In this paper we explore one specific aspect of the way language is used in organizations—the use... more In this paper we explore one specific aspect of the way language is used in organizations—the use of cliche and slogans by organizational members. Drawing upon a 12-month qualitative study of two international accountancy practices ('Firm A' and `Firm B') we examine different instances of cliche in the discourse of their organizational actors. The cliches are seen to operate in several complex ways, but at a general level are understood to be intimately linked to the accomplishment of control within professional organizations.
Drawing upon an eight-year-long study of two of the global accounting firms, this chapter suggest... more Drawing upon an eight-year-long study of two of the global accounting firms, this chapter suggests that a key aspect of professionalism is net-working. Networking within these firms is crucial to achieving and demon-strating professional competence and to career advancement. It ...
The back cover testimonials for this book are glowing, and they are made by very senior practitio... more The back cover testimonials for this book are glowing, and they are made by very senior practitioners. They all proclaim that this book should be read, and the advice it contains taken up and practised. There are a number of reasons why such senior professionals ...
Article usage statistics combine cumulative total PDF downloads and full-text HTML views from pub... more Article usage statistics combine cumulative total PDF downloads and full-text HTML views from publication date (but no earlier than 25 Jun 2011, launch date of this website) to 12 Feb 2013. Article views are only counted from this site. Although these data are updated every 24 hours, there may be a 48-hour delay before the most recent numbers are available.
Fiona Anderson-Gough and Rhoda Brown are two increasingly weary female accounting academics in th... more Fiona Anderson-Gough and Rhoda Brown are two increasingly weary female accounting academics in their 40s, who enjoy teaching, researching and writing about a wide range of accounting-related issues and both left jobs in the private sector, in part, to avoid the rational economic men, ...
In this article we explore how notions of the client and client service are constructed within tw... more In this article we explore how notions of the client and client service are constructed within two `Big 5' professional services firms. Drawing upon a range of qualitative materials, we argue that the client is a central term in the socialization of trainee accountants within these firms and the emergence of their professional identities. We illustrate this with reference to recruitment, appraisal and daily work practices. We then move on to consider the power effects of a discourse that privileges the client in this way by attending to what is `written out' of such a discourse. We suggest that management control, friends, family and the profit motive are all written out. However, we also point to what such a discourse enables, both materially and symbolically, for the trainees in the study.
The promise of theory and model development makes grounded theory an attractive methodology to fo... more The promise of theory and model development makes grounded theory an attractive methodology to follow. However, it has been argued that many researchers fall short and provide a detailed description of only the research area or simply a quantitative content analysis rather than an explanatory model. This article illustrates how the researchers used a computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software program (CAQDAS) as a tool for moving beyond a thick description of swimming coaches' perceptions of sexual relationships in sport to an explanatory model grounded in the data. Grounded theory is an iterative process whereby the researchers move between data collection and analysis, writing memos, coding, and creating models. The nonlinear design of the selected CAQDAS program, NVIVO, facilitates such iterative approaches. Although the examples provided in this project focus on NVIVO, the concepts presented here could be applied to the use of other CAQDAS programs. Examples are pr...
Abstract Recent years have seen an upsurge in published research concerned with the daily conduct... more Abstract Recent years have seen an upsurge in published research concerned with the daily conduct of accounting professionals in Big Five firms. However, in general, these studies have given scant consideration to the institutional setting within which accountants work. ...
The power of disciplinarity has been widely seen in CMS as something to be negated or overcome ... more The power of disciplinarity has been widely seen in CMS as something to be negated or overcome understandably, insofar as disciplinary power shapes action and thought in space and time, 'quietly ordering us about' whether as populations or at the level of our ...
In this paper we explore one specific aspect of the way language is used in organizations—the use... more In this paper we explore one specific aspect of the way language is used in organizations—the use of cliche and slogans by organizational members. Drawing upon a 12-month qualitative study of two international accountancy practices ('Firm A' and `Firm B') we examine different instances of cliche in the discourse of their organizational actors. The cliches are seen to operate in several complex ways, but at a general level are understood to be intimately linked to the accomplishment of control within professional organizations.
Drawing upon an eight-year-long study of two of the global accounting firms, this chapter suggest... more Drawing upon an eight-year-long study of two of the global accounting firms, this chapter suggests that a key aspect of professionalism is net-working. Networking within these firms is crucial to achieving and demon-strating professional competence and to career advancement. It ...
The back cover testimonials for this book are glowing, and they are made by very senior practitio... more The back cover testimonials for this book are glowing, and they are made by very senior practitioners. They all proclaim that this book should be read, and the advice it contains taken up and practised. There are a number of reasons why such senior professionals ...
Article usage statistics combine cumulative total PDF downloads and full-text HTML views from pub... more Article usage statistics combine cumulative total PDF downloads and full-text HTML views from publication date (but no earlier than 25 Jun 2011, launch date of this website) to 12 Feb 2013. Article views are only counted from this site. Although these data are updated every 24 hours, there may be a 48-hour delay before the most recent numbers are available.
Fiona Anderson-Gough and Rhoda Brown are two increasingly weary female accounting academics in th... more Fiona Anderson-Gough and Rhoda Brown are two increasingly weary female accounting academics in their 40s, who enjoy teaching, researching and writing about a wide range of accounting-related issues and both left jobs in the private sector, in part, to avoid the rational economic men, ...
In this article we explore how notions of the client and client service are constructed within tw... more In this article we explore how notions of the client and client service are constructed within two `Big 5' professional services firms. Drawing upon a range of qualitative materials, we argue that the client is a central term in the socialization of trainee accountants within these firms and the emergence of their professional identities. We illustrate this with reference to recruitment, appraisal and daily work practices. We then move on to consider the power effects of a discourse that privileges the client in this way by attending to what is `written out' of such a discourse. We suggest that management control, friends, family and the profit motive are all written out. However, we also point to what such a discourse enables, both materially and symbolically, for the trainees in the study.
The promise of theory and model development makes grounded theory an attractive methodology to fo... more The promise of theory and model development makes grounded theory an attractive methodology to follow. However, it has been argued that many researchers fall short and provide a detailed description of only the research area or simply a quantitative content analysis rather than an explanatory model. This article illustrates how the researchers used a computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software program (CAQDAS) as a tool for moving beyond a thick description of swimming coaches' perceptions of sexual relationships in sport to an explanatory model grounded in the data. Grounded theory is an iterative process whereby the researchers move between data collection and analysis, writing memos, coding, and creating models. The nonlinear design of the selected CAQDAS program, NVIVO, facilitates such iterative approaches. Although the examples provided in this project focus on NVIVO, the concepts presented here could be applied to the use of other CAQDAS programs. Examples are pr...
Abstract Recent years have seen an upsurge in published research concerned with the daily conduct... more Abstract Recent years have seen an upsurge in published research concerned with the daily conduct of accounting professionals in Big Five firms. However, in general, these studies have given scant consideration to the institutional setting within which accountants work. ...
The power of disciplinarity has been widely seen in CMS as something to be negated or overcome ... more The power of disciplinarity has been widely seen in CMS as something to be negated or overcome understandably, insofar as disciplinary power shapes action and thought in space and time, 'quietly ordering us about' whether as populations or at the level of our ...
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