ABSTRACT

Rather than offering either a purely practical or theoretical context, this text is written by a team of managers and academics, combining theory and practice to create a holistic, and above all realistic, exploration of learning at work, including real life examples of management challenges. Whether rescuing an ailing organization or managing inter-organization relations, managing change or managing human resources, many of today's crucial management challenges are addressed. Covering a range of sectors, the organizations studied include those in:

  • hi-tech manufacturing
  • engineering
  • telecommunications
  • healthcare
  • transport
  • government agencies.

Contributors are drawn from three well-established academic programmes: the Irish Management Institute/ University of Dublin Masters in Management Practice; the US Benedictine University PhD in Organizational Development and the Henley Management College DBA, and the volume is edited by the academic directors of these programmes.

By offering these managers' own reflections on their experiences in the context of relevant management theory, this text provides an important and innovative contribution for those studying organizations as well as for those managers who are currently learning and developing at work.

part |137 pages

Managers learning in action

chapter |19 pages

Whose life is it anyway?

Managing the psychological contract

chapter |10 pages

Living up to expectations

Unexpected possibilities, unexpected benefits

part |45 pages

Management learning, research and education

chapter |11 pages

Developing managers not analysts

Action learning based degree programmes for managers

chapter |10 pages

Managers' learnings in action

The scholar-practitioner, organization development and action research