In this paper we discuss the state of corporate governance in five countries, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman, of the Arabian Gulf. The countries are similar in culture and part of a locality with characteristics which make it distinctive in terms of wealth, state of social, economic and political development and their economic dependence on hydrocarbon resources. We construct a measure of corporate governance using the OECD's 2005 survey data, which included these and many other countries in the sample. We anayze the resulting measures in the light of ongoing institutional developments in each country. Our findings are that Omasn appears as a clear leader followed by Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, based on our corporate governance measurement scale. Bahrain and Qatar rank least highly. We discuss some of the underlying reasons for these results.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to examine the ways in which management control is enacted in a product development setting, to provide new insights into the different roles that control can play in this context. Design/methodology/approach -A nine-month, in-depth field study was carried out at a subsidiary of an Australasian multinational firm which operates in the consumer foods industry. A participant observation approach was used to collect field notes and documents from the organisation, which were analysed through the lens of ethnomethodology. Findings -The results indicate that the role of management control during product development is mainly focused on reducing uncertainty at each stage and promoting goal congruence at the decision gates. The authors argue that this helps explain why management control has a positive effect in a product development setting.Research limitations/implications -The implication of this finding is that the role of management control changes during product development due to the involvement of different organisational members (communities of practice) and the activities that they carry out. This helps build a more holistic understanding of control in product development. As this is a field study of a specific company, the findings are not generalizable to other companies or settings. Future research needs to investigate other possible roles which management control may play in this context. Originality/value -The paper extends the research in this area by showing how and why management control can take on multiple roles in practice.

This study examines Chinese accounting students' perceptions of skills required for a professional accounting position in Australia and of the emphasis placed on skills during their postgraduate Master of Professional Accounting (MPA) course. The study is motivated by concerns about international students' inadequate generic skills and their difficulty in securing professional employment. We find that Chinese students perceive 'communication skills' to be the most important for their professional employment in Australia, but at the same time they tend to overemphasise technical skills and underemphasise other desirable generic skills.

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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the performance and current position of the Meditari Accountancy Research Journal by building a profile of the articles published over the 21 years since its inception. Design/methodology/approach – A descriptive meta-analysis of 293 articles published in 30 issues was conducted and comparable South African and international studies to structure the research were drawn upon. Contributors, research fields, research methods, citations and jurisdictions were examined and emerging trends assessed. Findings – Meditari Accountancy Research Journal has a strong relationship with the South African accounting community. All dimensions of this article indicate that Meditari Accountancy Research has evolved over the 21 years since its inception and has made progress towards an international research journal. Research limitations/implications – Given that this study relates to one accounting research journal only, there is no specific benchmark against to which to assess its progress. However, the literature offers a basis for comparison. Practical implications – The challenge is to maintain the traditional South African links while meeting the needs of a changing international accounting research environment. Originality/value – The current study provides a comprehensive basis for an evaluation of the journal and its future potential by reviewing the full history of Meditari Accountancy Research Journal, which presents insights into the articles published within it, including the range and predominance of contributing authors, research methods, research fields, nature of research, citation rates and jurisdictions.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report on the decision process that the authors follow in applying mixed methods research to evaluate the benefits and costs of conducting sponsored clinical trials in a publicly funded New Zealand hospital.Design/methodology/approachA simultaneous parallel mixed method design was adopted. This design builds on a health outcomes study that involves a retrospective cohort study of changes in participants' health status and mortality rates. Although a team of medical researchers conducted that study (i.e. the current authors were not involved), it is one of the three strands of the current research as it forms the platform for the other two strands, namely the multiple stakeholder perception strand and the economic outcomes strand. In the multiple stakeholder perceptions strand, qualitative methods were used to explore the benefits and costs perceived by stakeholders. In the economic outcomes strand, quantitative methods were used to estimate the benefits and costs of clinical trials.FindingsThe economic outcomes strand and the multiple stakeholder perceptions strand are complementary. Each strand delivers dimensions to the analysis that are not apparent from the other.Originality/valueThe value of the paper lies in improved understanding of the process of mixed method research through communicating choices and decisions made in response to the challenges faced.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to suggest how decision-makers may work towards a broader perspective on value than that expressed in financial economics-based accounting terms to enhance value in healthcare.Design/methodology/approachThe authors review published academic research and reports on practice across a range of disciplines.FindingsThe authors find that while value is a multidimensional concept, which is open to perceptions that differ across stakeholders in healthcare, financial economics-based accounting is essentially mono-disciplinary and dominates decisions. Enhancing value in health is a wicked problem, and a trans-disciplinary approach has the potential to enable decision-makers to enhance value.Practical implicationsThe suggest that a trans-disciplinary approach, which dissolves disciplinary boundaries, is capable of enabling decision-makers to work towards understanding and enhancing value by fostering awareness of stakeholders' perceptions of value. A critical caveat is that a trans-disciplinary approach does not guarantee ready-made or immediate solutions; it does, however, offer the means to struggle towards a destination which may be continually shifting.Originality/valueThis study highlights the importance of a broader understanding of the concept of value than that implied by financial economics-based accounting and recognises the perceptions of stakeholders. It explores the inter-relationship among “the view from nowhere”, wicked problems and trans-disciplinarity and recommends a trans-disciplinary approach with a view to enhancing value in that broader sense. In this way, it contributes to the accounting literature, which has previously paid little attention to some of these aspects.

Personal development plans (PDPs) have been a requirement for NHS hospital staff, Foundation Training and Dental Core Training for some years; however, the General Dental Council (GDC) are changing continuing professional development (CPD) requirements in 2018 (enhanced CPD) making a PDP a requirement for all members of the dental team. A PDP consists of objectives for targeting CPD most relevant to your practice or intended practice to undertake over a defined period to maximise the improvement of your professional development. The aim of this article is to explain how to prepare a PDP ahead of the requirement to utilise its benefits in training and performance for the dental team. This article references a template for all members of the dental team to record their PDP.