Reflective practice during action learning in management development programmes

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Robertson ◽  
Heidi Le Sueur ◽  
Nicky Terblanche
Keyword(s):  
Reflective Practice ◽  
Action Learning ◽  
Management Development ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Reflection Time ◽  
Inquiry Approach ◽  
Safe Learning Environment ◽  
Practical Guidelines ◽  
Learning Team

Purpose This study aims to investigate the aspects that influence reflective practice during an action learning approach to management development programmes (MDPs). Design/methodology/approach A narrative inquiry approach was used to gather interview and pictorial data from 16 participants who had attended an action learning oriented MDP. Data were translated into interpretive stories using McCormack’s lenses, which were further analysed using thematic analysis. Findings Two key themes emerged: dealing with emotions and practising reflection. Participants initially found reflecting uncomfortable, but showed courage by persevering. Participants had to learn how to reflect and set aside time for it, while valuing support and guidance from their action learning facilitator. Research limitations/implications The findings and recommendations may not be relevant to all types of action learning as action learning forms and contexts differ. Practical implications Reflective practice is the responsibility of both the participant and the action learning facilitator. Participants need to create the time and space to learn, be fully present during reflection, practice mindfulness and have the courage to be uncomfortable while reflecting. Action learning facilitators could encourage reflection by creating a safe learning environment, selecting a diverse action learning team, designing reflection time into the MDP and helping participants apply reflection tools. Originality/value Reflective practice enhances learning; yet there is a need to better understand reflective practice in an action learning context. This study provides empirical evidence of the aspects that influence the reflection process and outcomes as well as practical guidelines to participants and facilitators on how to promote reflection.

Increasing the impact of management development programs

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Reflective Practice ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Action Learning ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Management Development ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Pertinent Information ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Overall Effectiveness

Purpose Reflective practice makes an important contribution to the ultimate success of any management development program. Greater emphasis on reflection demands that both program participants and action learning facilitators take appropriate responsibility needed to increase the overall effectiveness of the process. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings Reflective practice makes an important contribution to the ultimate success of any management development program. Greater emphasis on reflection demands that both program participants and action learning facilitators take appropriate responsibility needed to increase the overall effectiveness of the process. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

scholarly journals The effect of an MBA on the development of women's management competencies

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna-Maija Lämsä ◽  
Terttu Savela
Keyword(s):  
Management Development ◽  
Master Of Business Administration ◽  
Competency Development ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Management Competencies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Competencies ◽  
Qualitative Interview Study ◽  
Programme Content ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – This article aims to report the findings of a study of the effect of a women's Master of Business Administration (MBA) programme in Finland called the femaleMBA on the development of women's management competencies. The gendered nature of the competency development was also analyzed. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative interview study was conducted with 20 women who completed the programme. Content analysis was used to analyze the data. Findings – In addition to improving the women's business competencies and their mastery of management language, the programme contributed to the creation of a clearer managerial identity, greater assertiveness, and increased credibility in a managerial role. The development of management competencies was shown to be gendered in varying ways. An all-women learning environment was experienced as a safe and supportive social context for development. Research limitations/implications – Only a specifically women's MBA was studied. The topic should also be studied in a mixed MBA group. Practical implications – MBAs should pay systematic attention to the informal and social learning context. A combination of “masculinity” and “femininity” might be worth taking into consideration when all-women management development programmes are planned and conducted. This study suggests that an all-women group in an MBA has the potential to challenge and even transform participants' ideas and assumptions about the dominance of masculinity in management and to increase their understanding of the importance of femininity in management. Originality/value – A gender angle on research into management development and particularly MBAs is very rare. This study shed light on the topic by showing that competency development in MBAs is not, as is often assumed, gender neutral but gendered.

