accounting theory (presentation)
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case_study5.pptx
Introduction to Case Study
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1
Structure
Group presentation
during tutorial sessions on 01/12/14 & 02/12/14 and on 08/12/14 & 09/12/14
5%
Individual assignment
to be submitted on 05/01/15
20%
2
Presentation
5-6 slides
5-10 minutes
All group members or nominate one or two group members to present
3
Individual assignment
Deadline: Monday, 5th January 2015
Word limit: 1,500 words (+/- 10%)
Weighting: 20%
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Case study
Identify an organisation facing a crisis or involved in a public controversy (e.g., an accident, a product safety/health hazard, a scandal, an environmental disaster, or a major structural re-organisation, such as privatisation or demutualisation) and investigate how the organisation reacted to it by means of information releases (e.g., press releases, annual report, corporate social responsibility report, etc.).
Use a variety of accounting theories to explain the organisation’s response to the event.
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Aspects to think about
What is a crisis?
Define ‘crisis’ using relevant literature
What kind of crisis is the organisation facing?
Breitsohl (2010):
Scandals (e.g., fraud, bribery, insider trading price fixing)
Accidents (e.g., plane crash, industrial accident)
Product safety and health incidents (e.g., product defects and associated recalls, and production-related pollution)
Who is effected by the crisis?
Customers, shareholders, general public, etc.
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Aspects to think about
How does the organisation respond to the crisis?
Which communication vehicles do they use? (e.g., press releases, annual reports, CEO speech, etc.)
What strategies do they use?
E.g., apology, excuse, blame and fire CEO?
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Identifying a case – How to find it?
Google search with key words
‘scandal’, ‘accident’, ‘incident’
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Assignment requirements
You need to demonstrate the ability to identify a good case
You need to demonstrate your understanding of the accounting theory(ies) you choose to explain the corporate responses made following the accident/incident/scandal
You need to demonstrate the ability to analyse the corporate responses using an appropriate way of analysing the corporate texts
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Assignment requirements
You need to follow the structure outlined in the assignment document
You are expected to read around the subject and will be rewarded, if you refer to journal articles or other authoritative sources of information (journal articles, books and book chapters, NOT websites) to support your argument
References in the references section should be mentioned in the text and vice versa
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Presentation - Content
2. The case
Context
Background information about the case
What company? When? What happened? Who was affected? How did the media report the case?
3. Data
CSR report, annual report, number of press releases?
4. Methodology
What verbal strategies are you focusing on in your analysis?
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Collecting your data
Analyse organisation’s reaction to the incident crisis communication
→ search for corporate documents
Annual Reports
Interim Reports
Press Releases
CSR Reports
...
Download them from company website
NOT financial statements
NOT newspaper articles or media websites (e.g., BBC)
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Group presentation & individual assignment
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Collecting your data - Example: Horse meat scandal
Tesco website:
http:// www.tescoplc.com/index.asp?pageid=21
Check date of disaster
e.g., Horse meat scandal 15 January 2013
Press releases 15 January 2013-present
Less recent scandals also check Annual Report & CSR report
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Group presentation & individual assignment
14
Make a list of all data analysed - Example: Horse meat scandal
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Group presentation & individual assignment
Methodology – How to analyse the corporate documents
Content analysis of corporate narrative documents
Focus on verbal strategies used to refer to the accident/incident/scandal
E.g. apologies, excuses, etc.
The Co-operative Bank crisis which involved the exposure of a £1.5bn capital hole by an independent review.
The Co-operative Bank's (CEO’s) response to the review
https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdTCayDLhHU
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Group presentation & individual assignment
Benoit (1997: 179)
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Group presentation & individual assignment
Cornelissen (2014)
In a crisis verbal strategies depend on whether the organisation views itself as having:
A low level of responsibility for the crisis
E.g., denial, excuse, downplay, etc.
A high level of responsibility for the crisis
Apology, compensation, repentance (asking for forgiveness)
See table with full list of strategies on blackboard
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Group presentation & individual assignment
Structure of written assignment
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Applying the methodology to the data
20
Individual assignment only
Findings
Report on what you find in your the application of your methodology
E.g., Tesco uses press releases and advertisements in major UK newspapers to apologise to customers
Compare your findings to those of prior studies
E.g., Tesco’s strategy of apologising to customers is similar to that of other consumer firms facing product safety issues
Are your findings in line with theoretical predictions?
Stakeholder theory predicts that firms respond mainly to their primary stakeholders, i.e., for Tesco these are its customers
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Individual assignment only
What theories do I use to explain the company response to the crisis?
Systems-oriented oriented theories (Deegan & Unerman, Chapter, Chapter 8; Rankin et al., Chapter 5, pp. 141-147.
