Unisa College of Accounting Sciences Department of Management Accounting

Transcription

1 Unisa College of Accounting Sciences Department of Management Accounting 2017 master s and doctoral research focus areas Department Discipline Unisa niche areas (Decide on and state the Unisa niche area which best represents the focus of the proposed study) Research Focus Area Supervision Team Management Accounting Management Accounting Niche area 1: Niche area 2: Niche area 3: Niche area 4: Knowledge generation and human capital development in response to the needs of South Africa and the African continent The promotion of democracy, human rights and responsible citizenship Innovation and capacity building in science and technology Economic and environmental sustainability Management Accounting, Financial Management and Control Prof Leoni Julyan Mr Stephen Ndlovu Name Academic Profile Available Prof L Julyan julyal@unisa.ac.za Mr S Ndlovu ndlovs@unisa.ac.za Model of supervision Selection criteria: MPhil and PhD in Accounting Sciences Leoni Julyan is an associate professor in Management Accounting and a former Chair of the Department. Her doctoral study encompassed the suitability and applicability of the Balanced Scorecard to address the factors hampering delivery under one of the South African government s subsidised housing programs. She has co-authored three books containing questions and answers written to assist undergraduate students with their studies and she has published articles in scholarly journals. Stephen Ndlovu is a senior Lecturer in Management Accounting and the Honours coordinator of the Department. His Master s research was on competitive strategy in banking. He has been a contract lecturer and supervisor for master students in the fields of performance management and corporate financial strategy at the SBL for over 10 years. capacity Up to two Master s students and one Doctoral student. Up to one Master s students Candidates will be allocated to a supervisor but will be required to work independently within the requirements of higher degree studies. In addition to the admission criteria contained in the mychoice brochure, the acceptance of potential students is based on the following criteria: Suitability and viability of the intended research; Adequate supervisory capacity and research expertise in the discipline or department; An approved selection procedure which is in line with Unisa s policies on equality and diversity in the discipline or department. You are therefore required to prepare a five-page expression of intent essay, including the list of references. This essay will be used to rank the applications based on the criteria stated in the first two bullets. The expression of intent essay must include the following: Personal motivation to pursue studies in this topic (maximum 60 words) Topic Short literature review (with in-text references using Harvard) Research problem /research question Proposed aim of the study/objective Proposed methodology Potential contribution of the study List of references (use Harvard Referencing method)

2 Unit of Analysis Management accounting and financial management tools and decisions Selection procedure Documents to support the application in addition to the Expression of intent essay Recommended reading Research Focus Management accounting systems and tools contributing to decision-making in the entity Performance measurement and/or evaluation (Entity financial and/or non-financial performance measures; managerial compensation incentives) Capital structure decisions Financing tools and decisions appropriate to the strategic direction of the entity Portfolio management in enterprises 1. Apply for a student number - follow the steps outlined on the Unisa website. 2. Apply for a space in one of the research focus areas by the dates stated using the online application process and attaching the essay of intent and other documentation requested. 3. Staff members from the relevant registration support department review that you have provided the required information and that your qualifications meet the criteria for admission to the degree. Only complete and qualifying applications are sent to the relevant academic department for consideration. 4. The departmental selection procedure takes place during December 2015 and January The selection process firstly ranks the applications of the candidates within each focus area, based on the criteria stated above, so the content and quality of the expression of intent essay is important. The focus areas indicate the expertise in the department, therefore applications in the focus areas tend to be considered before those applied for under Other. Where adequate supervision capacity exists, applications beyond the focus areas will be considered, especially where a high quality essay of intent indicates a suitable and viable topic and a supervisor with the expertise is available. The highest ranked applications are then reviewed for equality and diversity. The applications are therefore ranked to match the number of applications with the available supervision capacity and expertise, while taking equality and diversity into account. 5. Generally, you should be notified of the outcome of your application during February The notification will be done by staff from the relevant registration support department. One-page abbreviated CV including: Academic qualifications Work experience Contact details Previous research, if any You may be asking how you are going to find a topic and write an essay of intent on your own. Regardless of admission requirements at an institution, finding and selecting a topic is done by the candidate. No doubt when you decided to do a Master s or Doctoral study, you either had an idea in mind or you started reading to find one that is of interest to you. The expression of intent essay is therefore your initial documentation of the idea which has been developed into a rough topic in the chosen field of study. You therefore need to take the idea and review recent literature on the area of interest to establish what has already been done and whether the research problem is topical and sufficient sources exist. As part of the research process, you are aiming to find a research problem/question. What you intend doing in your study to address the research problem or answer the question (the objectives) will be the focus of your proposed study. There should be sources available at your local library and the following reading list will help you understand the research process and what will be required from you for Master s or Doctoral studies. Hofstee s book is the prescribed book used by us for Master s and Doctoral students, whereas Trafford and Leshem s book is strongly recommended for Doctoral students: Biggam, J Succeeding with your Master s Dissertation: a step by step handbook. Berkshire: Open University Press. Hofstee, E Constructing a good dissertation: a practical guide to finishing a Master s, MBA or PhD on schedule. Johannesburg: EPE. (Available from the following website: Leedy, P.D. and Ormrod, J.E Practical research: planning and Design. Eight editions. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. Mouton, J How to succeed in your Master s and Doctoral studies. Pretoria: Van 2

