implementation of refined hyperview of learning rhol on management accounting learning process an ethnographic study

IMPLEMENTATION OF REFINED HYPERVIEW OF LEARNING (rHOL) ON MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING LEARNING PROCESS

(AN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY)

Ari Kamayanti Aji Dedi Mulawarman

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to describe the implementation of Love Based Accounting Education (LBAE) through refined Hyperview of Learning (rHOL) as the core of humanity learning process. The essence of rHOL is purification process. The result described its impacts on learning process to suit faith towards God to free accounting education from secularism and corporate hegemony. The implications on accounting students’ learning conceptions on three management accounting topics: ABC, TQM and BSC, that are definitely secular and support corporate hegemony, were portrayed by extending ethnography by phenomenology. This method is named exetnography. The presence of secularism and corporate hegemony cause the disregard for local values and local needs respectively. The role of educator has become an important factor in implementing rHOL since he/she must trigger and maintain the purification process throughout the learning process. The results were astonishing since there were shifts of students’ consciousness in three varying degrees (verstehen, critical, reconstruction/deconstruction). Both educator and students were enlightened since renewed consciousness to return to local values and local needs emerged as a result of rHOL implementation.

Keywords: LBAE, rHOL, Purification, ABC, TQM, BSC, Ethnography, Phenomenology, Exethnography

1. Introduction

Despite the staggering efforts to improve accounting curriculum, the state of accounting education in Indonesia is in status quo. Change is often difficult and the lack of discussion about teaching and curriculum is a significant barrier to change for many accounting educator (Ainsworth, 2001). The fact that education process in Indonesia is still textbook based and adopts the western education system demonstrates how we are drifting away from our local norms towards deeper end of secularization. Secularization takes place when the spirit of self-liberation from mythologies causes agnosticism in God. This is the spirit from the west that knowledge would advance only if one could free oneself from religion (Kuntowijoyo, 1999: 160-161). Beaver agreed (1987) that the problems of accounting education hinged on secularism; that there is a “long-standing and highly cherished tradition of separation of church and state”. Hence, accounting education has become a focal point as it produces future accountants.

Management accounting courses in most universities in Indonesia are still western text-book based that is secular. Indonesia has therefore proudly adopted an education system regardless of its held-values. To prove our point, accounting education in the US, with its revised purpose, in AICPA Core Competency Framework for entry into Accounting Profession showed a shift from a content-driven to a skills-driven curriculum (Ainsworth, 2001) but not one item in the skill-driven curriculum points out faith towards God, Taqwa1 _{and morals such as delivered in}

1 _{Taqwa is an Arabic term that is commonly defined as “God-consciousness.” That is seeking those things that lead} to God’s pleasure and love, while avoiding those things that may lead to His displeasure. (www.taqwaecofood.org)

Government regulations in UU Sisdiknas or UUD 452_{. Hence, it has gone astray from the} commendable values proposed by Indonesia’s founding fathers.

Unfortunately, not only secularism but also corporate hegemony over accountants and accounting are reflected in our accounting education culture specifically in management accounting courses. The purpose of management accounting is to assist management in devising plans for rational economic purposes and to make rational decisions (Ahmad, 2007: 5) to improve productivity, decrease costs, broaden marketing territory and increase profit (Hansen & Mowen, 2005: 5). Management accounting is employed as a tool to increase company’s wealth, indicating its support to corporate hegemony since all activities should pertain to corporate prosperity. Management accounting has a purpose to execute cost management to produce information for managers for running organization effectively thus lead the organization to be competitive (Blocher, Chen and Lin, 2000:27). Management techniques, such as ABC, TQM and the BSC, are tools utilized to achieve competitive strategy (with three pointers, high technology, high risk, and high investment) that is focused on profit maximization to enable its going concern. Local needs such as UKM have no capability to take the three pointers of competitive strategy approach. Hence, as a result of corporate hegemony emphasize in management accounting education, accountants have been drifted away from local needs. To prove this, only one3 _{out of 75 articles on management accounting issues, discussed about small enterprise} (UKM) during SNA 6-10.

Thus it is clear that we could not simply adopt education system by neglecting our own cultural values and negating the presence of God or A priori judgment4 _{that has become the} 2 _{Par 31, verse 3: “government strives and executes a national education system, that would increase faith, taqwa}

and morals…” verse 5: “government advance knowledge and technology by holding high religion values and nation’s unity for civilization progress and human’s welfare.”

3 _{Article by Pinasti , Margani (2007)}

4 _{Kant’s ethics described that moral principles in human could not be studied. Reasoning is based on knowledge that} is priorto experience (something that is metaphysical) (Barry, 1986:54) though it should be noted that Kant did not

source of moral. In an effort to do so, Mulawarman (2007) proposed a love based accounting education concept; a holistic concept that conveys purification5_{. Purification is an enlightenment} and liberation process based on love. This is not the kind of love that is materialistic and anti-altruism such as that we see in capitalism the west has carried through Adam Smith’s invisible hands, but love beyond (hyper) all that. It is love that arises from tawhid6_{; love towards Allah}

SWT. Purification has two purposes which are to desecularize education and this is done by implementing refined hyperview of learning (rHOL) concept (appendix 2), and to liberate accountants from corporate hegemony to be able to adopt a cultural- perspective in accounting that is more suitable for local need.

Therefore the question of this paper is: how can the implementation of refined HOL have impacts on management accounting learning process? Hence the purpose of this research is to analyze the implementation of refined HOL to liberate accounting education from secularism and corporate hegemony.