Stakeholder theory (also Mitchell et al., 1997)
Legitimacy theory
Institutional theory
Positive Accounting Theory (political cost hypothesis)
Also:
Benoit’s (1997) image restoration theory
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Individual assignment
Examples of case studies
Beelitz, A. and Merkl-Davies, D.M. (2012), ‘Using discourse to restore organisational legitimacy: ‘CEO-speak’ after an incident in a German nuclear power plant’, Journal of Business Ethics, 108 (1): 101-120.
Breitsohl, H. (2009), ‘Organizational Crises and Reactions from a Legitimacy Perspective – Results from Two Multiple-case Studies’, Schumpeter Discussion Paper 2009-007. Wuppertal.
Cho, C.H. (2007), ‘ Legitimation Strategies Used in Response to Environmental Disaster: a French Case Study of Total S.A.’s Erika and AZF Incidents’, Working paper.
Linsley, P., and Kajüter, P.M. (2008), ‘Restoring reputation and repairing legitimacy. A case study of impression management in response to a major risk event at Allied Irish Banks plc’, International Journal of Financial Services Management, 3(1): 65-82.
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Finally …
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Table 1: Tesco’s press releases relating to horse meat
No. Date Headline
1 15/01/2013 Tesco comments on FSAI food survey
2 16/01/2013 An apology from Tesco
3 30/01/2013 Tesco statement on investigation into meat
contamination
4 11/02/2013 Meat testing: Statement from Tim Smith, Tesco
Group Technical Director
5 15/02/2013 Open letter from retailers
6 15/02/2013 Tesco comments on test results
7 22/02/2013 Update from Tim J Smith, Tesco Group
Technical Director
8 12/03/2013 Statement from Tim J Smith, Tesco Group
Technical Director
|
Table 1: Tesco’s press releases relating to horse meat |
||
|
No. |
Date |
Headline |
|
1 |
15/01/2013 |
Tesco comments on FSAI food survey |
|
2 |
16/01/2013 |
An apology from Tesco |
|
3 |
30/01/2013 |
Tesco statement on investigation into meat contamination |
|
4 |
11/02/2013 |
Meat testing: Statement from Tim Smith, Tesco Group Technical Director |
|
5 |
15/02/2013 |
Open letter from retailers |
|
6 |
15/02/2013 |
Tesco comments on test results |
|
7 |
22/02/2013 |
Update from Tim J Smith, Tesco Group Technical Director |
|
8 |
12/03/2013 |
Statement from Tim J Smith, Tesco Group Technical Director |
1. Introduction (individual assignment only)
Discussion of concepts and theories used to analyse the case [20 marks]
2. The case (group presentation and individual assignment)
2.1 Context
Background information about the case [10 marks]
3. Data (group presentation and individual assignment)
Description of corporate disclosure vehicles chosen for analysis (i.e., press
releases, annual reports, CSR reports, etc. ) [10 marks]
4. Methodology (group presentation and individual assignment)
Discussion of the categories of analysis used to analyse the corporate texts
(e.g., text length, themes, impression management strategies , etc.) [15 marks]
5. Findings (individual assignment only)
Summary of findings of your analysis [35 marks]
6. Conclusion (individual assignment only)
Discussion of findings in context of theory and prior literature [10 marks]
Tesco, PR Nr. 2 16 January, 2013
An apology from Tesco
We apologise.
You have probably read or heard that we have had a serious problem with
three frozen beef burger products that we sell in stores in the UK and Ireland.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has told us that a number o f products
they have recently tested from one of our suppliers contained horsemeat.
While the FSAI has said that the products pose no risk to public health, we appreciate
that, like us, our customers will find this absolutely unacceptable.
The products in our stores were Tesco Everyday Value 8 x Frozen Beef Burgers
(397g), Tesco 4 x Frozen Beef Quarter Pounders (454g) and a branded
product, Flamehouse Frozen Chargrilled Quarter Pounders.
We have immediately withdrawn from sale all products from the supplier in question,
from all our stores and online.
If you have any of these products at home, you can take them back to any of our
stores at any time and get a full refund. You will not need a receipt and you can just
bring back the packaging.
We and our supplier have let you down and we apologise.
If you have any concerns, you can find out how to contact us at the bottom of this
page, or go to any of our customer service desks in -store, or ask to speak to your local
Store Manager.
So here’s our promise. We will find out exactly what happened and, when we do,
we’ll come back and tell you.
And we will work harder than ever with all our suppliers to make sure this never
happens again.
Contact Customer Service hotline: 0800 50 5555 Email:
[email protected], Twitter: @uktesco Facebook: facebook.com/tesco
