The economic entity and accounting for labour: Insights from Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906 - 1945)

<p>This thesis offers an alternative to conventional accounting in the conceptualisation of the economic entity. Framed by the principles of philosophical hermeneutics, the writings of the German Lutheran theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906 – 1945) are explored in order to provide an alternative conceptualisation of the economic entity. This thesis then examines the implications of this conceptualisation for accounting for labour, beyond the confines of conventional accounting. The most widely accepted conceptualisation of the economic entity in business disciplines, including conventional accounting, is the nexus-of-contract perspective. The nexus-of-contract perspective conceptualises the entity as an atomised, ahistorical and artificial fiction that serves as a nexus for contracting relationships among various parties. Because it is merely a nexus, the entity cannot be construed as an actor with ethical responsibility. The normative behaviour of the nexus-of-contract entity is profit and shareholder wealth maximisation. Despite the dominance of this approach, this perspective is limited in addressing the ethical controversies that economic entities currently face. As an alternative, the conceptualisation of the entity as “responsible collective person” – based on Bonhoeffer‟s concept of mandates and his concept of the collective person – is provided to address the limitations of the nexus-of-contract approach. The “responsible collective person” has two features. The first feature is the positioning of the entity amidst various spheres of life, called “mandates”. The “mandates” exist in relations of “being-with”, “being-for” and “being-against” each other. The second feature is the delineation of the boundary of the entity through the notion of influence. The ethical imperative of the “responsible collective person” is based on Bonhoeffer‟s ethic of responsible action. Any conceptualisation of the entity has implications for how various stakeholders are perceived and accounted for by the entity. In regards to labour as a major stakeholder, the nexus-of-contract approach views labour as an equal, contracting partner that has a “fixed claim” from the entity in the form of agreed-upon remuneration. Following this perspective, conventional accounting characterises labour as a cost to the entity, with the assumption that remuneration to labour is adequate compensation for their services. While there have been attempts at recognising labour as assets, the strong adherence towards the principles of conventional accounting have thwarted these efforts. There are several ethical limitations to these approaches. Firstly, the categorisation of labour as cost leads to the commodification of human beings in the pursuit of profits. Secondly, the adherence towards the “hard” and calculative nature of conventional accounting means that the goal of accounting for the worth of labour cannot come to fruition. Thirdly, conventional accounting for labour is mostly from the perspective of the entity, silencing labour‟s own voices. In contrast, the “responsible collective person” approach argues that “the labourer” cannot be separated from “the human”, and that any debate on labour necessarily entails a debate on humanity. To this end, it is proposed that accounting, via its communicative function, can act as a discourse that provides the “responsible collective person” with a wide array of information – information that will be helpful in enabling the entity to become an ethical and responsible agent. In regards to accounting for labour, it is argued that labour should not be negatively ascribed as an expense, but as a significant and important contributor to the entity. Space should be given for multiple forms of accounting from multiple perspectives, ranging from the “hard” financial representations to the “soft” narrative and visual approaches. Three approaches to accounting for labour are explored: the Statement of Redistribution of Income; Self-Accountings from Labour; and Accounting for Labour from Others.</p>

The economic entity and accounting for labour: Insights from Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906 - 1945)

