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1 – 10 of 143Heather Short and Valerie Anne Anderson
The purpose of this study is to explore the implications of national and international standards for human resource development (HRD) practice. It focuses on the experiences…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the implications of national and international standards for human resource development (HRD) practice. It focuses on the experiences, perceptions and learning of those involved in the social construction of standards and standardisation processes.
Design/methodology/approach
The research is grounded in institutional and organisational excellence theories and adopts a qualitative approach based in social constructivism. Thematic analysis of the data obtained from 13 semi-structured interviews leads to a discussion of awareness of standards, standards adoption including constraints, and impact of standards.
Findings
The findings indicate that that there has been a disconnect between the potential impact of British Standards Institute (BSI) HR standards and what has occurred in practice with little awareness of the BSI standards among practitioners.
Research limitations/implications
This paper identifies an absence of institutional isomorphism in the HR arena and highlights the potential for a “standards-practice” gap where HR standards formation processes are perceived as detracting from flexibility and innovativeness in organisational practice.
Originality/value
This study contributes a new perspective of the implications of HR standards formation from the perspective of those involved and further contributes to the wider theorisation of standards in the HRD field.
Valerie Anderson, Grahame Boocock and Stuart Graham
This paper is concerned with the learning needs of managers in SMEs that seek to become progressively international. A particular focus of attention is the informal learning…
Abstract
This paper is concerned with the learning needs of managers in SMEs that seek to become progressively international. A particular focus of attention is the informal learning practices that occur within the economic and social networks utilised by managers in this sector. Using both qualitative and quantitative approaches to data collection, the paper investigates the challenges perceived by managers engaged (or seeking to engage) in international activity. The results suggest three main areas of challenge: first, the early “pre‐internationalisation” stage, when decisions about “whether”, “where” or “how” to internationalise are taken; secondly, the development of longer‐term planning processes and business systems to cope with the consequences of the initial internationalisation decision; thirdly, the challenge of regulatory issues and the need to secure payment and manage foreign intermediaries. Further areas of learning need, which depend on the significance of international business for the firm, are also indicated. Existing structures, cultures and approaches to management can be maintained for many SMEs that undertake some limited international activity. Where international business is a more important factor, however, managers need to develop cultural appreciation and empathy to underpin their expertise and consolidate their market position. Indeed, sustained international development may require a significant reorienting of the business, underpinned by management and organisational learning to develop an appropriate international “mind‐set” that supports the effective development of relationships with stakeholders in different countries.
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This paper aims to outline important lessons for HR professionals who seek to ensure that investment in learning delivers strategic value to the organization.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to outline important lessons for HR professionals who seek to ensure that investment in learning delivers strategic value to the organization.
Design/methodology/approach
Making use of data from semi‐structured interviews, the paper explores the extent to which perceptions of the strategic value of learning held by senior HR professionals are aligned with those of senior operational managers.
Findings
The data indicate what executives expect learning to deliver at an organizational level, the challenges of aligning learning to strategic priorities and the ways in which HR professionals are measuring and reporting on the value of learning. A trend away from “return on investment” approaches to “return on expectation” assessments of the value of learning is identified.
Research limitations/implications
In addition to the views of senior managers, further research into the value expectations of line managers and other stakeholder groups is now required.
Practical implications
The article highlights the importance of identifying and communicating the alignment of learning strategy with organizational priorities, the need for proactive dialogue between HR professionals and senior decision makers to develop management trust in the learning value contribution and the development of a balanced range of value measures and assessments that are significant for the organization in its specific context.
Originality/value
Traditional measures of training effectiveness have focused on the functional interests of learners and trainers. This research shifts attention to expectations at a strategic level and the consequences of this for measuring and reporting on the value of learning.
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Valerie Anderson and Sarah Gilmore
This paper aims to explore the introduction of a new experience‐based learning process in the learning and teaching of human resource development (HRD) within a professionally…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the introduction of a new experience‐based learning process in the learning and teaching of human resource development (HRD) within a professionally accredited curriculum in a UK University.
Design/methodology/approach
An action enquiry approach is taken, and qualitative data gathered over a full academic year from tutors and students are analysed to examine how those involved made sense of and learned about HRD.
Findings
Influences on the experience of an innovative HRD pedagogy are identified as: assessment processes and expectations; relationships and behaviours within the learning and teaching process; the experienced emotions of those involved; and the extent to which students feel clarity about what is expected.
Research limitations/implications
The qualitative nature of the data and the focus on one particular UK institutional taught module limits the generalisability; in particular, the experience of full‐time students or those involved in courses that focus exclusively on HRD outside of UK are not incorporated.
Practical implications
Attention to assessment processes is an essential pre‐requisite to any pedagogic innovation, as is effective and transparent team‐working by tutors and careful thought about tutor behaviours in settings where experienced emotions and relationships directly affect the innovative process.
Originality/value
The inherent tension between the constructivist and exploratory HRD curriculum and the requirement for “performative clarity” in HRD pedagogy is explored. Experienced emotions and relationships are shown to mediate a student‐centred and critically reflexive HRD pedagogy, something that is currently insufficiently recognised in much of the literature.
