Management Accounting Practices and Assemblages_peter Amstrong

8/11/2019 Management Accounting Practices and Assemblages_peter Amstrong

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Management Accounting Practices and Assemblages

Peter Miller

London School of Economics and Political Science

Paper to be presented at

Eighth Biennial Management Accounting Research Conference

21/22 February 2!!" #ydney Australia

14 February 2003; 20:42


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Management Accounting Practices and Assemblages

Peter Miller

London School of Economics and Political Science

Abstract

The roles of accounting in shaping the economy are currently being rediscovered bysociologists !allon" 1##$; Fligstein" 1##0; %ranovetter" 1#$&'( This recent revival ofinterest in accounting mar)s a further stage in a curious pattern of alternate attention andneglect on the part of sociologists to*ards the practices that ma)e the economy visible andmeasurable qua economy( This paper revie*s the different *ays in *hich accounting hasbeen given a *ider sociological significance across the t*entieth century( +t argues for a

focus on ho* ne* calculative practices emerge *ithin historically specific assemblages" andho* they alter the capacities of agents and organisations" and the interrelations amongthem( +nvestment appraisal practices are used to illustrate(

The paper is in five sections( ,ection one introduces the paper( ,ection t*oconsiders briefly the *or) of a. /eber in the early 20

thcentury" and the lin) established in

his *ritings bet*een accounting and rationalisation( ,ection three considers a subseuentstage" *ith a mar)edly different focus" namely the emergence in the 1#&0s and 1#0s of asubstantial literature on budgeting( eavily influenced by theories of group dynamics" thisliterature focussed primarily on management accounting in an intra-organisational setting(,ection four e.amines a further stage" characterised by the elaboration of a range ofmethodologies from appro.imately 1#$0 on*ards that had as their concern to analyse thesocial and organisational aspects of accounting( The methodologies developed and applied

here included those that focus on the institutional environments of accounting" the politicaleconomy of accounting" ethnographic approaches" and a concern *ith the net*or)s *ithin*hich accounting is embedded( ,ection five considers one particular strand of the recenteconomic sociology literature" that *hich concerns the calculative capacities of agents andtheir embeddedness in social net*or)s( /hile endorsing the revival of interest in economicsociology" this paper argues that rather than focus on the enduring and transhistoricalattributes of agents and net*or)s" emphasis be placed on the roles of accounting *ithinhistorically localised and temporarily stabilised assemblages of practices( lso" in place ofan emphasis on the role of economics and economic theory in formatting the real economy"attention is directed to the more prosaic practices of management accounting *hich ma)e itpossible to act upon persons and processes *ithin and bet*een organisations(

These arguments in favour of focussing on the calculative practices of accountingare illustrated briefly through consideration of a relatively neglected topic in managementaccounting - investment appraisal( The practice of investment bundling5 as elaborated at!aterpillar +nc in the early 1##0s is considered( n investment bundle *as defined there asamulti-period capital spending program based on the diverse yet mutually reinforcing assetsneeded to manufacture a core product module in a specified area on the factory floor( +t isargued that the practice of investment bundling as developed at !aterpillar helpedoperationalise a *orld-*ide transformation of production regimes *ithin a particularcorporate setting" and in a manner compatible *ith the broader problematising of thecompetitiveness of 6orth merican industry *hich can be termed a politics of the product5(+nvestment bundling provided a device for intervening *ithin the firm" and in consonance*ith a broader transformation of concepts of competitiveness and economic citi7enship(


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1$ %ntroduction

ost e.perts are indifferent to" or discomforted by their o*n past( /hether this is

due to bad conscience" *hich can ma)e commentary appear as critiue" or a belief in

progress" *hich can ma)e earlier states of )no*ledge seem irrelevant" is less important than

the end result( +n the case of accounting" the result is that even today a sociology of

economic calculation e.ists only in embryonic form( +t *ould be *rong" ho*ever" to pin the

blame for this oversight *holly" or even primarily" on a group of e.perts *ho may see little

benefit in an enhanced self-understanding of their practice( The real fault lies else*here"

*ith a discipline that so far has failed to address adeuately one of the most important

phenomena of the t*entieth century - the gro*th of those forms of economic calculation to

*hich the name accounting is currently given( +t is as if sociology has been too accepting of

the economy and its component parts as a given and ob8ective reality sui generis" too

daunted by a territory populated by apparently comple. techniues" too entranced by

professions such as medicine and la*" and correspondingly disdainful of accounting" to give

it the attention it merits( 9r perhaps it is simply because social scientists and social

authorities prefer to meddle *ith the lives of the poor" the insane" the e.cluded or the plain

*retched" rather than to see) to understand and e.plain the calculating practices that ma)e

up and represent contemporary capitalism(

This neglect is all the more curious in so far as accounting *as accorded a pivotal

role at the outset of the sociological enterprise( The *ritings of /eber placed accounting at

the heart of rational5 capitalistic economic activity" *hile those of ar. accorded accounting

a central role in the development and reproduction of capitalist social relations( et the

initial and bold pronouncements concerning accounting that played an important role in

shaping the sociological imagination at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the

t*entieth century *ere follo*ed by virtual silence on the part of sociologists for


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appro.imately half a century( This silence is all the more surprising in light of the translation

into nglish during this period of /eber that accounting at last

had a 8ournal - Accounting, Organizations and Society" dedicated to e.ploring its

organi7ational and sociological dimensions(

The roles of accounting in shaping the economy are currently being rediscovered by

sociologists !allon" 1##$; Fligstein" 1##0; %ranovetter" 1#$&'( /hile endorsing this revival

of interest in the calculative practices of accounting" this paper argues for a focus on ho*

ne* calculative practices emerge *ithin historically specific assemblages( ?ather than

begin *ith the calculative capacities of agents" and their embeddedness in social net*or)s"

attention is directed to the roles of accounting *ithin historically localised and temporarily

stabilised assemblages of practices" and ho* accounting practices can alter the capacities

of agents and organisations" and the interrelations among them( lso" in place of a concern