<p>This thesis offers an alternative to conventional accounting in the conceptualisation of the economic entity. Framed by the principles of philosophical hermeneutics, the writings of the German Lutheran theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906 – 1945) are explored in order to provide an alternative conceptualisation of the economic entity. This thesis then examines the implications of this conceptualisation for accounting for labour, beyond the confines of conventional accounting. The most widely accepted conceptualisation of the economic entity in business disciplines, including conventional accounting, is the nexus-of-contract perspective. The nexus-of-contract perspective conceptualises the entity as an atomised, ahistorical and artificial fiction that serves as a nexus for contracting relationships among various parties. Because it is merely a nexus, the entity cannot be construed as an actor with ethical responsibility. The normative behaviour of the nexus-of-contract entity is profit and shareholder wealth maximisation. Despite the dominance of this approach, this perspective is limited in addressing the ethical controversies that economic entities currently face. As an alternative, the conceptualisation of the entity as “responsible collective person” – based on Bonhoeffer‟s concept of mandates and his concept of the collective person – is provided to address the limitations of the nexus-of-contract approach. The “responsible collective person” has two features. The first feature is the positioning of the entity amidst various spheres of life, called “mandates”. The “mandates” exist in relations of “being-with”, “being-for” and “being-against” each other. The second feature is the delineation of the boundary of the entity through the notion of influence. The ethical imperative of the “responsible collective person” is based on Bonhoeffer‟s ethic of responsible action. Any conceptualisation of the entity has implications for how various stakeholders are perceived and accounted for by the entity. In regards to labour as a major stakeholder, the nexus-of-contract approach views labour as an equal, contracting partner that has a “fixed claim” from the entity in the form of agreed-upon remuneration. Following this perspective, conventional accounting characterises labour as a cost to the entity, with the assumption that remuneration to labour is adequate compensation for their services. While there have been attempts at recognising labour as assets, the strong adherence towards the principles of conventional accounting have thwarted these efforts. There are several ethical limitations to these approaches. Firstly, the categorisation of labour as cost leads to the commodification of human beings in the pursuit of profits. Secondly, the adherence towards the “hard” and calculative nature of conventional accounting means that the goal of accounting for the worth of labour cannot come to fruition. Thirdly, conventional accounting for labour is mostly from the perspective of the entity, silencing labour‟s own voices. In contrast, the “responsible collective person” approach argues that “the labourer” cannot be separated from “the human”, and that any debate on labour necessarily entails a debate on humanity. To this end, it is proposed that accounting, via its communicative function, can act as a discourse that provides the “responsible collective person” with a wide array of information – information that will be helpful in enabling the entity to become an ethical and responsible agent. In regards to accounting for labour, it is argued that labour should not be negatively ascribed as an expense, but as a significant and important contributor to the entity. Space should be given for multiple forms of accounting from multiple perspectives, ranging from the “hard” financial representations to the “soft” narrative and visual approaches. Three approaches to accounting for labour are explored: the Statement of Redistribution of Income; Self-Accountings from Labour; and Accounting for Labour from Others.</p>

How the ELE projects aims to bring the voices of the Wikimedia communities on Digital Language Equality into future European Commission Programs

The European Commission is funding the project “European Language Equality” and next to 52 other partners, Wikimedia Deutschland is part of this partner consortium. The project is aiming to address the challenge that not all 24 official EU languages or the regional and minority languages in Europe have the same digital support. In order to achieve a state in which all languages have the technological support necessary for them to continue to exist and prosper in the digital age, the project partners are preparing a convincing agenda and roadmap on how to get there by 2030. The Wikimedia movement, consisting of volunteers and organizations whose daily business is dealing with languages and language technology, is a major stakeholder for the language technology community. In order to know what it will take to get to a state of full digital equality we want the project consortium to know the pains, challenges, wishes and needs of the volunteers and communities keeping the multi-language environment of Europe alive everyday. This lightning talk will give a short introduction to this European project and present a survey that is used to collect needs, hopes and challenges from the language technology community. We are hoping that with this the communities perspective on digital language equality will influence future programs, projects, funding and structures on an European level.

Public Opinion Toward Artificial Intelligence

This chapter in the Oxford Handbook of AI Governance synthesizes and discusses research on public opinion toward artificial intelligence (AI). Understanding citizens' and consumers' attitudes toward AI is important from a normative standpoint because the public is a major stakeholder in shaping the future of the technology and should have a voice in policy discussions. Furthermore, the research could help us anticipate future political and consumer behavior. Survey data worldwide show that the public is increasingly aware of AI; however, they -- unlike AI researchers -- tend to anthropomorphize AI. Demographic differences correlate with trust in AI in the abstract: those living in East Asia have higher levels of trust in AI, while women and those of lower socioeconomic status across different regions have lower levels of trust. Surveys that focus on particular AI applications, including facial recognition technology, personalization algorithms, lethal autonomous weapons, and workplace automation, add complexity to this research topic. I conclude this chapter by recommending four new topics for future studies: 1) institutional trust in actors building and deploying AI systems, 2) the impact of knowledge and experience on attitudes toward AI, 3) heterogeneity in attitudes toward AI, and 4) the relationship between attitudes and behavior.

