Reasons for Theorizing Strategy in Management Accounting - Coursework Example

Management Accounting Research Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Management Accounting Research According to Lapsley & Rekers (2017), it is important to study accounting and popular culture since it presents a research agenda targeting the management accountants. The study mainly examined Management Accounting research from a perspective that prioritizes it with development in strategic management. It was conducted with the aim of ensuring that the knowledge was added in strategic management accounting through focusing on the novel setting, West End Musicals. This paper concentrates on an important aspect of the research, which includes the reasons why the authors decided to theorize strategy in management accounting, examine the research design that was adopted by the writers and finally provide an explanation of the findings that were developed in this research. Reasons for Theorizing Strategy in Management Accounting The authors of the research theorized the strategy that they have used in management accounting. One of the main grounds for theorizing strategy in management accounting was to ensure that there was an understanding of the ideas that were brought to light in the research. The other reason that was used to make informed decisions based on other aspects that have been researched in the area. These causes have been looked at in detail using supporting articles from other researchers. The theories used in this study aim at building a broad understanding of the weakness of SMA and why it has not been widely applicable in the accounting field. Several theories articles have been written on what it constitutes in the contemporary managing accounting (Carlsson-Wall & Kraus, 2015). However, there also exists many theories which have been pushed forward that challenge the use and existence of strategic management accounting within the organizations. Further, some experts have questioned the application of SMA and whether it is appropriate within accounting fields. While other people have argued that the use of SMA is a mere creation of imaginary issues that do not exist, its relevance is mainly seen as the establishment of the middle-level managers within a few selected organizations; thus, the use of SMA has not gained broad interest of many people (Nixon & Burns, 2012). SMA has not gained wide acceptance because it makes the use of inaccurate accounting figures, and it uses a language that is not standard in the accounting field. The new theory, therefore, is important in giving a clearer understanding around SMA. The available empirical evidence strongly downplays the other literature information that supports the use of the SMA because of the lack of compelling evidence. Besides, the study criticizes the use of SMA because it has no universal adoption among people and hence, hinders its success within the accounting field (Nixon & Burns, 2012). Increasing focus on strategic management is however on the rise; thus, different experts have put an effort in using the various theories that would enable them to align the different concepts within the SMA and to build the foundations on the strategic decisions within the organizations (Carlsson-Wall & Kraus, 2015). Still, some people question the objectivity and the rational of using SMA in such situations. The specialists in the field, who downplay the importance of implementing the strategy in the decision-making process have argued that more approaches need to be incorporated when formulating the various policies. Hence, there is a need to focus on SMA as well as using a combination of both internal and external techniques in managing both cost and pricing strategies. Other scholars have argued that it is not appropriate for individuals with the low capacity to practice accounting since they cannot have better management of skills to tackle sophisticated management accounting. Developing meaningful SMA also comes as a challenge since there is no widely accepted definition of what constitutes a strategy (Cadez & Guilding, 2008). The theory has helped in giving alternative perspective following the new ways the approach has developed. The use of "strategy as practiced" is important in enhancing what strategy is in contemporary society. The use of SAP is critical in achieving the extended benefits through using the skills as well as the internal and external context of the organization. On the same note, some experts argue that traditional thinking has not achieved much regarding response to complexities in the current organizations, hence, the need to redefine it. Research design that has been used in the study and if it is adequate The research design that has been adopted for this research was the use of a case study. According to (Smith, 2014), case studies as research designs are famous for various reasons and purposes. The plan that has been adopted in this study is one that is of importance especially in helping to ensure that the in-depth information is gathered when doing research (Lewis, 2015). They are critical in ensuring that the detailed data about research is provided when using a case study research designs. Such statistics that are provided cannot be obtained from other types of investigations such as experiments. It is noted that the authors opted to use this method of study because it is an appropriate model to use when carrying out any unusual research cases, which if done using other methods, might be viewed as unethical. The use of the case study design, as was selected by the authors could be justified because they could be used to deal with matters that revolve around ethics. The setting that has been used in the research also looks practical. This is because, the setting helps to reveal the relevance of strategic management accounting, especially in the modern culture. The case that is considered in this research is the west end musicals. Choosing New York and Toronto was appropriate for the study, since these towns have well established musical, cultural backgrounds. They are also strategic especially in ensuring that the required information in well researched and satisfactory results achieved. Also, these cities are well known worldwide, hence, understanding the information in the study would be of great importance. The sources of information that have been used in this study are reliable sources such as publicly available documents, trade events attendance, and interviews with the key informants. Based on this information, it is very much evident that both primary and secondary sources of information are used in the research. According to Myers (2013), using secondary sources of information is important because it helps in ensuring