2. The Philosophy of Education

The philosophy of education deals with what and how education should be carried out and this comprises all aspects of education (Sadulloh, 2004: 9). With this in mind, let us turn to see what education nowadays has become and then analyzed alternatives in achieving an “ideal” education.

mention God in defining where this a priorijudgments come from. 5 _{in Islam domain/term, purification is a representation of tazkiyah}

6 _{Al Tawhid is the act of affirming Allah SWT to be the One, the Absolute, Transcendent Creator. It is what gives} Islamic civilization its identity, which binds its all constituents together and thus makes of them an integral organic body called civilization (Faruqi. 1998)

The first pointer is “what” is education? Accounting education in Indonesia has a great purpose to retain faith towards God, Taqwa and morals. But as secularism has spread through Indonesian education system, the accounting education practice has conveyed the spirit of capitalism, maximizing profit despite moral and ethic causes. Webber believed that double-entry bookkeeping in accounting and rationalizing accounting to give meaning to economic actions are correlated to the spirit of capitalism and secularism ( Christie et al, 2004).

Modern education system has put the intellectuals in a “golden cage” among the elite away from common people. As a result, two gaping poles are created, which are the theoretic pole and the practice (real world) pole. Enlightenment would unite these two poles (Syari’ati, 1986:26-27). Intellectuals should enrich knowledge by observing, understanding and immersed in reality, not stand apart from it. This way they would be able to resolve problems and fulfill local needs. This enlightenment process would release the intellectuals (read: accountants) from corporate hegemony. It is the goal of humanity learning process. This must emerge in (accounting) education.

The second pointer lies on “how” education should be carried out. Freire saw education as an act of love (Levine dan Nabavi, 2004). “Love” here pertains with the liberation of the oppressed (Freire, 2004: 176). He believed that human beings are gifted by the ability to act consciously in order to change the world. But the world has undergone a Massification, a process that is created by powerful social forces and systematically destroys the people by virtue of their manipulative qualities. Thus Freire described that there are varying degrees of transitive consciousness delineated resulted from this condition: naive transitivity, critical transitivity, and

fanaticized consciousness. And it is the role of educator to move this naive consciousness towards critical consciousness. Though “love” as described by Freire, is still limited by definition since it has purpose to free one self from oppression. It is still love that is anthropocentric.

The ideal education should be based on love. Love towards God, as the main purpose, would in turn be manifested to love towards others and environment. Hence, love such as defined by Freire should undergo purification to change anthropocentric goal of education to love towards God as a base of education. The latter, or hyperlove as Mulawarman (2006) called it, is a concrete understanding about education interaction based on trust, honesty and to banish doubts and treasons. Love in education should always be directed towards love to God as a representation of faith. By doing this, education will be freed from anthropocentrism.

Mulawarman (2006) in designing Love Based Accounting Education (LBAE) used an extension of Habermas’ Ideologiekritik7_{. Habermas (Hardiman, 2003:19) bridged two praxis}8_.

These are transcendental and empirical. By this, it would be able to emancipate the UUD 45 and UU Sisdiknas’s faith, taqwa and moral into accounting education system. Emancipation process in LBAE does not only link the existing material praxis with communication to form values, but redefining values by ethical and spiritual perspective called purification/ tazkiyah. Tazkiyah al-anfus concept was once delivered by Rûmi (Kartanegara, 2003:63). It is about freeing oneself from any dust of egoistic will as a process of intuitive learning because only with clear heart/

7 _{This is Jurgen Habermas’ Critical Theory that stands amidst dialectical tension between philosophy and sociology.}

(Hardiman, 2003:18)

qalb, one would receive enlightenment. To be able to feel the presence of God, to love God’s will and obey Him in all activities would free oneself from secularism.

Mulawarman’s HOL (Hyperview of Learning, see appendix 1), as LBAE implementation, added two learning conceptions to six learning conceptions proposed by Rossum and Shenk (1984) and Marton et al (1993) in Byrne and Flood (2004: 27) which are: the increase of knowledge, memorizing, acquisition of facts, abstraction of meaning, an interpretive process and changing as a person; with: a self awareness with intuitive process and an obedience activity in spiritual way. As mentioned earlier these two concepts would free students from egoistic will, and complete rationalized thinking to achieve enlightenment. This is the essence of purification.

Unfortunately, HOL has two limitations. First, HOL has not yet blended thoroughly the importance the learning concepts of self-awareness with intuitive process and obedience activity in spiritual way as Mulawarman simply added the two concepts without integrating them with the earlier concepts. Second, HOL has not yet emphasized the importance of educators as the success factor in implementing HOL.

3. Conventional Management Accounting

In this part of the paper, we are going to highlight these two main traits: secularism and corporate hegemony, that are present in Indonesian conventional management accounting. These two traits/themes are embedded in all topics in management accounting. We will prove this by grasping three topics. These are ABC, BSC and TQM.

ABC9 _{deals with activities that are grouped into value added and non-value added} activities, and retain only value added activities. However, value added concept in ABC is concerned to management and corporate (stockholders) interests only. This is an oversight in ABC since it reduces the stakeholders’ interest (environment, people) and especially accountability towards God. As we know Indonesia has religious values that has become its local values. The fact that ABC focuses on value chain that starts from suppliers and end at consumers, emphasizes the efficiency concept. Every activity should reach one goal, which is profit. ABC is reinforcement to corporate hegemony.

ABC will eventually leads to the implementation of TQM, as a management tool for controlling quality costs. Juran described that in TQM activity pertaining quality would be divided into four activities10_{. None of these activities and costs reflects obedience to spiritual} way. Halal11 _{has never become the characteristic of quality. This has become a disturbing}

thought especially the fact that Indonesia is the largest Moslem country in the world. There is never discussion on the conformity on halal process or activities. Halal activities are about moral, i.e. ethical conducts that comply to God's rule. It is interesting to see that Hansen and Mowen have added ethical behavior in management accounting. However, the term ethic refers

9 _{As methods of allocating costs evolve from traditional to modern paradigm, Activity Based Costing (ABC) has}

become a popular choice since it classifies costs through activity management by the means of Activity Based Management (ABM). This method is claimed more accurate than traditional method of cost allocation.

