Management Accounting, Human Resource Policies and Organisational Performance in Canada, Japan and the UK

Reza Kouhy, Rishma Vedd, Takeo Yoshikawa, John Innes

• Publisher: CIMA Publishing
• Year: 2010
• ISBN:
  9780080965932
• Topic: Commerce
• Subtopic: Comptabilité

Management Accounting, Human Resource Policies and Organisational Performance in Canada, Japan and the UK examines the relationships between HR policies, management accounting and organisational performance on the basis of international case studies and interviews across a range of industries from building materials to software development.

• Explores the relationship between different HR policies and organisational performance and how management accountants can establish links between the two
• The first to extend existing research into Japanese companies to give a different perspective and another point of comparison
• Case study results are tested in the telephone survey for better accuracy and insight

• Original, cutting-edge research funded by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants
• Unique international perspective: extends existing research into Japanese companies to give a different perspective and another point of comparison
• Results of six extensive case studies and 100 telephone interviews

Cross-case Analysis and Telephone Interviews

1. Cross-Case Analysis

Table 1 gives a comparative summary of the organisational data from the six case studies.

Table 1 Details on Six Cases

	Case A	Case B	Case C	Case D	Case E	Case F
Country	Japan	Japan	Canada	Canada	UK	UK
Sector	Electronics	Consumer products	Building materials	Timber products	Software development	Utility
Years in existence	c100	c100	c100	c100	c20	c100
No. of employees in organisation	> 100,000	> 25,000	> 10,000	> 5,000	< 1,000	> 10,000
No. of employees at research sites	1,500	2,000	1,000	300	200	2,000
Turnover	> £10 billion	> £5 billion	> £5 billion	> £1 billion	< £100 million	> £5 billion
Employees costs as % of total costs	30%	30%	35%	30%	70%	40%

After the six case studies were completed, a cross-case analysis was undertaken and the following 11 findings emerged to be tested during the telephone interviews in Canada, Japan and the UK:

1. A mix of financial and non-financial measures leads to improved performance.
2. The role of employees is critical in achieving an organisation’s targeted performance.
3. Teamwork has a major impact on an organisation’s performance.
4. Organisational culture (with regard to employees) has a major impact on an organisation’s performance.
5. A pension scheme can have a major impact on an organisation’s performance.
6. When employees are viewed as assets rather than simply costs, this has a positive impact on an organisation’s performance.
7. There is a positive link between training and an organisation’s performance.
8. A job for life policy:
   1. encourages managers to take a long-term view,
   2. has a positive effect on an organisation’s long-term performance,
   3. increases the motivation of employees and
   4. increases loyalty from employees.
9. Benchmarking is a useful technique for exploring the relationship between HR policies and an organisation’s performance.
10. Specific HR policies can be linked to an organisation’s performance.
11. Statements could be made in an organisation’s published report about the impact of HR policies on an organisation’s performance.

The eighth finding above about a job for life policy was tested only during the Japanese telephone interviews.

2. Findings from the Telephone Interviews

The 11 findings were turned into draft questions that were pilot tested with six practitioners. After this pilot test, these draft questions were amended for the final telephone questionnaire. A random sample was taken from the top 1,000 companies in Canada, Japan and the UK. The telephone interviewees in the companies selected were finance directors ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgements
• About the Authors
• Executive Summary
• Introduction and Literature Review
• Case A
• Case B
• Case C
• Case D
• Case E
• Case F
• Cross-case Analysis and Telephone Interviews
• Conclusions
• References
• Index