that the overall value of research is added. This implies that the overall sources of information are important in facilitating information and communication of what is known in research. On the other hand, the use of primary sources of information is also of great importance since it helps in ensuring that that first-hand data is provided in research. The first-hand information is usually from a targeted audience, and it is not tampered with. The method of analyzing data is also important in ensuring that people understand the discussions in research (Taylor, et al, 2015). From this research, the mode of data analysis is the use of ASAP perspective, which considers the approach used in obtaining the information. Data analysis is essential in ensuring that each information that has been obtained from the research is incorporated to provide the findings. Significant findings in the research One of the conclusions from the study was that developing a product was both a costly and lengthy process. Due to this, the people who own the theaters, as well as the producers, should strategically choose the kind of the shows that they could invest in so that they stand better chances of having more returns. Also, the study found out that producers must ensure that they strategically achieve their route to markets so that they could meet the various expectations in the market (Cadez & Guilding, 2008). Such strategies would include product differentiation to reach a wider range of customers as well as originality, which would give them a competitive edge in the industry. Another finding was that the decision to purchase theater products rests with the consumers, hence a risk of such kind of businesses. Hence, customers make the purchasing decision based on their experience of the products to determine if they would get satisfied or not. In order to reduce such risks, recommendations would be sort from third parties, also known as intermediaries, who would indicate value to the customers and generate awareness to the producers. According to Ma & Tayles (2009), theater products have this double feature which would derive a marketing contrast in the sense that the information within managing accounting works of literature differs on how to incorporate customers’ needs into the strategic thinking. From the evidence presented in the research, suggestions emerged that, to achieve success at setting the products which meet various cultural demands in the market, producers have to put more attention on developing their products in a better way. Product development must also reflect the nature of market development. Most importantly, producers should invest more in creating product awareness concerning new products in the market (Lapsley & Rekers, 2017). Such actions are important since they help in achieving a deep level of product familiarity. The methods used for promoting product awareness should ensure that it gives more detailed information so that the product can easily be accepted within the market as one of the valid products. Validation of a product is important to the producers since it helps in giving an indication of any doubt and uncertainty on the product. Further, every organization must have a clear structure that should enable them to reach to the customers for their products in the market. Strategically, management of accountants within theater industry should be able to build a connection with the social as well as other institutional settings (Lapsley & Rekers, 2017). This implies that there should not be any sense of isolation regarding the contribution of accountants. The ability of accountants in the theatric industry to work with other players will enable them to achieve the goals and objectives of various theater industry (Whittington, 2006). As opposed to the conventional way of strategic management accounting, that was straightforward toolkit; this presented a new approach to SMA. It would involve dealing with useful data such as product ranking and analysis of production runs with benchmarking of costs. In conclusion, based on the ideas that have been presented in this research, it is important to ensure that a study is conducted in such a way that it focuses on the contemporary issues facing business organizations. Developing a theorizing strategy was important in the research to ensure that there was an understanding is the area of strategy in management accounting. Developing an adequate research design is important in ensuring that all the information required is gathered in a way that it becomes of relevance in the research. Finally, the findings obtained in research focused on the literature provided as well as the response given during the data collection process. Consequently, strategic management accounting should be embraced in contemporary business organizations to help them in making meaningful decisions that would grant them a competitive advantage in the society. References Cadez, S., & Guilding, C. (2008). An exploratory investigation of an integrated contingency model of strategic management accounting. Accounting, Organizations And Society, 33(7-8), 836-863. doi.org/10.1016/j.aos.2008.01.003 Carlsson-Wall, M., & Kraus, K. (2015). Opening the black box of the role of accounting practices in the fuzzy front-end of product innovation. Industrial Marketing Management, 45, 184-194. doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2015.01.007 Lapsley, I., & Rekers, J. (2017). The relevance of strategic management accounting to popular culture: The world of West End Musicals. Management Accounting Research. doi.org/10.1016/j.mar.2017.01.001 Lewis, S. (2015). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches. Health Promotion Practice, 16(4), 473-475. doi.org/10.1177/1524839915580941 Ma, Y., & Tayles, M. (2009). On the emergence of strategic management accounting: An institutional perspective. Accounting And Business Research, 39(5), 473-495. doi.org/10.1080/00014788.2009.9663379 Myers, M. (2013). Qualitative research in business & management (1st ed.). London: SAGE. Nixon, B., & Burns, J. (2012). The paradox of strategic management accounting. Management Accounting Research, 23(4), 229-244. doi.org/10.1016/j.mar.2012.09.004 Saunders, M., & Lewis, P. (2016). Doing research in business & management: an essential guide to planning your project (1st ed.). London: Pearson Higher Ed. Smith, M. (2017). Research methods in accounting (1st Ed.). [S.L.]: Sage Publications. Taylor, S., DeVault, M., & Bogdan, R. (2015). Introduction to qualitative research methods, 4th ed. (1st ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. Whittington, R. (2006). Completing the Practice Turn in Strategy Research. Organization Studies, 27(5), 613-634. doi.org/10.1177/0170840606064101 Read More