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Ireland has become one of the main sources of finance for Russian based firms. The purpose of this paper is to quantify and analyse these flows to examine governance and regulatory issues, in particular the possible effect of sanctions.

The paper is based on detailed searches of publicly available filings in Company House, Ireland to identify Russian connected conduits. Data was extracted from available accounts and prospectuses for 106 conduits operating in Ireland for some or all of the period 2005-2017.

The paper shows gross flows from Irish based conduits to Russian firms amounted to €118bn for 2005-2017; flows may be partly explained by round tripping; sanctions have also affected flows; flows are facilitated by close linkages with professional networks both within Ireland, and other offshore financial centres, especially London; The conduits examined have no employees and are mostly owned by a charitable trust or trust. They have become a major part of a largely unregulated shadow banking system.

This paper used searches of publicly available company filings to create a unique database of individual firms. Data on the use of financial centres by individual firms is hard to obtain and the results of this study may be indicative of the use and nature of conduits in other financial centres which form part of the shadow banking sector.

The existing gender gap in the workplace, that affects job satisfaction and career advancement of women, creates a need to understand further the causes and effects of the gender gap phenomenon. Although, there are many challenges that affect women’s job satisfaction and advancement in the workplace, this paper aims to investigate work–life balance using multiple theoretical lenses.

In total, 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted with women from Nigeria and Ghana residing in the UK, they were selected using a purposive sampling method.

The findings show four main factors that explain the choices these women make in relation to work–family. These are cultural sensitivities, current phase in family and work–life, personality types and other influences such as policies and financial commitment. Results also show how these women make these work–family choices using networks and services.

The paper postulates the need for organisation’s to pay attention to the acculturation and enculturation of these women, which would indicate observing their cultural behaviour’s, values, knowledge and identities to understand how they integrate, assimilate and to also prevent separation and marginalisation. In addition, the use of (internal and external) networks as support systems for these women can create the opportunity for informal learning. Finally, organisation’s should create structure that support workplace learning and should include activities such as decision-making, communication, career advancement planning and flexible work patterns.

This study contributes to theory using multiple theories (work-family, gender inequality and Theories X and Y in explaining the work–family construct of women of African origin in the UK.

The notion of “learning organisation” is, arguably, gaining credibility. This article takes this position as a starting point and, in the context of the authors’ own declared assumptions and beliefs, explores the meaning and potential application of the concept. This is achieved through examination of the literature on “learning organisations”, especially as it connects with emerging thinking on strategy and strategic management, and postmodern analyses of organising. The examination is then used as a comparison with conventional practices in UK universities. The argument is advanced that universities, as providers of management education, have both privileged opportunities and critical responsibilities to seek to adopt the ideal and practices associated with the concept of “learning organisation”. Some initial suggestions are included on what this might mean, and “look like”, in practice if the attempt to move towards learning organisation status is taken seriously.

The purpose of this paper is to argue that human resource development (HRD) needs to embrace and include futures and foresight learning (FFL) as a new addition to its field of theorising and practice. The question to consider is: How can FFL become a new feature of HRD? A key part of the authors’ argument is that the inclusion of FFL will enable HRD to add to the success of any organisation and make a vital contribution to the management of people at work.

This paper firstly considers some of the debates surrounding the meaning of HRD. The authors suggest that instability of the time serves to disturb any comforts that have been created in HRD and that there is a need to consider how there might be different futures for what we still call HRD in research, practice and praxis. This paper then considers how FFL might become one possibility for expanding the existing boundaries of HRD. The authors characterise futures and foresight as a learning process, which provides new but complementary features to what is already considered as HRD. This paper will show how FFL can lead to organisation's success and the way this can be achieved.

There is a wide variety of meanings of the term HRD; however, HRD is still cast as a “weakened profession” which has to play a subservient role to others in the workplace. Over the last 15 years, the expansion of the meaning of HRD has been seen as evidence of its evolving and emerging nature and development based on a co-creation with other disciplines. This creates a space for FFL, defined as an ongoing learning process to find predictable, probable, possible and/or a variety of long-term futures. FFL embraces three key processes of scanning, futuring and reconfiguring, all of which contain a high potential for participants and others to learn as they proceed, providing outcomes at each stage. FFL has been shown to enhance organisation performance and success and HRD interventions can play a key part in implementation. This represents a significant opportunity for the HRD profession to move from weakness towards strength.

For HRD researchers, while FFL is not yet on its radar, the authors would argue that the uncertainties of the future require that more attention be given to what might lie ahead. Indeed, HRD researchers need to ask the question: What is the future of HRD research? In addition, if the authors’ call for FFL to be included in the practice of HRD, such practice will itself provide new pathways for HRD research. Further research questions might include: To what extent is FFL practiced in organisations and what role do HRD practitioners play in delivery? How does FFL impact on organisation behaviour and outcomes? What new products and services emerge from FFL? What new skills are required to deliver FFL? Can FFL enhance the status of HRD practitioners in the work place and its role in decision-making? and How can the HRD profession develop as a hybrid profession with respect to machine learning (ML)/artificial intelligence (AI)?

