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Over the last five to ten years an increasing number of public agencies have commenced strategic planning. However, results have often fallen short of what strategic planning is supposed to achieve. Drawing on experience of strategic planning systems in public bodies in a number of countries, offers the view that it is the motivation of the power‐holders in the system which determines the approach taken to strategic planning and, consequently, the type of outcomes which eventuate. The three most common approaches to strategic planning are to engage in it as an annual ritual, to see it as a technical goal‐setting and decision‐making process, or to approach it in a consensus‐seeking manner. Each of these approaches has potential negative outcomes. Identifies a fourth and much less common approach, namely, regarding strategic planning as an organizational learning process. Explores the benefits and impediments to this approach and offers some general guidelines for effective strategic planning.

Presents the author′s academic experiences at the Bachelor′s and Master′s Degree levels (in Business Studies and Organizational Analysis and Development, respectively) and reflects upon the effect of those experiences on subsequent professional practice within the framework of Kolb′s Learning Cycle (1984) and Schon′s notion of the reflective practitioner (1983). The author′s principal learning is that process skills tended to be more enduring than mere content knowledge but that the important determinant of effectiveness of process skills is the nature of the paradigm from which they were derived. Quantitative skills based on a deterministic view of the world proved to be not used in professional practice, whereas organizational diagnostic skills, predicated as a belief that human nature and organizations are probabilistic, indeterminant worlds of multiple, interacting variables, proved much more useful and enduring. Rather than an expert relationship with a client, a collaborative partnership approach, now referred to as “Emancipatory Action Research”, was seen as more appropriate and useful over the years.

Igbo communities in diaspora are arguably some of the most innovative communities, in terms of business start-ups and engagements in entrepreneurial activities. Despite the lack of material resources, individuals within these communities have often started and engaged in new businesses, in environments considered extremely difficult. This chapter interrogates the sociocultural conditions behind such Igbo entrepreneurial incubation. Drawing largely on the experiences of selected Igbo individuals in a diasporan community (South Africa), it investigates how such Igbo business individuals’ start-up their businesses. A qualitative research method which allowed in-depth semi-structured interviews to collect data from the respondents was adopted. A simple thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. The result showed pressure to succeed and pre-existing repertoire of business knowledge and skill-set as some of the conditions that stimulate entrepreneurial activities of the Igbo business individuals in diaspora. It also showed other conditions such as the untapped business-friendly South African market and the association with the Igbo business networks as important conditions responsible for creating the opportunities upon which such business start-ups and entrepreneurial activities thrive. Based on these findings, the study encourages economic policy makers in South Africa and other African countries to develop similar national business models, that draws from the indigenous practices within the ITBS model.

Describes work currently being done by the Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) in action‐based learning and its use in the development of graduates and regional industry. Examines a pilot scheme – the Company Associate Partnership Scheme (CAPS) – which aims to increase the employment of graduates within small businesses. This, it is hoped, will enable companies to introduce strategic change projects. Includes observations of LMU associates, companies involved, academic institutions and the Department of Trade and Industry. Concludes that the greatest challenge for associates is managing the integration of academia and industry to form a learning partnership.

Of many managerialist panaceas, the most prevalent one today is the assertion that private sector practices will solve the public sector’s “self‐evident” inadequate performance. This managerialist view assumes hegemonic proportions in Anglo‐Saxon public sectors and largely goes unchallenged, notwithstanding serious reservations about the superiority of private managerial prerogatives one would draw from organization theory or, even, mainstream liberal economics, which is largely silent about the role of management and control in economic behaviour. It is a particular brand of economics that underscores the linking of public agency efficiency to managerial ability and performance. In neo‐institutional economics, “rent‐seeking” behaviour is attributed to civil servants, rather than corporate entrepreneurs, and from that ideological perspective of bureaucratic pathology flows a whole series of untested propositions culminating in the commercializing, corporatizing and privatizing rationales, now uncritically accepted by most bureaucrats themselves to be axiomatically true. The economistic underpinning of managerialism and its “New Functionalism” in organizational design hardly addresses the significant structural, cultural and behavioural changes necessary to bring about the rhetorical benefits said to flow from the application of managerialist solutions. Managerialism expects public managers to improve efficiency, reduce burdensome costs and enhance organizational performance in a competitive stakeholding situation. Managerialism largely ignores the administrative‐political environment which rewards risk‐averse behaviour which, in turn, militates against the very behavioural and organizational reforms managerialists putatively seek for the public sector.