*ith the role of economics and economic theory in formatting the real economy" attention is

directed to the more prosaic practices of management accounting that ma)e it possible to

act upon persons and processes *ithin and bet*een organisations( +nvestment appraisal

practices are used to illustrate(

The paper is in five sections( ,ection one introduces the paper( ,ection t*o

considers briefly the *or) of a. /eber in the early 20th

century" and the lin) established in

his *ritings bet*een accounting and rationalisation( ,ection three considers a subseuent

1The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism" first published in %erman as a t*o-part article in

1#04-&" *as translated into nglish and published in 1#30( The Theory of Social and Economic Organization" atranslation of =art + of Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft" *as published in 1#4>( +t is also interesting to note that @arl=olanyi


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stage" *ith a mar)edly different focus" namely the emergence in the 1#&0s and 1#0s of a

substantial literature on budgeting( eavily influenced by theories of group dynamics" this

literature focussed primarily on management accounting in an intra-organisational setting(

,ection four e.amines a further stage" characterised by the elaboration of a range of

methodologies from appro.imately 1#$0 on*ards that had as their concern to analyse the

social and organisational aspects of accounting( The methodologies developed and applied

here included those that focus on the institutional environments of accounting" the political

economy of accounting" ethnographic approaches" and a concern *ith the net*or)s *ithin

*hich accounting is embedded(

,ection five considers one particular strand of the recent economic sociology

literature" that *hich concerns the calculative capacities of agents and their embeddedness

*ithin social net*or)s( +t is argued that" rather than the attributes of agents and net*or)s"

*e should focus on calculative practices and the assemblages of persons and organi7ations

they help form( These arguments are illustrated briefly through consideration of a relatively

neglected topic in management accounting - investment appraisal( The practice of

investment bundling5 as elaborated at !aterpillar +nc in the early 1##0s is considered( n

investment bundle *as defined there as a multi-period capital spending program based on

the diverse yet mutually reinforcing assets needed to manufacture a core product module in

aspecified area on the factory floor( +t is argued that the practice of investment bundling as

developed at !aterpillar helped operationalise a *orld-*ide transformation of production

regimes *ithin a particular corporate setting" and in a manner compatible *ith the broader

problematising of the competitiveness of 6orth merican industry *hich can be termed a

politics of the product5( +nvestment bundling provided a device for intervening *ithin the

firm" and in consonance *ith a broader transformation of concepts of competitiveness and

economic citi7enship(


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2$ Accounting and Rationalisation

a. /eber" *riting in the first t*o decades of the t*entieth century"considered

accounting to be at the heart of the rationalisation of society under capitalism( /eber

re8ected the idea that capitalism *as a matter of greed or acuisitiveness( +nstead" he

argued" capitalism should be understood as the continuous pursuit of profit by means of

rational" capitalistic enterprise5 /eber" 1#30" p( 1>'( conomic action" according to /eber"

is capitalistic in so far as it depends on an e.pectation of profit through the utili7ation of

opportunities for e.change( nd this rational5 pursuit of profit reuired as its counterpart

calculations in terms of capital( The modern" rational organi7ation of capitalistic enterprise

*ould not have been possible" /eber argued" *ithout the calculative practice of

boo))eeping(

?ationalisation provided the overall theme for /eber$" p( #1'( To this e.tent" he placed a concern *ith


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process ar." 1#>4b" p(13'( +n so far as capital see)s its o*n reproduction" this deduction

from *hat ar. regarded as the real process of production is an essential part of the

capitalistic process( nd as the production process becomes ever more social in character"

and loses its individual character" boo))eeping becomes ever more necessary(

ar. did not accord accounting as central a role as did /eber( 6one the less" *hen

placed in the conte.t of a theory of value and the concept of mode of production" ar. gave

accounting an important place alongside other political interventions in the relations of

production( +n ar.


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puts increased pressure on individuals" he argued" groups are li)ely to form( These groups

can in turn help absorb the increased pressures placed by management on individuals(

9nce formed" such groups can persist even after the initial pressure to produce them has

disappeared(

+n proposing that the interaction of people and accounting practices be understood in

this *ay" rgyris *as dra*ing on t*o decades of research in sociology *hich had

substantially re-focussed the discipline since the late nineteenth and early t*entieth century(

From 1#30 on*ards" groups and their dynamics became a ma8or preoccupation for social

scientists( The boundaries bet*een social psychology and sociology became blurred" and

social scientists found groups every*here( The character of lton ayo is central to this

change in *ays of analysing the relational life of the enterprise( The studies conducted

under his supervision at the /estern lectric !ompany and 1#32 illustrate the transformation( These studies had a clear conclusion:

the dynamics of groups e.plain changes in industrial output more successfully than changes

in the physical environment( Further" the relations among individuals" and bet*een an

individual and his or her *or)" should no longer be considered e.plicable in terms of a

bundle of physiological attributes( The enterprise can be vie*ed as a social system" and

interpersonal relations and group dynamics are at the heart of this social system(

number of other influential administrative theorists endorsed and e.tended this

sociological analysis of groups and their importance *ithin the firm( s early as 1#1$" ary

=ar)er Follett had sought to s)etch out a role for the modern corporation *ithin a democratic

polity" arguing that the modern corporation should be the principal arena *ithin *hich a

group ideal of democracy could be realised Follett" 1#1$'( er position *as simple: there is

neither individual nor society" but only the group and the group-unit - the social individual5

