ABSTRACT
Culture is “the set of customs, traditions and values of a society or community such as a nation or ethnic group, which bind people together, acquired over time and transmitted through processes of social learning, from one generation to the next” (1). Action learning has been described as both a pragmatic methodology for dealing with difficult challenges, but also a moral philosophy based on an optimistic view of human potential (2). In the case of the latter, it has drawn strongly upon Christian, Quaker and Buddhist ideals and values (3,4). As action learning has spread globally and is used in at least seventy member states of the United Nations in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, North, Central and South America, Africa and the Pacific in both private and public sector organisations (5) the question of how it relates to people and organisations who do not necessarily share the same value set has become ever more important.