10_{(1) internal failure costs, associated with defects found prior to transfer of the product to the customer; (2) external} failure costs, associated with defects found after product is shipped to the customer; (3) appraisal costs incurred in determining the degree of conformance to quality requirements; (4) prevention costs incurred in keeping failure and appraisal costs to a minimum.

11_{Halal is something that is permissible in Islam in order to comply to Allah’s rule. In Islam human must not eat}

to the belief that each individual in a group should sacrifice for the well being of the others (2005:20). This would only reach up to the conventional level of Kohlberg’s moral developments12_{. There are no considerations for immediate and obvious consequences to others} as result of a group need. This is another emphasize on corporate hegemony (if a group is considered a company). Thus, TQM conveys secularism as well as negates local needs (corporate hegemony).

TQM13 _{also supports corporate hegemony. Constancy of purpose toward improvement of} product and service is with the aim to become competitive. This is the first out of 14 pillars of Deming’s TQM (Zhang, 2001). Like ABC this anthropocentric motivation replicates corporate hegemony and negate the value added creation for its stakeholders.

Another management accountant tool is BSC. As Kaplan and Norton put it (1996), the BSC is about translating strategy into action. The stress lies on strategy to enable company’s going concern. Although the BSC is a ‘balanced’ set of measures since it encompasses financial, customer, internal business and learning and growth perspectives, financial measures are still regarded valuable and become the focal point in summarizing the readily measurable economic consequences of actions already taken (Kamayanti, 2005). At the end, BSC still measures those perspectives on the behalf of corporate need to suit corporate hegemony.

12 _{Kohlberg defined three levels of moral developments: pre conventional level, conventional level and}

post-conventional/principled level. Up to level 2, conforming to social order is important regardless of immediate and obvious consequence. Only in level three spiritual awareness is elevated (Lovell, 1995: 79)

13 _{The theoretical essence of the Deming approach to TQM concerns the creation of an organizational system that} fosters cooperation and learning for facilitating the implementation of process management practices, which, in turn, leads to continuous improvement of processes, products, and services as well as to employee’s fulfillment, both of which are critical to customer satisfaction, and ultimately, to firm survival or going concern.

Therefore, Indonesian education system that relies on textbooks as teaching media, sadly it can be said that students learning conceptions would be limited to: the increase of knowledge, memorizing and acquisition of facts, procedures etc, which can be retained and or used in practice. Secularism and corporate hegemony as values transferred in such learning conceptions are inevitable; a certainty in a conventional management accounting education. There is no question about it: education model must change.

4. Research Methods: Exethnography

Mahzar describes culture (1983:86) as a form of a collection of human characters that consists of two aspects: cultural behavior pattern and production of cultural objects. These aspects are formed by values and norms rooted from the Ultimate Value which is faith towards God. Based on these values and norms, human being creates cultural values that shape cultural hopes that in turn shape cultural behavior that would end at shaping cultural objects. Integrating this ultimate value into hopes, behavior and the formation of cultural objects is what Mahzar (1983: 78) expressed as Islamic civilization (see appendix 3). Hence, if management accounting learning process is viewed as a culture, then Anthropology14 _{is one tool that must be taken.} Anthropology as methodology stands on two supporting pillars: Theory15 _{and Ethnography}

14 _{Anthropology as defined by Peoples and Bailey (Sarantakos: 1995: 264) is interested in the structure and} process of culture by trying to understand the patterns of behavior, values, norms and standards as experienced and practiced by people.

15 _{Theory assumes four basic elements: (1) question (what we want to find out), (2) assumptions on notions of}

common humanity, (3) method and (4) evidence, while ethnography is the practice of cultural writing. Spradley defined ethnography as the work of describing a culture (Berg, 2004: 147). Thus ethnomethodology is an effort to describe and understand people in their everyday life such as the interaction pattern, how people thinks, how they feel and talk (Bungin, 2007: 170). The term ethnomethodology was introduced by Garfinkel in the year of 1967, referring to the study of the ways in which people make sense of their social world (Poore, 2000).

(Saifuddin, 2006: 36). The employed methods are the Ethnographic Research (Sarantakos, 2006: 264) or Ethnographic Field Strategies (Berg, 2004: 147).

Ethnography becomes a process of gathering systematic observations, partly through participation and partly through various types of conversational interviews. It may require additional use of photography, computers, mapping, archival searches and even assorted documents (Berg, 2004: 154). The definition put forward on Ethnography limits the research to only observing cultural objects and behavior.

As discussed in Mahzar (1983), there are values that embedded in cultural objects and behavior. By mere use of Ethnography, these values would not be exposed. One would need Phenomenology, a method invented by Edmund Husserl (1859-1938), to derive values from observations. It seeks to make explicit the implicit structure of human experiences. It is the search of essences that could not be revealed by ordinary observation (Sanders, 1982). It is not an abstraction but intuition about meaning.

Therefore there would be the use of noema, noesis, intentional analysis, epoche and eidetic reduction. The terms noesis and noema more or less correspond to the two poles of intentional consciousness: the thinking and the thought. In this case noesis is the thinking, and

noema is the object that is in that thinking. Husserl (Pransejit, 2002). Intentional analysis is linking up the two. The epoche is a form of suspense of judgment; a way to let the phenomena speak while `bracketing' the usual presuppositions that are in force in any given situation. Abstraction of essence or universality of noema-noesis correlation is eidetic reduction, which needs intuitive or reflective ability by the researcher.

