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Despite the abundance of practical advice for managing contemporary organisations, managers still seem to struggle with their role. Trying to manage a plethora of stakeholder interests can create a considerable array of paradoxes and double binds that often leave well‐intentioned executives feeling frustrated and disillusioned. This is because too much attention has been given to understanding what managers do at the expense of why they do it. Examining the importance of personal motive is key in helping managers cope with these difficulties because it highlights the centrality of power and politics in managing. This paper builds on this perspective by developing the idea of a legitimate political mindset, showing how the adoption of this perspective enables managers fundamentally to redefine the content of their work and their managerial activity patterns for the benefit of their businesses, not just themselves.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the process of developing a contemporary competency framework for admiral nurses in dementia care.

Information and evidence was gathered from research and policy literature regarding competencies to deliver advanced practice within dementia care. An online survey completed by 75 admiral nurses with follow-up interviews clarified current practice across the range of service contexts in which they work. A focus group (FG) of people living with dementia and family carers, and a reference group of practitioners helped to develop a competency framework which was refined through FGs with admiral nurses working in different areas.

The literature review, survey and interviews provided a framework grounded in up-to-date evidence and contemporary practice. There was broad agreement in the literature and the practitioners’ priorities regarding the core competencies of advanced practice, with constructive suggestions for making the framework useable in practice. This resulted in a robust framework articulating the competencies of admiral nurses which could be used for continuous professional development.

Engaging the admiral nurses ensured the competencies were contemporary, succinct and applicable within practice, and also cultivated a sense of ownership. Developing the competency framework with the admiral nurses not for them provides an approach which may have value for professionals undertaking a similar process in their specialist area. It is anticipated the competency framework will provide further evidence of the benefits of specialist nurse support for families affected by dementia.

This paper aims to explore how gay men and lesbians draw upon workplace friendship for developing and sustaining managerial careers and identities.

The study adopts a qualitative design, using data collected from semi‐structured interviews with four lesbians and eight gay men, all employed in managerial roles in the UK.

Data reveal the importance of workplace friendship as a resource for mentoring, climbing managerial career ladders, fitting into existing work cultures and developing gay and lesbian managerial identities. A significant finding is that participants preferred to befriend heterosexual colleagues, to that end complicating previous research that suggests gay and lesbian friendship preferences tend to be marked by similarity in regard to sexual identity. Work friends enable and constrain the development and visibility of gay and lesbian managerial identities and careers.

Although the data are not generalisable, it is of concern that gay men and lesbians continue to be disadvantaged by heteronormative constructions of gender and sexuality. While gender and sexual norms can limit the visibility and embodiment of gay and lesbian managers in the workplace, the study reveals also how gay sexualities can be utilised as a resource for developing influential friendships.

This article provides insights into issues not previously covered or understudied in the organisation studies literature such as the agency of gay men and lesbians in constructing different types of workplace friendships as a resource for developing managerial identities and careers.

This paper aims to discuss the experiences of a group of eight user and carer researchers from learning disability and mental health services who worked together in a research project. The research was to find out about the changes that took place as over 300 people moved from hostel accommodation into independent tenancies. These moves were part of a three year project involving a partnership between a local authority and a housing association.

The evaluation was based on a model of user participation.

User involvement in research can mean different things with different levels of involvement, from consultation through to user‐controlled research. In this paper the authors discuss some of the challenges in doing this kind of evaluation study, as well as the opportunities that came from involving users and carers in the research. This includes how the researchers got involved and some of the activities they did.

The authors also describe some of the difficulties that were faced, including payments and criminal record checks. The ways in which people were trained and supported to take part and stay involved are outlined as well as how the group feel that they have learnt new skills and increased their confidence.

This paper adds the voices of the co‐researchers to the literature and provides “lessons learned” for other researchers in this area.

The purpose of this paper is to report a qualitative study with British women managers, which explored the career competencies accrued from undertaking an Executive MBA (EMBA).

The research drew on in‐depth interviews with a sample of 18 female alumni from three British business schools. Data were analyzed using NVivo 8.0. within the career‐competencies framework of Knowing‐how, Knowing‐why and Knowing‐whom.

Women aged between 30 and 34 years emphasized the importance of gaining confidence (Knowing‐why) and skills (Knowing‐how) while those aged between 35 and 45 years focused on developing networks (Knowing‐whom). This study suggests that age and career stage may have considerable impact on perceptions of acquired career competencies.

This is an exploratory piece with limited generalisability; however, it exposes the need to clarify the concept of career stage for women.

Business schools have historically stressed the career benefits of MBA programmes in terms of improved capital and of changing career directions. This research indicates that an EMBA may offer a more level playing field for women with respect to networking activities. In the competitive global environment, business schools may benefit from more fully exploring career competencies, such as networking skills, for increasing the appeal of EMBA programmes. The paper also draws attention to the need for HR managers to increase efforts for improving women's career competencies.

