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The purpose of this paper is to explore how financial risk is managed and commercial decisions are made within a successful UK livestock market.

An autoethnographic approach is used, in which the researcher is both active participant and reflective observer.

In contrast to “best practice” described in management texts, commercial risk management and financial decision making in this community are successfully guided by rumour.

The paper is limited to the extent that one believes in the validity of autoethnography, however, it is argued that these findings are a reflection of the wider nature of the agricultural community, immersed as it is in life and death, and that this culture is significantly different to that commonly addressed by textbooks.

This paper highlights a distinction between the tenets of the western world as addressed in textbooks and the agricultural community that exists alongside, and it suggests that following best practice might not lead to success if that best practice is ignorant of the culture in which it is rooted.

This paper provides empirical evidence that the tenets of the rural community are at odds with those of sanitised western management and that successful management of financial risk is culture specific. It questions why such differences exist and furthers debate about the influence of “our common neglect of death”.

Two understandings of “conflict” are derived from a multi‐cultural East‐West experience: as a fundamental threat in which conflict is normally avoided, and as competitive games in which conflict is associated with confrontation and negotiation, and is sought after. Suggests that it is the view of conflict as competitive games that is promoted through “managerialism” and that it is this view that is largely being transferred to post‐Iron‐Curtain countries, despite the fact that conflict as competitive games does not lend itself easily to HR and management practice in cross‐cultural situations. Questions the appropriateness of transporting models of HR that promulgate the free‐market myth to transitional economies.

Argues that empowerment facilitated by the development of personal power in staff is an important attribute for job satisfaction and longevity, and is an important element in the creation of effective learning organizations. In contrast to this, the main focus of management educators, trainers, participants and personnel selection in many organizations appears to be the generation and maintenance of professional power, which is equated here with short‐term gain. Suggests that this distinction contributes to the dilemmas experienced by individuals, providers and the organization. Discusses issues associated with provision attempting to offer personal development and steps towards empowerment.

The purpose of this study is to identify how themes and contributions featured in the four scholarly journals sponsored by the largest human resource development (HRD) research association (the Academy of Human Resource Development, AHRD) reflect the changing identity of the HRD field.

A frequency and content analysis of articles published during the period 2002-2011 was conducted to identify the dominant themes and research trend. Further, comments were made on the aims and scope and editorial discretion for each journal to understand how the journals influence the direction of scholarship in HRD.

It was found that the boundaries of the field are constantly expanding with some of the older and mature themes losing momentum and new themes coming to the forefront of scholarly interest. The journals were found to play a critical role in setting the future direction for the field.

Future researchers can examine if the waxing and waning themes identified in the findings remain same after analyzing contributions featured in journals that are not sponsored by the AHRD, but publish articles on topics closely related to HRD. Also, the findings can guide further examination of the editors’ leadership role in driving the evolution of the HRD field.

Considering the characteristics of HRD as an applied discipline, the findings can guide future researchers to explore if the thematic changes as identified in the study are associated with the needs of HRD practice.

The study attempts to understand the landscape of HRD research by looking at how the field’s identity boundaries have shifted over time and how different entities, like authors and editors publishing scholarly articles in the four HRD journals in the past decade, have interacted to contribute to the shift.