However Phenomenology itself does not extend to the Ultimate Value. Therefore it is necessary to always derive values to the Ultimate Value by the use of epoche. Meanings behind

phenomena are continuously being verified and consolidated with the Ultimate Value or absolute reality (God). Since the Ultimate Value (God) is the main entrance of theory and knowledge (accounting), it is necessary to do a hyper analysis; an analysis that would enable researcher to probe deep into values beyond objective (materials) values. The use of intuitive (irfani) (Kartanegara, 2003:52) and dzauqi (feeling) is inevitable in conducting this research. By this conceptual framework, Ethnography would undergo extension to Phenomenology and Ultimate Value. This is an extension of Ethnography or we would call it Exethnography. Hence, the

Exethnography (appendix 4) of this research would take form as follows:

1. Management accounting learning process, as a culture, consists of two elements: the educator’s role and the students’ learning conception. Exethnographic field notes are taken to portray objects and behavior of 55 management accounting students. The three topics of management accounting taught (ABC, TQM, and BSC) were taken as examples. 2. As educators as well as researchers, we must apply rHOL especially intuitive learning (irfani) to develop dzauqi. Students are asked to observe phenomenon so they can develop “feeling” and intuition, as well as to compare these phenomenon to compliance to local values (faith towards God) and local needs (local management accounting). This is also ethnography work for it is common for ethnography to do some intervention in a given situation. The role of educator is essential to execute shift of consciousness as Freire has described. However, purification of anthropocentric will, must be present in this process by putting in faith towards God.

3. There is an expected shift of consciousness that will reflect in values. These values can be extracted by Phenomenology by the use of noema, noesis, eidetic reduction and

intentional analysis. “Bracketing” values derived from students is done through epoche

that can be executed by educator (researcher) during class intervention. This shift is recorded through synchronic documentation, as a method applied by Ethnography.

4. Finally, conclusion on the research can be made: whether there is a shift of consciousness or any impact on the students that is reflected in values derived (pre-intervention) to values incurred (post-intervention) as a result of implementation of rHOL and how this consciousness would liberate students from secularism and corporate hegemony.

5.Research Results: Implementation of rHOL in Management Accounting Class

Love Based Accounting Education (LBAE) was carried out through rHOL. There are two subjects that are needed to execute rHOL, willing educators and students. It was important that an educator realized his/her role since he/she must be the initiator to the process to shift consciousness of students. This process is called purification. It is about continuously using intuitive learning and obedience to spiritual activities through all learning concepts. It was not an easy task to develop purification since students are used to textbook based education model, and new approach that is brought by purification is considered strange. An example of how this is done is reflected in this transcription.(See transcription notes no. 1 for a complete note, E= Educator, S= Students)

E= Close your eyes and breath deeply and evenly. (There was laughter of disbelief) S= What does it have to do with this?

E= Just do it. Empty your minds of all thought, close you eyes (there were giggles, smiles, and reluctance). Don’t be shy. Do it, for it is only with clear mind and heart that we would receive enlightenment. Dzikir if you are Moslems or even meditate. Do whatever you wish.

It can be established that by implementing rHOL there was an impact: most students underwent a shift of consciousness though the range varied. A shift of consciousness, as Freire described, was the key of education based on love, which according to him, is anthropocentric love to liberate oneself from oppression. However, rHOL has extended this love towards

hyperlove by purification.

The variation of consciousness showed that there were 3 levels of rHOL implementation impacts on different types of students. There are three types of students identified by the use of Typologies16_{: the attentive (sat at the front 2-3 lines, active, making serious remarks and paying} full attention to lessons), the passive (sat in the middle of the class, hardly commented, listened most of the times), and the cheerleaders (sat at the back of the class, came late often, listened occasionally, never commented seriously, but made the most cheering when they came across something that was regarded funny).

The first level of impact was that it could be used as a tool to comprehend values transferred by conventional management accounting education. This is a verstehen17 _level. All students of all types could reproduce the secularism and corporate hegemony themes through management accounting discourses as educator constantly inserted self awareness with intuitive process and obedience activity in spiritual way in all six learning conceptions (increase of knowledge, memorizing, acquisition of facts, procedures etc, which can be retained and or used in practice, abstraction of meaning, an interpretative process aimed at the understanding of reality and changing as a person) as a steering center of learning process.

16 _{Typology is a systematic method (commonly used in ethnography) for classifying similar events, actions, objects,} people or places into discrete groupings (Berg, 2004: 181)

17 _{Understanding (Hardiman,2003:14). Verstehen is a methodological tool which drew attention to the importance of} understanding the subjective meaning which lay behind social action (Burrel and Morgan, 1993: 197)

These two concepts of steering center have been employed during an implementation of rHOL. Self-awareness with intuitive process as one of the central learning conceptions would assist students to liberate them from corporate hegemony. This is done by putting the students into real life cases and observing phenomenon. While studying the cost concepts, the students were asked to get down on to the field and conduct interviews as well as observe activities of local traders. The results were surprising to them. They realized that local traders primary need was cash-flow statement, and there was a local value that was unseen before. This was the concept of obligation (ibadah) to start a business and the gratitude towards God. These local needs and local values have been ignored throughout management accounting discourses. A group of students conducting research was able to portray local accounting needs and values:

“We interviewed Bapak Fuad a store owner in Waru, Sidoarjo. He opened his store out of his bank deposit. His main reason to open a store was that so he could take care of his family as his obligation. It is ibadah. He stated Alhamdulillah it was because of his effort and Allah’s will he could become what he is now. He regarded accounting as “counting” how much is spent or gained during on daily basis”

The second level of rHOL impact was that it could be a stimulant to change as a result of the first level of impact. This is a critical level. An educator must always steer students’ conception of thoughts towards Allah. The following transcription of the ABC session clearly indicated that educator should allow students to develop intuitional learning, extend their conceptions of learning towards obedience. The students were just proposing to reduce costs by substituting human for machines since machines would be more efficient. (see transcription notes no 2 for a complete note, S= Students, E= Educator)

E :I see… what you just did is Dehumanization. You’re saying… we should replace human being, the most gracious respected creature Allah SWT has ever created with mere machines? (a pause, and then laughter) I hope you are laughing at

yourself for being easily used as a tool to satisfy corporate lust for profit. This means that you are a tool for corporate hegemony.

