Connecting management learning with change experiences: revisiting HR manager education

The effectiveness of traditional management education programmes, particularly those emanating from university business schools, has been questioned (e.g. Willmott, 1994: Clarke, 1999). Central to these critiques is the recognition that the pedagogic models underpinning much of contemporary management education are frequently incongruent with the needs of learning managers and the continuous change environment in which they operate. This paper describes the developmental outcomes of 45 HR managers undertaking a specifically designed management education programme premised on an adult learning model (Knowles, 1990) and set in the context of continuous organizational change (Weick and Quinn, 1999). The learning experienced fostered the development of meta-abilities (Pedler, 1994; Butcher, 1997), expanded perspective taking and the evolution of double-loop learning approaches to real life organizational change. Quantitative evidence of these meta-developments are presented and conclusions for management learning in rapid change environments are offered.

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