This paper describes an action learning programme with China Unicom Broadband Limited (CUBO) to support its vision of transforming to become a world-leading broadband communications and information service provider. 64 Department directors and supervisors were invited to take part in the "China Unicom Broadband Online Phoenix Action Learning…

Purpose: Researchers and scholars have called for greater attention to collaboration among and between educational leaders in districtwide reform. This work underlines the important social aspect of such collaboration and further investigates the type of professional interaction among/between district and school leaders particularly around the…

Demand for quality service provision in the human services industry requires that private nonprofit organizations have the administrative and management capacities to ensure successful implementation and sustain staff development programs. Unfamiliarity with implementation challenges, and limited awareness of implementation strategies, can trigger…

This paper shows the implementation of "5S"--a Japanese concept of housekeeping--through action research methodology. The organisational issue it tackles is the cultural inhibition among the Indian population against cleaning. It uses soft systems methodology (SSM), action science and Schein's idea of clinical enquiry to bring about an…

This paper reviews three developments relating to professional staff in UK higher education. The first of these is a major report undertaken for the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education (LFHE), which has re-conceptualised the activities of professional staff within a theoretical framework of identity (Whitchurch, 2008a). The other two…

Research indicates that numerous variables have an impact on a leader's effectiveness. This study explores the behaviors associated with leadership effectiveness in driving change. The findings confirm previous research that identifies change effectiveness skills, while isolating the specific leader behaviors deemed most valuable to implementing…

Purpose: This paper aims to: extend the concept of "The learning organization" to "The learning community," especially disadvantaged communities; demonstrate how leaders in a migrant community can achieve positive change at the personal, professional, team and community learning levels through participatory action learning and…

At the time of writing, UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have either completed, or are part way through, implementation of the Framework Agreement (JNCHES 2003). This process was born out of the recommendations of the National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education (1997) developed by Bett in his report two years later (Bett 1999). …

Problems with implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) can be assessed in light of change management theory. Viewing stakeholders collectively as a corporate entity supports employing change management strategies to make the NCLB work. Examining ways that organizational controls and change management can work together points to…

New Zealand universities have undergone significant structural change accompanied by declining public funding and increasing demands for accountability in recent years. In 2000, one of the country's largest universities redirected resources and funding in a "repositioning" exercise that resulted in redundancies and other consequences…

The Division of Student Affairs at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor engaged in an iterative strategic process to create and implement a set of long-range goals. This strategic journey continues to evolve, uniting a guiding framework of strategic planning steps, a reflective process with an assessment component within each step, and a group…

Presents four stages frequently associated with the stages of an organization's life cycle: experimentation, growth, maturity, and decline or stability. The author also demonstrates that the impact of employment and thus training related to organizational life cycles suggests a need for understanding the technical preparation required for…

Discusses unanticipated effects of an electronic performance support system (EPSS) on one organization. Topics include EPSS as an innovation; vendor's familiarity with the organizational environment; choice of database and system interface; participation by user groups; information sources; implementation; and recommendations for future research.…

Can Total Quality Management (TQM) improve the performance of school systems in meaningful ways? This paper evaluates the soundness of TQM as an improvement program for education by comparing its philosophy and prescriptions with the mounting theoretical and empirical wisdom on introducing and sustaining large-scale organizational change and more…

This book is aimed at managers, chief executives, personnel directors, and all those who want to know what action learning can do for their organizations. Part 1 (Chapters 1-3) provides a general introduction to action learning. It describes the underlying theory and principles of action learning and the benefits that organizations can expect to…