Critical Deconstruction of Literature
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Organisational Analysis Assignment 1
Organisational Analysis Assignment 1
Given Paper 1: Tata and Prasad (2015) National cultural values, sustainability beliefs, and organizational initiative
Question In your lectures, four rationales for organisational analysis are described. 1 Critically discuss the argument presented by the author(s).
The topic that is discussed by authors Tata and Prasad in this article relate to issues surrounding the sustainability of an organisation. The very first perspective that is written is how sustainability is context specific; in that people care more about sustainability if they experience it on a personal level. The article then moves on to argue that personal traits and cultural values impact how an individual observes and forms an opinion on sustainability. This is looked at using a model which attempts to show how cultural values “influence the sustainability initiatives implemented by organizations.” (Tata & Prasad 2015, p.278) This is shown by presenting a model that utilizes 5 dimensions of cultural measurement to measure cultural attitudes and perceptions on sustainability within an organization and improve this aspect.
2 What is the method -‐ how do the author(s) convince their readers? The authors convince readers in a variety of ways throughout the article. They first outline the current state of sustainability in organisations and that the outlook they have as one that needs to change for the sake of future generations. The main type of data collected is qualitative as the writers use comparisons between countries to pinpoint what they are not looking at national culture which they believe is fundamental for sustainability in an organisation. To further convince readers that their model is unique and worth considering, the authors criticize other researchers of not looking at national cultures and if they did it had too many inconsistencies. These comparisons ultimately strengthen the validity of the model which is evidence of the authors projecting realism; that their model is one of objective truth. The conclusions to their model and findings is by offering suggestions of further areas of research and that their work could prove useful for managers and other researchers to have a deeper understanding on sustainability in organisations. A possible criticism of this conclusion arises in its lack of a functionalist perspective that the model has not been proven yet if it is effective in improving or changing an organisations outlook on sustainability.
3 Drawing on your answers from analysing Q (1) and (2), critically analyse and match your analysis to the rational given in Lecture 1 for Organisational Analysis Due to the qualitative nature of the model the writers possess a rationale that best characterises the article as that of subjective interpretation that want to define and govern organisations. This is exhibited by the elaboration of various cultural dimensions and how they influence beliefs and perceptions of sustainability. It directly relates to the rationale wanting to rewire or change the viewpoint of the constructors which in this case are organisations.
Organisational Analysis Assignment 1
Given Paper 2: Powel and Osborne (2015) Can Marketing Contribute to Sustainable Social Enterprise
Question In your lectures, four rationales for organisational analysis are described. 1 Critically discuss the argument presented by the author(s).
The context of Powel and Osborne’s research is about marketing being an effective tool in producing satisfactory sustainability practices in social enterprises. This was communicated initially through the expression of new ideas, questioning the impact of marketing and outlining alternative approaches for social enterprises to achieve sustainability objectives. Other types of methodology to convey the notion of the paper was by using a case study strategy and a conceptual model to elaborate the topic. The case study strategy operated by using four cases that were classified by age and consisted of semi-‐structured interviews from the chief executive officer of social enterprises. These four cases were used to explore themes that were common between each case to fundamentally explain if there was a correlation between marketing and sustainability. The conceptual model presented in the paper suggested that a relationship marketing approach be implemented into management to show that marketing is part of three step progression for eventually capturing sustainability. From the narrative the ontological position of the paper can be identified as being nominalism due to the expression of new and untested ideas which are merely theoretical and not real truths that will function with complete reassurance.
2 What is the method -‐ how do the author(s) convince their readers?
Evidence was gathered through an emic stratagem which “investigates how local people think” (Kottak 2006 p. 47) that is internal to an organisation it is a more personal expression of information compared to the etic approach. Since the interviewing of social enterprise Chief executive officers is an internal source of an organisation it is classified as emic. The information gathered from the interviews can only be analysed qualitative because it requires a more personal understanding of an individual’s motives and values. Unlike quantitative analysis there are no “universally applicable techniques that can be applied to generate findings,” (Referencing Method 2019, para 17.) it requires critical thinking with which the authors have used by the peroration of their research. The conclusion is exhibited as “indicative rather than definitive,” (Powell & Osborne 2015 p.38) the data gathered from the four interviews are not true of all organisations it is far too small of a sample space and they take note of this as an area of further research of whether the findings transcend between cultures.
3 Drawing on your answers from analysing Q (1) and (2), critically analyse and match
your analysis to the rational given in Lecture 1 for Organisational Analysis The type of thinking used in this paper is to give a glimpse into possible alternative approaches to how businesses should tackle a situation. This can be reasoned by the auxiliary decisions that are given by Powel and Osborne such as the importance of building and maintaining long term partnerships between business and relationships between customers for the prosperity of social enterprises.
Given Paper 3: Cho, C., Laine, M., Roberts, R. and Rodrigue, M. (2019). Organized hypocrisy, organizational façades, and sustainability reporting.
Question In your lectures, four rationales for organisational analysis are described.
Organisational Analysis Assignment 1
1 Critically discuss the argument presented by the author(s).
1. The paper was written on the premise that currently in corporation sustainability reporting is not as impactful as it should be in changing the way organisations act towards social and environmental issues as they do not disclose everything to stakeholders. The authors believe “legitimacy or reputational threats tend to drive sustainability reporting decisions” (Cho, C et al. p. 79). This suggests that the ontological position favoured by the writers is that of realism, that objective truths are important for sustainability reporting as it creates real change in corporations. It is superseded by the fact that hypocrisy and facades limit the “prospects that sustainability reports will ever evolve.” (Cho, C et al. 2019 p. 78) The authors do not present a framework but does refer to Brunsson’s model of organized hypocrisy and research on organizational façades to demonstrate their importance in governing credibility of an organisation and it is a direct cause of conflict between the interests of stakeholders. They urge for reporting to be through a “nuanced theoretical lens” to ultimately portray corporations with integrity.