Follett" 1#1$" p( 21'( T*o decades later" !hester Earnard remar)ed that the most usual

conception of an organi7ation is that of a group of persons((5 Earnard" 1#3$" p( $'( e

argued that the system of interactions5 is the basis of the group" and that formal


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organi7ation should be regarded as a system of consciously coordinated activities or forces

of t*o or more persons(5 Earnard" 1#3$" p( >3'( /orld /ar ++ and its immediate aftermath

provided a laboratory5 in *hich group relations could be studied in their depths and details

iller" 1#$'(

+n the 1#&0s and 1#0s" the concept of the group became a central preoccupation

for the rapidly e.panding discipline of sociology( The sociologist %eorge omans 1#&1'

*as the first to attempt a theoretical synthesis based on the concept of the group( range

of influences as diverse as Freudian theory" @urt e*in


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psychotherapeutic one that he termed *or)ing through5( nd even accidents at *or) came

to be defined as matters of group relations( ?ather than vie* accidents in terms of a

dangerous physical environment to *hich individuals *ere e.posed" they *ere understood

in terms of legitimate forms of *ithdra*al from the *or) situation(

Eehavioural accounting5 is the label used to describe the *ave of studies *hich

appeared from the late 1#&0s on*ards" and *hich built on these developments in the

sociological analysis of groups( ocated at the point of intersection of sociology and

accounting" behavioural accounting e.amined in differing *ays the interrelations bet*een

accounting and group relations( +n an early paper directed more to*ards sociologists than

accountants" Aalton 1#' sho*ed ho* pressure to meet cost targets" *hen combined *ith

re*ard schemes based on success in meeting such targets" can result in the distortion of

records( Ara*ing on theories of decision-ma)ing arch H ,imon" 1#&$' and the ideas of

human relations5 *riters such as c%regor 1#0'" i)ert 1#1' and er7berg 1#$'"

behavioural accounting consolidated the focus on group relations *ithin organi7ations(

The organi7ational and behavioural aspects of budgeting became a central

preoccupation of researchers across the 1#0s and early 1#>0s( Eec)er and %reen 1#2'

e.tended the concerns of rgyris *ith the group dynamics of budgeting processes( They

e.amined the interrelations bet*een the cohesiveness of *or) groups and the acceptance

of budget goals" and the impact of this interrelation on outcomes( highly cohesive *or)

group *ith a positive attitude to*ards the budget goal *ould be li)ely to yield ma.imum

output" *hile a similarly cohesive *or) group *ith a negative attitude to*ards the budget

goal *ould result in a slo*do*n of production( s *ith rgyris< study" group process and

dynamics appears to be the )ey factor in e.plaining the budget process( ofstede *ent one

step further by depicting the budgetary process as a game *hich people play for its o*n

sa)e( lthough ofstede found some evidence that participation in the budgetary process

*as positively associated *ith motivation to meet budget targets" the results *ere mi.ed(

=articipation appeared to be a necessary but not sufficient condition for high budget


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motivation( Target levels needed to be realistic" and the attitudes of senior managers *as

also important( The )ey ingredient" ho*ever" *as identified by ofstede as the game spirit5

*ith *hich managers entered the budget game5(

This line of reasoning *as e.tended significantly by op*ood 1#>4'" *ho dre*

e.plicitly on sociological and administrative theories of groups and organisations( e

problemati7ed the lin) bet*een participation and budgeting" arguing that participation can

mean almost anything to anyone and adding that much of the debate had turned inuiry into

dogma( op*ood re-focussed the debate by identifying three distinct *ays of using

budgetary information in the evaluation of managerial performance( e identified a budget

constrained5 style" a profit conscious5 style and a non-accounting5 style( mpirical

evidence indicated that both the budget constrained5 and profit conscious5 styles of

evaluation resulted in a higher degree of involvement *ith costs than the non-accounting5

style( 9nly the profit conscious5 style" ho*ever" succeeded in achieving this involvement

*ithout defensive behaviour or undue tension and *orry on the part of the managers in

charge of the cost centres( The budget constrained5 style often resulted in manipulation of

accounting reports" incorrect charging to budgets" delays in carrying out repairs until the

money *as available in the budget" and a general deterioration in the relationships bet*een

managers and those to *hom they reported(

T*o decades of research into the behavioural aspects of budgeting and related

evaluation mechanisms transformed the discipline of accounting( +n the process" the

interrelation bet*een accounting and sociology *as altered permanently( ccounting *as

no longer to be perceived as a purely technical process" but *as to be vie*ed as

organisational and behavioural( /hat this meant" ho*ever" *as soon to change in line *ith

developments in sociology and the *ider social science environment(


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'$ Accounting as an (rgani)ational and #ocial Practice

+f behavioural accounting *as firmly established by the mid-1#>0s as a *ay of posing

sociological uestions about accounting practices" its focus *as almost e.clusively focused

on processes that occurred *ithin organisations( The agenda outlined by those such as

/eber" ,ombart and ar." and that sought to analyse the interrelations bet*een large-scale

social change and accounting change" had been almost entirely supplanted by a concern

*ith groups and group dynamics(

The need to remedy this by reinstating the macro-level analysis of accounting *as

set out clearly by op*ood 1#>4'( e argued that the processes by *hich groups influence

and control the accounting function *ithin organisations is matched by pressures arising in

the *ider social and economic environment( To the e.tent that much contemporary

accounting reflects the ethos of capitalism" so too *ould one e.pect the forms and

philosophies of accounting to change in line *ith changes in the social and political

environment( e reinforced this point in 1#> in an editorial in the first edition ofAccounting,

