THE USEFULNESS OF MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS, FUNCTIONAL DIFFERENTIATION AND MANAGERIAL EFFECTIVENESS

~tis study examines the role of broad scope information, made available by management accouming system* (MAS), in enchanging mamgerial performance. It is proposed that differentiation of activities into area such us marketing and production in an organizational response to manage uncertainty. The paper argues that such different of activities moderates the association between the extent to which managers use broad scope MAS information and peffornmnce. A study off 75 managers indicated that the association between the extent of use of broad scope MAS inf0rmmion and performance was strottger for managers of marketing than production activities

Assessing safety culture, values, practices, and outcomes

Department Head: Carole J. Makela.Includes bibliographical references.The purpose of this study was to identify where safety performance improvements can be made, thus establishing a foundation for further study by the company to formulate specific recommendations within the identified areas. The data were analyzed to determine whether five organizational practices and values described herein were predictors of 2009 safety performance. Accordingly, this non-experimental comparative study examined differences in safety culture dimensions between plants that achieved and failed to achieve their 2009 safety goals. The Competing Values Framework (Quinn & Kimberly, 1984) was adapted to assess safety culture strengths and congruencies among plants as an extension of the work of Silva, Lima, and Baptista (Isla Díaz & Díaz Cabrera, 1997, p. 643; 2004, p. 643) and Díaz-Cabrera (2007). Additionally, the underlying values, leadership types, and culture orientations measured through the Questionnaire of Safety Culture Values and Practices were tested for the first time as predictors of accident data. Despite considerable research on safety climate and culture predictors of accidents in organizations (Clarke, 2006), "the practical significance of these factors in the prevention of accidents remains undetermined" (Isla Díaz & Díaz Cabrera, 1997, p.643). The researcher analyzed the combination of the difference and associational research questions. Exploration of the first research question involved analyzing the differences among the plants based on the results of the One-Way ANOVA for the five safety culture values and practices scores. Research question two was subdivided into three questions to clarify the three safety performance indicators (OSHA, LTA, and severity). The results of the independent t-tests compared the safety culture values and practices scores across the plants that achieved and failed to achieve 2009 safety goals for Occupational Safety Health Administration (OSHA) incident rates, Lost Time Away (LTA), and severity. Additionally, the five safety culture values and practices scores were compared across geographic regions for research question three. Finally, regression was run to determine if a combination of the safety culture values and practices scores were predictive of 2009 OSHA, LTA, and severity rates. Research question five was subdivided into three questions regarding differences on the safety culture type. To answer the three research questions, t-tests were conducted to examine differences among the plants' three safety outcomes and the plants' averages for each of the four safety culture types. Neither safety culture type scores nor safety culture values and practices scores were predictors of 2009 OSHA, LTA, or severity rates. The t-test results indicated large effects on a) company values, b) communication, c) and usage of accident information between the four plants that did and did not achieve 2009 LTA and severity goals, despite non-significant results. Differences among the plants were noted and analyzed for trends

Management control systems have evolved to address the need for innovation

Traditional accounting control systems aren't seen as doing the job, argue Robert Chenhall and Frank Moer

The Role of Management Control Systems in Planned Organizational Change: An Analysis of Two Organizations

Accounting, Organizations and Society, 32 (7-8), 2007, 601-637.In the management control literature there is growing interest in the role of management control systems (MCS) in planned organizational change. The existing literature is concerned with either rational, technical change principles or more social and political interpretations of MCS facilitated change. This paper aims to extend the literature by combining technical approaches to MCS facilitated change with a behavioral approach in the study of two similar organizations. Moreover, the paper employs a holistic approach to change to develop a comprehensive understanding of the role of MCS in planned organizational change. A framework by Huy [Huy, Q.N. (2001). Time temporal capacity, and planned change. Academy of Management Review 26(4), 601-623] is used to provide an integrative approach that focuses on both rational, systematic practices and the behavioral processes involved in their implementation. This is achieved by identifying four idealized intervention types: commanding, engineering, teaching and socializing. Understanding the application of these four intervention types requires analysis of the way they interact through times

