'What's going on?' Within the context of our critically-informed teaching practice, we see moments of deep learning and reflexivity in classroom discussions and assessments. Yet, these moments of criticality are interspersed with surface learning and reflection. We draw on dichotomous, linear developmental, and messy explanations of learning processes to empirically explore the learning journeys of 20 international Chinese and 42 domestic New Zealand students. We find contradictions within our own data, and between our findings and the extant literature. We conclude that expressions of surface learning and reflection are considerably more complex than they first appear. Moreover, developing critical reflexivity is a far more subtle, messy, and emotional experience than previously understood. We present the theoretical and pedagogical significance of these findings when we consider the implications for the learning process and the practice of management education.

Mass production structures have been criticised as being too rigid to respond to increased global competition and to increasingly sophisticated consumers demanding differentiated products. Additionally, the job designs associated with mass production have been criticised for: deskilling workers leading to high worker dissatisfaction; rendering workers unable to make decisions about how they perform their jobs; and for creating a workforce that is not able to respond to the requirements associated with the demands of new work practices. Thus calls for increased flexibility at the organisation level have been made by employer and employee groups. Flexibility promises to provide the competitive edge needed in an increasingly global market; and employees with increased participation, more interesting jobs, stable employment, and better wages and work conditions. However, there still appear to be many unresolved issues relating to the flexibility debate.

A growing number of Chinese-born international students are seeking permanent residency and paid employment in New Zealand after graduation. As yet, little is known about their post-study transitions to permanent residency and paid employment. This article reports on research investigating the transition experiences of 10 Chinese-born international students. The theoretical framing is provided by accounts of Chinese cultural values, experiences of Chinese-born skilled migrants and aspects of adult career development. Data were collected using a thematic interview guide focusing on occupational choice, organisational entry and early career experiences. The participants used a variety of techniques described in traditional career development models to find employment and to develop their early career. The students attributed their success in gaining employment to obtaining permanent residency before seeking work, language proficiency, networks developed during their study years, and having a recognised New Zealand qualification.

This exercise invites critical consideration of domestication, exploitation, and hegemony. We enquired with participants into the ways in which these processes may be embedded in the taken-for-granted logics of organizational and personal decision making. We contrast participation or tolerance of these processes with commitment to often simultaneously held values of freedom associated with democratic societies. We seek places of resistance to exploitation of selves, others, and the environment. We encourage the transformation of the research, education, and practice of business and of management to explore what such a transformation would entail. References to published exercises that deepen this enquiry are provided in the text.Recent illegal and unethical behavior of corporate executives has gained the attention of the public, the media, and some of the more critical streams of the management academy. Scrutiny of the education of leaders and managers of corporations has properly become part of this criticism. We welcome this

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the potential to develop a shared understanding of systemic discrimination and the complexity of equality and an appreciation for the range of interventions designed to redress inequality within the context of business school curricula.Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative material was gathered over a four-year period through written reflections of student interpretations of equality. Participants were enrolled in a human resource management course critically examining systemic gender discrimination, women's organisational experiences, gendered employment outcomes, and the range of interventions designed to redress gendered employment outcomes. Threshold concepts framed the analysis of participant reflections.Findings: The paper shows that while the participants developed a shared understanding of systemic gender discrimination, their interpretations of equality and appreciation for the range of interventions available to redress inequality differed. These differences were shaped by 1) the extent to which participants integrated their understanding of systemic discrimination with their interpretations of equality and 2) the extent to which the interventions to inequality transformed, upheld or challenged participant agendic self-identity and world view.Practical implications: The differences in interpretations have implications for the way educators introduce discussions of equality within the business school classroom.Originality: The paper demonstrates that developing a shared understanding of systemic discrimination does not always lead to developing a shared understanding of the complexity of equality or appreciation for the many forms of interventions available.