According to survey responses from 20 British companies (21%), 4 had not heard of accreditation of prior learning (APL), 13 did not use it, and 3 did, although not specifically for management development. Nonusers had some negative attitudes toward APL, dismaying considering its potential role in the competence approach to management development.…

A better way to assess the effectiveness of management development is to measure organizational effectiveness rather than individual improvement. Case studies support the Business Excellence Framework model, which assesses enablers (leadership, personnel management, policy, resources, processes) and results (personnel and customer satisfaction,…

Identifies four postmodern themes: complicated identities, the demise of the individual as expert, constraints on individual actions, and postmodern organizations as dream and nightmare. Outlines management-class exercises that illustrate ambiguities and paradoxes in the themes. (SK)

Explores physical indeterminacy in respect of women teachers in management development. Poses questions about the responses available to individual women when "facing up" to the fact that they are a semiotic item that is purchased and consumed by management. Suggests feminist poststructuralist theory to help women escape from the tyranny…

Management students (n=211) completed structured exercises using Cushner's Inventory of Cross-Cultural Sensitivity. The activities stimulated critical reflection, promoted group discussion of attitudes and beliefs, and enabled them to work toward greater cross-cultural sensitivity. (SK)

Survey data from 551 small businesses and interviews with 12 small businesses, 6 Training and Enterprise Councils, and 29 management training providers in Britain showed that provision of management National Vocational Qualifications to small businesses is too resource intensive, time consuming, and possibly inappropriate. Benefits accrue…

Application of adult learning principles was examined in a class for 30 managers of advanced-technology firms. Use of the principles contributed to acquisition, retention, and transfer of learning and a long-term impact on companies. Participants valued the relevance of content, the balance of technical and management skills, and the inviting…

Discusses organizations shifting from affirming diversity to affirming similarity in workforce training. The DiverSimilarity principles include creativity and adversity in diversity, conformity and compatibility in similarity, diversity within diversity, similarity across diversity, and managing diversity by managing diverSimilarity. (MMU)

Responses from 53 postsecondary agriculture departments indicated the following: 32 required leadership/management development courses for agriculture majors; nearly half characterized courses as nontraditional; those not offering such courses cited lack of resources or student demand and institutional barriers; and faculty teaching leadership…

Training for 561 executives in the use of information and communications technologies was based on a model, the Executive Learning Ladder. Results indicated that sense making was accelerated when conducted in peer groups before being extended to less-experienced managers. Learning preference differences played a role. (Contains 38 references.) (SK)

Managers in service and manufacturing organizations (n=433) identified top practices for improving their performance as focus, feedback, and learning from experience. There was a disparity between the management development they want and what organizations provide. (SK)

Presents a study of the business communication connecting an organization with others in its environment. Links boundary spanning with network theory and proposes the concept of an extended network of communication. Studies the relationship between boundary-spanning communication and individual influence in a network with 108 organizational…

As the Czech Republic undergoes massive economic restructuring, education and training in capitalism and management are needed. The Czechoslovakian Management Center uses international advisors in developing its master's of business administration programs for executive development. (SK)

Explores issues concerning the empowerment of students in management while focusing on the relationship between the educational implications of empowering students and the post-educational experiences of interacting within hierarchical organizations. Explores underlying issues through the thoughts of writers from the neo-Lukacsian,…

Paradox is composed of contradictions or polarities, provoking responses of anxiety or defensiveness. It can stimulate creative thinking. Strategies for learning through paradox include constructing complexity from simplicity, discovering inner paradoxes, and learning to read complexity. (SK)