PhD course Perspectives on Management Accounting and Control - spring 2017
Perspectives on Management Accounting and Management Control
Perspectives on Management Accounting and Management Control
Course information
Course information
Course code: BMAC6020
Course name: Perspectives on Management Accounting and Management Control
PhD students are invited to attend the course ”Researching management accounting control & change – qualitative approaches” equivalent to 7.5 ECTS points. The course is organized by Trondheim Business School in co-operation with Copenhagen Business School and the Business School at Hedmark and Lillehammer University College, Norway.
To introduce to the various strands of accounting research that applies qualitative approaches, like case studies and ethnographies to study the role of accounting to management control, to strategy and organizational change and innovation processes using a variety of theoretical approaches, like behavioral accounting, organizational culture and politics, symbolic interactionism, New Institutionalism, governmentality and Actor-Network Theory.
Knowledge
After the course, students will have
- Knowledge of the most seminal qualitative approaches in accounting research
- Means to distinguish between various theoretical approaches to qualitative work
- Demonstrate a knowledge of, and distinguish between, the different MA/MC research methodologies, with particular emphasis on qualitative research
- Knowledge about the development of the research field and research frontier
Skills
After the course, students will have skills to
- Critically assess and discuss the different qualitative approaches and their theories
- Detect underlying theoretical assumptions of the presented theories
- Relate own research to a qualitative approach and presented theories
- Place research questions in their broad context(s) by review of the relevant literature
- Make oral presentations and participate in debates concerning MA/MC problems Competence
After the course, students will be able to
- Position their own research to the accounting literature
- Communicate and debate their own research findings both in writing and by oral discussions.
- Communicate, discuss and be critical to accounting change research
Behavioral accounting, which marks the beginning of qualitative approaches in accounting research, is introduced through the seminal paper by Burchell, Clubb, Hopwood, Hughes and Nahapiet (1980). This ‘alternative’ approach draws attention to the ambiguous and complex roles accounting can play in the hands of organizational decision-makers. It applies a processual and contextual approach to accounting, for example by considering the often conflictual and unexpected actions and decisions that are actually going on in a budgeting process.
By contrast, the other main strand of behavioral accounting adopts a contingency approach, which is concerned with designing management accounting controls to fit situational contingencies, for example the design of key performance indicators to ensure motivation and appropriate behavior among organizational members. In the contingency approach human behavior is assumed to be predictable. The focus is on how to study and improve motivational effects of accounting. It introduces to key concepts like strategy types and leadership styles in accounting evaluation, budget participation and some of the dysfunctionalities of accounting. It applies a static approach to management controls, for example by considering the budget within a ‘package’ of controls.
New-Institutional theory has been widely adopted in accounting research and uses key concepts like homogenization, decoupling, window dressing, institutions, etc. The theory has been used to show how accounting practices may be decoupled from their programmatic ideals of rationalism.
Cultural approaches in accounting research seek to show how accounting is culture and creates culture within organizations. It draws upon anthropology to help us study accounting cultures within organizations and how culture can be linked to politics. It frequently shows how accounting practices can meet resistance in organizations with strong (professional) cultures.
Symbolic interactionism is not that common in accounting research, but has recently gained renewed interest especially in terms of the work by Erving Goffman. It portrays everyday life interactions between people as role playing, like between a CEO and a CFO. It uses notions like impression management, performance, backstage/frontstage, etc. to help study ‘strips of interaction’, i.e. organizational processes like when a CFO and a CEO call to press conference presenting the annual report.
Governmentality is a theoretical approach that developed in the late 1980s based on the French sociologist Michel Foucault. It is basically used to show how various accounting programs can disseminate in or across countries to improve management and effectiveness of organizations. Key concepts would be program, problematization and identity to show how programs can develop or change accounting practices and the people involved with them.
Actor-Network-Theory is a more recent theory and methodological approach used widely in accounting research to increase our understanding of the dynamics of accounting change and innovation. Frequently accounting practices turn out very different from many of the ideals and may end up in technological controversies. ANT invites the student of management accounting controls to ‘unpack’ the ‘package’ and take a closer look inside the black box.
The course consists of 3 interrelated workshops, which will comprise formal presentations by faculty members, discussions and presentations also by students.