2 What is the method -‐ how do the author(s) convince their readers?
The data that the research is dependent on are the examples of poor sustainability reporting from large natural resource corporations. As mentioned earlier the work of other researchers is used. The data is collected qualitatively, and it is possessing a realist ontology. The various authors of this paper seek for corporations to reveal the truth they explicitly state that the natural resource corporations were analysed qualitatively. An example of this analysis was when looking for similarity between corporations when observing their activities for each organisational façade. The conclusions of their research are presented in a nominalist way as both sides of the argument are discussed with the view that “organizational hypocrisy and facades can be beneficial for the broader society” while on the other hand it develops social distrust and being truthful could be more beneficial. The writer’s conclusions and the premise of their research can be challenged, and this is written when they say that the “tricky issue here is whether the motive behind hypocrisy is to conceal an unpleasant truth or to reduce the difference between current and aspirational reality.” Not always is telling the whole truth the best course of action as it can create more problems or jeopardise an organisation.
3 Drawing on your answers from analysing Q (1) and (2), critically analyse and match
your analysis to the rational given in Lecture 1 for Organisational Analysis In terms of the rational that best describes the research by Herscheim and Klein is that of opening up alternative interpretations and possibilities of organisations and events surrounding organisations. To uncover multiple narratives of organisational ‘realities.’
Organisational Analysis Assignment 1
Given Paper 4: Atkins Thomson and Maroun (2015) Good News from nowhere imagining utopian sustainable accounting
Question In your lectures, four rationales for organisational analysis are described. 1 Critically discuss the argument presented by the author(s).
The narrative of this piece is that the only way to change accountability and sustainability reporting is to first create a sustainable world. The writers attempt to convey this using a “fourfold” method of an auto-‐ethnographic approach, a contextual dialogue on different types of accounting individuals, Morris’ utopian metaphor and stakeholder accountability events through a fictional dystopian recount. The authors believe that “current efforts at integrated reporting are unlikely to change how large companies do business in order to judge the risk of climate change in the short term.” (Thomson & Maroun 2015 p. 651) The ontological view that the authors present is nominalism as the research rejects or even mention universal truths and attempts to outline its own independent and optimistic resolution in the form of a utopia regarding social and environmental factors. The intent of the research is to give consultation to businesses that would essentially transfigure current business practices and reporting methods to have greater benevolence to society and the environment
2 What is the method -‐ how do the author(s) convince their readers? The type of research presented possesses an etic approach because it refers to other research and findings from external sources to analyse a business’ sustainability such as UN reports on climate change. The evidence which the research is dependent upon is financial and accounting discourse. The data is collected both quantitatively this is evident when looking at climate change in the UN report where for example, “40 percent increase [in air pollution] that can be attributed to relatively short period of human history.” The information that has been collected by researchers is analysed with philosophical inquiry lens of socio-‐ economics as the contention suggests that problems can be solved by looking at micromanagement of resources such as the “monetisation of the costs of climate change.” The findings from the research are answered by examining the case of a paradigm shift in corporate reporting by using accounting systems that are more detail orientated and argues that it should be more than just the positivist definition of “providing financial information to enable efficient allocation of capital,” but also social and environmental accounting have the same level of fine tuning as financial information to produce “high quality integrated reporting.”
3 Drawing on your answers from analysing Q (1) and (2), critically analyse and match
your analysis to the rational given in Lecture 1 for Organisational Analysis . The epistemology of this research is that of subjective description that tries to interpret organisational workflows through subjective interpretations that ultimately define and govern organisations. This can be explained by the researchers wanting to bring about change within organisations when stating that “accounting can play a role in the reconstitution of organisational agents.” ations to occur.
REFERENCES
Tata, J, Prasad, S 2015, ‘National cultural values, sustainability beliefs, and organizational initiative’, Cross Cultural Management, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 278-‐293.
Organisational Analysis Assignment 1
Powel, M, Osborne, S 2015, ‘Can Marketing Contribute to Sustainable Social Enterprise’, Social Enterprise Journal, vol. 11, no. 1, pp 651-‐666.
Cho, C, Laine, M, Roberts, R and Rodrigue, M 2019, ‘Organized hypocrisy, organizational façades, and sustainability reporting’, Accounting, Organizations and Society, vol. 40, pp. 78-‐94.
Atkins, J, Atkins, B, Thomson, I, Maroun, W 2015, ‘Good News from nowhere imagining utopian sustainable accounting’, Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, vol. 28, no. 5, pp.651-‐670.
Herscheim, R, Klien, H 1989, ‘Four Paradigms of Information Systems Development’, Communications of ACM, vol. 32, no. 10, pp. 1199-‐1214.
Kottak, C 2006, Mirror for Humanity, McGraw-‐Hill, New York.
Research Methodology 2019, Qualitative Data Analysis, viewed 10 April 2019, <https://research-‐ methodology.net/research-‐methods/data-‐analysis/qualitative-‐data-‐analysis/>
Thoughtco 2018, Understand the Philosophical Theories of Nominalism and Realism, viewed 8 April 2019, < https://www.thoughtco.com/nominalism-‐vs-‐realism-‐2670598>