Developing organizations: a system of enquiry, action and learning

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-14
Author(s):  
Wayne Graham
Keyword(s):  
Health Services ◽  
Small Business ◽  
Organizational Development ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Action Learning ◽  
Organizational Outcomes ◽  
Business Owners ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Practitioners ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to demonstrate the applicability of an action learning model to improve organizational outcomes. Design/methodology/approach This paper extends previous work by applying the system of enquiry, action and learning (SEAL) model using an action research methodology to a small business operating in the health services industry. Findings The SEAL model is a useful approach to introduce small business practitioners to the principles of organizational development (OD). Research limitations/implications The application is limited to one small business, and subsequent studies could apply the model to more organizations that operate in industries other than health services. Practical implications Business owners from this study and previous studies have found the model to be useful in the improvement of organizational outcomes. Originality/value The SEAL model is a simplified model that introduces principles of OD and has provided value to the business owners of this study.

scholarly journals Evaluating undergraduate research conferences as vehicles for novice researcher development

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pauline Kneale ◽  
Andrew Edwards-Jones ◽  
Helen Walkington ◽  
Jennifer Hill
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Skills Development ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research Conference ◽  
Researcher Development ◽  
Development Framework ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to focus on the undergraduate research conference as its sphere of study and investigate the impact of significance of participation and socialisation in such activities on student attitudes and professional development. Using situated learning to theoretically position the undergraduate research conference as an authentic learning context, connection is also made with the concept of graduate attributes. Design/methodology/approach The Vitae (2014) Researcher Development Framework (RDF) is used to provide a template for charting the experiences and development of undergraduate students as researchers. This can be applied to short-term activities and programmes and to long-term career plans. The insights from 90 undergraduate students participating in three national undergraduate research conferences were obtained through interviews, and thematically analysed to map the students’ skills development against the RDF criteria. Findings Three main aspects of undergraduate research conference participation were considered particularly important by the students: the value of paper presentations, the value of poster presentations and the value of the overall conference experience. Within these themes, participants identified a wide range of skills and attributes they felt they had developed as a result of either preparing for or participating in the conferences. The majority of these skills and attributes could be mapped against the different domains of the RDF, using a public engagement lens for comparing actual with expected developmental areas. Research limitations/implications This research helps undergraduate research conference organisers construct programme content and form it in such a way that students’ skill development can be maximised prior to, and during, the course of an event. Learning developers can also use these findings to help understand the support needs of students preparing to deliver papers at such conferences. So far, little empirical research has examined students’ skills development within the undergraduate research conference arena. Originality/value The outcomes of this study show the diversity of the skills that students developed and the value of the conference format for offering networking practice and enhancing the communication skills which employers value.

Developing a measure to assess clinicians’ ability to reflect on key staff–patient dynamics in forensic settings

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Polnay ◽  
Helen Walker ◽  
Christopher Gallacher
Keyword(s):  
Reflective Practice ◽  
Factor Structure ◽  
Internal Consistency ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Face Validity ◽  
Good Test ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Retest Reliability ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Test Retest Reliability

Purpose Relational dynamics between patients and staff in forensic settings can be complicated and demanding for both sides. Reflective practice groups (RPGs) bring clinicians together to reflect on these dynamics. To date, evaluation of RPGs has lacked quantitative focus and a suitable quantitative tool. Therefore, a self-report tool was designed. This paper aims to pilot The Relational Aspects of CarE (TRACE) scale with clinicians in a high-secure hospital and investigate its psychometric properties. Design/methodology/approach A multi-professional sample of 80 clinicians were recruited, completing TRACE and attitudes to personality disorder questionnaire (APDQ). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) determined factor structure and internal consistency of TRACE. A subset was selected to measure test–retest reliability. TRACE was cross-validated against the APDQ. Findings EFA found five factors underlying the 20 TRACE items: “awareness of common responses,” “discussing and normalising feelings;” “utilising feelings,” “wish to care” and “awareness of complicated affects.” This factor structure is complex, but items clustered logically to key areas originally used to generate items. Internal consistency (α = 0.66, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.55–0.76) demonstrated borderline acceptability. TRACE demonstrated good test–retest reliability (intra-class correlation = 0.94, 95% CI = 0.78–0.98) and face validity. TRACE indicated a slight negative correlation with APDQ. A larger data set is needed to substantiate these preliminary findings. Practical implications Early indications suggested TRACE was valid and reliable, suitable to measure the effectiveness of reflective practice. Originality/value The TRACE was a distinctive measure that filled a methodological gap in the literature.

