There is concern that management and business research favours rigour and theory over relevance and practice. There are pressures from funding councils for researchers to show more impact. The paper shows how the bridge between the academic world and the world of practice can be served by action learning. Consideration is given to the difficulties…

This article attempts to build a cross-reference between a Doctoral program in Business and Administration (DBA) and the concept of 'Action Learning' made known within this programme, while also highlighting the relevance for 'Action Learning' in the authors professional daily life. The experiences made during the studies, when the concept of…

This paper contrasts the prevailing individualistic approach of financial literacy measurement and financial education with an educational framework that seeks to equip young people to play an active democratic role and to develop a broader understanding of the financial world. In particular, the framework suggests how important dimensions of…

Professional learning is a critical component of ongoing improvement and innovation and the adoption of new practices in the workplace. Professional learning is often achieved through learning embedded in everyday work tasks. However, little is known about how professionals self-regulate their learning through regular work activities. This paper…

A group of postgraduate accounting and finance students were asked to participate in a three-phase exercise: sit an unseen past examination question; mark a fully anonymised previous student solution (exemplar); and then mark their own work. The marking process was facilitated by explaining and discussing the marking guide, assessment systems and…

Introduction: We describe a simple and rapid screening test for basic financial knowledge that is suitable for administration to people with mild intellectual disabilities. Method: The Coins and Costs test asks respondents to name coins, and to estimate prices of objects ranging between 1 British Pound (an ice cream) and 100K British Pounds (a…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the under-researched subject of the role of mentoring relationships within and outside of organizational boundaries as individuals make the career transition from being a corporate employee to becoming an entrepreneur. Design/methodology/approach: Using structured interviews, the authors collected…

The main controversy as a result of the commercialisation of international education markets is that international students especially those from China are unable to perform as well as UK students in UK universities. So far, research has yet to identify the influence of placements on the academic performance of Chinese students from entry to…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the underlying reasons why providing process improvement training, by itself, may not be sufficient to achieve the desired outcome of improved processes; and to attempt a conceptual framework of management training for more effective improvement. Design/methodology/approach: Two similar units within…

This paper examines the ways in which credentials from a range of education providers are used to (re)produce transnational financial elites in London's international financial district. Extant research has examined the long-standing relationship between educational background and entry into these financial labour markets. Far less attention has…

In the early 1980s the Conservative Administration introduced legislation to promote private personal pension plans for public sector workers. An army of commission-driven sales staff from the financial services industry sought to persuade teachers and others to abandon their inflation-proof pension schemes for those offered by private companies.…

Reporting on research into two major employers recruiting to the financial services industry, this article draws on data collected from interns, recruitment professionals and graduate employees in their first year of employment. It poses a number of strategy- and outcome-related questions in an attempt to determine whether recruitment advisers are…

This paper investigates the implementation and use of an internal organisational blog by several departments in the HR division in a large public sector financial organisation in the UK. This qualitative study adopts a case study approach and examines the experiences of staff using the blog to explore whether it can facilitate organisational…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to introduce a case study that identifies the practical issues and implications of employer engagement through course design, delivery and employee commitment in a higher education course delivered in the financial services sector. Design/methodology/approach: Using a case study the paper draws on the course…

Technologies of payment rather than technologies of connection are the real trigger for the expansion of electronic commerce on the Internet. This article discusses "smart cards," highlighting Mondex, the electronic purse developed in the United Kingdom. Predicts that cash will be replaced by "e-cash," which is cheaper to make,…