S :We are not using our hearts, are we?

E :Only you, can answer that.

S :Then how can we avoid being used?

This process is called purification, and it worked! The students’ consciousness had shifted to a higher degree that was reflected by the comment “We are not using our hearts, are we?”

The next comment “Then how can we avoid being used?” even suggested that there was already a change or will to change (or a stimulant to change) to be a better person. The latter comment has confirmed students’ awakened awareness of corporate hegemony and the need to liberate from it.

The third level of rHOL impact was that it could be employed as a tool for a change. This higher level of impact enabled students to redesign systems that suit local norms, free from secularism and corporate hegemony. This is a reconstruction/deconstruction level. The higher the level of impact, the fewer are the impacted students. This might be caused by different cultural background, learning attitudes and spiritual awareness. Out of all 55 students, we spotted three students: Tapa, Cinta and Nori who reached different degree of consciousness.

Tapa is a Javanese Moslem and a Surabaya native. He is 20 years old, a very cautious and quiet student. He would not make any comment unless asked. He is very tidy in appearance, punctual and well liked by his colleagues. As an only child, his parents put a great emphasize on education so that he could be better than his parents and that one day he could improve economic condition of his family.

Before any implementation of rHOL i.e. at the beginning of a semester, his definition of learning was “an activity done to add knowledge in order to be a better person”. However, in the second week- after the implementation of rHOL, his definition of learning has extended to “a way to change everything to a better state.” Hence, it was clear that learning for him has

shifted its orientation from anthropocentric to altruistic activity. However after 5 weeks of rHOL implementation, his definition of learning has changed again. Learning was viewed as “an effort to change one self to approach human’s perfection”. As the session moved on to the discussion of ABC, Tapa was able to criticize ABC as a tool to maximize profit by reducing costs which is done by managing activities without considering the halal or haram aspects.

Cinta is a Moslemah of 20 years old. She shows her Islamic identity by wearing a scarf (jilbab) to cover her hair. She wears jeans most of the times, shirt, and jacket. She is a middle child of 3 siblings. She is a native Surabaya and lives in Surabaya. Her parents have put great emphasize on education since it is an important tool to survive globalization. She, unlike her colleagues was talkative, and commented freely during management accounting sessions. She initially regarded learning as “an investment”, and by 5 weeks she explained learning as activity “done by heart since it will help me improve my relationship with God. Learning is my obligation to God, so I would be useful for my God, family, and society”. She was able to not only understand but also criticized TQM as well as suggested a change in education.

“TQM emphasizes in efficiency, maximization of profit, continuous improvements, and orientation to customers and shareholders. Those themes convey the spirit of capitalism. The large-scaled ones could evict small-scaled enterprises out. This is individualistic and leads to dehumanization…. A change of view is needed. It would take process and understanding, but may be with socializing this concept with regard to our obligation to God, we can change. Socialization should start from early learning: junior, high school, universities and society.”

Nori is a very attentive student. He often asked for additional reading materials. He is 30 years old and a tax worker who tried to put an extra time to pursue higher education. He is a Moslem, unmarried and Javanese. He was able to criticized BSC as “measurements that concerns only in the interest of shareholders and customers, hence disregards other stakeholders including environment, society and God”. He showed great interest and seriousness in observing

phenomenon and he was able to propose a definition of local accounting need based on that observation. He observed a local restaurant, conducted an interview with Ibu Katminatun (the owner) and based on that he proposed a definition, a local need for accounting:

“Accounting is recording inflow of cash and outflow of cash, so that it can be known the net income that is obtained for a certain period. This information is used to make decisions pertaining targeted income, amount of fund that should be spent, deposited and/ or invested”

Phenomenology can be used to describe these different attainments of consciousness.

Tapa can be classified as a passive student. He has indicated his comprehension of management accounting conveyed values by his critics towards ABC. However, his anthropocentric setback in the view of learning showed that he could only reach up to the first level of rHOL impact. An intentional analysis was made that there was a great stress of his family expectancy to raise a significant economic growth to the family since he is an only child. He has become a leaning support for the entire family, thus this unconscious effort towards maximizing wealth might be a hindrance to shift to a higher level of consciousness.

Cinta on the other hand, came from a faithful and obedient Moslem family. She can be classified as an attentive student. She did not experience the same stress as Tapa since she is of three siblings. She has reached the second level of the implementation of rHOL. It has stimulated her to change. There was an impetus to change the society and the world as an obligation to God. An intentional analysis was made, that although Cinta reached a higher level of consciousness because she was spiritually more aware than Tapa, she did not cross the second level to a higher level of rHOL impact because she was inexperienced. She was not exposed to a work environment such as Nori, hence she did not see real life phenomenon as often as Nori.

This explained her inability to redesign systems that suit local business. Nori reached the highest level of rHOL impact. An intentional analysis showed that he, being a tax worker and older, was more experienced than either Tapa or Cinta. His attentive attitude towards study supported his significant shift of consciousness. Shift of consciousness is very important to liberate students from secularism and corporate hegemony. If students are conscious enough to see their presence, they would try or act to change that.