Organizations and Society( e spo)e there of an urgent need for research *hich can

provide a basis for seeing accounting as both a social and organi7ational phenomenon5

op*ood" 1#>" p( 3'" arguing that studies of po*er" influence and control should

complement studies of the behavioural aspects of accounting *ithin organi7ations(

+t *as to be a fe* more years" ho*ever" before things began to change( +n 1#>$"

op*ood could still comment that there had been little research *hich addressed the *ider

social and political influences on accounting( The more micro-level focus characteristic of

the north merican research tradition continued to dominate" in contrast to the more macro

uropean approaches focusing on uestions of organi7ational sociology and the broader

structural and environmental influences(

ven as late as 1#$0" a sociological analysis of accounting that could blend

successfully micro-level and macro-level concerns remained largely an aspiration( +ndeed" it


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*as not even clear *hat concepts and issues *ould guide such a research agenda( ,ome

suggestions" ho*ever" *ere put for*ard in 1#$0 in an influential paper *hich sought to

identify the roles of accounting in organi7ations and society Eurchell et al" 1#$0'( *ide

range of hitherto neglected issues should" it *as argued" be brought *ithin the purvie* of

accounting researchers" and the basic premise on *hich accounting *as analysed should

change( ?ather than seeing the technical dimensions of accounting as independent of the

social dynamics" they should be seen as interrelated( Gust as rgyris had argued that

accounting practices can create groups" so too it *as argued can accounting create other

social forms( The role of accounting in creating organi7ational visibility" in creating particular

patterns of organi7ational and social management" and in creating structures of po*er

needed to be addressed( The analysis of accounting *ithin organi7ations should be

connected e.plicitly *ith the analysis of more general forms of economic and social

management( ccounting should" that is to say" no longer be conceived as a purely

organi7ational phenomenon( The earlier tradition of sociological enuiry concerning

accounting" as embodied in the *ritings of ar. and /eber" *as appealed to as having

identified issues *orthy of systematic study( =rocesses of rationalisation should be

addressed" as should the mythical" symbolic and ritualistic roles of accounting( ,tudies of

the organi7ational roles of accounting should be complemented by studies of the societal

roles of accounting(

From 1#$0 on*ards" things began to change( The range of methodologies dra*n

upon by researchers broadened" as did the focus( +nstitutional structures and processes"

and their interrelations *ith accounting practices" *ere given increasing attention( cross

the follo*ing t*o decades" the interactions bet*een sociology and accounting altered( The

sociological analysis of accounting came to be located more *ithin the discipline of

accounting" and in the process the concepts used and the definition of the ob8ect of attention

itself altered( 6o longer *as it simply a matter of applying pre-given sociological concepts to

accounting( ?ather" the concepts themselves *ere developed in close connection to the


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calculative practices of accounting( The discipline of accounting became more reflective"

and itself contributed to the *ider development of the social sciences(

Four strands of research contributed to this e.pansion of the domain of accounting

research; first" a concern *ith the institutional en"ironments of accounting; second" a

political economy of accounting; third" an ethnography of accounting; and fourth" the study of

the net#or$s *ithin *hich accounting is embedded(

The ground *as already laid *ithin sociology and organi7ation theory for the analysis

of the institutional environments of accounting( +n the late 1#>0s" the study of the

institutionalised myth structure5 eyer and ?o*an" 1#>>' of rationali7ed societies had

emerged( eyer and ?o*an argued that prevailing theories neglected a concern *ith the

legitimacy of rationali7ed formal structures" as distinct from day-to-day *or) activities( +n so

far as rationali7ed and impersonal prescriptions attribute a social purpose to technical

activity" and specify the appropriate manner in *hich to pursue this activity" these

rationali7ed prescriptions *ere *orthy of study in their o*n right( Terming such prescriptions

myths5" their importance stems from the e.tent to *hich they become institutionali7ed" that

is to say ta)en-for-granted *ays of achieving organi7ational ends( ,uch myths" eyer and

?o*an argued" become binding on particular organi7ations" and shape the development of

organi7ations and societies(

The myths of the accountant thus too) their place alongside those of doctors"

la*yers and others( /hether it *as a matter of a particular category of cost" or the broader

ceremonial role attributed to financial values in a rationali7ed society" myths" organi7ations

and rationali7ation *ere to be lin)ed( choing some of a. /eber


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increase their legitimacy and survival prospects( The rules embodied in such practices then

become binding on the organi7ation( The formal structures of organi7ations thus come to

reflect the myths of the institutional environment" rather than the demands of the *or)

activities of the organi7ation(

Die*ed in institutional terms" accounting is understood as one of the mechanisms

through *hich organi7ations come to incorporate rational conceptions of *ays of organi7ing(

ccounting is 8ust one of many such practices in contemporary societies" albeit a highly

significant one in a number of contemporary *estern societies ( +t provides a set of

techniues for organi7ing and monitoring activities" and a language *ith *hich to define and

delineate organi7ational goals" procedures and policies( ccounting performs a ceremonial

function that helps legitimate an organi7ation among its users5" *hether these be

participants *ithin the organi7ations" stoc)holders" the public" or regulatory bodies such as

the ,ecurities .change !ommission( +nstead of presuming only efficiency effects" the

adoption and diffusion of particular accounting practices can be studied *ith regard to their

roles as rational institutional myths( t a societal level" one can study ho* the amount of

accounting done in a particular society or organi7ation is determined by its environment"

rather than by the intrinsically necessary technical *or) processes(

ma8or ne* research agenda *as opened up by this focus on the institutional

environments of accounting( The lin)s bet*een an organi7ation and its environment *ere

accorded a central place in the analysis of accounting( ?esearchers *ithin accounting *ere

encouraged to loo) beyond the organi7ation" and to see changes *ithin the organi7ation as

dynamically lin)ed *ith changes in the *ider environment( ccounting lost some of its

apparent uniueness in this vie*" and became part of the cultural apparatus of a society(

