Equivocal Reporting: Ethical Communication Issues

Communication is crucial to the fulfillment of organizational members' responsibilities. Bavelas et al. (1990) describe equivocation as nonstraightforward communication. It appears ambiguous, contradictory, obscure or even evasive. In their view, equivocation is a form of information control for the purpose of maintaining social relationships. It is avoidance; a response chosen when all other communication choices in the situation would lead to negative consequences. A critical role of accountants and other organizational members is the communication of results and activities to management. Professional standards require that accountants be objective and unbiased reporters. If results are clearly reported to management, then costs associated with failed projects have the potential of being contained or minimized. The ethical communication choice for a failed project is a clear and fair representation. However, organizational members may choose to equivocate in order to maintain social relationships in the organizational environment. The two experiments in this research study address the question: "If a negative project assessment exists, in fact, do subjects equivocate or send a clear message?" The two experiments analyzed factors in the message choices of approximately two hundred and eighty student subjects. The results indicate that subjects apply different standards in message choices pertaining to a social relationship versus an organizational setting. Equivocal message selection in a purely social context, a gift which the receiver thinks is awful, ranged from eighty-four percent to eighty-nine percent, while equivocal message selection for a failed business project ranged from forty-five to sixty-two percent. The incidence of false reporting for the failed business project was inconsequential and ranged from one percent to two percent. Experimental results are encouraging with respect to false reporting. However, the pervasive nature of equivocal reporting is disturbing. It appears that the curriculum and organizational training should consider being more attentive to the ethical dimensions of equivocation. Additionally, organizations, that have a culture, which enables or fosters equivocation, should assess the impact of this on their operating activities.     

Exploring the Dynamics of Business Values: A Self-affirmation Perspective

In this paper our aim is to augment the value-congruency literature by demonstrating the dynamics of business value structures. The relationship between cognitive discomforts and value restructuring is examined by applying self-affirmation theory. Subjects (N = 115) were randomly assigned either to the treatment group (n = 69) or control group (n = 46). Those subjects in the treatment group were tasked with deciding between two different organizational re-structuring options that involved downsizing. The values of job-entitlement, and obligations to the disadvantaged shifted in emphasis in a direction that legitimated and justified the lay-off decision. The value of economic nationalism remained unchanged. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Computer education: A survey of accounting graduates

In recent years, increased attention has been directed towards the integration of computers into accounting education. A questionnaire was distributed to accounting graduates in order to determine their opinions about the adequacy of computer education and the importance of computer skills to the professional accountant. Graduates, stratified by year of graduation, were selected from a diverse group of universities.Overall, the respondents rated their own preparation low. They felt best prepared in programming skills but least prepared in networking and computer communication skills. In terms of importance, software proficiency was rated highest, with programming skills lowest. With a few exceptions, the analysis of the responses by demographic variables yielded results consistent with the overall analysis. The respondents with less work experience rated their preparation higher than those with more experience, but those with more work experience rated the importance of all computer skills higher.     

Let's use the controller in contract negotiations

The controller is in the best position to evaluate the costs of proposals and counter-proposals in bargaining sessions; he should be a regular member of the negotiating team.