ABSTRACT
Hyder corporate HRD managers and staff were justifiably proud of their approach to learning in the organization. They had devised a comprehensive performance appraisal process for the entire staff, supported by programmes of training, both formal and informal, delivered by both internal and external providers. In fact, as a result of their experience within training events, several of the staff and junior managers acted in more authoritative and autonomous ways, much to the annoyance of some of their own line managers who, while being supportive of their individual learning, resented having their views or decisions directly questioned or challenged. For some of the senior managers, further reflection on decisions took up valuable time. Some of the front-line workers and junior managers felt as though they were either ‘banging their heads against a wall’, or worse, jeopardizing their career progression, and that for all the good ideas and intentions behind the company’s learning strategy, nothing was really going to change. Managers’ experience of individual learning within the company was constructive, but there was much cynicism generally about the company’s claim to be a learning organization.
