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This study aims to investigate the relationship between different organisational development programmes (360-degree feedback; Coaching; Job assignment; Employee assistance programmes; On-the-job training; Web-based career information; Continuous professional development; External education provision) and employees’ career development. The implications of the moderating effects of gender on the relationships between these eight organisational programmes and career development are assessed.

To examine hypothesised relationships on eight organisational programmes and career development, this paper computed moderated regression analyses using the PROCESS macro (3.5), for a two-way analysis of variance (Hayes, 2018). The data collected are based on a survey sample of employees (n = 322) working in Scotland.

Two main findings arose from this empirical study. First, there are significant direct relationships between seven out of the eight organisational development programmes and their influences on employees’ career development. Second, gender is a significant moderator for four of the programmes’ relationship with career development, namely, coaching, web-based career information, continuous professional development and external education provision. However, gender failed to moderate the four other programmes’ (i.e. 360-degree feedback, job assignment, employee assistance programmes and on-the-job training) relationship with career development.

This paper concludes that closer attention should be given to the organisational design of these development programmes and consideration of potential gender differences in employees’ perception of their importance for career development in their organisation. To date, the majority of research in the literature has concentrated on the impact of training on career development, so this study contributes to the body of knowledge on a set of organisational development programmes and their effect on career development moderated by gender.

The purpose of this paper is to report on the impact of Appreciative Inquiry on the diagnostic phase of a management development programme. A case study of an organisation delivering both further and higher education will be used to illustrate how the involvement of a management population in the diagnosis and design of the programme resulted in individual, team and organisational learning. The use of Appreciative Inquiry challenges conventional methods of diagnosis and evaluation. One year later a second Appreciative Inquiry was adapted to become an evaluation tool. The outcomes of this work will be reported in part two of this article.

Appreciative Inquiry workshops involving 72 managers were used to encourage a collaborative approach to diagnostics prior to the launch of a management development programme. The workshops followed a four-stage structure. Small self-managed teams, with representation from different departments and levels of management, engaged in a diagnostic process with support from Lancaster facilitators.

Participants discovered new working practices for exploring and solving organisational issues and challenges. Individuals learned from the teamwork and established new networks and sources of innovation. The benefits of a collaborative approach included greater clarity on strategies, priorities and rigorous alignment of management development needs to the mission of achieving outstanding status.

Participants of the management development programme were actively engaged in the diagnosis of learning and development needs. The diagnostic phase accelerated engagement with learning across a broad spectrum of managers and key organisational stakeholders.

The use of Appreciative Inquiry as a diagnostic tool ensures that management development is firmly rooted in strategic priorities of the organisation. The approach ensures that all contributions are respected and this results in a higher quality dialogue across different parts of the organisation.

The paper is original in presenting a management development programme diagnosed and evaluated by organisational members. The result was practical, cost effective and sustainable development which transferred capability to the organisation. Part two of this article will report on Appreciative Inquiry as an evaluation tool and provide evidence of the sustainability of individual, team and organisational learning.

Based on the assumption that employees want more personal control over their career development, organizations are currently pursuing the implementation of career development programmes at an unprecedented rate. In reality, however, employees appear reluctant to assume increased responsibility for their careers. Explores general satisfaction with a career development programme currently in operation. Determines what underlying factors both internal to employees and within their work environment tend to facilitate or impede the tendency to become proactive in shaping career opportunities. Semi‐structured in‐depth interviews were conducted with 72 salaried personnel randomly selected from an international organization. Some support was provided for the role of both individual and situational characteristics in predicting uptake of the career development programme. Particular importance was attributed to the lack of organizational support for the process. The implications of these findings are discussed and recommendations for the successful implementation of career development programmes are made.

Details the results of an attempt to identify the impact of a comprehensive management development programme on organizational effectiveness within the health service public sector. Concludes that management development programmes must have a prespecified set of strategically‐linked outcomes, identifying the benefits to the organization, and a set of critical success factor measures to determine their achievement or otherwise. Programmes which do not result in managers feeling empowered will be criticized in not impacting positively on the organization.

The purpose of this paper is to reveal the implications of changing success factors of entrepreneurs for the role of organisational development (OD) programmes in facilitating organisational learning and change in Estonian enterprises.

This explorative research is conducted as part of the Entrepreneurship Work in Organizations Requiring Leadership Development research programme focusing on international perspectives of entrepreneurship. Participants of Estonian focus groups at first filled individual work sheets by answering questions about traits of successful entrepreneurs in Estonia. Second, participants compared successful entrepreneurs in Estonia in the 1990s and in 2007 in focus groups of four to five members and presented their common position, but also differences are revealed in group discussions.