3 Schaiks. Ryan, B, Scapens, RW & Theobald, M Research method and methodology in finance and accounting. 2nd edition. London: Thomson. Salkind, MJ Exploring research. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education International. Trafford, V & Leshem, S Stepping stones to achieving your Doctorate. Berkshire, England: Open University Press. The following may assist you in knowing how to approach the reading of an article: Keshav, S. How to read a paper. ACM SIGCOMM Computer Communication Review, 37(3), Available at: (accessed on 10 June 2016). Reading: Subject Field A link to Library guides on Unisa s Library home page is another source of information. Obviously all the content and services in the alphabetical list of Library guides are only available to registered students, but you may find the guide on Government Publications; How to write a literature review; and Postgraduate supervision useful. The Postgraduate supervision guide contains a great deal of information which includes links to: completed Theses and dissertations under the ETD portal; referencing styles; and the Podcasts tab links to YouTube. Search the aspects of the research process you would probably like to know more about on YouTube, for example: how to develop a good research topic; the literature review; academic writing; research methodology; etc. You will note that many of these YouTube videos are from academics at universities. The videos will obviously not replace the more detailed reading that you will need to do if your application is successful, but they provide a fair source of background information on the research process which should assist you both in the writing of the required essay and continuing with the study if your application is successful. Also visit the NQF level descriptors on the SAQA website to differentiate between what is expected at NQF level 9 for a Master s study and level 10 for a Doctoral study. In April 2015, a 25 th Anniversary Conference of the journal Management Accounting Research was held at the London School of Economics and Political Sciences. You will note that the majority of the articles and editorials listed below are from the subsequent anniversary edition of the journal. The articles therefore reflect recent management accounting debates which could be used to ascertain what has been researched and then to find a gap in the literature. The articles include a wide range of debates, only some of which would fall within our research focus area. It is therefore your responsibility to ensure that any topic you select falls within the scope of the focus area. You will note that if you search articles on Google scholar, an abstract will appear. To access the full text, an access fee of approximately $40 per article is payable, which you may not be able to afford. As a prospective student, you may contact the Unisa library to apply for special library membership. Click on the following link for details: Baiman, S Some ideas for further research in managerial accounting. Journal of Management Accounting Research, 26(2), Bromwich, M. & Scapens, R.W Management accounting research: 25 years on. Management Accounting Research, 31, 1 9. Burns, J., Euske, K.J. & Malina, M.A Debating diversity in management accounting research. Advances in Management Accounting, 24, Dekker, H.C On the boundaries between intrafirm and interfirm management accounting research. Management Accounting Research, 31, Franco-Santos, M. Lucianetti, L. & Bourne, M Contemporary performance measurement systems: A review of their consequences and a framework for research. Management Accounting Research, 23(2), Guffey, D.M Citation analysis of Advances in Management Accounting: The first 20 volumes. Advances in Management Accounting, 23, Hall, M Realising the richness of psychology theory in contingency-based management accounting research. Management Accounting Research, 31, Harris, J. & Durden, C Management accounting research: An analysis of recent themes and directions for the future. Journal of Applied Management Accounting Research, 3

