Framing the Magdalen: sentimental narratives and impression management in charity annual reporting

Abstract

We are grateful for comments, advice and feedback received from Stephen Walker, Alan Goodacre, colleagues in the Accounting and Finance Division, Stirling University, delegates at the BAFA conference 2014, and during a seminar presentation at Durham University Business School. We also gratefully acknowledge the helpful suggestions from the editors and our two anonymous referees.1 Framing the Magdalen. The sentimental narrative and impression management in the annual report of the Edinburgh Magdalen Asylum. AbstractWe analyse the annual report narratives, between 1801 and 1914, of the Edinburgh Magdalen Asylum, a reformatory for 'fallen' women. We aim to provide new insights by combining interdisciplinary perspectives: the work of Erving Goffman on stigma, asylums, impression management and framing, and writings on literary genres, in particular eighteenth and nineteenth century fiction. We also contribute to research on the annual report as source material for social history and to accounting histories of women. We find that the narratives were employed to discharge the directors' accountability, by portraying their work and the asylum as socially and economically useful, accounting for the inmates in their charge, securing funding, and finding suitable employment for inmates after release. The narratives and their subjects were framed in accordance with conventions of sentimental novels and recurring literary plot structures. By creating a dichotomy between victims of seduction and 'hardened' prostitutes, the directors could manage expectations: not all Magdalens could be saved. On the other hand, this allowed the directors to advertise their 'product' in the market for domestic labour: Case histories and personal narratives were presented to show that the remorseful Magdalen could become a docile domestic servant and productive citizen.2 Framing the Magdalen. The sentimental narrative and impression management in the annual report of the Edinburgh Magdalen Asylum.

Accountability by the accountable self: The case of Leone Wollemborg

“…In addition, by focusing specifically on the ‘accountable self’ attitude and explanations to the ‘other’, this work adds to the social impact of accounting by exploring how accounting (Abeysekera, 2005; Barnes, 2007; Chandler, 2016; Fülbier and Klein, 2015; Platonova, 2009; Sokolov, 2015; Walker, 2008) and accountability (Antonelli et al, 2017; Evans and Pierpoint, 2015; Fowler and Cordery, 2015; Jacobs and Walker, 2004; Killian, 2015; Oakes and Young, 2008; Rammal and Parker, 2012; Sargiacomo and Gomes, 2011) are shaped by, and shape, context and social relations.…”

“…It has been shown that narratives were used to manage stakeholders’ impressions (Evans and Pierpoint, 2015) and discursively explain choices not only to the ‘others’ but also to rationalise the ‘self’ (Oakes and Young, 2008: 786). This study demonstrates that, by narrating his own way of being responsible to a potential ‘other’ and making a pervasive use of face-to-face narrative accountability, Wollemborg bridged the gap and obtained the trust and engagement of external potential members and future leaders of cooperatives.…”

“…Accounting history literature has mostly concentrated on depicting how accounting (Abeysekera, 2005; Barnes, 2007; Chandler, 2016; Fülbier and Klein, 2015; Platonova, 2009; Sokolov, 2015; Walker, 2008) and accountability practices (Antonelli et al, 2017; Fowler and Cordery, 2015; Jacobs and Walker, 2004; Killian, 2015; Oakes and Young, 2008; Rammal and Parker, 2012; Sargiacomo and Gomes, 2011) evolve with respect to the organisational and social contexts, leaving at the margins explorations of the role of the ‘accountable self’ in this process. Among the few exceptions, there is the work of Evans and Pierpoint (2015), which explored directors’ accountability in relation to impression management, and the paper of Oakes and Young (2008) exploring how accountability was conceptualised and practised within Hull House, by focusing on the founder’s activities.…”

Stigma management and justifications of the self in denazification accounts

“…This issue becomes even more important when considering documents that are intended to relieve the author from being held accountable. Such texts are prevalent in the corporate world, and the accounting literature has shown them to be carefully crafted to manage their impact on the reader (Merkl-Davies and Brennan, 2011; Evans and Pierpoint, 2015), with the originating organization taking into account the readership of reports and what this audience expects to hear or read (Skaerbaek, 2005;Christensen and Skaerbaek, 2007). It has also been shown that individuals engage in retrospective sense-making by providing justifications for actions and events .…”

Similarity of management reports of Brazilian firms

“…They found that financial institutions utilise 'assertive' and 'defensive' disclosure tactics to gain, maintain and restore their social legitimacy. Evans and Pierpoint (2015) have analysed annual report narratives and found that the narratives are active in discharge the director's accountability by demonstrating their work as socially and economically useful and managing expectations. Wickham et al (2015) tested marketing priorities in the annual reports.…”