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Valerie Anderson, Stuart Graham and Peter Lawrence
The paper analyses the management development and learning implications for organizations in the early stages of “going international”. From an empirical study of companies which…
Abstract
The paper analyses the management development and learning implications for organizations in the early stages of “going international”. From an empirical study of companies which had recently internationalized, it highlights the requirement for different types of learning at different stages of the process. Some of the learning requirements for successful internationalization are of a “programmatic” type but mostly the implications of internationalization are for “tacit” knowledge, requiring reflective, action‐oriented approaches to learning. The requirement for generative, double‐loop learning is shown to be a key feature of the later stages of the internationalization process. A five‐staged model of internationalization is produced which establishes the implications for management learning throughout the process. It provides those involved with businesses which go international an opportunity to analyse the management learning needs of the organization and so to enhance the success of this form of business development.
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The immediate goal for any small to medium‐sized enterprise (SME) is to survive and maintain its independence. But, sooner or later, a small company will probably want to expand…
Abstract
The immediate goal for any small to medium‐sized enterprise (SME) is to survive and maintain its independence. But, sooner or later, a small company will probably want to expand. With the trends towards global convergence and the adoption of outsourcing by firms of all sizes, growth usually means entering the international market. The transition from a small domestic firm to an established and committed international company is a major step for any SME. Internationalization throws up a number of challenges for managers of such firms.
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Judith Fletcher-Brown, Karen Knibbs and Karen Middleton
The purpose of this paper is to review live-client learning activities in higher education, highlighting a lack of multi-stakeholder evaluation of “learning by doing” pedagogies…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review live-client learning activities in higher education, highlighting a lack of multi-stakeholder evaluation of “learning by doing” pedagogies in current literature. It extends existing discussion of employability outcomes, dominated by findings from larger organisations, towards arguably, a more meaningful concept: “employagility”; whereby graduates engage in “agile” life-long skills development, through exposure to learning within small- to medium-sized enterprise (SME), enhancing potential to contribute to local and wider economies.
Design/methodology/approach
Findings from in-depth, semi-structured interviews and reflective learning journals, captured from triangulated perspectives, presented as the “3Es”: employers, educators and engagers (in this case, undergraduate marketing students).
Findings
Students identified involvement in “real” live-client projects, applying knowledge learned in the classroom to solve a business problem, enabled them to develop skills demanded by employers. Clients noted how student work exceeded expectations, providing tangible outputs and innovative ideas for their business, even through limited periods of interaction. Educators explained how relatively simple changes to curricula and extra-curricular activities can enable the development of SME-relevant “agile” graduates.
Originality/value
With SMEs at the forefront of government programmes to lead economic recovery, it is imperative higher education institutions recognise the need for development of appropriately “agile” graduates. This paper contributes a new 3Es model illustrating mutual benefits of collaboration, proposing a “competence-employagility” continuum.
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Bianca Brandes and Yi-Ling Lai
This study aims to investigate resistance to change and change management through a micro-level interpersonal perspective. Specifically, this paper addresses in what way external…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate resistance to change and change management through a micro-level interpersonal perspective. Specifically, this paper addresses in what way external change experts, such as coaches, identify distinctive emotional and behavioural indicators of resistance and facilitate individuals to develop positive strengths and motivation to change.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors drew upon critical realism and abductive research methodology to understand connections between coaching intervention and individual change resistance through 21 in-depth interviews with independent coaches listed in coaching associations in Germany.
Findings
This study first re-evaluates the implications of resistance and extends its meaning from negative obstacles into natural emotional responses of individuals and constructive resources for change. In addition, the study results indicate resistance can be distinguished through both explicit behaviours, body language along with implicit emotional reactions, like being tired or making small jokes. Moreover, several micro-level interpersonal approaches for coaches to apply in dealing with resistance, including understanding coachees' cognitive status and working environment, adapting varied communication styles as well as drawing upon coachees' strengths.
Practical implications
The research results offer organisations (e.g. managers and human resource professionals) essential guidelines in micro-level change management strategy by considering external coaching as a valuable option to deal with varied individual, social and contextual factors (e.g. organisational power and politics). From the organisational investment perspective, indicators of resistance and approaches to facilitate coachees' emotional reactions can be served as a preliminary protocol for stakeholders to evaluate the effectiveness of their change management schemes. Moreover, the framework outlined in this research can be considered in the future coaching education and professional development programmes.
Originality/value
Overall, this study demonstrates that external coaching is one of the valuable approaches in responding to individual resistance in organisational change management. The research findings widen existing bipolar paradigms of resistance (either change obstacles or positive resource) into a neutral spectrum that holds an impartial view on emotional reactions to change. Furthermore, individual differences and contextual factors play essential roles in the change process, e.g. coachees' personality, personal experiences, knowledge, interpretations to change process and topics as well as organisational context (e.g. power, hierarchy and culture) need to be considered into change management strategy.
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