4 10(2), Hopper, T. & Bui, B Has management accounting research been critical? Management Accounting Research, 31, Labro, E Hobby horses ridden. Journal of Management Accounting Research, 27(1), Luft, J Cooperation and competition among employees: Experimental evidence on the role of management control systems. Management Accounting Research, 31, Malmi, T Managerialist studies in management accounting: Management Accounting Research, 31, Messner, M Does industry matter? How industry context shapes management accounting practice. Management Accounting Research, 31, Otley, D The contingency theory of management accounting and control: Management Accounting Research, 31, Quattrone, P Management accounting goes digital: Will the move make it wiser? Management Accounting Research, 31, Salterio, S.E Barriers to knowledge creation in management accounting research. Journal of Management Accounting Research, 27(1), Shields, M.D Established management accounting knowledge. Journal of Management Accounting Research, 27(1), Van der Stede, W.A Management accounting in context: Industry, regulation and informatics. Management Accounting Research, 31, Wagenhofer, A Exploiting regulatory changes for research in management accounting. Management Accounting Research, 31,

5 Department Discipline Unisa niche areas (Decide on and state the Unisa niche area which best represents the focus of the proposed study) Research Focus Area Supervision Team Management Accounting Management Accounting Education Niche area 1: Knowledge generation and human capital development in response to the needs of South Africa and the African continent Niche area 2: The promotion of democracy, human rights and responsible citizenship Niche area 3: Innovation and capacity building in science and technology Niche area 4: Economic and environmental sustainability Niche area 5: Open distance learning Management Accounting Education and Career Development Prof CC Shuttleworth Name Prof CC Shuttleworth Academic Profile Bienkie Shuttleworth is an associate professor in Management Accounting, but is currently seconded to the CAS Deanery. Her doctoral study encompassed inter alia financial literacy; financial information and financial decision making. She has co-supervised two completed Master s students and is currently supervising four Master s and one Doctoral student. She has written various accredited articles and presented a paper at the International SAAA conference on employability skills in management accounting. She also contributed a chapter to the CEMS book on Graduateness and Employability. Available capacity Up to one Master s and one Doctorate Model of supervision Selection criteria: MPhil or PhD in (Accounting Sciences) Candidates will be allocated to a supervisor but will be required to work independently within the requirements of higher degree studies. In addition to the admission criteria contained in the mychoice brochure, the acceptance of potential students is based on the following criteria: Suitability and viability of the intended research; Adequate supervisory capacity and research expertise in the discipline or department; An approved selection procedure which is in line with Unisa s policies on equality and diversity in the discipline or department. You are therefore required to prepare a five-page expression of intent essay. This essay will be used to rank the applications based on the criteria stated in the first two bullets. The expression of intent essay must include the following: Unit of Analysis Personal motivation to pursue studies in this topic (maximum 60 words) Topic Short literature review (with text references using Harvard) Potential contribution of the study Research problem /research question Proposed aim of the study/objective Proposed methodology List of references (use Harvard Referencing method) Research Focus Management Accounting education in an ODL environment 5

6 Accounting Education; Career opportunities and changing role of Management Accountants Employability skills Pervasive skills Selection procedure Documents to support the application in addition to the Expression of intent essay Recommended Reading: Research Approach and Methodology 1. Apply for a student number - follow the steps outlined on the Unisa website. 2. Apply for a space in one of the research focus areas by the dates stated using the online application process and attaching the essay of intent and other documentation requested. 3. Staff members from the relevant registration support department review that you have provided the required information and that your qualifications meet the criteria for admission to the degree. Only complete and qualifying applications are sent to the relevant academic department for consideration. 4. The departmental selection procedure takes place during December 2015 and January The selection process firstly ranks the applications of the candidates within each focus area, based on the criteria stated above, so the content and quality of the expression of intent essay is important. The focus areas indicate the expertise in the department, therefore applications in the focus areas tend to be considered before those applied for under Other. Where adequate supervision capacity exists, applications beyond the focus areas will be considered, especially where a high quality essay of intent indicates a suitable and viable topic and a supervisor with the expertise is available. The highest ranked applications are then reviewed for equality and diversity. The applications are therefore ranked to match the number of applications with the available supervision capacity and expertise, while taking equality and diversity into account. 5. Generally, you should be notified of the outcome of your application during February The notification will be done by staff from the relevant registration support department. One-page abbreviated CV including: Academic qualifications Work experience Contact details Previous research, if any You may be asking how you are going to find a topic and write an essay of intent on your own. Regardless of admission requirements at an institution, finding and selecting a topic is done by the candidate. No doubt when you decided to do a Master s or Doctoral study, you either had an idea in mind or you started reading to find one that is of interest to you. The expression of intent essay is therefore your initial documentation of the idea which has been developed into a rough topic in the chosen field of study. You therefore need to take the idea and review recent literature on the area of interest to establish what has already been done and whether the research problem is topical and sufficient sources exist. As part of the research process, you are aiming to find a research problem/question. What you intend doing in your study to address the research problem or answer the question (the objectives) will be the focus of your proposed study. There should be sources available at your local library and the following reading list will help you understand the research process and what will be required from you for Master s or Doctoral studies. Hofstee s book is the prescribed book used by us for Master s and Doctoral students, whereas Trafford and Leshem s book is recommended for Doctoral students. Suggested additional reading include the following: Ryan, B, Scapens, RW & Theobald, M Research Method & Methodology in Finance and Accounting. 2 nd edition. London: Thomson. De Vos, AS, Strydom, H, Fouche, CB & Delport, CSL Research at Grass roots. 3 rd edition. Pretoria: Van Schaiks. Mouton, J How to succeed in your Master s and Doctoral studies. Pretoria: Van Schaiks. Bak, N Completing your thesis. A practical guide. Pretoria: Van Schaiks. 6