By putting together these layers of culture through Mahzar’s cultural concept, it can be derived that there has been an imbalance in integration of values as a result of secularism and corporate hegemony. The strong held value of students and educators is without doubt Islam (see

Exethographic notes 1-4). But this value seemed to disappear as being reflected in cultural objects (management accounting textbooks) and cultural behavior (attitudes of both students and lecturers). Worse, cultural hopes are then no longer shaped by the ultimate value but they have become a representation of cultural objects. The stated themes (ABC, TQM and BSC) are simulacrum18 _{since they do not reflect the needs and values of localities in Indonesia.}

6. Conclusion: Implementation Prospect of rHOL in the future.

Humanity learning process through rHOL is without doubt can be used to re-align cultural objects, behavior, and hopes with the ultimate value: faith towards God. This Ethnography work has shown its enlightenment implications on both educator and students. While educator has become enlightened since he/she would continuously be connected with 18_{Simulacrum is when the sign (writer- objects) precedes reality; it has neither rapport with nor resemblance to any}

developing intuitive learning and obedience in spiritual activity throughout the course, rHOL was able to shift students’ consciousness in three levels: 1. an understanding of values being transferred by accounting themes, 2. a stimulated consciousness to change, 3. a need to change and redesign systems that suit local values and faith towards God. By extending Freire’s role of educator in this shift i.e. not only shifting consciousness to liberate one from oppression (anthropocentric love) but also hyper that, a new consciousness should be inherent with faith towards God as a result of purification process. The limitation of its success might be caused by the lack of support of the whole accounting curriculum. The change of curriculum is an inevitable implication. rHOL implementation demonstrates a promising prospect. If rHOL could be employed thoroughly in accounting education, we believe rHOL would free accountants from secularism and corporate hegemony, insyaAllah. Now it is up to the accounting educators to trigger the change. Can we?

Reference:

Ahmad, Kamaruddin. 2007. Akuntansi Manajemen: Dasar- dasar Konsep Biaya dan Pengambilan Keputusan. Edisi 5. Jakarta: PT RajaGrafindo Persada.

Ainsworth, Penne. 2001. Changes in Accounting Curricula: Discussion and Design. Accounting Education 10. 2001

Barry, Vincent. 1986. Moral Issues in Business. Third Edition. USA: Wadsworth Inc.

Beaver, William H. 1987. Accounting Education: Challenges and Opportunities. Presidential Address. American Accounting Association.

Berg, Bruce L. 2004. Qualitative Research Methods. Edisi 5. USA: Pearson Education. Inc. Blocher, Edward J., Kung H. Chen, Thomas W. Lin. 2000. Manajemen Biaya: Dengan Tekanan

Strategic, Buku Satu. Terjemahan. Jakarta: Salemba Empat.

Bryne, Marann and Barbara Flood. 2004. Exploring The Conceptions of Learning of Accounting Students. Accounting Education. Supplement 1. December 2004.

Burrel, Gibson and Gareth Morgan. 1994. Sociological Paradigms and Organisational Analysis: Elements of The Sociology of Corporate Life. USA: Ashgate Publising Company.

Christie, Nancy, Bruno Dyck, Janet Morill, Ross Stewart. 2004. Escaping The Materialistic-Individualistic Iron Cage: A Weberian Agenda For Alternative Radical Accounting.

Fourth Asia Pacific Interdisciplinary Research in Accounting Review.

Faruqi, Ismail Raji. 1998. Al Tawhid: Its Implications for Thought and Life. Cetakan 4. The International Institute of Islamic Thought.

Freire. Paulo. 2004. Politik Pendidikan: Kebudayaan, Kekuasaan dan Pembebasan (Politic of Education: Culture, Power and Liberation). Translated by Agung Prihantoro and Fuad Arif Fudiyartanto. Yogyakarta: Pustaka Pelajar.

Hansen, Don R and Maryanne M. Mowen. 2005. Akuntansi Manajemen. Terjemahan. Management Accounting. Buku 1. Edisi 7. Jakarta: Penerbit Salemba Empat.

Hardiman, Fransisco Budi. 2003. Kritik Ideologi: Menyingkap Kepentingan Pengetahuan Bersama Jurgen Habermas. Yogyakarta: Penerbit Buku Baik.

---. 2003. Melampaui Positivisme dan Modernitas: Diskursus Filosofis tentang Metode Ilmiah dan Problem Modernitas. Penerbit Kanisius.

Kamayanti, Ari. 2005. The Use of Strategic Cost Management Framework in the Balanced Scorecard Perspective Measures. Media Mahardhika, Vol.3, No. 2, Januari 2005.

Kaplan, Robert, S and David P. Norton. 1996. Translating Strategy into Action: The Balanced Scorecard. Harvard Business School Press. Boston Massachusetts.

Kartanegara, Mulyadi. 2003. Menyibak Tirai Kejahilan: Pengantar Epistemologi Islam. Bandung: Penerbit Mizan.

Kuntowijoyo. 1999. Paradigma Islam: Interpretasi untuk Aksi. Cetakan IX. Bandung: Mizan. Levine, Stéphanie and Maryam Nabavi. 2004. Review of: Education as the practice of Freedom

in Education for Critical Consciousness. OISE/University of Toronto.

Macintosh, Norman B, Tery Shearer, Daniel B. Thornton, Michael Welker. 2000. Accounting as simulacrum and hyperreality: perspectives on income and capital. Accounting, Organisation and Society. 25, 13-50.

Mahzar, Armahedi. 1983. Integralisme: Sebuah Rekonstruksi Filsafat Islam. Cetakan satu. Bandung: Penerbit Pustaka.

Mathews, MR. 2001. Whither (or wither) Accounting Education in the New Millennium.

Accounting Forum Volume 25 no 4 December 2001.

