on union recruitment and organising, attempts to secure recognition from employers, and on the extent of collective bargaining on equal pay and work-life balance. The content of the dataset is therefore quite broad and may be of use to researchers investigating a range of trade union activities.Main Topics:Officer survey: union details, recruitment, representation and bargaining, tribunals and committees, campaigning, occuaptional and industrial classifications, demographic details, union participation and workers covered, industrial action, employment conditions and union aid, employment law, union policy and diversity. Union survey: membership and budgets, policy areas, coverage and targets, training, recruitment, diversity and worker support