This article describes an example of how action learning was used as a framework for an organisational intervention to fundamentally change the organisational culture over a period of time. It also identifies our learning over that period of time and what worked well (and not so well) in an International Non-Governmental Organisation in Nepal.

When organizations employ professionals it is critical to comprehend the nature of professional identity as it relates to learning in the workplace. These findings indicate ways that professional identity influences workplace learning behavior in doctors of veterinary medicine. Using grounded theory, ethnographic investigation and analysis…

In the growing body of research on the practice of training and development, several studies suggest that use of research-based findings in practice is low. The present study was designed to better understand the research-practice gap by exploring these questions: (1) Which published sources in the field are practicing professionals reading? How…

This guide from Library Association Publishing has been designed to assist those wishing to review mentoring for its application to a particular workplace, the library. Often making use of a question and answer format, it discusses the roles of both the mentor and the protege, including potential benefits for each party and behaviors each party…

This study focuses on the prerequisites for successful communication and collaborative learning in a large multinational company experienced by human resource development (HRD) practitioners, who participated in a cross-cultural e-learning course. The participants were Finnish and Chinese employees, who used an asynchronous Web-based tool to study…

Reported is a validation study of the Dubin technical updating model, one which identifies variables that may be combined with expectancy theory to predict whether or not engineers will need technical updating. The basic hypothesis is that the likelihood of engaging in updating activities is a function of individual motivation and characteristics…

Transfer of learning from management development programmes has been described as the effective and continuing application back at work of the knowledge and skills gained on those programmes. It is a very important issue for organizations today, given the large amounts of investment in these programmes and the small amounts of that investment that…

This article reports observations of teachers' collaboration within an inner city elementary school located in western Canada. The study traces the school's development as a learning organization, focusing on the interplay between individual--the level at which learning and action actually occur--and social learning--a conceptual tool for…

This book proposes the possibility of "extraordinary change" in individuals and organizations and suggests a source of "boundless energy" for bringing those changes into being. That source is freed by removing internal barriers to change within oneself. It provides personal experiences of transformational learning to introduce…

Roles and functions of senior and front line managers in VET organizations and their approaches to developing management and leadership expertise were examined in order to identify best practices. Based upon mail surveys sent to managers in 1551 registered training organizations (365 responded, for a response rate of 23.5%), 147 telephone…

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…

This book, which contains 15 chapters by various authors, aims to conceptualize new ways that knowledge is being "legitimized" through various formal and informal workplace-based research practices. It examines the new legitimations critically, and analyzes possible directions for future developments in work-based research and…

This book examines the rhetoric surrounding the notion of informal learning in order to expand debate about the uses of informal learning in workplaces and about attempts to "recognize" it through competency-based standards. The following topics are among those discussed in the book's eight chapters: (1) the nature of informal learning…

These proceedings begin with the schedule, conference committee membership lists, and detailed agenda of the 1998 conference of the Academy of Human Resource Development, which explored the relationship between learning and performance. Presented next are papers grouped by the conference's 35 symposium topics, which are as follows: university…