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The purpose of this paper is to determine the impact of an integrated Medical Leadership Programme (MLP) on a cohort of participating specialty doctors and the NHS services with which they were engaged.

This was a qualitative study designed to obtain rich textual data on a novel training intervention. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with participating MLP trainees at fixed points throughout the programme in order to capture their experiences. Resulting data were triangulated with data from extant documentation, including trainees’ progress reports and summaries of achievements. Recurring discourses and themes were identified using a framework thematic analysis.

Evidence of the positive impact upon trainees and NHS services was identified, along with challenges. Evidence of impact across all the domains within the national Medical Leadership Competency Framework was also identified, including demonstrating personal qualities, working with others, managing services, improving services and setting direction.

Data were drawn from interviews with a small population of trainees undertaking a pilot MLP in a single deanery, so there are inevitable limitations for generalisability in the quantitative sense. Whilst the pilot trainees were a self-selected group, it was a group of mixed origin and ability.

The study has provided valuable lessons for the design of future leadership programmes aimed at doctors in training.

Identifying the effectiveness of an innovative model of delivery with regard to the Medical Leadership Curriculum may assist with medical staff engagement and support health service improvements to benefit patient care.

One of the consequences of globalisation is the proliferation of interactions between professionals of organisations from different cultural backgrounds. This is certainly true for construction project managers working in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, and the aim here is to provide foundation evidence regarding first, the existence of a distinct organisational culture and, second, the perceived culture type.

Data collected through questionnaire-based interviews with 96 construction project managers in the GCC countries was analysed by applying the Organisational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI, Cameron and Quinn, 2006) and empirical statistics.

The OCAI was found to be a useful tool to determine a profession's culture, and, confirming what has so far been anecdotal evidence, the findings indicate that both the group and hierarchy cultures are dominant culture types among construction project managers in the GCC countries.

The confirmation of the dominant culture types gives increased confidence to practitioners to develop effective cultural diversity management regarding professional interactions with construction project managers in the GCC countries.

The findings contribute to the body of knowledge by proving that construction project managers in the GCC countries perceive a dominant blend of group and hierarchy cultures.

This research aims to explore the role of social capital and specifically networks in role, and career development for women within two very distinct gender-segregated contexts of the labour market, namely, investment management and human resource management (HRM).

This research is qualitative in nature, underpinned by an interpretivist philosophical stance. Thematic analysis is used to analyse the findings from 32 in-depth interviews with HR and investment management managers.

The findings advance our understanding of social capital and its development as a social process, which differs according to labour market contexts. The results indicate divergence among participants regarding how they access networks as well as the perceived role and benefits of networking and social capital accumulation in their career and personal development.

For human resource development (HRD) practitioners, there are implications in relation to the need to tailor development and support structures cognisant of the occupational context. Specifically, the findings of this study indicate the acute need to support network access for those “outsider” women in male-dominated spaces. A need to enhance awareness of the benefits of networks to both organisations and employees across the labour market is warranted. For organisations, networks underlie social capital accumulation, which in turn increases efficiency and generates business solutions. For the employee, networks are an important self-development and career advancement tool. Such connections need to be supported and developed. Within patriarchal spaces particularly, HRD professionals need to provide support to women in extending their networks both within and outside the organisation.

This research makes an essential contribution to the literature by examining the influence of context in the development of social capital within two polarized labour market locations. The findings highlight the difficulties women face when developing social capital in investment management in contrast to the relative ease, which HRM professionals experience. Such findings also bring to light the essential role of HRD professionals as advocates for change in such contexts.