Purpose

The paper offers insights on the response of a Big4 firm to the COVID-19 crisis vis-à-vis moral considerations. More specifically, the authors draw on Bauman's (1990) “moral impulse” to explore how the interrelated tactics of distancing, effacement of the face and reduction of people to traits tend to weaken moral considerations and negatively influences decisions and actions.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors adopt a qualitative approach that involves an interpretive textual analysis of the COVID-19 responses of a Big 4 accounting firm. Their study uses two vignettes in which they problematise aspects of the actions and ethico-social contribution of a Big4 firm in the heat of a global pandemic.

Findings

The findings reveal examples of effacement of the human face (depersonalization/dehumanization) and reduction of persons to traits, as well as excessive distancing between the “doing” actors and those individuals who bear the consequences of those actions. Revealing an opportunity lost, the authors’ vignettes indicate that the reduction to traits tactics led to dissembling and dehumanizing employees into resources that perform tasks that are “value-add” for the organisation, consonant with neoliberal ideologies.

Research limitations/implications

The common limitations of qualitative approach apply to the current study for generalisability. The authors also rely heavily on publicly available information given the time frame they were faced with and their chosen research approach.

Social implications

Drawing on accounting delineation debates, the paper calls for societal dialogues for reshaping the “official” accounting of events.

Originality/value

The authors elaborate moral impulse through the interrelated tactics of distancing, effacement of the face and reduction to traits, during a crisis. Their study mobilises a moral evaluation through which they uncover documented responses by a Big4 firm during the COVID-19 crisis. The study shows how the norms of human action have been systematically cut off from the original moral habitat and subordinated, and evaluated according, to business standards.

中文翻译：

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对 COVID-19 危机的四大回应：对鲍曼道德冲动的考察

目的

该论文提供了有关四大公司从道德考虑方面对 COVID-19 危机的反应的见解。更具体地说，作者利用 Bauman (1990) 的“道德冲动”来探讨疏远、抹去面孔和将人们简化为特征等相互关联的策略如何倾向于削弱道德考虑并对决策和行动产生负面影响。

设计/方法/方法

作者采用定性方法，包括对四大会计师事务所的 COVID-19 响应进行解释性文本分析。他们的研究使用了两个小插曲，他们在全球大流行的热潮中对一家四大公司的行为和道德社会贡献的各个方面进行了问题化。

发现

调查结果揭示了人脸被抹去（去人性化/去人性化）和将人简化为特征的例子，以及“做事”的行为者与承担这些行为后果的人之间的过度疏远。作者揭示了一个失去的机会，作者的小插曲表明，减少特质策略导致将员工伪装和非人性化为执行对组织“增值”的任务的资源，与新自由主义意识形态相一致。

研究限制/影响

定性方法的常见局限性适用于当前的普遍性研究。鉴于他们面临的时间框架和他们选择的研究方法，作者还严重依赖公开信息。

社会影响

借鉴会计界定辩论，该论文呼吁社会对话以重塑事件的“官方”会计。

原创性/价值

在危机期间，作者通过疏远、抹脸和减少特征等相互关联的策略来阐述道德冲动。他们的研究动员了一项道德评估，通过该评估，他们发现了一家四大公司在 COVID-19 危机期间的记录回应。该研究展示了人类行为的规范如何被系统地从原始道德栖息地中分离出来，并根据商业标准进行评估。