As is true for human resource development (HRD), the field of organization development (OD) draws from numerous disciplines to inform its theory base. However, the identification and selection of theory to inform improved practice remains a challenge and begs the question of what can be used to inform and guide one in the identification and…

Purpose: The present study attempted to explore the relationship between teacher learning and student learning under different school structural conditions. Design/methodology/approach: Some 1,330 teachers from 29 secondary schools of different community backgrounds and student academic abilities in Hong Kong were surveyed, using instruments from…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to set the scene for some radical epochal thinking about the approach and future strategic directions in the management of organisational learning, following the author's earlier editorial theme concerning the need for exploration and innovation in organisational learning management.…

This study applied a learning organisation framework to understand academic departments' efforts to improve teaching quality. The theoretical framework was generated from literature on learning organisations, organisations devoted to continuous improvement through continuous learning. Research questions addressed relationships among departments'…

This paper explores the landscape of training and development in the Republic of Ireland, a country with an impressive economic record in recent years. Both the Irish economic context and business context are explored. The national system for training and development and the surrounding policy and strategy context are set down. Survey data are…

In this account of practice, the authors introduce a variant of classic action learning, called developmental action learning (DAL). The DAL model, derived from cognitive development theory, introduces conventional learning modules prior to the more intensive set experience. It also calls for facilitation designed to help participants, selected…

When educators, trainers, and human resource development (HRD) practitioners are asked to produce evidence that supports the productivity of the training enterprise, they are often frustrated by the lack of simple and effective methods for assessment. While administrators in an organization are likely to know exactly how much training costs, they…

In this article we describe how the RADIO process enabled EPiTs to negotiate research with an EPS around its desire to evaluate and develop its consultation work with schools. Findings of the evaluation and their implications for the Service are described and the potential of RADIO as a tool for providing external research support from HEIs for…

This study analyzed the development of the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) to see how resources, "investment on the margin," and environmental forces have changed the institution from a "domestic" to a "wild" institution. "Wild" and "domestic" are ways of conceptualizing the…

Organizations, with the help of human resource development (HRD) staff, must reexamine their objectives for future operations and the work force. Organizations with a focus on organizational development (OD) can provide meaningful work to employees and the organization itself. The OD framework consists of three units that must coexist as the major…

The primary aim of human-resource-development systems in companies is to improve organizational performance through satisfying the development needs of individual employees. This paper presents findings of a study that looked at how human-resource-development systems worked in practice, in particular, how performance management, selection,…

In summer 1994, the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA) conducted a focused evaluation visit of Cincinnati Technical College (CTC) in Ohio to evaluate the degree of success of CTC's administrative structure and governance model, review the college's assessment plan, and review CTC's request for institutional change in status…

When the North Harris Montgomery Community College District (Texas) opened its fourth college in fall 1994, division chairs undertook an effort to build a unified base of instructional leadership through the establishment of a District-wide Council of Chairs. The Council was designed to help chairs adopt a proactive approach to identifying and…

In an effort to effect institutional change through an analysis of institutional effectiveness, California's Fresno City College (FCC) undertook a 3-year project to examine student success. In order to determine appropriate measures of and methodologies for improving student success, a Student Success Task was established, developing 13 core…

This book explores how people look at workplaces and the consequences for one's understanding of work. Chapter 1 discusses the rhetoric of skill requirements. Chapter 2 follows the attempt of Kramden Computers to provide training to reduce problems in workmanship and the program's failure due to the inadequacy of the skill concept. Chapter 3…