Eudgetary practices *ithin an organi7ation *ere no longer vie*ed as a matter only of group

dynamics and games among the participants( They could be vie*ed in terms of the

articulation" enforcement and modification of societal e.pectations of acceptable budgetary

practices during a period of organi7ational decline !ovales)i and Airsmith" 1#$$'(


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Iuestions such as ho* this occurred" to *hat purpose" and from *hom and *here such

e.pectations arose" could be directed to a range of actors beyond the organi7ation( The

increasing dominance of finance personnel in the control of large corporations could be

e.plained by pointing to changes in the strategy and structure of organi7ations" changes in

anti-trust la*s" and the mimic)ing of firms in similar environments Fligstein" 1##0'( shift in

intra-organi7ational po*er relations is vie*ed as a result of events *ithin the organi7ational

environment" and as a result of the *ay in *hich )ey actors *ithin organi7ations define their

problems( range of further studies dre* more loosely on the institutional perspective

Eerry et al" 1#$&; speland and irsch" 1##0; nsari and us)e" 1#$>'" and demonstrated

the importance of lin)ing changes in accounting practices *ithin an organi7ation to the

demands and e.pectations of the institutional environment(

political economy of accounting also dre* attention to the importance of

addressing the macro-environment *ithin *hich organi7ations e.ist" and did so in *ays that

dre* upon and e.tended the *ritings of ar. and later *riters( =olitical economy *riters

emphasised the conflicting political and economic interests at sta)e in accounting" and the

importance of addressing such interests both *ithin and beyond the organi7ation( They

placed particular emphasis on the *ays in *hich po*er relations" *hich are historically

specific" are shaped by and in turn shape accounting practices( The image of accounting as

a technically neutral and ob8ective practice *as rebutted sharply by political economy

*riters( ccounting *as vie*ed instead as a partial and interested language and practice"

one that represents and reinforces the interests of particular occupational groups and

classes(

The scene had been set for a rene*al of interest in political economy issues by the

publication of a!or and %onopoly Capital Eraverman" 1#>4'( This *as an intellectual call

to arms to those interested in understanding changes in the productive process and in the

occupational structure of the *or)force *hich had occurred across the past century( For" as

Eraverman stated" little had been added by political economy *riters to the analysis of such


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issues since ar.


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to variation in the institutional and political structures bet*een countries =u.ty et al" 1#$>'(

The roles of accounting in industrial relations and *age determination negotiations *ere

addressed Eougen" 1#$#; Eougen" 9gden and 9utram" 1##0'( The dominance of

accounting controls over the labour process in the J@ *ere e.plained by reference to the

collective mobility pro8ect5 of the accounting profession in the J@" and the dominant position

it has achieved *ithin the economic functions5 of the global function of capital rmstrong"

1#$&" 1#$>'( nd the differential spread in the J, and the J@ of practices such as standard

costing" budgeting" and performance reports *ere e.amined using an historical-comparative

method( number of further studies *ere conducted dra*ing broadly on the principles and

concepts of political economy( The interaction bet*een state actions and the distributional

conseuences of accounting policies *ere e.amined rnold" 1##1'" as *ere the lin)s

bet*een cost accounting techniues and attempts to control the labour process( ore

recently" the importance of using concepts of class" ideology and social structure in

analysing labour relations" and a factory reorgani7ation programme in particular" has been

reaffirmed rnold" 1##$; Froud et al" 1##$'(

different agenda" one that can be labelled an ethnography of accounting" also

emerged in the early 1#$0s( The concern here *as *ith the meanings and perceptions of

the actors *ho develop and use accounting practices in localised settings( The conditions

and conseuences of accounting in specific organisations provided the focus here( The

lived e.perience5 of individual actors *as addressed through case analyses that

emphasised the symbolic use of accounting for individuals Eoland and =ondy" 1#$3'( n

understanding of ho* accounting practices contribute to the production and reproduction of

organisational life *as the aim of such research ?oberts and ,capens" 1#$&'(

n ethnography of accounting see)s to understand *hat *as said" done and

understood in a particular situation( focus on the changing relations bet*een volumes and

costs in advanced manufacturing Gonsson and %ronlund" 1#$$' allo*s one to understand

ho* practices and procedures are *or)ed out in local settings( +n so far as ne* *ays of


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accounting have to be understood and made sense of" an understanding of accounting

change in a particular organisation can similarly be facilitated by referring to the meanings

people attach to the social *orld 6ahapiet" 1#$$'( The emergence of a ne* accounting

based organisational culture can be analysed using an interpretive or ethnographic frame

Aent" 1##1'( The fabricating of budgets =reston et al" 1##2'" and the influence of the

inspection and revie* processes of the Eritish +nland ?evenue on internal accounting

processes =reston" 1#$#'" can highlight the chains of reasoning involved( n ethnography

of three hospitals can help us understand ho* and *hy ne* accounting numbers are

produced" and ho* the social lin)ages among a relatively small group of people enables this

to occur !hua" 1##&'( ean*hile" the process of becoming5 a professional accountant

=o*er" 1##1' can be vie*ed as analogous to that of the moral career5 of the mental patient

%offman" 1#1'( ore generally" one might say that most behaviour" even *ithin the

sphere of the mar)et-driven economy" is deeply embedded in net*or)s of interpersonal

relations %ranovetter" 1#$&'(

fourth agenda focussed on the net*or)s *ithin *hich accounting is embedded( s

*ith all three of the previous themes identified" this gre* out of developments *ithin the

