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    Shame and authority : tracing the cultural antecedents of internal protocols in China

    Wang, Dr Jenny; Hooper, Keith

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    WJ_Acc_History_Paper_Final_.pdf (277.3Kb)
    Date
    2016-07
    Citation:
    Wang, J., & Hooper, K. (2016, July). Shame and authority: tracing the cultural antecedents of internal protocols in China. Paper presented at 8th Asia-Pacific Interdisciplinary Research in Accounting (APIRA), Melbourne, Australia.
    Permanent link to Research Bank record:
    https://hdl.handle.net/10652/3791
    Abstract
    PURPOSE: To show how internal controls may be undermined and compromised by unquestioning obedience and accommodation of staff with management. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The paper makes use of an ethnographic approach based on participant observation. The researcher worked for several years as a trainee manager for a large hotel chain in China. During that time as part of training she kept a re cord of her experiences in various roles. FINDINGS: Obedience to authority is a fundamental Confucian ideal that has left its legacy on internal control systems within East Asia. Under the Confucian tradition, superiors are not to be questioned, their accusations establish guilt and the resultant punishment is typically a public ritual that can be mitigated only by confession. Internal control systems in East Asian organisations are shown to carry latent vestiges of these traditions, as illustrated with examples drawn from a micro analysis of a hotel organization. ORIGINALITY/VALUE Internal control is conventionally depicted as comprising technical practices designed to prevent or detect accounting errors and/or the loss of assets. However, high profile corporate collapses in recent years have fostered a recognition that internal control encompasses an organisation’s broader cultural milieu. Where unquestioning compliance and obedience predominate, internal control may be ineffective – regardless of the technical routines in place. The paper shows from a micro perspective how internal controls may be compromised. Theoretical guidance is provided by Foucault’s concept of subjugated knowledge: local memories regarded as unqualified or actively disqualified within organisational hierarchies.
    Keywords:
    China, Foucault, Michel (1926-1984), internal control, discipline, shame, accounting
    ANZSRC Field of Research:
    150104 International Accounting
    Copyright Holder:
    Authors
    Rights:
    This digital work is protected by copyright. It may be consulted by you, provided you comply with the provisions of the Act and the following conditions of use: Any use you make of these documents or images must be for research or private study purposes only, and you may not make them available to any other person. You will recognise the author's and publishers rights and give due acknowledgement where appropriate.
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    • Accounting and Finance Conference Papers [69]

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