Category: Research Opportunities

Categories
Moral Accounting Engagements Research Opportunities

Demand for & Supply of Moral Accounting Engagements

 NOTE:  This post is a self-contained description of the practical aspects of moral accounting, intended as the basis for interviews with activists, accountants, consultants, and organizational leaders.  Those who want more background (including a more scholarly justification of my claims) can read this. Please contact Robert Bloomfield at Cornell University if you are interested in discussing this.  A companion piece about the philosophical aspects of moral accounting is available here, intended as the basis for interviews with experts in philosophy, religion, political ideology, or culture.

Introduction

Professionals in accounting, finance and consulting offer a range of services to help organizations live up to their social obligations.  Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) services help organizations address the concerns of those affected by their actions, while Environmental, Sustainability and Governance (ESG) services help investors allocate capital to firms that are socially responsible.  Efforts like the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and Impact-Weighted Accounting offer reporting standards to aid CSR and ESG.  However, those offering such services must confront difficult moral questions.  What exactly are the social obligations of an organization?  How should parties be held accountable for those obligations? How should employees balance their obligation to their employers and their obligations to society?  How should organizations prioritize their social obligations when all cannot be fulfilled?

Continue reading “Demand for & Supply of Moral Accounting Engagements”
Categories
Moral Philosophy Research Opportunities

How Should People Be Governed?

 NOTE:  This post is a self-contained description of moral accounting, intended as the basis for interviews with experts outside accounting, especially those focused on philosophy, religion, political ideology, or culture.  Those who want more background (including a more scholarly justification of my claims) can read this. Please contact Robert Bloomfield at Cornell University if you are interested in discussing this.  A companion piece about the practical uses of moral accounting is available here, intended as the basis for interviews, with activists, accountants, consultants, and organizational leaders.

How should people be governed?  This central moral question has been addressed in philosophy, theology, and politics and many other fields, yielding much controversy and many conflicting answers.  In this post, I present principles of moral governance, derived from accounting, that I claim will be supportable by anyone, regardless of their philosophy, religion, political ideology, or culture.  I am testing this claim by interviewing a highly diverse set of thoughtful and knowledgeable people, who are willing to read this short document and talk with me about four questions, following up on each and otherwise letting the conversation take its course:

Continue reading “How Should People Be Governed?”
Categories
Cross-Cultural Research Opportunities

Is the MAP Falsifiable?

I’ve been working with Tamara Lambert and Marietta Peytcheva to kick off a cross-cultural study.  For data, we’re using Yale’s  Human Relations Area Files (HRAF), which has collected anthropological writings about a variety of human cultures. Our question:  Do cultures around the world, from the Artic to Africa to Micronesia, follow the 7 Moral Accountability Principles (The MAP)?

Continue reading “Is the MAP Falsifiable?”
Categories
Diversity Equity Inclusion Research Opportunities

How can we talk about structural racism and still have people listen?

I’ve been arguing in my paper and recent talk about the advantages of focusing on accountability systems, rather than on character.  Some, like philosopher John Doris, argue that character doesn’t exist.  But if it does,  it is by definition too consistent and stable to be changed much–certainly compared to accountability systems.  In addition, I’ve argued a more psychological point–that people will be less defensive when accountability failures are viewed as driven by systems rather than character.

Enter Dr. Ed Livingston, deputy editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), to make me doubt myself by misunderstanding the term “structural racism” in a crucial way, and also suggest an opportunity for experimental research.  Per the NYTimes:

Continue reading “How can we talk about structural racism and still have people listen?”