*ider social sciences as *ell as from attempts to address intellectual challenges identified

by accounting researchers( +n so far as previous research *ithin accounting had sought to

analyse and e.plain the lin)s bet*een accounting and the environment" a dualism had

formed: on the one hand there *as the environment" on the other the organi7ation( +n place

of such a dualism" a number of *riters began to e.plore more dynamic and process-based

*ays of e.plaining the interrelations bet*een organisations and their environments( Eurchell

et al 1#$&' called for researchers to analyse the interpenetration bet*een accounting and

society( +nstead of t*o mutually e.clusive domains - accounting5 and society5 - attention

*as focussed on the specific practices and institutions in *hich the accounting category

value added5 appeared( +n this interpretation" the environment is not e.ternal to accounting

but passes through5 it" and accounting in turn shapes and modifies the social( Eurchell et al


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e.amined three arenas5: accounting standard setting" the management of the national

economy" and the industrial relations system( The accounting constellation5 *as the

particular social space *here these three arenas intersected and intert*ined" a net*or) or

assemblage of intersecting practices" processes and institutions( The value added event5 is

a field comprised of a very particular set of relations established bet*een institutions"

economic and administrative processes" bodies of )no*ledge" systems of norms and

measurement" and classification techniues( +n a related manner" although dra*ing on

different reference points *ithin sociology" ?obson 1##1' set out e.plicitly to apply and

e.tend this approach in a study of accounting standard setting in the J@( Ara*ing upon the

*ritings of atour 1#$>" 1#$$'" he focussed on discursive processes of accounting change"

and the concept of translation in particular( ccounting change occurs" ?obson argued"

*hen a particular group or institution is able successfully to enrol other actors in their

proposals by incorporating and translating the interests of others into the solutions proposed(

+n this process" problems are defined as shared" alliances formed" arguments mobilised" and

the interests of other groups" parties and institutions enrolled to*ards a common interest(

These four research agendas clearly do not e.haust the sociological analysis of

accounting across the past t*o decades or so( They serve" ho*ever" to indicate the e.tent

to *hich accounting researchers have redefined the domain of accounting research by

dra*ing on and contributing to sociological research( +n the follo*ing section" the revival of

interest in economic calculation among sociologists in the past decade is considered in

greater detail(

*$ Agents +et,or-s and Assemblages of Practices


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The recent rediscovery of the economy by sociologists has ta)en a particular form(

The focus has been on the *ays in *hich calculating agents embed economic processes in

social net*or)s( n early contribution by =olanyi 1#&>'" *hich argued that the economy

should be vie*ed as an instituted process5" provides an important reference point for this

literature( =olanyi spo)e of the transcending importance of the institutional aspect of the

economy5 =olanyi" 1#&>; cited in %ranovetter and ,*edberg" p( 34'" and argued that it is

the instituting of economic processes that integrates them and gives them unity and stability(

=olanyi identified three forms of integration - reciprocity" redistribution and e.change - and

argued that their integrating effect is conditioned by definite institutional arrangements(

+ntegration" according to =olanyi" means something more than the aggregation of individual

behaviours and interactions(

Three decades later" and in a similar vein" %ranovetter 1#$&' argued that economic

behaviour is embedded5 in a net*or) or system of social relations( ,ociologists since

/eber had" he argued" cut themselves off from a large and important part of the uropean

tradition" as represented particularly by a. /eber( For that tradition" economic action is

vie*ed as only one category" albeit an important one" of social action( +nterloc)ing

directorates among firms" industrial purchasing" subcontracting relationships" intrafirm audits

and transfer pricing" are identified by %ranovetter as e.amples of the important role played

by *ebs of social relations in shaping economic behaviour( ost economic behaviour"

according to %ranovetter" is closely embedded in net*or)s of personal relations( ?ather

than vie* these relations as merely causing friction *ithin an other*ise rational mar)et

process" such relations *ere seen by %ranovetter to be central and amenable to sociological

analysis( !areful and systematic attention is reuired" he argued" to the actual patterns of

personal relations through *hich economic transactions are carried out(

ore recently" !allon 1##$' has addressed the issue of embeddedness" *ith

particular respect to the interrelation bet*een the economy as a thing and economics as a


23/40

-23-

discipline( rguing that economics as a discipline shapes rather than observes the

economy" !allon


24/40

-24-

connecting agents" *e should focus on the historically and geographically variable practices

that ma)e calculation possible( For it is these practices that ma)e it possible to intervene" to

act upon and alter the capacities of individuals" entities and processes" to transform them

and achieve specific ends( +t is through calculative practices that *e can affect the type of

*orld *e live in" the *ay in *hich *e understand the choices open to organisations and

individuals" the *ay in *hich *e manage and organi7e the activities of others and ourselves(

ccounting researchers should attend to the comple. interplay bet*een *ays of calculating

and *ays of managing social and organi7ational life( history of the formation of mar)ets

and of the economy should commence *ith the heterogenous practices and ideas that have

made organi7ational life calculable(

,econd" rather than presuming that the discipline of economics shapes the actual

economy" *e should e.amine empirically the comple. of )no*ledges and practices that

reflect on and intervene in economic life( To study the economy as a thing5" *e should not

necessarily ta)e economics as a starting point( /e should consider instead the relations

among the disparate disciplines and practices that have helped shape the economy in its

modern form( ccounting" actuarial science" applied psychology" engineering" finance" and

operations research are 8ust some of the disciplines *e should be considering( !learly" a

number of these disciplines have important interrelations *ith economics" and in some

cases have borro*ed e.tensively from economics iller" 1##$'( +t is the assemblages that

form among a variety of concepts and practices" the variable boundaries bet*een them"

and the interventions that they ma)e possible" that *e should attend to(

Third" *e should pay attention to the lin)s bet*een calculative practices and the

programmes they see) to operationalise( +nstead of presuming that the triptych of agents"

net*or)s and calculation set out by !allon e.hausts the relevant domains" *e should

consider the *ays in *hich calculation is endo*ed *ith a significance that e.tends beyond

the immediate tas)s to *hich it is put( /ithin individual organi7ations" the calculation of

costs can be lin)ed to much *ider concerns" such as national competitiveness and the


