A survey of human resource professionals in 165 European companies revealed a lack of innovative practices characteristic of learning organizations. However, respondents indicated that strategies to stimulate learning and knowledge sharing are increasingly important, so barriers such as lack of time, lack of goal clarity, and insufficient learning…

Shows how the need for diversity programs is escalating. Describes corporate practices such as affinity groups, redefinition of corporate values, forms of bias, steps for effective programs, and ways in which the events of September 11, 2001 affect diversity training. (SK)

Ongoing learning may be one of the few sustainable competitive advantages for organizations. Historically, research efforts and organizational resources have been primarily directed toward understanding and enhancing learning in formal settings, as in classroom training. Yet most learning at work occurs through more informal means. This research…

When educators talk about collaboration, they mean shared decision making among colleagues and a sense of synergy when they talk about common goals, problem solving, and teamwork. Administrators often actually approach the process of collaboration with staff members as though they are cautiously dealing with an enemy force that is squatting on…

Organizational theory and personal behaviors are both shaped by contemporary thinking and theories regarding spirituality, history, and the order, shape, and direction of modern culture. Complexity theory, discussed in this article, offers some helpful insights into appreciating the relationships and connections often overlooked in today's…

The last decade identity is often and very fruitfully conceptualized as "narrative identity." Neither for individuals nor for groups is identity a given beforehand anymore. On the contrary, identity has to be constructed in an inductive way continuously. Three qualitative research methods are applied to explore in an inductive way the…

Professional development in family-centred services was given to professionals supporting children with disabilities and their families with the purpose to influence ways to perform working tasks. Is it possible to change ways of working through in-service training? In order to find answers to that question perceptions of in-service training at…

Purpose: In light of the excessively broad conceptions and nonobservable terms generally characterizing discussions of organizational learning, this study explores the notion of organizational learning in schools through the conceptual framework of organizational learning mechanisms (OLM) and develops a measure of OLM at the elementary school…

Mentor development in higher education in Vocational Education and Training (VET) in Botswana is explored in this article. Changes in education policy require mentors to engage in individual as well as organisational change and transformation. Most studies focus on mentee development and the resulting organisational change but there is very little…

Structure and agency of cultural diversity in (international) higher education have to be addressed with a critical perspective on international mobility and practices of international academic teaching. In order to overcome naive assumptions about intercultural developments on the individual and the organizational level, sociological analysis…

Purpose: This paper aims to discuss the teaching and assessment strategies for an organisation-centred curriculum. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is based on a case study. Data were collected from interviews and a focus group with worker-learners enrolled in a Graduate Certificate in Education (Educational Leadership) course. Findings: The…

This paper examines the applicability of the learning organization concept and its influence upon firm performance in mainland China. Based on the theoretical framework proposed by Watkins and Marsick, four dimensions of the learning organization instead of seven dimensions were identified. A balanced scorecard-based performance evaluation…

Human Resources are often times challenged by the integration of new technologies (Benson, Johnson, & Kichinke, 2002). Universities pose a unique challenge since they reluctantly adapt to changes (Torraco & Hoover, 2005; Watkins 2005). This is a dissertation study of the human resource concerns about adopting Internet2 in a…

The governance of most colleges and universities is shared among the board of trustees, the administration, and the faculty. Most four-year institutions endorse the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities (1966), which asserts that the faculty has "primary" authority over the…

Process improvement and organizational development go hand-in-hand. Building out your organizational process infrastructure will provide the tools necessary to build and maintain effective processes. It takes time, effort, and persistence to get through the initial stages, but the foundational steps of process awareness set the stage for later…