The development of sustainable practices in complex organizations. Implications and potentials for integration into the accounting curriculum
| Date | 21 October 2013 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/WJEMSD-01-2013-0010 |
| Published date | 21 October 2013 |
| Pages | 223-245 |
| Author | Seleshi Sisaye |
| Subject Matter | Strategy,Business ethics,Sustainability |
The development of
sustainable practices
in complex organizations
Implications and potentials for integration
into the accounting curriculum
Seleshi Sisaye
Plaumbo-Donahue School of Business, Duquesne University,
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to document the integration of sustainability into the accounting
curriculum. Compared to many disciplines in the social and administrative sciences, the greening of the
curriculum in accounting is a recent phenomenon. Nevertheless, there has been a remarkable growth in both
the content and the coverage of sustainability topics integrated into the accounting curriculum.
Design/methodology/approach – The approach to the paper is multidisciplinary. It has combined
organizational sociology and ecological anthropology approaches in the integ ration of sustainability
into the accounting curriculum. In accounting, there is an increasing emphasis on the application of
social science perspectives, particularly sociology and anthropology in curriculum development and
pedagogical issues. This paper demonstrates that the influence of these two disciplines in accounting
education is substantial.
Findings – Sustainabilityin accounting has both theoretical and practicalimplications. Theoretically,
sustainability has integrated social and environmental dimensions into accounting education and
research. Sustainability reporting contains information on the economic, social, and environmental
activities of business organizations. In practice, sustainability has influenced the accounting standard-
setting organizations in developing guidelines on how to integrate sustainability into corporate reports
so that the informationcan be verified and certified by public accounting and regulatoryorganizations.
Originality/value – The paper is among the first to demonstrate the importance of organizational
sociologyand ecologicalanthropology for the integrationof sustainability into the accountingcurriculum.
Both sociologyand anthropologyhave been in the forefrontof thestudy of ecology and naturalresources
management and conservation in sustainability development. The paper approaches have important
implications for sustainability educationand framework in accounting theoryand research.
Keywords Sustainability, Sustainable development, Accounting
Paper type Research p aper
Erratum
It has recently been brought to Emerald’s attention that the article by Seleshi Sisaye
(2013), “The development of sustainable practices in complex organizations: implications
and potentials for integration into the accounting curriculum”, published in World
Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, Vo l. 9 N o. 4,
pp. 223-245 was received in October 2012, and not January 2013 as stated in the
originally published version.
Emerald sincerely apologises to the author and readers for this oversight.
Introduction
Sustainability development and reporting has emerged as one of the main competitive
forces that business organizations employ to differentiate their products and services
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/2042-5961.htm
Received 6 January 2013
Revised 6 January 2013
Accepted 6 January 2013
World Journal of Entrepreneurship,
Management and Sustainable
Development
Vol. 9 No.4, 2013
pp. 223-245
rEmeraldGroup Publishing Limited
2042-5961
DOI 10.1108/W JEMSD-01-2013- 0010
223
Practices in
complex
organizations
to customers. The press and media have popularized sustainability by publishing
positive reports of organizations with sustainability programs. Federal government
organizations includingthe Environmental ProtectionAgency (EPA) and the Department
of Commerce have established guidelines to promote sustainability. Recently, the
Department of Commerce has included in the Malcolm Baldridge Award sustainability
as one of the several criteria in recognizing corporations’ manufacturing and service
excellence. The accounting profession, particularly the American Institute of Certified
Public Accountants (AICPA) in collaboration with the big fou r accounting firms have
established guidelines for voluntary disclosure of sustainability information and data
by corporations. The market for consulting firms have increased for improvingaccounting
systems to better collect data and report sustainability performance.
Moreover, The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB
International) has recommended in favor of integration of topics related to corporate
governance, ethics, and social responsibility into the business cur riculum. Colleges and
business schools are realigning their curriculum to increase sustainability topics
coverage by revising current business and accounting course offerings at both the
undergraduate and graduate levels. The deans and administrators of the le ading
business schools have called for integration of sustainability, ethics, and social
responsibility in functional business courses including accounting to provide an
overall picture of the economy, polity,and society that affect business organizations on
resource allocation decisions and competition.
Research approach: emerging trends that call for the integration of
sustainability into the accounting education
In accounting, there is a movement toward integration of topics that cover social,
environmental and resource issues. For example, the question of the integration of
ethics in upper-level accounting courses has generated discussion among the
accounting academy and practice. Fisher et al. (2007) study reveals an increasing trend
toward ethics integration in accounting course offerings, which they attributed as one
of the main underlying causes for a decline in standalone accounting ethics courses.
In general, integration has been favored by business sc hools deans as the best
approach to overhaul the business curriculum. Resources constraints, staffing
shortages, limited availability of faculty expertise in these subject areas coup led with
changes in the business environment have put integration as the best alternative
approach to incorporate current topics suc h as ethics and sustainability into the
business and accounting curriculum. In a recent Wall Street Journal ( July 7, 2011)
interview article, Dean R. Glenn Hubbardof Columbia University Business School
pointed out that the recent problems of financial crisis could be attributed to “a failu re
by leaders to successfully see the big picture, focusing instead on their area of
expertise.” Accordingly, students and corporate leaders are not able to make the
connections required to understand the issues. He suggested instead an emphasis in
business courses in providing students with “a broader education in order to thwart an
economic meltdown.” He indicated that Columbia Business School has emphasiz ed the
importance of integration by “deliberately weaving topics suc h as decision making
and ethics into classes across all disciplines” (p. B6.). Dean Hubbard noted that
students will not pay attention to issues of ethics and social responsibility unless these
topics are integrated into existing finance and accounting courses. There is a tendency
to marginalize standalone ethics courses unless they are integ rated into existing
functional area courses.
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