Showing papers on "Social ownership published in 2015"

Disclosure e accountability nas demonstrações contábeis públicas como instrumentos de controle social

Abstract: One of the objectives of public accounting is to support the practice of social control. Therefore, the aim in this study is to discuss: How can average citizens’ understanding of the information in public financial statements be improved? Therefore, the objective is to discover the level of understanding of community leaders in the city of Curitiba about the information extracted from the Budgetary Balance Sheet. The research used documentary analysis and a field research, based on the application of a semistructured questionnaire and data treatment using uni/bivariate analysis techniques and validation by means of the statistical test χ2. Although most respondents do not seek information on the use of public money, the large majority affirms great or average interest in discovering the content of the statements. It is argued that the difficulty to seek information is actually due to the lack of understanding of the public accounting terminology. As a result, it is observed that the bottlenecks in accounting communication can be reduced if easily understandable language is used, mediated by complementary disclosure that presents not only the results, but also the analysis and interpretation of these results. Hence, this preliminary study is expected to contribute to the construction of a social control model and its use in society, with a view to enhancing and qualifying citizens’ participation in the management of the public good. Finally, public policies are needed, essentially involving education, aiming for the true social ownership of public accounting information.

Serbia and modernization from 1968 to 1972

Abstract: The period from 1968 to 1972, was the busiest time of the political, social, economic and cultural development, accelerated reforms, modernization and incomplete and winding, but steady democratization of specific Yugoslav model of social integration. After a long time of rejection and unsuccessful attempts, an economic reform began in 1965, which was a never-before-seen attempt at combining socialist principles and market mechanisms in the economy, in the socialist world. The need to achieve higher productivity in order to compete on the world market required a new attitude towards economy, opening market mechanisms and economic and financial autonomy of enterprises, thus giving a much deeper meaning to self-management, since the state ceases to play the role of investors the profit is kept and disposed by the collectives. Along with the liberalization of foreign investment and evolutionary termination of budgetary grants towards unsuccessful industries, the East thought that Yugoslavia was slipping into capitalism, but the socialist system characteristics kept the two corner stones - Social ownership of the means of production and self-management mechanisms in the economy. The first results of the reform also revealed all the negative consequences of the previous development, but along with the economic growth and differentiation, they opened up the old dilemma under the new circumstances - to change the society with more and more crucial reforms or to 'go back' to revolutionary principles.

Economías solidarias y territorio: hacia un análisis desde la complejidad.

Abstract: Relationship between solidarity economy and social ownership of land is very close, not only for rural organizations but also for urban and popular movements. So we are required to research this perspective. Moreover, we conceive territory as a geo-eco-anthropic construction and, therefore, a complex construction. Socio-economic-solidarityterritorial relationship´s approach, since complex thinking, asks us to propose pertinent epistemological, methodological and relevant analytics bases. This proposal is our paper´s intention. Keywords: solidarity economy, territory, campesindios, episteme, complex thought.

Social Entrepreneurship in Morocco: A View on the Cultural Factor

Abstract: Social entrepreneurship is a broad term that does not entail a conventional definition. However, scholars have provided frameworks in defining it by taking into account the social and the entrepreneurial elements of the concept (Mair and Matri, 2005). There are three ways to define social entrepreneurship. The first way is introducing it as a concept that comprises the creation of innovative, sustainable solutions to instant social problems (James and Charles, Brett and Barr, 2007). The second definition is providing a double meaning to the individual social entrepreneurs: “latent social entrepreneurs” with implicit external corporate social responsibility (CSR) (Dees, 1998) and “manifest social entrepreneurs” leading explicit social businesses devoted to alleviating a social problem and introducing strategies for systemic change (Bloom and Chatterji, 2009). Third, providing an organizational meaning to it in three main displays: (1) enterprise orientation — delivering goods or services to a market; (2) social aims — explicit social and/or environmental aims where the profit is reinvested to keep entrepreneurial sustainability; and (3) social ownership — a sovereign governance and ownership based on accountable participation by stakeholder groups or by trustees (Alter, 2007).

Causes and Consequences of the Economic Crisis in Croatia

Abstract: In analyzing the causes of the crisis, it is necessary to take into account certain specific features characteristic for Croatia, compared with the most of other post-communist countries. This is primarily related to the peculiarities of an inherited socialist system, and the circumstances in which the process of political and economic transformation of the Croatian society was begun. Thus, the process of multiple transition of socio-political system based on a unique model of self-management of social ownership was carried out while struggling to preserve the independence and territorial integrity of the newly established state. These factors, according to the author, are the key to understanding the present economic and social crisis in Croatia, which is generated by the current system of values. Built in the early 90’s of the last century, this system is a direct consequence of the war and a badly managed transition. The imposed system of values led to a rapid disintegration of society and became an obstacle in the further process of democratization. Instead of the development of society in the direction of the rule of law and justice, “distorted” system of values paved the way for the development of systemic corruption. The cause of this problem, according to the author, is in the anomalies that occurred during the process of political transformation from the one-party system to a society based on democratic principles of pluralism and the rule of law. The result of this political transformation was the creation of a political system, which was marked by the rule of one strong political party and the weak opposition during the last decade of the 20th century. Another problem the author points to is the organizational model of the majority of newly established political parties, which is characterized by a strict hierarchical structure, with a strong leader in charge of a narrow elitist circle of people within which this program of political action was created. The end result of the implemented political transformation of the society was politocracy—an established model of the rule of political parties that functions in today’s conditions. Also, the process of economic transition has enabled the emergence of plutocracy, which has in a strong symbiosis with politocracy paved the way for the practice of ruling in favor of the individual, to the detriment of the common good. According to the author’s opinion, the basic requirement for Croatia to exit the economic crisis is the change in the system of values, and the prerequisite for this is the implementation of structural reforms in all fields of society—above all, the reform of the political system.

An analysis of the Yugoslav socialist system

Abstract: The Socialist Yugoslav Federation established from 1951 to 1990 introduced the so-called system of “social ownership”. While in the system of planned economy, private property was negated from “means of production”, in the economic system of self-management of workers (Yugoslav Federation) an object (thing) that was in social property had no owner. In Yugoslavia, from 19741990, the “Basic organization of associated labor” was the institution which met the needs of the economic system of self-management and social property. The “Basic organization of associated labor” was defined in Article 14 of the Yugoslav Constitution from 1974 as “a workers union, in which workers fulfill directly or equally their social-, economicand self-administering rights, and decide on issues dealing with the socio-economic situation of the organization”. Based on Article 463 of the law “On associated labor” from 1976, this organization consisted of the Council of Workers, which was also the centraland the decision-making body responsible for all economic-, financial-, and administrative issues. The Executive Council was the executive body of this organization and the Council of Directors was the Supervisory Board talking in the definitions of commercial legislation (Hocker-Weyand, 1980, 81). In this sense, main objective of this article is to analyze the Yugoslav socialist economic system in a legal-, socio-, economic approach.