Purpose: The purpose of this paper is the presentation of a learning model for a manager and employee working collaboratively to make advances in knowledge, skills, work performance and in the quality of their relationship. The model is called reciprocal action learning. Design/methodology/approach: The approach was to examine concepts and…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the role of communities of practice in organizations and their most beneficial effects for both individual and collective development. Design/Methodology/Approach: Based on a literature review, from the first authoritative texts by Lave and Wenger until the most recent critiques, the paper has…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of applying appreciative intelligence and appreciative inquiry concepts to design a possibly new model of ice-breaking, which is strengths-based and very often used in any training in general and team building training in particular. Design/methodology/approach: The design has…

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the importance of new employee orientation (NEO) programs, the quality of typical NEOs, and how to improve NEOs. Design/methodology/approach: The paper provides a viewpoint of the importance of new employee orientation programs, the quality of typical NEOs, and how to improve NEOs. Findings: Although western…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to set out to examine the relationships of organizational learning, social capital and the effectiveness of knowledge transfer and perceived organisational performance. Integrating organizational learning capability with social capital networks to shape a holistic knowledge sharing and management enterprise…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore how a medium sized business has addressed what it has termed a "push-pull" method of management and organization development, based around an action learning approach. Design/methodology/approach: The paper sets out a methodology that other SMEs might look to replicate in their management and…

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to explore individual and collective workplace learning and the connections between them in the contemporary industrial work. Design/methodology/approach: Two case studies were carried out in the Finnish package-supplier sector. The research methods applied were standardized observations and qualitative…

Purpose: Strategic alliances generally represent inter-firm cooperative agreements aimed at achieving competitive advantage for the partners. In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in strategic alliances by multinational firms. This paper aims to explore the essence of these alliances and why they have become such a growing area of…

This comparative study explored differences in perceptions between Canadian and US post secondary faculty in the fields of adult education (AdEd) and human resource development (HRD) on program development issues in the emerging field of "workplace learning." In fall of 2001, The Adult Education and Human Resource Development Faculty…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the benefits and challenges of using a virtual learning community (VLC) as a vehicle for workforce development. This paper argues that VLCs provide a flexible vehicle for workforce development. However, workplace realities may lead to unexpected challenges for participants wanting exploit the…