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Collaboration:Intellectual Cohabitation

Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t

Jesse Dillard

Portland State University

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Why ?

• To share ideas and experiences

• Leading to the possibility of understanding the world differently

• By understanding the world differently, we can choose to live our lives differently, to do business differently, to practice accounting differently

• As a result, we can have an enlightening, enabling, and transforming effect on our world

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What Is Ours To Do?• The professional part of our world comprises the

study and practice of business, in its broadest sense

• Therefore the possibility exists for changing the understanding and practice of business and accounting

• The challenge, and that of any society, is to act, based on a value set that increases the societal welfare rather than the interests of only a subset thereof

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Why Business/Accounting?

• This is where we happen to be involved at this point in our lives – Conscious decision– Accidents of history– Parental pressure– Last resort in providing life’s necessities– Psychological pathologies– ?????

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What is the function of the economic institutions (business)

in society?

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Acting in the Public Interestin

Providing Goods and Services to the Members of Society

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Purpose of Economic Organizations

• Central role in facilitating the long-term viability of a democratically governed society

• grounded in – justice – equality– trust

• supported by a sustainable economic system.

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NaturalEnvironment

SocietyEconomy

Sustainable Economic Systems

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Organizational Management’s Responsibility

While all members of society have a moral responsibility to act in the public interest, organizational management is specifically granted fiduciary responsibility over society’s economic resources (natural resources, financial assets, human assets, and technology). 

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Management’s Character

In order to fulfill its charge as a trustee of society’s economic resources, organizational management must maintain high standards of integrity, responsibility, and accountability.

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Information/Accounting Professionals’ Responsibility

• Assist management in carrying out their fiduciary responsibilities.

• By assuring the efficacy and integrity of the related information and administrative systems and those who design, implement, and utilize them.

• Nested accountability

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An Ethic of Accountability

RIGHTS

(exercised)

RESPONSIBILITIES

(accepted)

ORGANIZATIONAL MANAGEMENT

Manage the economic assets of society

To be held accountable for the use society’s economic assets

SOCIETY Ownership of society’s economic assets

To hold organizational management accountable for the use of society’s economic assets

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Academic Accounting

• Develop and disseminate expert knowledge and professional responsibilities to current and future professionals

• Facilitate and engage in an ongoing conversation among stakeholders regarding public interest responsibilities associated with the ethic of accountability

• Act as conscience and critic of the profession, organizational management, and society

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An agenda for the Academy

• Scholarly investigation– Practices and technique

• Educational innovation– Context, complexity, and critique

• Community interaction– Responsive and responsible social action

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My Journey

• Micro to macro – the problem keeps getting more and more complex

• Social psychology to information systems to linguistics to sociology to philosophy

• Methodologies follow theory and questions• Just more interesting• Make over ~ 7 ( + 2 years)• Various courses, conferences, seminars, and

smart peopl over the years

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Disciplines

• Management• Computer science• Information systems• Pubic administration• Strategy• Sociology• Economics• Supply Chain Management

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Why consider interdisciplinary studies?

• Interesting questions/issues

• Disciplines too narrow to adequately address the question of interest in a complex world

• Personal growth and development

• Increases the changes of funding

• Just more challenging and interesting

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Must Be Recognized and Supported

• Time

• Facilitating mechanisms– Funds– Space– Staff support– Data– Technology– Etc.

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Positive Considerations

• Learning new ideas• Intellectually stimulating• Get to know interesting people• Broaden fields that tend toward a narrowing of

perspective• Resilience in diveristy• New opportunities• Personal growth

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Challenges • Vocabulary – language games – coming to a common

understanding of ideas, theory, concepts, models, methodologies, etc.

• “customary norms”

• Time consuming

• Finding acceptable joint and separate work space

• Writing for the appropriate journal set

• Institution’s reputational hierarchy

• Perceived intellectual content of the business disciplines

• Getting to know difficult and uninteresting people

• If they leave, you have little leverage

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Publication Outlets

• What journals?– Authors’ discipline– Another discipline– Interdisciplinary – Quality

• Books, anthologies, monographs

• Reputational hierarchies

• Institutional requirements and expectations

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Activities

• Read their literature• Attend their classes• Participate in their seminars• Go to their conferences• Try and get them to talk to you• Appear brighter than their perception of

business school faculty• Invite them to present at our seminars• Propose joint research proposals

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Traditional source disciplines

• Economics• Finance• Legal• History• Sociology/anthropology• Psychology• Statistics• Public administration• Philosophy• History

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Accounting Subdisciplines

• Financial• Managerial• AIS• Auditing• Tax• Gov’t/NFP• International • Social & environmental

• History• Critical• Analytical• Archival• Behavioral• Case study

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Social Sustainability

• New title for an old song – Improving the human condition

• Business/Accounting is a significant part

• Recognize the interconnectedness of the Web of Life

• Grasping the complexity requires many perspectives

• Intended and unintended consequences

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Examples of Social Sustainability IssuesLabor PracticesEmploymentLabor/management relationshipsOccupational health and safetyTraining and educationDiversity and equal opportunity

CommunityNature, scope and effectiveness of programs and practices that assess and manage strategic and operational impacts on the communityCorruptionLobbying and contributionsAnti-compliance, anti-trust, and monopolyFines and sanctions for noncompliance

Human RightsInvestment practicesProcurement practicesDiscriminatory practicesFreedom of association and collective bargaining Child and compulsory laborSecurity practicesProtection of indigenous people’s rights

Product ResponsibilitiesHealth and safety impact of products and services throughout the product life cycleNoncompliance with codes and regulationsLabeling requirementsCustomer privacy

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Means(Provide resources for social objective(s)

End(Maximize economic/ shareholder value)

1. What is the most economically viable alternative?2. How do we accomplish it in the most sustainable way?

1. What is the most sustainable alternative? 2. How do we accomplish it in the most economical way?

Concerned with achieving social objective and sustaining operations through marketing a/the related product/service (improve skill levels of disadvantages-vocational training, producing food to feed the hungry, natural beef)Social business enterprise

Concerned with achieving social objective and sustaining operations through marketing a product/service for consumption (clean water – Belu, Ethos, Ben & Jerry’s franchise)

Economic results are seen as

Explicitly concerned with responding to market demands providing a marketable product/service for consumption (autos, petroleum, candy, coffee, furniture, commodity beef)FP

Unsustainable product/ service/ process

Unsustainable product/ service/ process

Unsustainable product/ service/ process

Sustainable product/ service/ process

Sustainable product/ service/ process

Sustainable product/ service/ process

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My Legitimating Grounds

• Accountability is the linchpin of any legitimate and just economic system

• Accounting resides at the critical interface between those who control the economic assets (organizational management) and the society that they are to benefit

• An ethic of accountability provides a contextual framework wherein we carryout our responsibilities as conscience and critic of society and its institutions

• Social sustainability is a key component in implementing an ethic of accountability

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Concluding Thoughts

• Why are we here?

• What is ours to do?

• How can we best pursue our task?

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Collaboration is Relationships

• Self respect/self worth

• Attraction

• Common interest

• Compatibility

• Communication

• Compromise

• Empathy

• Respect

• Contributions

• Accountability

• Closure

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PASSION