Andrew Rothwell

Self-perceived employability: Development and validation of a scale

Purpose – Employability concerns the extent to which people possess the skills and other attributes to find and stay in work of the kind they want. It is thought by many to be a key goal for individuals to aim for in managing their careers, and for organisations to foster in workforces. The purpose of this paper is to report on the development of a self‐report measure of individuals perceived employability. It also seeks to examine its construct validity and correlates.Design/methodology/approach – Based on the analysis of relevant literature, this study developed 16 items which were intended collectively to reflect employability within and outside the persons current organisation, based on his or her personal and occupational attributes. This study administered these items by questionnaire to 200 human resources professionals in the UK, along with established measures of career success and professional commitment, as well as questions reflecting demographic variables.Findings – This article retained 11...

Accounting professionals and CPD: attitudes and engagement—some survey evidence

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is a major issue in post‐compulsory education at the start of the twenty‐first century. This paper reports the results of a recent survey of accountancy members which explored attitudes towards CPD in relation to employability, career success and professional identity. Attitudes to CPD are chiefly correlated with identification with, and commitment to, the profession, rather than the length of time in the profession, job status, age, qualification level, or gender. Implications of this research for post‐compulsory education include an enhanced understanding of the motivation to engage in CPD and the benefits professional accountants perceive as arising from this, together with which CPD activities they actually engage in. This research should help professional accounting bodies better understand some of the attitudinal factors in CPD participation, and thus improve the design and communication of their schemes.

Think Global, Teach Local.

This paper presents aspects of good practice in international teaching. The paper incorporates a review of literature on international teaching, quality assurance in collaborative provision, and selected literature from the Human Resource Management field on expatriate workers. Primary data have been drawn from two sources. Qualitative data have been gathered in relation to a one‐semester exercise involving 24 colleagues in a 12‐week teaching period in Israel. Secondly, qualitative data have been gathered from key informant interviews with colleagues with experience of shorter teaching periods overseas. The paper identifies aspects of good practice, and presents issues for further research. Key findings include the need for careful selection of staff, cultural sensitivity in both delivery and content of programmes, and particularly effective working relationships between visiting lecturers and local staff as key to effective classroom performance. Finally, UK higher education institutions, while urged to ‘think global’, should ensure that they ‘teach local’, meeting student needs through cultural sensitivity and appropriate pedagogy.

The Developing Manager: Reflective Learning in Undergraduate Management Education

This article critically evaluates the design and delivery of a suite of management skills modules, combined as an integrating theme throughout the programme of study in an undergraduate degree in management in an international collaboration between Israel and the UK. It will focus particularly on reflective learning, and a range of strategies that have been used to encourage students to be critical and reflective learners, principally through the use of reflective diaries. This is an evaluation of a pioneering experience, as at the time of implementation there was no other academic programme in Israel using these methods, where the diaries were used both as a learning vehicle and a module assessment tool.

The Advanced GNVQ in Management Studies ‐ who wants it?

Considers the development of an innovative award for first‐line managers. Points out that, unlike other first‐line management prog‐ rammes, it is an education‐based programme, full‐ or part‐time, placed in the General National Vocational Qualification (GNVQ) framework; but, unlike other GNVQs, directed at mature candidates, including returners to education or employment, and those not yet in a job role that allows them to meet the NVQ criteria. Explains that the qualification aims to meet gaps in the current MCI standards; and, as a GNVQ, to provide the knowledge base and progression seen as weaknesses of NVQs, as well as progression on to NVQs. States that the qualification is perceived as meeting real needs and a gap in the market; however, notes that take‐up of the pilot year has been disappointing. Emphasizes that the intention is to provide meaningful and practical training for a front‐line managerial role in an education context, but that only further evaluation of the pilot will determine the extent to which this has succeeded.