Judy Oliver

Continuous improvement: role of organisational learning mechanisms

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to explore the use of the performance measurement system as an organizational learning mechanism to support continuous improvement.Design/methodology/approach – The paper reports the results of a survey of Australian organizations certified to quality standard ISO 9000.Findings – For those respondents who consider their organizations quality program to be successful, the findings indicate that such organizations have embedded quality into the culture of the organization, and have developed performance measurement systems as an organizational learning mechanism to support the continuous improvement initiatives.Practical implications – The paper highlights the need for management to ensure that the organizations management control systems are structured to support continuous improvement initiatives.Originality/value – The paper explores the links between continuous improvement and organizational learning.

Conceptualising integrated thinking in practice

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to offer theoretical and practical insights on the ways in which integrated thinking is observed in practice. Integrated thinking is linked to integrated reporting, and described as an attribute or capacity for senior management to constructively manage tensions between the multiple capitals (manufactured, intellectual, human, natural, social and relationship as well as financial capital) in strategy, resource allocation, performance measurement and control. Design/methodology/approach - – A theoretical framework is developed from the accounting and systems thinking literature, linking integrated thinking to sustainability. Soft versus hard integrated thinking approaches are applied to contrast the siloed management of sustainability with a model that focuses on relationships and broader indicators of societal health and well-being. Practical illustrations of the conceptualised framework are presented for discussion and for further empirical research. Findings - – The illustrative examples offer a diversity of corporate, government and not-for-profit viewpoints, providing evidence of both hard and soft integrated thinking in practice. Valuable insights are provided into innovative approaches that foster and make explicit the soft integrated thinking skills and map them to broader societal outcomes. Research limitations/implications - – Potential problems can arise if hard integrated thinking dominates over the soft, and data required for internal management accounting purposes become narrow, linear and segregated. Routines and practices will then be based on quasi-standards, further concealing the soft integrated thinking that might be occurring within the organisation. Originality/value - – With theoretical roots in systems thinking, this paper contributes to the relatively underexplored area of integrated thinking in accounting for sustainability.

Thai public universities: modernisation of accounting practices

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the transition of the accounting systems from cash based to accrual based, in Thai public universities. The focus is on the factors both influencing and affecting the accounting change.Design/methodology/approach – This study takes a quantitative approach with data collected through a mail survey to the Chief Financial Officer of each of the 78 Thai public universities. Statistical analysis included both descriptive analysis and ANOVA to analyse differences between universities.Findings – The main catalysts for change have come from both external and internal sources. The Thai government requires public agencies to adapt their accounting practices in line with New Public Management (NPM) and university management need improved information for planning and control purposes. The most important change has been to the financial accounting system with the adoption of computerised accrual accounting practices. The major factor influencing the change process ...

What do you mean: no class every week?

Albie Brooks; E-mail: albie.brooks@vu.edu.au

Management accounting and biodiversity: the cultural circuit of capitalism and the social construction of a perfect market?

In this chapter, we draw on recent case study insights to illustrate, through biodiversity market participants, the ways in which theories in management accounting affect practice. In particular, we build on Thrifts (2005) cultural circuit of capitalism to investigate the influence of full cost accounting (FCA) on practice. While economic models, such as FCA, provide some guidance toward managing the biodiversity crisis, a long history of literature documenting research-practice gaps in management accounting suggest otherwise. With management decisions guided by the larger social context in which they operate, the extent to which normative techniques are operationalized in practice can vary considerably. In this chapter, the influential network of producers and consumers of managerial knowledge is mapped to better understand the construction of the “theoretical enterprise” and the organizational processes to address inconsistencies in the market.