Mayper, Alan G. Robert J, Pavur, Barbara D. Merino and William Hoops. 2005. The Impact of Accounting Education on Ethical Values: An Institutional Perspective. Accounting and The Public Interest. Volume 5. 2005.

Mulawarman, Aji Dedi. 2006. Pendidikan Akuntansi Berbasis Cinta: Lepas dari Hegemoni Korporasi menuju Pendidikan yang Memberdayakan dan Konsepsi Pembelajaran yang melampaui. International Seminar Reinventing Paradigms of Social Studies in Indonesia, Yogyakarta, 11-13 Agustus 2006, FISE UNY-HISPISI.

---. 2007. Pensucian Akuntansi Episode Dua: Hyperview of Learning dan Implementasinya. First Accounting Session: Revolution of Accounting Education, Universitas Kristen Maranatha Bandung, 18-19 Januari 2007

Myers, Randy. 2005. Accounting Education Changes Course: Communication Skills and Real World Cases Broaden the Syllabus. Journal of Accountancy 2005

Poore, Simon. 2000. An ethnomethodology- An introduction. HYPERLINK

Pransejit, Biswas. 2002. Historicizing Reason: Husserl’s Transcendental Phenomenology

.

Prague, Czech Republic, Seminar “Issues Confronting the Post-European World”, November 2002.

Sanders, Patricia. 1982. Phenomenology: A new way of viewing organizational research.

Academy Management Review 1982, Vol 7 no.3.

Syari’ati, Ali. 1992. Membangun Masa Depan Islam. Terjemahan. Cetakan ketiga. What is to be done: the enlightened thinkers and Islamic renaissance. Bandung: Mizan.

Undang Undang Dasar 1945. www.ham.go.id.

Undang Undang RI Nomor 20 Tahun 2003 tentang Sistem Pendidikan Nasional. 2004. Cetakan 1. Qanon Publishing.

Zhang, Zhihai.2001. Implementation of Total Quality Management: An Empirical Study of Chinese Manufacturing Firms. RIJKSUNIVERSITEIT GRONINGEN

phenomenon and he was able to propose a definition of local accounting need based on that observation. He observed a local restaurant, conducted an interview with Ibu Katminatun (the owner) and based on that he proposed a definition, a local need for accounting:

“Accounting is recording inflow of cash and outflow of cash, so that it can be known the net income that is obtained for a certain period. This information is used to make decisions pertaining targeted income, amount of fund that should be spent, deposited and/ or invested”

Phenomenology can be used to describe these different attainments of consciousness. Tapa can be classified as a passive student. He has indicated his comprehension of management accounting conveyed values by his critics towards ABC. However, his anthropocentric setback in the view of learning showed that he could only reach up to the first level of rHOL impact. An intentional analysis was made that there was a great stress of his family expectancy to raise a significant economic growth to the family since he is an only child. He has become a leaning support for the entire family, thus this unconscious effort towards maximizing wealth might be a hindrance to shift to a higher level of consciousness.

Cinta on the other hand, came from a faithful and obedient Moslem family. She can be classified as an attentive student. She did not experience the same stress as Tapa since she is of three siblings. She has reached the second level of the implementation of rHOL. It has stimulated her to change. There was an impetus to change the society and the world as an obligation to God. An intentional analysis was made, that although Cinta reached a higher level of consciousness because she was spiritually more aware than Tapa, she did not cross the second level to a higher level of rHOL impact because she was inexperienced. She was not exposed to a work environment such as Nori, hence she did not see real life phenomenon as often as Nori.

This explained her inability to redesign systems that suit local business. Nori reached the highest level of rHOL impact. An intentional analysis showed that he, being a tax worker and older, was more experienced than either Tapa or Cinta. His attentive attitude towards study supported his significant shift of consciousness. Shift of consciousness is very important to liberate students from secularism and corporate hegemony. If students are conscious enough to see their presence, they would try or act to change that.

By putting together these layers of culture through Mahzar’s cultural concept, it can be derived that there has been an imbalance in integration of values as a result of secularism and corporate hegemony. The strong held value of students and educators is without doubt Islam (see

Exethographic notes 1-4). But this value seemed to disappear as being reflected in cultural objects (management accounting textbooks) and cultural behavior (attitudes of both students and lecturers). Worse, cultural hopes are then no longer shaped by the ultimate value but they have become a representation of cultural objects. The stated themes (ABC, TQM and BSC) are simulacrum18 _{since they do not reflect the needs and values of localities in Indonesia.}

6. Conclusion: Implementation Prospect of rHOL in the future.

Humanity learning process through rHOL is without doubt can be used to re-align cultural objects, behavior, and hopes with the ultimate value: faith towards God. This Ethnography work has shown its enlightenment implications on both educator and students. While educator has become enlightened since he/she would continuously be connected with

developing intuitive learning and obedience in spiritual activity throughout the course, rHOL was able to shift students’ consciousness in three levels: 1. an understanding of values being transferred by accounting themes, 2. a stimulated consciousness to change, 3. a need to change and redesign systems that suit local values and faith towards God. By extending Freire’s role of educator in this shift i.e. not only shifting consciousness to liberate one from oppression (anthropocentric love) but also hyper that, a new consciousness should be inherent with faith towards God as a result of purification process. The limitation of its success might be caused by the lack of support of the whole accounting curriculum. The change of curriculum is an inevitable implication. rHOL implementation demonstrates a promising prospect. If rHOL could be employed thoroughly in accounting education, we believe rHOL would free accountants from secularism and corporate hegemony, insyaAllah. Now it is up to the accounting educators to trigger the change. Can we?

