The accounting meta-metaphor of the Hollow Men by T. S. Eliot

IF 2.3 4区管理学 Q2 BUSINESS, FINANCE

Qualitative Research in Accounting and Management Pub Date : 2020-12-07 DOI:10.1108/qram-10-2019-0113

Alistair Brown

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引用次数: 1

Abstract

Purpose Using the theory of sensibility and McClelland et al.’s (2013) metaphorical analysis, this study aims to analyse the accounting metaphors and meta-metaphor of The Hollow Men, a poem written by T. S. Eliot. Design/methodology/approach The analysis uses McClelland et al.’s (2013) five-step procedure to ascertain the poem’s metaphor use. Findings The Hollow Men depicts accountants as ritualistic and accounting voices as quiet and meaningless while its meta-metaphor conveys accounting as rites and shadows. Research limitations/implications Although The Hollow Men’s use of Form 4 metaphors, where neither figurative nor literal source term is named, places an onus on the reader to infer meaning from accounting metaphor use, the analysis provides readers with a valuable structure for evincing accounting metaphors that present pervasive accounting issues facing the modern world. Practical implications Accountants, according to The Hollow Men, are hollow, devotees to plunderers and property and rain dancers. The Hollow Men situates the quest for accounting as a ritual for order and the preservation of the status quo. Social implications The Hollow Men’s mages of accounting immersion in rites and shadows accord with the conceptual metaphors of accounting as magic and accounting as history. Originality/value The originality of this study rests in its introduction to McClelland et al.’s (2013) metaphorical analysis of accounting research.

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艾略特《空心人》中的会计元隐喻

目的运用感性理论和McClelland et al.(2013)的隐喻分析，分析艾略特诗歌《空心人》中的会计隐喻和元隐喻。设计/方法/方法分析使用McClelland等人(2013)的五步程序来确定诗歌的隐喻使用。《空心人》将会计描述为仪式性的，会计的声音安静而无意义，而其元隐喻则将会计描述为仪式和阴影。研究局限/启示虽然《空心人》使用的形式4隐喻，既没有命名比喻性的，也没有命名字面上的源术语，让读者有责任从会计隐喻的使用中推断意义，但该分析为读者提供了一个有价值的结构，以证明会计隐喻呈现了现代世界面临的普遍会计问题。实际意义根据《空心人》的说法，会计师是空洞的，他们是掠夺者、财产和雨舞者的忠实信徒。《空心人》将对会计的追求定位为一种秩序和维持现状的仪式。《空心人》中沉浸在仪式和阴影中的会计形象与会计魔术和会计历史的概念隐喻是一致的。原创性/价值本研究的原创性在于其对McClelland等人(2013)对会计研究的隐喻分析的介绍。

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来源期刊

Qualitative Research in Accounting and Management Multiple-

CiteScore

4.50

自引率

31.60%

发文量

期刊介绍： Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management is an international journal that promotes qualitative research at the interface of accounting and management. The journal encourages the assessment of practices in the accounting field through a variety of theoretical lenses, and seeks to further our knowledge of the accounting-management nexus in its broadest (e.g., organisational, social and political) contexts. QRAM welcomes submissions of original research papers, conceptual pieces, substantive review articles, and shorter papers such as comments or research notes. The following is intended to indicate potential topics, but is by no means prescriptive. These topics can be overlapping rather than discrete subject areas, and researchers should not feel restricted by the scope of the topics listed below. • Management accounting and control • Accountability, transition and organisational change • Performance management and accounting metrics • Accounting for strategic management • The use and behavioural effects of accounting information in organisational decision-making • Public and third sector accounting and management • Accounting and management controls for sustainability and the environment • Historical perspectives on the accounting-management interface • Methods and methodologies for research at the interface of accounting and management • Accounting and management in developing countries and emerging economies • Technology effects on accounting-management dynamics