Findings extend previous research on the development of career competencies from an EMBA, indicating the importance of developing networks, particularly at mid‐career. The paper highlights the need to redefine women's mid‐career stage.

A major problem facing organisations when they operate subsidiaries in host countries is the need to maximise the cross‐cultural performance of expatriate employees. Achieving adaptability and sensitivity involves a significant amount of attention being given to selecting expatriates who are culturally prepared and adaptive in the host nation culture and provided with ongoing support by their organisations. China is the country for analysis in this research, that examines the consideration given to selection and in‐post support provided to Australian expatriates. China is a significant site for examination of the cultural adaptability skills of expatriates as it looms large in the current and future trading and expansion plans of many Western corporations and yet very little attention has been given to recognising or developing the cultural skills necessary to effectively operate in this demanding market. This study is based on information gathered through a series of semi‐structured interviews conducted with expatriate managers in 1999. Results indicate attention being given to the expatriate selection process but a serious deficit in in‐post support.

Aims to explore the various factors that influenced the outcomes of an orientation course for nurses and midwives entering higher education for the first time. Data were gathered by questionnaire and findings analysed to determine potential enabling and inhibiting factors affecting individual academic performance. Evidence suggests that there are a number of interrelating influences which affect success or failure and quality issues related to courses of this type must take a wider view than just the initial academic profile of the individual.

Dementia is found in all races. Within the UK, elders in black and minority ethnic (BME) communities are often unable or unwilling to access services that might help them when they develop dementia. A series of research‐based studies in Wolverhampton have demonstrated that working with community leaders and family carers can identify strengths as well as areas for development in service arrangements. Some areas for development are those shared by all individuals and families with dementia, while others are specific to the cultural group. Areas for action include: the lack of understanding of the normal and pathological features of ageing; fear and stigma associated with mental disorders within BME communities; lack of knowledge of dementia; and insensitivity and inflexibility within some components of services. Knowledge gained from a collaborative review of the situation can be used to plan and deliver iterative improvements. The most effective single initiative is the appointment of a link nurse competent in language, culture and clinical skills. Despite progress over a 10 year period, difficulties remain and there is more to be learned.The research reported here has been conducted over a period of nine years within the city of Wolverhampton. The research has been co‐ordinated from for dementia plus (previously Dementia Plus), which has functioned as the Dementia Development Centre for the West Midlands since 2000.

The purpose of this paper is to improve current evaluation designs for Indigenous Australian residential alcohol and drug treatment centres, by understanding the context of treatment in this modified TC context. The aim of the research is to present an analysis of the key features of treatment associated with four Indigenous Australian alcohol and drug treatment centres, as expressed by staff working in these centres.

Ethnographic observations were made at each site between 2008 and 2009 with the first author attending treatment groups, education sessions, staff meetings and other events. The first author conducted informal conversational discussions with all programme staff and board members. In addition, 23 staff and 15 board members participated in a semi-structured interview with an emphasis on gaining views on the essential elements of residential alcohol and drug treatment, potential barriers to effective treatment delivery and “what works” in residential treatment.

A number of key themes emerged, including the importance of the flexibility of programmes to include a wide variety of treatment approaches, the importance of culture (although defined differently) in the delivery of appropriate service, provision of safe spaces that allow for clients and staff interaction, the potential for improvement in the provision of effective client case management, the need to reduce job-related stress through staff professional development and organisational culture change and the need to address the difficulties experienced in the provision of effective aftercare.

Currently, there is very little evidence related to Indigenous Australian approaches to the treatment of alcohol and drug misuse. The paper contributes to the understanding of the key features of treatment delivery, as identified by staff employed in drug and alcohol residential treatment. This understanding is vital so that government agencies can provide appropriate funding to areas of need for treatment services.

Responding to government initiatives which demand that quality in education be identified in a measurable way, nursing, in its move to professionalization, has sought to gain academic parity with other professions allied to medicine and has entered higher education (HE) institutions. In setting up new courses, it is now necessary to work within an identified model of quality and use it as the basis for evaluation. Describes how the authors set up an access module for nurses who had never studied within HE but had come from a traditional “training” background. In the early planning stage it became evident that no established framework for quality was suitable for this module. As a result, a model was designed based on the work of several authors (Donabedian, 1966; Holzemer, 1992 and Maxwell, 1984). The major categories within this model were identified as context, process and outcome. These were chosen from the literature as they reflect key concepts in nursing practice familiar to all nursing practitioners. Within each category, several sub‐components were later identified. Having used this model to plan, implement and evaluate several modules over a two‐year period, it appears to be a useful tool in recognizing and measuring appropriate quality issues for access courses for nursing. Although it was constructed specifically for this purpose, it could be of use in a wider education arena for mature students returning to study.