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-2&-

perceived need for benchmar)ing( ?ationales such as decision-ma)ing" responsibility" and

efficiency can give meaning to apparently mundane tas)s such as budgeting and variance

analysis( nd" on a much broader scale" the language of mar)ets can help transform the

boundaries bet*een the private and the public sector" and call forth an avalanche of

numbers produced by a variety of calculating machines( iberalism and neo-liberalism are

not 8ust models for the conduct of economic activity" but for the *hole of social life( The

concept of the mar)et provides a rationale not only for the e.change of goods and services"

but an idea and an ob8ective for transforming citi7ens and institutions that had previously

operated according to very different logics( /hether it is a matter of the delivery of health

and social care" and the boundaries bet*een them" or the monitoring and evaluation of the

police and probation services" *ays of calculating are intrinsically lin)ed to *ider political

concerns(

+n the follo*ing section" these arguments concerning the importance of focussing on

calculative practices" and the assemblages they help form" are illustrated by considering the

issue of investment appraisal practices at !aterpillar +nc in the late 1#$0s(

'() &e*thin$ing and re*appraising the factory+ in"estment !undling practices at Caterpillar

nc

The process of re-thin)ing the factory5 in the J, across the last t*o decades of the

t*entieth century" and the specific form this too) at !aterpillar +nc" illustrates the *ay in

*hich the calculative practices of accounting help form an assemblage of persons"

processes and things(4

?ethin)ing the factory refers to a physical reconstruction of the

4+nterestingly" *hile previously published *or) on this issue by the author has received considerable

critical attention" the accounting practices that *ere central to the transformation of the factory at !aterpillar +nchave been largely ignored( 9n these issues" see rnold 1##$'" Froud et(al( 1##$' and iller and 9


26/40

-2-

factory" as *ell as a reconstruction of practices and ideas about ho* to govern the

customer-driven5 factory( +t entailed a transformation of managerial beliefs about ho*

international competitiveness should be maintained( 6e* accounting practices *ere central

to the re-organising of factory architectures" shop floor layouts and principles for organi7ing

the flo* of material and products(

?ethin)ing the factory can be understood as comprising t*o aspects( First" the

construction of ne* programmes for the design and administration of the factory" in

accordance *ith emergent cultural norms( ,econd" the elaboration of technologies for

ma)ing such programmes operable( For programmes do not operate on their o*n( They

reuire technologies" devices for intervening" instruments for acting upon people" ob8ects

and processes so as to shape or influence them( Technologies include various forms of

calculating" *riting" recording" e.amining" assessing and visuali7ing that have the capacity to

act upon and transform the person" ob8ect or process in uestion( dministrative systems"

accounting practices" training systems" organi7ational forms" systems architectures" filing

and information systems" and spatial arrangements of people and machines all share the

ability to shape the conduct of individuals indirectly" rather than by force or direct control(

t !aterpillar +nc" rethin)ing the factory began in the late 1#$0s by a problemati7ing

of the issue of competitiveness vis-a-vis Gapan" and @omatsu in particular( particular

calculative technology - competitor cost analysis - gave visibiilty *ithin the firm to the general

notion of competitiveness that preoccupied so many commentators" consultants" academics

and policy-ma)ers( !ompetitiveness *as to be given a number as *ell as a name( 6ot only

*as @omatsu of Gapan identified as posing a ma8or threat to !aterpillar" the nature of that

threat *as distilled into a single financial number( !ompetitor cost analysis provided a

calculative practice that made it possible to establish *hether" and to *hat e.tent" the firm

had a structural cost disadvantage relative to )ey international competitors( !ompetitor cost

analysis offered a *ay of ma)ing possible a detailed comparison bet*een @omatsu


27/40

-2>-

aggregate(

!ompetitor cost analysis allo*ed the establishment of company-*ide structural cost

reduction targets" and individual product-by-product targets( ne* tool" the !ost

?eduction =rogress ?eport5 made it possible to monitor progress in cost reduction( 6e*

rolling5 budgetary mechanisms gave operating units detailed spending and employment

plans" and gave plant managers and %eneral 9ffice an enhanced visibility of the factors and

decisions that *ere held to affect progress along the cost reduction curve( Eut competitor

cost analysis *as more than a technical accounting change( +t helped transform the field of

accountability for !aterpillar


28/40

-2$-

based on system principles that *as seen as necessary to meet the competitive threat

posed by @omatsu of Gapan( 9ne particular investment bundle" termed the ssembly

igh*ay" sought to embed ne* ideas of *or)" and ne* identities for *or)ers" in the physical

layout of an actual shop floor(

+nvestment bundling5 entailed dividing manufacturing facilities up into bundles5"

physical areas of a factory floor that encompassed the net*or) of cells needed to

manufacture a core product module( bundle *as defined as a:

