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The nature of the workplace and the workforce has changed rapidly in post-industrial society. Most workers are now facing the need for high levels of preparatory education, retraining for new jobs and the ability to continue learning at work in order to keep up with new developments. The book, first published in 1987, argues that training in the workplace often fails because it is based on conditions that no longer prevail in modern organisations. The mechanistic approach of the behaviourist paradigm, it is argued, views the organisation as a machine and training as the preparation of workers for machine-like work according to their levels in the hierarchy, much as on an assembly line. The humanists’ advocation of collaborative learning has changed but not fundamentally altered this conception. This book will be of interest to students of education and business management.
The authors give guidance and advice on how to facilitate the complex change interventions that are required to build learning into the system so that it makes a difference. They highlight the need for business leaders and development professionals to work together.
Today, rapid change is a constant challenge in the workplace, and thousands of individuals need to be involved in continuous learning. Traditional training approaches, however, do not emphasise informal and incidental learning. Furthermore, since informal learning us seldom designed, learning outside of a structured experience may lead to mistaken or dysfunctional learning. Strategies for improving informal learning are urgently needed. This book, first published in 1990, responds to this need by taking a challenging look at many assumptions about workplace learning outside of the classroom and by proposing methods to improve it. They develop a theory of informal and incidental workplace learning based on current developments in training and human resource development which they illustrate with readable and illuminating case studies which tell vivid stories of adult education and human resource development practice. Informal and Incidental Learning in the Workplace is essential reading for researchers and practitioners of human resource development, and also for students of education and adult learning.
From their unique perspective as adult educators experienced in the work of organizational change, the authors show both human resource professionals, as well as front line managers and others, how people learn and how to support that learning. They show how individual learning acts as a catalyst for group and organizational learning in such key areas as employee involvement, self-directed teams, and the balance of work and home life. Eighteen illustrative case vignettes feature companies such as AT&T, IBM, and Esso Petroleum.
Developmental relationships constitute interdependent, generative connections that promote growth and learning among individuals. While studies reporting the impact of developmental relationships on learning, performance, and career development leaves no doubt about its relevance to the human resource development (HRD) field, we lack an in-depth understanding of how developmental relationships apply to the myriad of topics relevant to contemporary HRD research and practice such as social justice, diversity and equity, leadership development, career transitions, knowledge sharing, organization development, employee engagement, organizational learning culture, globalization, national HRD, and ...
This book is directed toward several audiences. First, it is designed for university courses in HRD. We argue that every HRD academic program needs a course that teaches the foundations of the field. Second, HRD researchers will find the book thought-provoking and useful as a guide to core research issues. Third, it is written for reflective practitioners who actively seek to lead the field as it grows and matures. Finally, almost every practitioner will find parts of the book that will add depth to their practice.
This Handbook provides a state-of-the art overview of the field of workplace learning from a global perspective. The authors are all well-placed theoreticians, researchers, and practitioners in this burgeoning field, which cuts across higher education, vocational education and training, post-compulsory secondary schooling, and lifelong education. The volume provides a broad-based, yet incisive analysis of the range of theory, research, and practical developments in workplace learning. The editors draw together the three essential areas of Theory; Research and Practice; and Issues and Futures in the field of Workplace Learning. In addition, final chapters include recommendations for further d...
The philosophical foundation of emancipatory knowledge lies in critical theory. In this paradigm, instrumental and communicative knowledge are not rejected but are limited. If we do not question current scientific and social theories and accepted truths, we may never realize how we are constrained by their inevitable distortions and errors. Without the possibility of critical questioning of ourselves and our beliefs, such constraining knowledge can be accepted by entire cultures. The research paradigm that is relevant for constructing this kind of knowledge is the critical paradigm. Data are always qualitative and have specific methods of research. Quantitative research unquestionably has a ...
The concept of the 'learning organization' is one of the most popular management ideas of the last few decades. Since it was conceived as an idea in its own right, it has been given various definitions and meanings, such that we are still faced with the question as to whether any unified understanding of what the learning organization really is can be established. This Handbook offers extensive reviews of both new and traditional perspectives on the concept and provides suggestions for how the learning organization can best be defined, practiced, studied, and developed in future research. With contributions from long-standing scholars in the field as well as those new to the area, this book ...