7 A link to Library guides on Unisa s Library home page is another source of information. Obviously all the content and services in the alphabetical list of Library guides are only available to registered students, but you may find the guide on Government Publications; How to write a literature review; and Postgraduate supervision useful. The Postgraduate supervision guide contains a great deal of information which includes links to: completed Theses and dissertations under the ETD portal; referencing styles; and the Podcasts tab links to YouTube. Search the aspects of the research process you would probably like to know more about on YouTube, for example: how to develop a good research topic; the literature review; academic writing; research methodology; etc. You will note that many of these YouTube videos are from academics at universities. The videos will obviously not replace the more detailed reading that you will need to do if your application is successful, but they provide a fair source of background information on the research process which should assist you both in the writing of the required essay and continuing with the study if your application is successful. Also visit the NQF level descriptors on the SAQA website to differentiate between what is expected at NQF level 9 for a Master s study and level 10 for a Doctoral study. 7

8 Department Discipline Unisa niche areas (Decide on and state the Unisa niche area which best represents the focus of the proposed study) Research Focus Area Supervision Team Name Prof HM van der Poll a Model of supervision Selection criteria: MPhil or PhD in (Accounting Sciences) Unit of Analysis Environmental Costing and Management Selection procedure Management Accounting Management Accounting Niche area 1: Knowledge generation and human capital development in response to the needs of South Africa and the African continent Niche area 2: The promotion of democracy, human rights and responsible citizenship Niche area 3: Innovation and capacity building in science and technology Niche area 4: Economic and environmental sustainability Environmental Costing and Management Prof Breggie van der Poll Academic Profile Capacity Breggie van der Poll joined Unisa in She is a professor in Up to 3 Master s and 1 Management Accounting at the SBL with a doctorate in Financial Doctoral student Management Sciences. She has supervised several Master s and Doctoral students She has published articles in various accredited journals. Candidates will be allocated to a supervisor but will be required to work independently within the requirements of higher degree studies. In addition to the admission criteria contained in the mychoice brochure, the acceptance of potential students is based on the following criteria: Suitability and viability of the intended research; Adequate supervisory capacity and research expertise in the discipline or department; An approved selection procedure which is in line with Unisa s policies on equality and diversity in the discipline or department. You are therefore required to prepare a five-page expression of intent essay. This essay will be used to rank the applications based on the criteria stated in the first two bullets. The expression of intent essay must include the following: Personal motivation to pursue studies in this topic (maximum 60 words) Topic Short literature review (with text references using Harvard) Potential contribution of the study Research problem /research question Proposed aim of the study/objective Proposed methodology List of references (use Harvard Referencing method) Research Focus Environmental costing Environmental footprints Environmental cost accounting Environmental costing using ABC 1. Apply for a student number - follow the steps outlined on the Unisa website. 2. Apply for a space in one of the research focus areas by the dates stated using the online application process and attaching the essay of intent and other documentation requested. 3. Staff members from the relevant registration support department review that you have provided the required information and that your qualifications meet the criteria for admission to the degree. Only complete and qualifying applications are sent to the relevant academic department for consideration. 4. The departmental selection procedure takes place during December 2015 and January The selection process firstly ranks the applications of the candidates within each focus area, based on the criteria stated above, so the content and quality of the expression of intent essay is important. The focus areas indicate the expertise in the department, therefore applications in the focus areas tend to be considered before those applied for under Other. Where adequate supervision capacity exists, applications beyond the focus areas will be considered, especially where a high quality essay of intent indicates a suitable and viable topic and a supervisor with the expertise is available. The highest ranked applications are then reviewed for equality and 8