Alcohol management plans and related alcohol reforms

Abstract Indigenous Justice Clearinghouse Research Brief 16 provides an analysis of Alcohol Management Plans (AMPs); a relatively new instrument joining the extensive range of regulations relating to alcohol supply and consumption. AMPs vary in design and implementation across Australia, and include strategies designed to reduce harms resulting from alcohol misuse. The authors chart the background and development of these instruments in Australia, as well as providing a comparison to international alcohol supply and control reforms. The authors find that evaluations in the public domain are limited. These evaluations appear to indicate that where AMPs are locally driven and owned, there are stronger and more sustainable outcomes. There is a good evidence base for the individual components that make up an AMP. Success has been achieved through alcohol restrictions, and both harm and demand reduction strategies have an evidence base as targeted interventions. The authors conclude that as more AMPs are implemented across Australia, there is a greater need for further research to better understand the process of implementation and how communities can work together with governments to design, implement and evaluate AMPs

Managing identity conflicts in organizations: a case study of one welfare non-profit

How nonprofit organizations manage multiple and conflicting identities is not well understood. In a case study of a nonprofit welfare organization, we use Pratt and Foreman’s (2000) framework of identity management responses to illuminate different ways that nonprofit organizations can seek to manage and potentially resolve identity conflicts. We focus on the actual practices nonprofit organizations use to manage multiple identities and, in particular, reveal the important role of organizational routines and artefacts in facilitating or constraining particular identity management responses

Digital storytelling, image-making and self-representation: Building digital literacy as an ethical response for supporting Aboriginal young peoples’ digital identities

From the early 19th century, Aboriginal culture in southeast Australia was severely disrupted by colonisation, the affects of which continue to reverberate within that community today. Visual material from the colonial period was often used as a means for classifying and labelling Aboriginal people in the southeast, resulting in many images being used to justify the idea of the so-called inevitable decline of Aboriginal people and to reinforce racist stereotypes. In this paper we discuss a digital storytelling workshop with Aboriginal young people from southeast Australia, which sought to develop digital literacy as an ethical imperative that would allow Aboriginal youth to construct visual content that not only challenged the traditional concept of digital storytelling as a linear, first-person, autobiographical narrative, but focused on developing Aboriginal young peoples’ capacity to control digital self-representations, which supported their explorations of their identity and culture. This was considered in terms of an ethical response to the use of visual methods in research with Aboriginal young people, as some images that are produced and consumed in the digital realm may provoke inappropriate and racist responses, a reality among Aboriginal communities, and one potentially aggravated by the rapid transmission of digital images via social network sites

Moving beyond the restrictions : the evaluation of the Alice Springs alcohol management plan

There have been a number of evaluations of alcohol management in the Alice Springs region. Interestingly, an evaluation in 1975 emphasised the need for government and other agencies to view the issues holistically and to address them accordingly. The outcomes of this evaluation point to a similar situation with comparable recommendations. The situation in Alice Springs is unique in some respects but has parallel characteristics to other towns and communities in Australia. Alice Springs is an important regional supply, service-orientated, and tourism town. Its people have diverse backgrounds and appear as durable as the environment they live in. Associated with this is a hard drinking culture that permeates the community with a range of issues regardless of one’s cultural background. The research group found a community that in many ways is ruptured and fragmented when it comes to the ways and means of how such challenges can be confronted. This situation is exemplified by the perception that alcohol problems are confined to a minority of drinkers that seemingly pervades the dialogue surrounding drinking and its effects in the town. Nevertheless, a positive outcome of such discourse is the fact that people do care about their community and are very keen to live in a town where there are more responsible attitudes toward drinking. There is some way to go; the first thing that everyone needs to accept is that it is a community problem. Non-Indigenous and Indigenous individuals, groups and organisations all have a responsibility therefore in addressing the challenges and working toward better solutions. Government have an important role of course, however the acceptance by the community that it is a community problem is paramount. Some of the community and government initiatives are having a positive effect on drinking in the town. However, some of the initiatives, such as certain restrictions, can and should not be considered, on their own, as long-term solutions. Other processes need to be implemented, oversighted and managed in an effective manner. An important component of such processes is data that is well managed, available, and appropriate for those agencies involved