Accounting for rituals

The paper considers the proposition that accounts describe the relationships which exist between certain collaborators in the firm, rather than the activity of the firm itself. These relationships are essentially ritualistic, insofar as they are the outward forms of rather complex realities. Moreover, the ritual, and the “theology” which underlies it, are anthropocentric rationalisations, which may not completely capture the essence of the reality they are intended to portray. Such problems are especially likely at this time, in view of the discrepancy between accounting theory and the more holistic approach of the modern world-view. Conflicts tend to be circumvented rather than resolved, by devices which are strictly irrational. The function of accounting and financial professionals is both to devise new rituals to meet new circumstances and accommodate them within the orthodox canon; parallels are drawn between this activity and that of the witchdoctor in more primitive societies.     

Accounting for accounting: Towards the development of a dialectical view

This paper questions the adequacy of current approaches to accounting research. Following a re-examination of the progress made by the interpretive perspective in correcting for many of the shortcomings in the traditional framework, a catalogue of unresolved problems and silences is constructed. It is argued that central to this is the persistent failure adequately to contextualize accounting whilst at the same time treating it as a fully social practice. The second part of the paper is accordingly devoted to the development and illustration of an alternative, fuller, perspective. This, it is claimed, contains the potential to allow a deeper understanding of the linkages between routinized practices and conflicts and the socio-economic contexts in which they are located.     

Rhetorical History as Institutional Work

Rhetorical history has emerged as a useful theoretical construct that bridges the long recognized gap between historical and organizational scholarship. Despite its growing popularity, the precise nature of rhetorical history as a construct, its scope conditions, and its utility in resolving critical issues in historical organizational analysis remains unclear. This paper addresses these issues. We define rhetorical history and contextualize the construct by elaborating its relationship to associated concepts like collective memory, rhetoric, and narrative. We ground the construct by reviewing literature that has applied rhetorical history in both theory and empirical research. Our inductive review identifies four recurring themes in which rhetorical history is used to construct perceptions of; (a) continuity and discontinuity, (b) similarity and difference, (c) winners and losers, and (d) morality and immorality. We conclude with a discussion of how rhetorical history is an essential mechanism of institutional work.     

Fires and explosions of hydrocarbon oxidation plants

A review of fires and explosions in hydrocarbon oxidation plants, including these caused by decomposition.     

Human problems with computer control: An update

The applications of computer control continue to grow. Incidents can be avoided by the study of previous occurrences. This paper updates “Human Problems with Computer Control” [1] and describes more incidents on computer-controlled plants. As before, the computers provided new and easier opportunities for making familiar errors.