The aim of this paper is to explore the notion of organizational learning as a way of collective knowledge construction to achieve long‐term competitive advantage. It proposes a theoretical framework based on action systems and process leadership perspective, integrating five key themes: systems, interaction and relationship, teambuilding, change, and renewal.

Literature review was adopted to determine the main streams of theoretical contribution on organizational learning and knowledge acquisition. Five distinct yet interrelated themes have been identified as contributing to the theoretical framework proposed.

It has been found that leaders play a crucial role in facilitating systems dynamics, influencing the rate and degree at which organizational members learn. Two such intervening factors as dialogue and reflection have been found to be the leitmotif of learning and knowledge co‐construction in the workplace.

The paper provides a number of pointers for further theoretical development, motivating both exploratory and explanatory empirical research in organizational learning and knowledge sharing. Of importance is the linking mechanism between different levels of learning and people involved in the learning.

A list of strategies has been suggested to help leaders manage and develop organizational learning. These views have arisen according to theoretical insights drawn from the literature review and the author's practical experience.

The paper offers both researchers and practitioners a useful perspective on the various aspects of organizational learning and knowledge building. Of practical value is the paper's attempt at making simple the complex process of learning and knowledge generation in ever‐changing organizational contexts.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the predictability of remittances in individual developing countries. It achieves this objective by testing for mean reversion (i.e. stationarity) in the monthly remittance series reported to the World Bank by 21 developing countries.

Unit root tests on remittance time series are undertaken using three tests – the augmented Dickey-Fuller test, the Phillip-Peron test and the Kwiatkowshi, Phillips, Schmidt and Shin test. Stationarity of series in levels would indicate mean reversion and predictability of remittances.

The paper finds significant evidence of mean reversion and hence predictability in remittance inflows in 17 developing countries.

Remittance inflows, which have become an important source of external finance for many developing countries, are not random flows but a stable and predictable stream of financial flows.

Prior research has focused on volatility of remittances in comparison with other capital flows and then inferred stability from them having lower volatility. Using available monthly data, this paper is the first to directly test for mean reversion and hence predictability of remittances.

There are many definitions of profound and multiple learning disabilities. Most definitions include having a high degree of learning disability in conjunction with at least one other severe impairment, such as visual, auditory or physical impairments (Male, 1996; Ware, 1996; Lacey, 1998). Bunning (1997) adds that people with such disabilities are very reliant on others for support, including support in taking part in communicative events. Establishing reliable and consistent methods of communication may be exceptionally difficult (Florian et al, 2000). However, it is important to consider the individuality and extreme diversity of this population (Detheridge, 1997; Hogg, 1998), which includes variability in communication strengths and needs (Granlund & Olsson, 1999; McLean et al, 1996). Communication is often given little attention when services are planning ways of supporting individuals to participate, develop independence and make choices (McGill et al, 2000). While the individual's communication strengths and needs should remain central within any discussion, the significant others and the environment will also have an important influence. This article explores some of the communication issues experienced by people with profound and multiple learning disabilities and highlights the importance of the communication partnership within interventions.

The aim of this paper is to compare the regulatory frameworks for informal remittance systems in the UK, Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden and Norway.

This study evaluates the effects of the different regulatory frameworks, in terms of level of control and quality of remittance services. It relies on reports from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), law enforcement and regulatory agencies and the World Bank. It also draws heavily on academic literature and migrant household surveys.

There are major differences between the countries in how to regulate Hawala and other informal remittance systems. Even though all countries have challenges in regulating this sector, it seems that a simplified registration regime for money transfer operators is the most suitable option for improving both the level of control and the quality of remittance services. Looking at regulatory changes during the last decade, it appears that the national policies have converged towards a medium level.

This paper contributes to the debate on Hawala regulation by empirically evaluating how successful five different national policies have been. It also presents an updated picture of national regulations by including changes incurred by the EU Payment Services Directive (2007/64/EC), which was implemented in 2009 and 2010.