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The objectives of this short article are twofold. Firstly we wish to describe an organisation simulation which we have found useful and which we have not seen written up anywhere else. It is recommended to trainers who want to put an organisational focus into training and development.

The purpose of this paper is to enquire into the role and skills of the action learning facilitator in the context of service improvement work in the UK's National Health Service (NHS). An earlier companion paper examined the concept of service improvement and the possible contribution of action learning as a means of bringing about both personal and organisational development.

The paper takes the form of a case study. The research reports on the facilitation of action learning sets which formed part of a leadership development programme in the NHS. Data were collected via telephone interviews, focus groups, action learning sets and a World Café event.

The action learning facilitator's role is encircled by questions of method, approaches, skills and competencies, and crucially by complex contextual factors. Three role models are offered for the action learning facilitator – i.e. initiator, coach, and leader – and the paper concludes that any person fulfilling this role should develop the habits of reflection, critique and learning as part of developing their practice. Supervision and developmental support are also useful for people who are always asking themselves – “Am I doing it right?”

This case study on which these findings are based was developed at a time of great turmoil in the NHS. The dramatic specifics of the case serve to illustrate the critical variability and uniqueness of context. However, we believe that this does not greatly affect the efficacy of general conclusions drawn about action learning facilitation.

The practice of action learning is developing rapidly in many different organisational and community settings, and there is a growing demand for its skilful facilitation.

Currently there is little literature on what constitutes appropriate development for action learning facilitators. The paper gives some clear choices and guidelines for the development of this role.

The purpose of this paper is to examine questions concerning service improvement and the possible contribution of action learning as a means of bringing about both personal and organisational development. A second companion paper deals with the facilitation issues in this context (submitted to Leadership in Health Services, December 2007).

This research reports on the experiences of participants on a leadership development programme, who were seeking to effect service improvements in their professional domains. Data were collected via telephone interviews, focus groups, action learning sets and a world cafe event.

The paper concludes that the definition of “service improvement” is multiple and problematic. It concludes that action learning and service improvement can be natural partners but only if the action learning design is crafted to the specifics of the context.

This case study was developed at a time of great turmoil in the NHS. The findings may be taken as indicative and instructive rather than reproducible.

NHS service improvements are failing to keep pace with targets due to an over‐reliance on centrally initiated programmes and a deficit in local efforts. NHS and other managers will find this paper useful to help them bring about service improvements at local level.

As far as the authors know there are no other published accounts of service improvement initiatives developed via action learning.

The first article (See JEIT Vol. 1 No. 4) introduced the concept of negotiation and explored the sub‐processes involved in this complex area of behaviour. This second article looks into the nature of conflict and traces the origins of conflict situations. The effects of conflict upon communications are considered and the related concepts of power and trust are discussed with reference to the negotiating process.

The first two articles (See JEIT Vol. 1 Nos. 4 and 5) dealt with the concept of negotiation and the nature of conflict. In particular the interrelation of communication, trust and power was explored in the context of conflict. This third article is concerned with how these conflicts are resolved. In addition to offering a taxonomy of approaches to conflict resolution, it provides a detailed skill and knowledge breakdown of the negotiating process itself.

In recent years, a number of developments have combined to make industrial relations a high priority for management and Government. Trade unions have always seen industrial relations as a high priority, yet they too are affected by the developments as is shown by the increasing number of active unionists. This increased activity can be seen as a response to the need for the management of organisations to cope with change and to become increasingly collaborative and consultative. “Full employment”, inflation, the development of post‐industrial society, increasing white‐collar and managerial unionism and the higher expectations of an ever‐more skilled, educated and flexible population are some of the pressures underlying this movement.

My first written work on Self Development was published in 1971, and I have written about various aspects of its meaning, objectives, and processes since then. I recently had the opportunity to review what I perceive as relatively unattended issues of strategy and principle. In this article I look at these and show where at least some of the answers may be found to be available.