Richard M. S. Wilson

Modelling Market Orientation: An Application in the Education Sector

This paper defines market orientation following a critique of existing literature. It then operationalises this definition via a model containing three behavioural elements (customer orientation, employee orientation, and organisational co-ordination) linked to a long term survival requirement. The model is tested in the context of the development of market orientation in the further education sector (in which professional - rather than commercial - values have tended to dominate). This sector is characterised by dynamic change in both its social/demographic and economic circumstances as well as the impact of government policy initiatives - especially the Education Reform Act of 1988 and Local Management of Colleges. The empirical focus of the paper is on three large FE Colleges in the English Midlands. It provides evidence to support the operationalisation of the definition of market orientation in the context of the management of change.

An exploration of the learning approaches of prospective professional accountants in Ireland

Abstract In light of the ongoing accounting education change debate, it is surprising that few prior studies have explored student learning issues within professional accounting education. This paper investigates the learning approaches of students preparing for the qualifying examination of a professional accountancy body in Ireland. The findings reveal that strategic learning approaches dominated, as students engaged in learning activities which they considered were most likely to lead to examination success. Variations between the learning approaches based on gender are also considered and the approaches of students who were ultimately successful at the examination were compared to those who failed.

Studies on Information as an Asset I: Definitions

This paper describes the development of a definition information assets within the information science accounting field. Information assets are included those assets which promise future economic benefits organizations. The desirability of achieving a valuation for information assets is questioned. A of information as an asset is proposed and situated the information resources management (IRM) and asset tradition.

Studies on Information as an Asset III: Views of Information Professionals

This paper reports findings from a small number of interviews (six) with internationally-active information professionals and academics using a semi-structured interview instrument. The value of information, its identification, use and impact are discussed. Seven themes were explored within the broad context of the role of information assets in enhancing organizational effectiveness. These themes were: value of information and its measurement; impact of the concepts of knowledge management and intellectual capital; acquisition and use of information and the embedding of good practice; relevance of these questions to other industry sectors; identification of attributes of information assets; information assets and organizational effectiveness; and the impact of identification and measurement of information assets on the perceptions of senior managers. The major conclusion was that studies in this field should take a very broad view of information assets and should not be restricted to valuation in financial terms.

THE ATTRIBUTES OF INFORMATION AS AN ASSET

This paper reports first stage findings from an ongoing three‐year research project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB). The research is being conducted jointly by the Department of Information Science and The Business School at Loughborough University. Information assets of organisations are identified and attributes of information assets from the information science literature are discussed. Finally, future research plans for practical testing of attributes of information assets using case studies are briefly outlined.

Alignment in Accounting Education and Training

In the early years of my career I worked as an accounting practitioner and, for most of my career, I have worked as an accounting educator. Since 1974, I have been actively involved in educational policy-making within the accounting profession and in academe (both nationally and internationally). As the founding editor (1991) of Accounting Education: an international journal (which, in 2005, became the official education journal of the International Association for Accounting Education & Research) I have a reasonably well-developed awareness of work undertaken in this field. This essay expresses some concerns I have had throughout my career as an accounting practitioner, consultant, educator, researcher and policy-maker.

Valuation of information assets on the balance sheet The recognition and approaches to the valuation of intangible assets

The perspective taken in this article reflects two particular angles: it adopts an international focus rather than a UK focus — especially with regard to regulatory issues influencing the inclusion of information assets in financial reports; and it recognizes that there are reasons other than meeting statutory/ regulatory requirements which support the recognition (if not always the valuation) of information assets in the management of organizations — commercial and otherwise. The article proceeds by considering the recognition and approaches to the valuation of intangible assets in general, following which it homes in on information assets as a particular category of intangible assets, and concludes with a discussion of the attributes of information that give rise to its value as an asset.

The marketing / accounting synergy: a final word but certainly not the last word

In this closing essay we take the opportunity to briefly recount our understanding of the history of work at the marketing/accounting interface, and equally briefly to review its current state as evidenced by the various contributions to this collection. While agreeing the importance of focusing increased attention on the customer, the accounting perspective that promises to be of greatest utility in this process is that of managerial accounting. The prospects for any breakthrough via the continued employment of a predominantly financial accounting and reporting emphasis are argued to be limited, whilst the current vogue for its near neighbour, a finance emphasis, seems to us to be in fundamental contradiction of what characterises customers.

Introduction: A Continuing Discussion on Journal Quality Rankings and their Likely Impact on Accounting Education Scholarship in the UK

In a setting in which resources are scarce and competition to secure an adequate slice of those resources is intense, it is likely that those who compete will take a serious interest in the rules of the game. One of the key issues will invariably be the ranking of contenders; hence the criteria by which competing projects, activities or individuals are ranked will be of particular interest. If we locate the generalized points made in the paragraph above in the context of education, it is evident that there is considerable competition for scarce resources—whether between sectors, between institutions, between disciplines, between branches of a given discipline, or between individual scholars. To be even more specific, within the UK university sector there is serious competition for resources and this has been played out between 1992 and 2008 through Research Assessment Exercises which, from 2014, are to be replaced by a Research Excellence Framework. This process requires that the published research outputs of staff employed in the UK’s public universities is assessed, and a key component of the assessment process involves journal quality rankings. It follows that, if the publishing outlets (i.e. research journals) in particular branches of a discipline are rated lowly, that branch of the discipline in question will not receive a high level of funding. And it follows from this that those scholars who have been active researchers in branches of the discipline in which the specialist journals are rated lowly are likely to be disadvantaged not only in terms of resourcing, but also in terms of career development opportunities and the pursuit of their favoured research themes (i.e. the exercise of academic freedom). This is the reality facing accounting education as a specialised branch of accounting scholarship in the UK, and those who are actively engaged in accounting education scholarship in this country. An influential source used for resource allocation and reward purposes in the UK’s business schools is the Association of Business Schools’ Journal Quality Guide, and the use of this listing affects accounting education in a predictable way. Accounting Education: an international journal is hosting a Discussion on this nontrivial matter. In this issue there are three articles which contribute to this Discussion: Accounting Education: an international journal Vol. 20, No. 6, 543–544, December 2011

The marketing / accounting interface

Given: one marketing manager and one accounting manager. Finding: poor communication on financial criteria and goals.