Courage to risk, openness to new information, flexibility, creativity and determination were the features of successful entrepreneurs in Estonia most often pointed out by all categories of respondents. Focus groups stressed that some success factors of an entrepreneur operating in Estonia in 2007 were more important than in the 1990s: broad world view, wide social network, innovativeness and creativity, lobbying in European Union (EU)‐related structures.

The research uses focus groups that highlight perceptions of changing success factors of entrepreneurs but does not involve a representative sample of Estonian entrepreneurs. Research results can be used as an input for entrepreneurship training and OD programmes.

The results of the research explain why organisation development tools in the present environment of organisational changes in a new EU member state have to stress creativity and support inter‐organisational networking. In the 1990s “selling” the vision of an entrepreneur that was driven by best practices from advanced market economies was often the main focus of OD programmes.

How far is training in your organisation concerned with developing individual skills or developing the overall performance of people to work together in the organisation more effectively? Traditionally, training has been concerned with developing individual skills. The emphasis has been upon apprentice training where people develop the technical expertise to do particular tasks. Alongside this ran the professional training required for accountants and others so that a company had individuals with specific knowledge to undertake functional roles.

This chapter aims to examine the ways coaching and mentoring are currently leveraged to deliver leadership development in higher education institutions. By exploring the variety of coaching and mentoring approaches and their deployment at different levels and across different institutions we are able to indicate opportunities for further enhancing leadership development in the sector through coaching and mentoring. The chapter examines peer-reviewed articles, sector reports and insights from key informants crafted into mini case studies. Mentoring emerges as a default approach to leadership development, in particular at early career stages and where inclusivity and diversity feature as part of leadership development programmes. Coaching is evident at the senior levels and offers a wider range of individual leader, senior team and organisational leadership development opportunities. Our cases highlight the range of responses and sophistication of coaching approaches and practices, from the highly embedded to other more piecemeal examples. The findings emphasise the importance of empirical research in this area to better understand and inform the sector of the wider benefits and opportunities of coaching and mentoring in supporting leadership development. Opportunities to support greater inclusivity and diversity in leadership should consider coaching approaches and practices too. This exploration of coaching and mentoring identifies why shifts towards coaching may be evident. It challenges those in the sector – researchers, people management and organisational developers, as well as senior leaders – to adopt more integrated and embedded coaching and mentoring initiatives to support the sector in addressing its current challenges.

This paper aims to investigate the concept of inter‐organisational supplier development programs and to stress the importance of considering suppliers' interest and motivation when implementing development initiatives.

This paper's theoretical framework is based on an in‐depth literature review that analyses how extant supplier development literature considers an inter‐organisational approach. A single case study of eight inter‐organisational relationships is also included.

The literature review reveals a lack of focus on inter‐organisational approaches to supplier development, even though the literature mentions it as a missing theme. Customer attractiveness is presented as one approach that takes supplier view and motivation into consideration. This idea is supported by the case study, which indicates that supplier performance is influenced by perceived customer attractiveness.

This paper is based on only a single case study and does not provide the basis for statistical generalisation. A theory on customer attractiveness is under development, and the analysis presented here is based on the theoretical findings.

Because suppliers can have their own strategic agendas, such as prioritising developments with the most attractive customers, buyers should consider suppliers' perspectives and motivations when analysing and implementing supplier development programs.

This paper is among the first to focus on the importance of viewing both parties' interest in a buyer‐supplier relationship when implementing supplier development initiatives. The concept of customer attractiveness as an inter‐organisational approach represents a valuable addition to supplier development literature.

Social capital, an important mechanism for the creation and maintenance of healthy organizational life, may be developed through initiatives such as leadership development as effective leadership development not only enhances individual effectiveness, but serves to build relationships, coordinate actions, and extend and strengthen the social network. An ongoing iterative process which engages all participants such as action learning can facilitate this process. This research supports the connection between leadership development and social capital based on an extended action learning engagement in a healthcare system.

The intentions of this article are to contribute reflections of an empirical account of working with critical reflection within an organisational development programme, addressing the following questions: What space is there for critical reflection in organisational development? What issues are raised for in‐company developers and providers by advocating critical reflection in organisation practice?

A case study approach is taken, presenting an empirical account of a management and organisational development programme that integrated action learning and critical reflection.

The account illustrates difficulties of employing critical reflection within the workplace arising from the more complex power relations between the multiple stakeholders in a commercial context. In particular, dissonance provoked by critical reflection confronts the client with a tension over whether to see organisation members primarily as customers to please or as participants in a change process which inevitably will disrupt.

In making sense of the perspectives of different stakeholders a model is presented to help practitioners in development of this kind to anticipate potential issues.

The paper presents a rare account of employing critical reflection in a work organisation development programme.