scholarly journals Profile reliability to improve recommendation in social-learning context

2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 433-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corinne Amel Zayani ◽  
Leila Ghorbel ◽  
Ikram Amous ◽  
Manel Mezghanni ◽  
André Péninou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Social Learning ◽  
Learning System ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Semantic Relationships ◽  
The Hierarchical Structure ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Many Sources

Purpose Generally, the user requires customized information reflecting his/her current needs and interests that are stored in his/her profile. There are many sources which may provide beneficial information to enrich the user’s interests such as his/her social network for recommendation purposes. The proposed approach rests basically on predicting the reliability of the users’ profiles which may contain conflictual interests. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach This approach handles conflicts by detecting the reliability of neighbors’ profiles of a user. The authors consider that these profiles are dependent on one another as they may contain interests that are enriched from non-reliable profiles. The dependency relationship is determined between profiles, each of which contains interests that are structured based on k-means algorithm. This structure takes into consideration not only the evolutionary aspect of interests but also their semantic relationships. Findings The proposed approach was validated in a social-learning context as evaluations were conducted on learners who are members of Moodle e-learning system and Delicious social network. The quality of the created interest structure is assessed. Then, the result of the profile reliability is evaluated. The obtained results are satisfactory. These results could promote recommendation systems as the selection of interests that are considered of enrichment depends on the reliability of the profiles where they are stored. Research limitations/implications Some specific limitations are recorded. As the quality of the created interest structure would evolve in order to improve the profile reliability result. In addition, as Delicious is used as a main data source for the learner’s interest enrichment, it was necessary to obtain interests from other sources, such as e-recruitement systems. Originality/value This research is among the pioneer papers to combine the semantic as well as the hierarchical structure of interests and conflict resolution based on a profile reliability approach.

scholarly journals The middle manager in search of business model innovation

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 3-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergejs Groskovs ◽  
John P. Ulhøi
Keyword(s):  
Business Model ◽  
Continuous Process ◽  
Organisational Change ◽  
Business Model Innovation ◽  
Middle Manager ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Strategic Renewal ◽  
Model Search ◽  
Practical Guidelines ◽  
Major Transformation

Purpose It does not always take a heroic CEO to initiate a major transformation such as business model innovation. A middle manager with a personal drive and a sense of need for change may well jump-start this process. This paper aims to offer a simple framework and a set of practical guidelines for engaging the broader organisation in business model search and change activities. Design/methodology/approach This paper draws on research in entrepreneurship, organisational change and strategic renewal; develops a set of managerial guidelines; and illustrates those with practical examples. Findings Business model innovation is an iterative, dynamic and continuous process of search and change activities. Key practical guidelines to manage this process include understanding the environment, ensuring resources and funding, engaging entrepreneurial individuals, committing senior management, firm orchestration of the change process and involvement of middle management and employees. Practical implications The framework allows for structuring a business model innovation and offers key guidelines for the journey, thus enabling an entrepreneurial middle manager to lead the effort. Originality/value Despite that business model innovation is normally considered the domain of the CEO, this paper shows that middle managers can also play a key role in the process. The value of the paper lies in the simplicity and practicality of the framework.

Legitimacy profiles of women directors on top French company boards

2015 ◽  
Vol 34 (7) ◽  
pp. 803-820 ◽  
Author(s):  
Val Singh ◽  
Sebastien Point ◽  
Yves Moulin ◽  
Andrès Davila
Keyword(s):  
Management Development ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Academic Excellence ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
Women Directors ◽  
Corporate Board ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Female Directors ◽  
Short Space