FFL produces outcomes that have importance for strategy, HRD practitioner can learn to facilitate FFL by action learning and in leadership development programmes. FFL offers a significant opportunity to enhance the importance of HRD in organisations and beyond. FFL offers those involved in HRD a significant opportunity to transfer ideas into practice that have an impact on organisation sustainability. HRD can play a significant role in the design and delivery of ML and AI projects.

This paper concludes with a call for embracing FFL as a challenging but important addition to how we talk about learning at work. The authors argue that FFL offers a significant opportunity to enhance the importance of HRD in organisations and beyond. At its centre, FFL involves learning by people, groups, organisations and machines and this has to be of concern to HRD.

The purpose of this paper is to study financial vehicle corporations (FVCs) and other special purpose vehicles (SPVs) in Ireland.

The paper is based on a database of FVCs that are a central part of the shadow banking sector in Ireland. The database is derived from a European Central Bank (ECB) list of securities and from filings in Company Registration Office, Dublin.

Tax concessions are very valuable and has resulted in zero or close-to-zero effective tax rates. Although described as “bankruptcy remote”, FVCs/ SPVs in Ireland are associated with several banks that failed. Central Bank data are inconsistent with revenue data and have resulted in regulatory gaps. The main economic benefit to Ireland consists of payments to certain service providers.

A complete population of FVCs/SPVs has not been used. Ownership of FVCs/SPVs has not been identified with consequent implications for identifying risk to the sponsoring firm or guarantor.

The study indicates data deficiencies in Central Bank data, with consequent implications for regulation and measuring the size of the shadow banking sector, and failure of FVCs/SPVs described as bankruptcy remote.

The shadow banking sector has been a key source of instability and risk transference in the recent past. Research and understanding is vital to prevent a future occurrence.

There are no publicly available databases of individual FVCs/SPVs in Ireland. Hence, research on granular data is limited. The study develops a database derived from lists of securities published by the ECB. The study also relies on a database derived from company house records.

This paper aims to explore how teaching and assessing reflective learning skills can support postgraduate practitioners studying organisational change and explores the challenges for tutors in assessing these journals.

Assessment criteria were developed from the literature on reflective practice and organisational power and politics and mapped against the content of the journals to understand how and why students had benefited from keeping the journals. The extent to which they had engaged in “deep” learning was also assessed.

Tensions arose between giving students sufficient scope and designing appropriate assessment guidelines. Students submitted a wide variety and quality of journals; everything from a DVD, to a diary to a “standard” essay. Reflective journals were found to be an effective tool for students who are practitioners involved in organisational change through their capacity to promote deep rather than surface learning. An unintended outcome of the study was the recognition that reflective practice in postgraduate education supports the skills required to develop the “thinking performer”.

The study was small scale, and not retested.

The study has reinforced the significance of the link between thinking (critical reflection) and performing (workplace application), within organisational change. It has also demonstrated that non‐traditional forms of assessment have greater capacity to promote deep learning than do conventional essays, especially where students are not HR specialists yet are tasked with leading complex organisational change projects. Therefore the use of reflective journals could be extended to other postgraduate programmes with skill requirements in organisational change and management.

While there is now a growing body of literature on reflective practice, few studies exist which examine how learning journals are assessed, particularly for line managers. The analysis has encouraged further research into the development of critical reflection, the use and benefits of learning journals and more specifically, how educators can develop sufficiently robust assessment criteria for such journals.

A systematic assessment of multinational enterprise (MNE) tax minimisation strategies at the firm level is difficult. This paper aims to present systematic evidence for Ireland of tax minimisation strategies at both an aggregate and individual firm level. The paper uses Apple and Google as its case studies.

The paper is based on 31 US intellectual property (IP)-intensive MNEs with substantial operations in Ireland. Financial and other data including tax payments were extracted from Form 10K and filings in Companies Registration Office in Ireland.

The paper develops three different measures of effective tax rates and that tax strategies have resulted in effective tax rates lower than the nominal US tax rate and far lower than those published in company accounts. Although two-thirds of profits are earned outside the USA, around 70 per cent of corporate tax is paid in the USA.

The paper relies on data from a subset of MNEs operating in Ireland. The paper also uses publicly available data which may not be available for all firms.

The findings have implications for European Union (EU) tax policy and tax revenues in countries where MNEs operate. The paper also has implications for industrial policy based on attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

The study has implications not only for the equitable distribution of corporate tax payments and income distribution but also especially for a tax-based industrial policy.

MNE tax strategies, although of considerable public interest, are often obscure and poorly understood. The paper is original in providing a detailed examination of MNE tax strategies at the firm level and discussing some implications from a public policy perspective.