Exploring efficiency's dominance: the wholeness of the process

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to utilise Williams' writings on hegemony in order to examine why and how in the last 25 years efficiency has come to dominate the public sector and to explore the consequences of this development.Design/methodology/approachThe paper employs a literature‐based analysis and critique.FindingsWilliams' model is able to explain why and how the public sector has become preoccupied with a selective version of efficiency, the significant role played by accounting, and the cultural clashes encountered in the public sector.Research limitations/implicationsWilliams' model could be used in a variety of settings for a variety of purposes.Originality/valueWilliams' writings are new to the accounting literature. The paper is novel also in that it uses Williams' writings to explain efficiency's dominance.

Organizational Dynamics and Adoption of Innovations: A Study within the Context of Software Firms in Sri Lanka

“…Williams () argues that residual, dominant, and emergent (RDE) constantly interact with each other. Recently, other researchers in organization change and management (Devlin ; Silver ) identified that the RDE model can be applied in a variety of settings as the wholeness of the model provides a substantial and flexible theoretical framework to understand organizational change. Bryson (, p. 749), following Williams’s framework, defines the dominant, residual, and emergent organization as follows: (1)Dominant represents the practices and beliefs which are organized and lived, that organization members put energy into (2)Emergent represents the new practices and beliefs which are continually being created, that may or may not be incorporated (3)Residual represents the still practiced or believed residue of earlier life in the organization that assists in making sense of the present. …”

“…The emergent represents the new practices and beliefs, still in development, possibly not clearly defined or articulated, but which are seen as necessary for future commercial success. Coexisting with new practices and beliefs are movements and adjustments to existing or “dominant” innovations, which are also being re‐shaped and formed (Devlin ; Williams ). In the innovation management literature, innovation often refers to new ideas (Van de Ven ) which recombine old ideas into new forms, or new ideas that challenge the present or existing procedures, order, customs, or routines (Rogers ; Zaltman, Duncan, and Holbek ).…”

“…The RDE framework therefore provides a strong conceptual foundation for innovation studies, especially in terms of how innovation is influenced by new, existing, and old ideas. Likewise, a close conceptual association between the RDE framework and innovation can be observed when innovation is viewed as movement and adjustment within the dominant meanings, values, and practices (Devlin ; Williams ).…”