((( grouping of investments *hich are made for the purpose of manufacturing"

assembling" testing" and painting a ma8or component Kor core product moduleL( +t

occupies a section of the building( +t is an entity *hich can be managed separately(

ccounting can identify the costs" inventory and resources needed to run the

minifactory(5

calculative practice thus made visible a defined physical area on the shop floor"

and in accordance *ith the notion of a core product module as defined by systems

e.pertise( +nvestment appraisal thus lin)ed the concept of competitiveness *ith the actual

design of factory layouts( +nvestment in the ne* architecture of production *as not to be

evaluated on a machine by machine basis( 6either *as it to be evaluated for each individual

cell( ?ather" investment *as to be made in a series of Bmini-factoriesB" each one a physical

area on the factory floor that contained a Bgate-to-gate processB" and that could be managed

on its o*n( s an amalgam or net*or) of cells" a bundle *ould comprise diverse )inds of

assets: the s)ills of *or)ers" soft*ares" hard*ares" manufacturing machines" and logistics

technologies" among others( Financial flo*s *ere to mirror the physical flo*s of the ne*

systems-based model of production" and the in8unction to focus e.ternally on

5

emo of =( !( %uerindon" !apital +nvestment for the #0s" 6ovember 10" 1#$$(


29/40

-2#-

competitiveness vis-a-vis @omatsu of Gapan( +t *as through such a calculative practice that

the =lant /ith Future =/F' program" the most ambitious in !aterpillarCs history" *as to

be managed(6

ighty-t*o investment bundles" or mini-factories" *ere identified *ithin the

=/F program( ach of these bundles became a unit of investment analysis" decision" and

management(

t the centre of this ne* approach to investment appraisal *as the idea that one

invested to achieve synergies among diverse assets" synergies that ought to be reflected in

the concept of velocity of material flo*( This referred to the speed at *hich material flo*ed

through the area described by a bundle" thus providing a measure of the e.tent to *hich

core product modules *ere being manufactured according to globally competitive cost and

uality targets" as *ell as in response to shifting volumes and patterns of demand( The

uestion that *ould be as)ed of every decision pertaining to investment in fle.ibly

specialised manufacture *ould be: Bho* competitive am + getting e-ternally *ith this

investment Kin each BbundleB of technologiesLMB7

+n this *ay" the practice of investment

bundling *as to provide a direct and visible lin) bet*een the shop floor and the competitive

environment(

+nvestment bundling *as also to provide a direct and visible lin) bet*een the

financial e.pertise called for *hen investing in capital assets" and the uality and

performance of the merican product( +n particular" satisfactory returns on investment or

net present values' at !aterpillar *ere to be the demonstrable conseuences of improving

the cost" uality" and competitive capability of core product modules and manufacturing

processes( The *or)ings of financial e.pertise *ere to be made accountable to the product(

The idea *as that one invested in systems of manufacture" ne* architectures of production"

6The =/F program *as eventually to reuire a commitment of N1($bn for the purchase of capital

assets" plus N0(#bn for start-up costs(

7

+ntervie* *ith a former director of manufacturing" Gune 1#" 1##0" p( 3" emphasis added(


30/40

-30-

as a *ay of acting upon the more general issue of competitiveness( calculative practice

*ould ma)e visible financial returns" as *ell as other ne*ly visible competitive issues such

as floorspace" inventory and throughput( s physical spaces on the factory floor" and

responsibility centers for *hich net present values could be calculated" investment bundles

made operable and manageable the competitiveness of merican products on the *orld

mar)ets( +nvestment bundling provided a technology for acting upon people and processes"

and in accordance *ith a particular corporate program for governing economic life *ithin the

enterprise(

?ethin)ing the factory at !aterpillar +nc in the late 1#$0s *as a densely theoretical

and political pro8ect( The calculative practices of competitor benchmar)ing and investment

bundling operationalised concerns regarding the competitive threat posed by @omatsu of

Gapan( !ompetitor benchmar)ing gave a financial number and a name to a rather diffuse

notion of Gapanese competition( Eut it suggested a rather constrained and in*ard-loo)ing

future( +n contrast" the assemblage made calculable through investment bundling practices

*as a programme for modernisation and reform(8

6e* machines and layouts on the shop

floor" ne* material flo*s" and ne* *or)ing relationships *ere to be made calculable through

novel investment appraisal practices( n ambitious and corporate-*ide programme of

investment" rather than retrenchment and cost-cutting" *ould address issues of

competitiveness( +nvestment bundling lin)ed together abstract notions of competition

articulated at a national level" *ith the manufacturing of a core product module in a particular

factory( nd it distilled these into a single financial number that could be presented at the

level of individual factories" the corporation as a *hole" and the capital mar)ets(

.$ Conclusions

8

9n the notion of programmes" see iller and ?ose 1##2'(


31/40


32/40

-32-

+ntel !orp are *ays of ensuring that large-scale capital investments made by sub-units of the

firm in assets such as ne* processes" microprocessor products and manufacturing

capacity' are coordinated *ith one another internally" and that they are aligned also *ith

complementary investments on the part of a *ide range of other firms( s a )ey part of

+ntel


33/40

-33-

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,ociety Dol( 12" 6o( 3 1#$>' pp( 2>3-2#1(

?oberts" G( and ,capens" ?(" ccounting ,ystems and ,ystems of ccountability -

Jnderstanding ccounting =ractices in their 9rgani7ational !onte.ts5" ccounting"

9rgani7ations and ,ociety" Dolume 10" 6o( 4 1#$&' pp( 443-4&(

?obson" @(" 9n the arenas of accounting change: the process of translation5" ccounting"

9rgani7ations and ,ociety" Dol( 1" 6o( &O 1##1'" pp( &4>-&>0(

,trauss" %(" %roup Aynamics and +ntergroup ?elatoins5" in /(F( /hyte ed('" oney and

otivation: n nalysis of +ncentives in +ndustry arper H ?o*" 1#&&'(

Tin)er" T(" =aper =rophets: ,ocial !ritiue of ccounting 6e* or): =raeger" 1#$&'(

/eber" (" conomy and ,ociety Eer)eley and os ngeles: Jniversity of !alifornia =ress"

1#>$; K1#&L(


40/40

-40-

/eber" (" The =rotestant thic and the ,pirit of !apitalism ondon: ?outledge" 1##2'

K1#04-&L(

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