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To explore human resource (HR) practitioner perspectives of the effectiveness, challenges, and aspirations of the performance management (PM) system to inform future directions for PM design and success.

Interviews with 53 HR practitioners from a cross-section of organisations operating in the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand.

Practitioner's discussed the criticality of effective conversations across all elements of the PM system. Using an interpretive approach, and through a lens of social exchange theory (SET), we used their voice to develop a conversations-based PM model. This model centres on effective performance conversations through the design and implementation of the PM system. It includes four enablers and five environmental elements. The enablers (aligned goals, frequent feedback, skills development, and formality) depend on skilled interactions and conversations, and the organisational environmental elements (design, development function, buy-in, culture, and linkage to other systems) are enhanced when effective conversations take place.

Practitioners can use the conversations model to help shape the way they design and implement PM systems, that place emphasis on upskilling participants to engage in both formal and informal honest conversations to build competency in the enablers and assess organisational readiness in terms of the environmental elements.

By listening to the under-utilised voice of the HR practitioner, and through a lens of SET, we developed a PM model which emphasises reciprocity and relationship building as key tenets of the PM system. While past research recognises the importance of effective conversations for PM implementation, it has largely silent been about the role of conversations in system design. Our model centres these conversations, presenting enablers and environmental elements to facilitate their core position within effective PM.

The purpose of this paper is to suggest ways in which business educators can interact successfully with reflective learning journals (RLJs). Specifically, the research was interested in how students used RLJs and how educators assessed these RLJs.

In total, 31 RLJs, submitted as part of an international communication course involving a global virtual team exercise, were analysed. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes discussed by participants, while content analysis, based upon Kolb’s learning cycle, was used to assess the depth of student reflection.

Students appear to have engaged with depth and understanding and were able to articulate their skill level, but there was variance in their reflective ability across different skills.

An interpretation of Kolb’s (1984) learning cycle as a method to assist educators to assess RLJs is presented. Specifically, educators need to provide more guidance to students to enhance their ability to reflect. The authors suggest that a rubric based on Kolb could fulfil this objective.

This study responds to the call for more research examining depth of reflection (Lien et al., 2012); it also offers contribution to the variety of models characterising reflective depth (Ash and Clayton, 2009; Chamberlain, 2012; Lien et al., 2012) drawn from experiential learning in the form of written RLJs.

In this chapter, Professor Dean Shepherd shares his experiences of becoming a qualitative researcher, bringing us on a [often personal] journey through his research beginnings, how his career developed and how he gravitated towards qualitative research. There are many lessons for Ph.D. students and early career academics and interesting takes on thinking about your research approach and impact.

Computer-aided/assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS) supports qualitative and mixed methods researchers to organize, analyze, and explore data in a meaningful, and efficient, way. Successfully utilizing CAQDAS software can be challenging, particularly for the novice researcher. To assist all researchers 21 CAQDAS dilemmas are articulated. These relate to choosing, using, and getting started with the software, as well as writing about CAQDAS use. These dilemmas suggest there is no right way to use CAQDAS programs, rather the specific research project, along with researcher experience and philosophy, should drive the extent to which any project utilizes the extensive CAQDAS capabilities, while also encouraging the researcher(s) to drive their ideas and exploration beyond what they initially thought possible.