Reference:

Ahmad, Kamaruddin. 2007. Akuntansi Manajemen: Dasar- dasar Konsep Biaya dan Pengambilan Keputusan. Edisi 5. Jakarta: PT RajaGrafindo Persada.

Ainsworth, Penne. 2001. Changes in Accounting Curricula: Discussion and Design. Accounting Education 10. 2001

Barry, Vincent. 1986. Moral Issues in Business. Third Edition. USA: Wadsworth Inc.

Beaver, William H. 1987. Accounting Education: Challenges and Opportunities. Presidential Address. American Accounting Association.

Berg, Bruce L. 2004. Qualitative Research Methods. Edisi 5. USA: Pearson Education. Inc. Blocher, Edward J., Kung H. Chen, Thomas W. Lin. 2000. Manajemen Biaya: Dengan Tekanan

Strategic, Buku Satu. Terjemahan. Jakarta: Salemba Empat.

Bryne, Marann and Barbara Flood. 2004. Exploring The Conceptions of Learning of Accounting Students. Accounting Education. Supplement 1. December 2004.

Burrel, Gibson and Gareth Morgan. 1994. Sociological Paradigms and Organisational Analysis: Elements of The Sociology of Corporate Life. USA: Ashgate Publising Company.

Christie, Nancy, Bruno Dyck, Janet Morill, Ross Stewart. 2004. Escaping The Materialistic-Individualistic Iron Cage: A Weberian Agenda For Alternative Radical Accounting.

Fourth Asia Pacific Interdisciplinary Research in Accounting Review.

Faruqi, Ismail Raji. 1998. Al Tawhid: Its Implications for Thought and Life. Cetakan 4. The International Institute of Islamic Thought.

Freire. Paulo. 2004. Politik Pendidikan: Kebudayaan, Kekuasaan dan Pembebasan (Politic of Education: Culture, Power and Liberation). Translated by Agung Prihantoro and Fuad Arif Fudiyartanto. Yogyakarta: Pustaka Pelajar.

Hansen, Don R and Maryanne M. Mowen. 2005. Akuntansi Manajemen. Terjemahan. Management Accounting. Buku 1. Edisi 7. Jakarta: Penerbit Salemba Empat.

Hardiman, Fransisco Budi. 2003. Kritik Ideologi: Menyingkap Kepentingan Pengetahuan Bersama Jurgen Habermas. Yogyakarta: Penerbit Buku Baik.

Kamayanti, Ari. 2005. The Use of Strategic Cost Management Framework in the Balanced Scorecard Perspective Measures. Media Mahardhika, Vol.3, No. 2, Januari 2005.

Kaplan, Robert, S and David P. Norton. 1996. Translating Strategy into Action: The Balanced Scorecard. Harvard Business School Press. Boston Massachusetts.

Kartanegara, Mulyadi. 2003. Menyibak Tirai Kejahilan: Pengantar Epistemologi Islam. Bandung: Penerbit Mizan.

Kuntowijoyo. 1999. Paradigma Islam: Interpretasi untuk Aksi. Cetakan IX. Bandung: Mizan. Levine, Stéphanie and Maryam Nabavi. 2004. Review of: Education as the practice of Freedom

in Education for Critical Consciousness. OISE/University of Toronto.

Macintosh, Norman B, Tery Shearer, Daniel B. Thornton, Michael Welker. 2000. Accounting as simulacrum and hyperreality: perspectives on income and capital. Accounting, Organisation and Society. 25, 13-50.

Mahzar, Armahedi. 1983. Integralisme: Sebuah Rekonstruksi Filsafat Islam. Cetakan satu. Bandung: Penerbit Pustaka.

Mathews, MR. 2001. Whither (or wither) Accounting Education in the New Millennium.

Accounting Forum Volume 25 no 4 December 2001.

Mayper, Alan G. Robert J, Pavur, Barbara D. Merino and William Hoops. 2005. The Impact of Accounting Education on Ethical Values: An Institutional Perspective. Accounting and The Public Interest. Volume 5. 2005.

Mulawarman, Aji Dedi. 2006. Pendidikan Akuntansi Berbasis Cinta: Lepas dari Hegemoni Korporasi menuju Pendidikan yang Memberdayakan dan Konsepsi Pembelajaran yang melampaui. International Seminar Reinventing Paradigms of Social Studies in Indonesia, Yogyakarta, 11-13 Agustus 2006, FISE UNY-HISPISI.

---. 2007. Pensucian Akuntansi Episode Dua: Hyperview of Learning dan Implementasinya. First Accounting Session: Revolution of Accounting Education, Universitas Kristen Maranatha Bandung, 18-19 Januari 2007

Myers, Randy. 2005. Accounting Education Changes Course: Communication Skills and Real World Cases Broaden the Syllabus. Journal of Accountancy 2005

Poore, Simon. 2000. An ethnomethodology- An introduction. HYPERLINK

Pransejit, Biswas. 2002. Historicizing Reason: Husserl’s Transcendental Phenomenology

.

Prague, Czech Republic, Seminar “Issues Confronting the Post-European World”, November 2002.

Sanders, Patricia. 1982. Phenomenology: A new way of viewing organizational research.

Academy Management Review 1982, Vol 7 no.3.

Syari’ati, Ali. 1992. Membangun Masa Depan Islam. Terjemahan. Cetakan ketiga. What is to be done: the enlightened thinkers and Islamic renaissance. Bandung: Mizan.

Undang Undang Dasar 1945. www.ham.go.id.

Undang Undang RI Nomor 20 Tahun 2003 tentang Sistem Pendidikan Nasional. 2004. Cetakan 1. Qanon Publishing.

Zhang, Zhihai.2001. Implementation of Total Quality Management: An Empirical Study of Chinese Manufacturing Firms. RIJKSUNIVERSITEIT GRONINGEN