Group Work and Multicultural Management Education

Globalization changes the composition of the adult classroom, increasing diversity and bringing new associated teaching and learning problems; problems with group work. Educators may have goals to teach transferable multicultural group working skills yet learners find such work more challenging, showing a propensity to form groups containing students more like themselves i.e. unicultural. Using survey data from MBA students spanning 25 countries, this empirical article documents an investigation into methods and techniques used to create groups for teaching and learning in diverse classrooms and considers the arguments for and against a range of approaches. We conclude the educational goal directing the use of group work, student stage and the need for attaining affective and performance outcomes are important determinants of group allocation methods.     

Gender,leisure and sport: a case-study of young people of South Asian descent

Questions of embodiment are to be crucial in shaping the dynamics of social inclusion and exclusion. To explore the way that these dynamics shape the use of leisure spaces, this paper examines the mediation of Carnage UK events, organised mass student excursions around spaces of nightlife that have proved controversial in many British towns and cities. It is suggested in this paper that the discursive framing of Carnage UK events reflects specific social anxieties about disorderly bodies, invoking distinctions based on classed, sexed and gendered notions of respectability and desirability. Highlighting themes relating to carnivalesque and excessive bodies, it is concluded that conflicts over the use of leisure spaces need to be understood in relation to representations of specific social groups as figures of both desire and disgust. In making this argument, the paper alights on the student as a key figure in contemporary debates concerning nightlife, leisure and consumption.     

Knowledge management practice in Scottish law firms

Law firms, as part of the professional services sector, are increasingly engaged in strategic thinking about business growth and development. The management of partners, staff and their knowledge is critical to this strategic development. This study of a sample of Scottish law firms engaged in commercial and corporate law finds that organisations are at different stages of progress, and that change has focused more on technical solutions than on organisational and HR issues. Based on evidence from partners and management, and on attitude data from salaried staff, the article suggests that, although the traditional professional firm's interest in building and leveraging its human capital is still present, the underlying social and cultural processes involving motivation, sharing of experiences, coaching and mentoring are relatively underdeveloped. The implications for HR strategy and practice, and for the role of the HR manager, are considered.     

Application Of The Reporting Entity Concept To Universities

The Australian Accounting Research Foundation's Statement of Accounting Concept 1 "Definition of the Reporting Entity" refers to dependent users and outlines three factors to be considered in determining whether dependent users exist. This study applies these factors to the tertiary education sector and concludes that public-sector universities can legitimately be deemed reporting entities and should produce financial reports that fully comply with Australian accounting standards and concepts. In the light of this conclusion, the universities' annual reports are examined to determine whether there has generally been compliance. The study finds that 90% of the sampled university reports deviate from Australian accounting standards.     

Working with risky consumers: multi‐professional care for substance‐using pregnant women

Substance use is increasingly common in many countries. Consumption and lifestyles associated with consumption often involve a number of specific health and legal risks for users. For pregnant women, the risks extend to the health and care of their unborn children. A multi‐professional approach to the management of substance use in pregnancy is recommended as best practice but, as with all strategies, effectiveness depends on the way that professional workers implement policy. This study evaluated evidence of multi‐professional working within local maternity services in and around a Scottish city by (a) collating and analysing data from the maternity records of 163 substance‐using women, who delivered between January 2001 and December 2003; and (b) conducting a questionnaire survey in 2004 with 120 midwives and neonatal nurses for their views on maternity care for substance‐using women and their babies. Despite the importance placed on multi‐professional working by midwives and neonatal nurses, maternity records indicated operational inconsistencies with implementation in some cases and not in others. Policy was not yet to be seen embedded in everyday practice.     

Worker representation in health and safety: options for regulatory reform

Worker representation in health and safety in Britain has received statutory support since the Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977. Subsequent developments have, however, acted to undermine the effectiveness of these regulations. The paper consequently discusses a range of reforms that could be introduced to strengthen the present regulatory regime.