There will be introductory lecturers just as participants will be assigned the task of presenting and discussing the various papers in the course. There will also be trouble shooting sessions to relate presented theories to own PhD-projects.
There will be some mandatory pre-readings before each workshop commences (students will be sent these readings two-three weeks prior to each event). Active participation throughout all the workshops’ proceedings is expected. Full attendance to the workshops is required.
The reading list will be presented to the participants upon registration.
Every student has to write a summary (short paper) that addresses their own research and present this in plenary to the faculty and fellow students.
Pass/Fail: The grading for this course will be judged by the faculty members on a pass/fail basis. Students will be assessed on a combination of their paper, their presentation and their overall workshop participation.
Upon passing the course certificates 7.5 ETCS. Approximately 36 hours teaching/lectures and approx. 40-50 hours for the paper works, and further approx. 100-130 hours reading and understanding the course literature.
In the final paper (approximately max 7.000 words) each student should relate their research work to the course contents. This can be done either in terms of conducting a literature review of the course literature based on a relevant research problem or related to the participant’s PhD study itself, or be an application (or sketch) of theories taught in the course to the empirics gathered for the participant’s own study.
The requirements of this individual papers will be formalized at the end of the course.
The paper will be evaluated by the faculty and each student will receive written comments to their work.
PROGRAMME –(may be revised up until the course commences)
1st. assembly, NTNU Business School
Day 1
09.30 - 10.30 - Welcome and introduction
10.30 - 11.30 - Studying accounting change from a social science perspective
11.30 - 12.30 - Lectures, presentations and discussions
12.00 - 13.15 - Lunch
13.15 - 14.30 - Contingency Theory and Behavioural Accounting
14.30 - 15.00 - Lectures, presentations and discussions
15.00 - 16.00 - Small exercises
16.00 - 16.30 - Trouble shoorting in relation to PhD work
Evening - Dinner
Day 2:
09.30 - 10.15 New Institutional Approaches to Accounting Change
10.15 - 11.30 - Lectures, presentations and discussions
11.00 - 12.00 - Trouble shooting in relation to PhD work
12.30 - 13.15 - Lunch
13.15 - 14.15 - Culture, Politics and Governmentality
14.30 - 16.00 - Lectures, presenatations and discussions
16.00 - 16.30 - Trouble shooting in relation to PhD work.
2nd Assembly, Campus Rena / Søndre Løsset Gård
Day 3
09.30 - 10.00 - Culture, Politicts and Governmentality (Cont.) - Implications, applications in PhD projects
10.00 - 12.00 - Symbolic Interactionism, case work
12.00 - 13.15 - Lunch
13.15 - 16.30 - Introduction to Actor-Network Theory, Lectures, presentations and discussions
Day 4
09.30 - 11.30 - Actor Network Theory (cont.)
11.30 - 13.00 - Trouble shooting in relation to PhD Work
Day 5
09.30 - 12.30 - Welcome bach, Group work, presentations and discussions; Lecture
11.30 - 16.30 - Presentations of paper work (preliminary considerations on the paper to be handed in).
3rd Assembly, Copenhagen Business School
Day 6
09.30 - 12.30 - Lectures, presentations and discussions
13.30 - 16.30 - Presentation of paper work
Day 7
09.00 - 11.00 - Presentations of paper work
11.00 - 13.00 - Reflections, feedback and closing of event
The course is conducted in English.
The course meetings are scheduled during spring and early autumn 2017
NB The dates may be changed somewhat upon the second announcement and registration deadline (to be announced later)
First meeting: February 14-15, 2017 in Trondheim.
Second meeting: May 31- June 2, 2017 in Rena.
Third meeting: September 13-15, 2017 in Copenhagen.
Faculty
Professor Inger Johanne Pettersen, Trondheim Business School
Professor Kjell Tryggestad, Business School at the university colleges of Hedmark and Lillehammer and Copenhagen Business School.
Professor Peter Skærbæk, Copenhagen Business School and Trondheim Business School
Invited guest speakers will be announced
Registration
Registration
Please send the registration form to Professor Inger Johanne Pettersen: inger.j.pettersen@ntnu.no
Deadline for registration: 15 January 2016