9 Documents to support the application in addition to the Expression of intent essay Reading: Subject Field Reading: Research Approach and Methodology diversity. The applications are therefore ranked to match the number of applications with the available supervision capacity and expertise, while taking equality and diversity into account. 5. Generally, you should be notified of the outcome of your application during February The notification will be done by staff from the relevant registration support department. One-page abbreviated CV including: Academic qualifications Work experience Contact details Previous research, if any 1. Burritt, R. L., and Saka, C. (2006). Environmental management accounting applications and eco-efficiency: case studies from Japan. Journal of Cleaner Production, 14(14), Burritt, R.L., and Schaltegger, S., (2010). Sustainability accounting and reporting: fad or trend? Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, 23(7), Gray, R and Bebbington, J (2006). Environmental Accounting, Managerialism and Sustainability: Is the planet safe in the hands of business and accounting? Retrieved in May 2006 from st.andrews.ac.uk/management/csear/ /dps.sustain-envaccman.html 4. Jasch, C. (2003). The Use of Environmental Management Accounting (EMA) for Identifying Environmental Costs. Journal of Cleaner Production, 11, Jasch, C. (2006). How to Perform an Environmental Cost Assessment in one day. Journal of Cleaner Production, 14, Jasch, C. (2009). Environmental and material flow cost accounting. Principles and procedures. Eco-efficiency in Industry and Science, Springer Science and Business Media. 7. Fakoya, M.B. and van der Poll, H.M. (2012) The feasibility of applying material flow cost accounting as an integrative approach to brewery waste-reduction decisions, African Journal of Business Management 6(35): You may be asking how you are going to find a topic and write an essay of intent on your own. Regardless of admission requirements at an institution, finding and selecting a topic is done by the candidate. No doubt when you decided to do a Master s or Doctoral study, you either had an idea in mind or you started reading to find one that is of interest to you. The expression of intent essay is therefore your initial documentation of the idea which has been developed into a rough topic in the chosen field of study. You therefore need to take the idea and review recent literature on the area of interest to establish what has already been done and whether the research problem is topical and sufficient sources exist. As part of the research process, you are aiming to find a research problem/question. What you intend doing in your study to address the research problem or answer the question (the objectives) will be the focus of your proposed study. There should be sources available at your local library and the following reading list will help you understand the research process and what will be required from you for Master s or Doctoral studies. Hofstee s book is the prescribed book used by us for Master s and Doctoral students, whereas Trafford and Leshem s book is recommended for Doctoral students:the following reading will help you understand the research process and what will be required from you. Hofstee, E Constructing a good dissertation: a practical guide to finishing a Master s, MBA or PhD on schedule. Johannesburg: EPE. (Available from the following website: Kumar, R Research Methodology: A Step by Step Guide for Beginners. 4 th Edition. Sage Publications, London. Yin, R., Case Study Research: Design and Methods, 4 th edition. Sage Publications, London. Trafford, V & Leshem, S Stepping stones to achieving your Doctorate. Berkshire, England: Open University Press A link to Library guides on Unisa s Library home page is another source of information. Obviously all the content and services in the alphabetical list of Library guides are only available to registered students, but you may find the guide on Government Publications; How to write a literature review; and Postgraduate supervision useful. The Postgraduate supervision guide contains a great deal of information which includes links to: completed 9

10 Resources: Scholar Community Theses and dissertations under the ETD portal; referencing styles; and the Podcasts tab links to YouTube. Search the aspects of the research process you would probably like to know more about on YouTube, for example: how to develop a good research topic; the literature review; academic writing; research methodology; etc. You will note that many of these YouTube videos are from academics at universities. The videos will obviously not replace the more detailed reading that you will need to do if your application is successful, but they provide a fair source of background information on the research process which should assist you both in the writing of the required essay and continuing with the study if your application is successful. Also visit the NQF level descriptors on the SAQA website to differentiate between what is expected at NQF level 9 for a Master s study and level 10 for a Doctoral study. Conferences: Websites and interest groups