Organizational culture in public accounting: Size, technology, rank, and functional area

Racialized gendering of the accountancy profession: toward an understanding of Chinese women’s experiences in accountancy in New Zealand

“…Those discriminatory practices employed to exclude women and ethnic minorities from particular tasks such as management consulting or audit supervisory roles, because they are "inappropriate" areas or industries for them, are commonly found in western male dominated corporate culture (Lehman, 1990;Stivers and Campbell, 1995). These ideological practices, rooted in the beliefs and impressions of accounting as a techno-rational discipline, have been employed to exclude and obstruct women and ethnic minorities already socialized into accepting the suitability of employment (Lehman, 1990, 149 This social stereotyping of these minority groups has also contributed to the feminization and/or racialization of accounting tasks reflecting the subordinated position of these groups within the society (Bamber and Bylinksi, 1982;Benke and Rhode, 1984;Cushing and Loebbecke, 1986;Tomkins, 1986;Lehman, 1990;Loft, 1992;Pratt and Beaulieu, 1992;Roberts and Coutts, 1992;Kirkham and Loft, 1993;McKeen and Bujaki, 1994;Gammie and Gammie, 1995;Stivers et ai., 1995;Khan et ai., 199617;Larkin, 1997;Flynn et ai., 1996;Kim, 2001; also see, Hill et ai., 1984, Brah, 1994, Phizacklea, 1994 for the racialization of labour market in general). There is a wide-spread misperception that among three recognized specific functional areas in accounting -that is, audit, taxation and management consulting -certain areas in accounting might not be suitable for women and ethnic minorities due to the different personality types of these minority groups.…”

“…This is because the scope of services provided in these areas is ultimately defined by professional standards and tax laws and does not require the autonomous ability to make fine judgments or distinctions (Bamber and Bylinksi, 1982;Cushing and Loebbecke, 1986;Schloemer Schloemer, 1997). On the other hand, the culture in the management consulting services tends to be less structured and more innovative due to the non-routine nature of the services provided thus require more creativity (Benke and Rhode, 1984;Tomkins, 1986;Pratt and Beaulieu, 1992;Schloemer and Schloemer, 1997). Furthermore, even if the audit and tax areas provide an attractive environment for individuals with a sensing type personality, those at higher levels within these functions must approach their work from a broader perspective, relying on subordinates to handle details and ensure that procedures are followed.…”

“…Within the firm they are allocated to less critical or public or more office-based tasks, such as auditing and taxation, when white men are in management consulting, especially at the higher level (Dennis et Beaulieu, 1992;Roberts and Coutts, 1992;Hooks et at., 1994;McKeen and Bujaki, 1994;Scott, 1994;Scott et at., 1994;Gaffney et al, 1995;Gammie and Gammie, 1995, p. 9;Stivers and Campbell, 1995;Flynn et al, 1996;Edmond, 1997;Schloemer and Schloemer, 1997). The implication ofthis gendering and/or racialisation of accounting tasks is that while specializing in some specific areas such as taxation or ethnic division can provide them with more opportunities to become a sole practitioner, the limited use of (ethnic minority) female staff by accounting firms actually hinders these women from extending their knowledge and skills and thereby disadvantages them when they seek for advancement.…”

Assessing the Cultures of Medical Group Practices

“…6 The optimal structure of a small-sized organization is more informal, and decision-making authority is often shared among the participants; that of a large organization, on the other hand, is decentralized but more formal, and although decision-making authority is dispersed to lower levels of the hierarchy, strict rules and regulations guide behavior. Although few empirical studies have been conducted to explore the relationship of size to culture in general, 7 and none have ben conducted in the health care field, studies have shown that large organizations tend to be more stable, predictable, and disciplined, whereas small organizations are more flexible and tend to have more direct contact with their products and consumers. 8 This suggests that size is an important variable influencing organizational culture.…”

The Effect of Organisational Culture Perceptions on the Relationship Between Budgetary Participation and Managerial Job-Related Outcomes

“…Marcoulides and Heck have called for researchers to adopt more rigorously defined models that take into account 1 Power distance relates essentially to an acceptance of equality between superiors and subordinates in organisations. Although power distance is intended for use at the societal level, it has also been shown to operate usefully at the organisational level as an OC dimension (see Pratt & Beaulieu, 1992).…”