Mature Australian consumers' adoption and consumption of self-service banking technologies

The slow diffusion of self-service banking technologies (SSBTs) into the mature consumer market necessitates research to understand better this growing section of the population and the diversity that exists within this market. This research analyses the 50+ market through a segmentation approach based on the level of use of SSBTs. Three segments were identified: non-users, low users and medium-to-high users of SSBTs; these are profiled by frequency of use and demographic variables. The medium-to-high user segment embraces a range of SSBTs and uses credit cards to facilitate their financial activities. Non-users and some low users prefer the customary way of conducting transactions and enjoy the personal interaction with the bank employee. These two segments do, however, have a moderate level of credit card use. Finally, a small percentage of diffusion discontinuance was identified in this study of the mature consumer market.     

Using Porridge to Teach Business Ethics: Reflections on a Visit to Scotland's Most Notorious Prison and Some Thoughts on the Importance of Location in Teaching Business Ethics

For the first time in the history ofundergraduate accounting education in Scotlanda group of 44 accounting students from theDepartment of Accounting and Finance at GlasgowUniversity participated in a coursespecifically devoted to the study of accountingethics and the development of ethicalsensitivity. Film, poetry, role-play and reallife cases were used to try and developstudents' emotional engagement with accountingand business ethics. Amongst other things,students participated in a role-play of whatmight have happened if Robert Maxwell had beenresuscitated and had to face the pensioners hedefrauded; they watched the movie ``WallStreet'; and they participated in a seminar onThalidomide conducted by Simone Baker from theUK Thalidomide Society, herself severelyaffected by the drug. However, for themajority of students, a visit to Barlinnie,Scotland's most notorious prison, proved to beone of the most challenging and effective partsof the course.This paper draws on the students' reflectionson the visit to argue that this kind ofexperiential learning may be an effective wayof encouraging students to engage with businessethics issues and of developing their ethicalsensitivity. The paper develops this argumentand suggests that the location where accountingand business ethics education takes place inparticular, might be a crucial element in theeffectiveness of ethics courses.     

Relocating accounting and business ethics: reflections on a business ethics retreat in Scotland's National Park

Full-size image (11K)

This paper describes an accounting and business ethics course that was developed at Glasgow University's Department of Accounting and Finance and recounts an attempt to increase the effectiveness of aspects of the course through relocating the places where it took place. In particular the paper provides some reflections on an ethics retreat in Loch Lomond National Park in Scotland. The paper provides an account of the weekend and describes the activities in which the students participated. It provides some reflections on the weekend and considers how successful the retreat was in promoting the goals of the course. The paper concludes with a call for further thought and discussion on the role that place could play in making accounting and business ethics education more effective.     

Class,social deprivation and accounting education in Scottish schools: Implications for the reproduction of the accounting profession and practice

This paper investigates the links between class, deprivation and subject choice in the area of business studies, including Accounting and Economics, in Scottish secondary schools. Given the paucity of prior research, this study is necessarily exploratory but its findings will provide a basis for future research in Scotland and elsewhere. First, the literature on the link between deprivation and education is reviewed. Pierre Bourdieu's conceptualisiation of habitus, field and capital are introduced and provide the theoretical framework for the ensuing discussion. Second, the implications for accounting education at both school and university, and for the accountancy profession are examined. Third, the results of interviews, analysis of statistical data provided by the Scottish Government and the Scottish Qualifications Authority and two questionnaire surveys, one of Heads of Departments of Scottish secondary schools and the other of first year accounting students at Scottish universities, are reported in order to explore whether there are any indications of links between class, deprivation and subject choice in the area of business studies in Scottish schools. Finally, the implications of the research findings are discussed and conclusions offered.     

Building a Tender Nation: Developing a Web Based Accounting and Business Ethics Community

This paper marks the launch of a new accounting and business ethics Web project called Tender Nation. The objective of the site is to provide an emotionally supportive resource and community for the discussion of accounting and business ethics issues by accounting practitioners and accounting students. The paper explains the rationale behind the development of the site and is split into five sections. Section one develops a short critique of the development of the Web and discusses the extent to which it provides an opportunity for critical engagement in the economic sphere. Section two reviews the Web based accounting and business ethics resources currently available and draws on some well established ethical theory to explain how the objectives of Tender Nation differ from other Web based attempts to critically and ethically engage with the economic sphere. Section three provides an outline of the structure and content of the site. Section four presents a survey of students' initial responses to the Web site and the concluding section discusses plans to develop the project further.     

Putting our money where their mouth is: Alignment of charitable aims with charity investments – Tensions in policy and practice

Given the values-driven nature of the mission of most charities, it might be expected that investment behaviour would be similarly values-driven. This paper documents the ethical investment policies and practices of the largest UK charities and explores how these are aligned with the charitable aims, drawing upon accountability, behavioural and managerial perspectives as theoretical lenses. The study employs two distinct research methods: responses to a postal questionnaire and follow-up semi-structured interviews with selected charities. The evidence indicates that a significant minority of large charities do not have a written ethical investment policy. Charities with larger investments, fundraising charities and religious charities were more likely to have a written ethical policy. We suggest that there is a pressing need for improved alignment between charities' aims and their investment practices and better monitoring of investment policies.     

Employee voice mechanisms for lesbian,gay, bisexual and transgender expatriation: the role of Employee-Resource Groups (ERGs) and allies

Abstract

Recent literature on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) expatriates has largely taken an employee perspective. Less attention has been devoted to organizational mechanisms supporting LGBT voice opportunities for global mobility. In this study, we use respondent data from 15 LGBT employees in combination with data from five global mobility managers to examine the role of Employee Resource Groups. Using the depth, scope and level of voice to frame the study in relation to stereotype threat theory, the findings show that discrimination and stigmatization are prevalent features affecting voice. The findings advance three distinct contributions concerning marginalized (LGBT) employee voices about expatriation: the importance of ‘informal’ social dialogue, the shallow ‘depth’ to voice decision-making roles about LGBT expatriation, and a consideration of ‘silence’ in voice literatures.