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Introduces the reader to some important aspects of systems thinking. Begins by offering a historic context of systems ideas, taking the reader on to concepts peculiar to systems and yet found in many areas of interest. Describes and applies concepts such as the openness of systems, the synergy of systems, systems complexity, the holistic view of systems, the notion of hierarchy and so on, to problems of interest to managers at all levels in an organization. Culminates in reference to the current directions of systems thought and practice with particular regard to systems dynamics and the soft systems methodology.

Reports on the development of a module concerning the international management of change by a multidisciplined team at Leeds Metropolitan University. The aim of the module is to enable students to combine problem‐based learning within an action research methodology using a case study to highlight the nature and processes of change within international business organizations. Explains the underlying rationale and describes the phases of learning, incorporating qualitative data from the evaluations of pilots in the UK and France.

Many organizations now utilize action learning, and it is applied increasingly throughout the world. Action learning appears in numerous variants, but generically it is a form of learning through experience, “by doing”, where the task environment is the classroom, and the task the vehicle. Two previous reviews of the action learning literature by Alan Mumford respectively covered the field prior to 1985 and the period 1985‐1994. Both reviews included books as well as journal articles. This current review covers the period 1994‐2000 and is limited to publicly available journal articles. Part 1 of the Review was published in an earlier issue of the Journal of Workplace Learning (Vol. 15 No. 2) and included a bibliography and comments. Part 2 extends that introduction with a schema for categorizing action learning articles and with comments on representative articles from the bibliography.