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to question the profiles of female directors on top French company boards. It explores the legitimacy attributes of current female directors to identify the profiles sought recently, as firms approach the need to make many new appointments to fulfill gender quotas for supervisory boards, given that the proportion of women on a corporate board must reach 40 percent by 2017, with an intermediate level of 20 percent by 2014. Design/methodology/approach – The authors gathered numerical and qualitative biographical data on all SBF 120 (French stock exchange index) firms’ female directors from annual reports and web sites over seven years (from 2003 to 2009). The authors constructed an SPSS database to categorize the individuals into various orders of legitimacy. Findings – Drawing on director bio-data, the authors extend previous work on four legitimacy assets (family ownership; academic excellence; strong ties to the State; and top career), by adding a fifth asset (representative director), and contribute a gender dimension to the literature on personal legitimacy. Owning-family ties and academic excellence are still particularly salient in explaining legitimacy of women directors. A new source of female directors since 2005 is the pool of foreign women, outside the elite Grandes Ecoles system. Research limitations/implications – The authors had data for directors of 115 companies out of the SBF 120 firms. The authors also lacked data for seven women out of 144 appointed during the period, despite efforts to track down data from public sources. Practical implications – These legitimacy profiles present different challenges for management development as those responsible for appointing several women to their boards in a short space of time will find out. Social implications – The authors highlight that with the diminishing role of family members on large corporate boards, more women directors need to be found, developed and mentored. If this approach is followed, new female directors with solid achievements can be appointed, without having their legitimacy as directors challenged by resistant males. Women will thus be able to take their legitimate place in French boardrooms and contribute their diverse experiences and knowledge. Originality/value – This paper questions the legitimacy assets of female directors, which can be clustered into three groups: combined elite education and top corporate career; owning-family membership; and representative directors. These legitimacy profiles present different challenges for management development as those responsible for appointing several women to their boards in a short space of time will find out.

scholarly journals Using Action Research and Action Learning (ARAL) to develop a response to the abuse of older people in a healthcare context

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona McAlinden
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Older People ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Elder Abuse ◽  
Health Management ◽  
Action Learning ◽  
Public Hospitals ◽  
Public Healthcare ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Policy And Procedure

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe Monash Health’s development of a Policy and Procedure on the abuse of older people in metropolitan Australia. Monash Health is a public healthcare network that consists of six public hospitals and over 40 community health care sites throughout the South East of Melbourne. Design/methodology/approach An Action Research Action Learning approach was employed to develop a comprehensive set of policy and procedure documents to ensure that Monash Health became compliant with the State Government’s expectations around responding to the abuse of older people in a consistent manner. Findings Almost 90,000 Monash Health hospital admissions per year are older people aged over 65 years. Senior Monash Health management recognized that staff did not have adequate information, education and resources to consistently identify and respond to situations of elder abuse. What is more, the existing internal Monash Health document Supporting Older People at Risk did not meet obligations stated in the Victorian Government’s Elder Abuse Strategy (2009). Originality/value The project’s emphasis upon participatory action research, cooperative inquiry and action learning further resulted in the identification of an opportunity to develop a strategic response to violence and abuse for all patients of Monash Health, not just older people.

Demystifying continuous participation in game applications at social networking sites

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 374-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Wu ◽  
Tingru Cui ◽  
Na Liu ◽  
Yimeng Deng ◽  
Junpeng Guo
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Game Design ◽  
Research Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Actual Use ◽  
Likelihood Model ◽  
Practical Guidelines ◽  
Perceived Enjoyment ◽  
Use Behavior

Purpose Drawn from the social playfulness literature and the elaboration likelihood model, the purpose of this paper is to propose and test a research model to examine users’ continuous participation in SNS game applications. Design/methodology/approach A field survey with 133 subjects was conducted to test the research model. Findings Two identified design features, symbolic physicality and inherent sociability, are found to influence users’ perceived curiosity and perceived enjoyment toward playing SNS game applications. Perceived enjoyment is significantly associated with perceived curiosity and predicts users’ continuous participation of SNS game applications. The authors also observed a gender difference of social playfulness design on perceived curiosity. Research limitations/implications Use intention was used as a proxy for actual use behavior, since objective data on continuance behavior was not available. Additionally, the contributions of this study may be constrained by one single sample. Practical implications The findings of the study suggest practical guidelines for designing game applications in SNS through socialization design and symbolic physicality. Further, based on the findings of gender differences, a personalization game design strategy is provided. Originality/value The study contributes to the post-adoption IS literature and sheds light on the interesting area of social media participation. Additionally, this study enriches the online gaming research by demonstrating gender differences.

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