This account of practice is based on a French pharmaceutical company in China that faced the challenge of transforming its business model in an era of dramatic external changes. By introducing the methodology and practice of action learning, it brought value and results to business development, talent reserves, and knowledge management, which…

This paper introduces a facilitated co-constructed action learning approach with a narrative account of the author's own learning on designing and delivering an executive education programme. Action learning has double inference in this context as the author developed and improved teaching design and delivery through action learning. He also…

In this article, the author reviews Train to Gain's service and exposes a number of myths about the programme. Since its initial national roll out in September 2006 people have seen encouraging take up, with more than 53,000 employers and 230,000 learners benefiting from Train to Gain. A key element of Train to Gain is the skills brokerage…

The turbulent business environment requires business expertise from ever-larger personnel groups. The required business know-how is a combination of knowledge and several different skills, and it should provide the learners with an overall view of the functioning of a business organization as a whole. Moreover, while work is increasingly becoming…

Describes a programme, developed by FT Knowledge and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, USA, to guide managers through the opportunities and threats presented by electronic commerce. Focuses on areas such as marketing, electronic retailing, pricing, product design, supply chain management and communication. Highlights how the…

Training directors or managers of 160 major corporations of the "Fortune 500" were surveyed to assess the scope of computer use in the training domain; information was received from 56 of the companies. The study focused on five major areas: training applications, hardware, software, courseware, and number of students involved. An analysis of the…

Developing corporate leadership is an important task in Japan. The practice of life-time employment exists. Loyalty is to the company rather than to a job. Preemployment and on-the-job training methods of major companies are described. (JAC)

The fields of Management Science (MS) and Operations Management (OM) have co-existed in business school curricula for over a half century. This paper examines five trends that point toward a bright future for Operations Management in the business curriculum. These trends include an increasing emphasis on global competition, the growth of the…

The insights of developmental psychology have rarely been applied to the business setting. This paper sketches one large-scale attempt to do just that in the development of managers in a large, multicompanied, international service corporation. This paper recounts the initial efforts to plan, implement, and evaluate a three-year longitudinal…

Challenges in reconciling trade liberalization policies and efforts to protect the natural environment provide useful illustrations to underscore important concepts in management education. In particular, the three-way interactions among government, business, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) over economic and environmental trade-offs serve…

Discussed is the development of management activities due to the influences of the changing nature of business and new developments in learning theory. Examples are provided at each level of the management development process. (Author/YP)

The Faculty/Management Forum, a nontraditional approach to improving understanding and relationships between business and higher education, is described in this guide. The primary objectives of this forum center around involving faculty and business managers in joint problem-solving to help break down the barriers to mutual understanding.…

Describes the role that values, and value conflicts, play in transfer of educational program effectiveness between United States and Mexico. It proposes that transfer without significant modification and interpretation to fit local world views and practices is generally dysfunctional, and offers codesigning as a strategy to obviate traditional…

Managers, in both the private and public sectors, are increasingly recognized as critical in the use of scarce resources for national development. There is no unanimity of opinion, however, regarding the models or approaches to management education that are most appropriate in different environmental settings. Traditionally, management education…

Describes the stages of an information consultancy project that established a management resource center to provide senior managers in a major financial institution with access to material for self-development. Interviews to assess information needs are described, success factors are considered, and personal qualities needed for information…