Materiality Disclosure in Sustainability Reporting: Evidence from Malaysia

Manuscript type: Research paper Research aims: This paper aims to examine the determinants that influence companies to report material sustainability information in their corporate annual reports. Design/Methodology/Approach: To validate the determinants influencing materiality disclosure, content analysis was conducted on the annual reports of the top 113 Malaysian public listed companies in 2016, and the smart partial least squares technique was employed to examine the proposed relationships. Research findings: The empirical results indicate that board activity and board independence play a significant role in the determination of materiality disclosure. The results also reveal that board size, company size, profitability, leverage and industry are insignificant predictors of materiality disclosure. The results indicate that many listed companies in Malaysia disclose some amount of material sustainability information. However, the level of disclosure remains relatively low. Theoretical contribution/Originality: Notwithstanding that materiality is regarded as a key reporting principle in the preparation of sustainability reports, research on the application of the materiality concept in sustainability reporting remains to be an unexplored theme in Malaysia. This work sheds light on materiality disclosure in sustainability reporting of large companies operating in Malaysia through the combined views of the stakeholder and legitimacy theories. Practitioner/Policy implications: The results should be of great interest to policymakers who are concerned with formulating sustainability policies to achieve greater materiality disclosure. It also provides strategic insights to companies that board characteristics, such as board activity and board independence, influence materiality disclosure. Board members are urged to consider the importance of the reporting materiality determination process; otherwise, poor reporting may result in conflict with major stakeholder groups who do not see the material issues disclosed in the sustainability reports. Research limitation/Implications: The results are limited to the context of Malaysia. Future researchers can compare materiality disclosure with other countries, such as Singapore and Thailand, to enrich the sustainability reporting literature.

Networking Digital Platforms and Healthcare Project Finance Bankability

Framework: Healthcare project finance (PF) involves long-term structural investments in hospitals, typically within a public–private partnership (PPP). Banks represent the third major stakeholder, supporting the private player. Within this well-known framework, digital platforms represent a new virtual stakeholder, operating as a bridging node that incorporates information, and eases transactions. The relationships among the stakeholders are re-engineered around the platform and may be expressed with network theory patterns, even considering its multilayer extensions. Justification: As these investments are highly leveraged, especially during the construction phase, bankability represents a major sustainability concern. Objective: The research question is focused on the savings deriving from the introduction of networked digital platforms, and on their impact on bankability, shaping a new PPP model. Methodology: The study is conducted through (a) an economic–financial sensitivity analysis where digital savings impact on key PF parameters, including bankability; (b) a mathematical interpretation, based on network theory, where the stakeholders of two ecosystems—respectively, without and with a digital platform—are compared. Results: The creation of a value-adding “pie” anticipates its partitioning among the value co-creating stakeholders. This study represents an advance in the field, showing how technological innovation may improve the overall bankability and the value creation of leveraged infrastructural investments, even beyond the healthcare industry.

Accommodate and adapt- coaching in COVID-19 environment

Tennis play worldwide has been heavily impacted by COVID-19, with many of our landmark events not being played or postponed to non-traditional times. Many tennis facilities have had to close due to governmental restrictions to stem the growth of the coronavirus pandemic. As we start to come out of this lockdown, there is an opportunity to leverage the health benefits and natural physical distancing aspects of tennis to come out stronger and increase our global awareness of our sport, where one can play while having fun at any age. A major stakeholder in this realization is the coach. It is hoped that this article can provide some practical insight into how with a laser focus on learning methodology, skill acquisition, and a player-centered approach, we can accommodate, adapt and grow our sport.

Crisis Communication Preparedness Practices Among U.S. Charitable Organizations: Results From a National Survey

Organizations should prepare for crises, through identifying crisis concerns, having written crisis communication plans, and designating teams for crisis planning and response, for example. Nonprofit organizations, which represent an important sector of U.S. society, are no different in needing to prepare, but to date, a review of their crisis communication preparedness is lacking. Therefore, a national online survey of 2,005 U.S. charitable organizations was administered to determine nonprofit organizations’ adoption of an anticipatory perspective of crisis management. The anticipatory perspective shifts the organization’s focus from reaction to crises to anticipation of them. According to the survey, 75% of organizations reported at least one organizational crisis in the 24 months prior to taking the survey (circa 2017–2019). Loss of a major stakeholder was the most common organizational crisis that had occurred and the greatest future concern. Most nonprofits (97.5%) reported implementing some crisis communication preparedness tactics. Importantly, charitable organizations can enact communication preparedness tactics without significantly detracting from program delivery. Moreover, given the general concerns within the sector, nonprofit organizations should prepare specifically for loss of a major stakeholder and technologically created crises such as data breaches and negative word of mouth on social media.

Organized Labor and Inventory Stockpiling

We document that managers stockpile excess inventory to mitigate the operational risk posed by labor unions and to maintain bargaining power in labor negotiations. Inventory levels are higher for union firms and are incrementally higher preceding the renegotiation of collective bargaining agreements with unions. Inventory stockpiling at union firms is more salient when capital market pressure for transparency or information spillover from peers constrains managers from using disclosure strategies. We further show that managers weigh the costs and benefits of inventory stockpiling, as holding excess inventory due to the presence of a union is negatively associated with future profitability but provides the benefits of avoiding a stockout and mitigating negative outcomes from a strike. Our findings highlight the importance of a major stakeholder, i.e., labor, in managers' investment decision-making.