The UK′s Teaching Company Scheme, established in 1975, has been responsible for setting up almost 1,000 collaborative projects between academics and businesses, all with the primary aim of effecting organizational change. The interest which the scheme has aroused has usually centred on its...

Team building is a common thread throughout most organizational change and management development activities. As teams are built, they should evolve through three stages of learning: (1) crisis problem solving, (2) productivity improvement to the current situation, and (3) anticipatory learning....

Suggests that the need to cope with rapid change and global competition has revolutionized the practice of management within most major corporations. Reports on a ten‐year study of global trends in the field, which shows how practices in executive development have evolved to keep pace with...

The development of human capital is critical for firms to gain competitive advantage. However, short‐term, risk‐averse managerial behaviour often produces lower investments in the development of human capital. Short‐term risk‐averse managerial behaviour is often the result of managerial...

Examines the changes facing middle managers as organizations move to leaner, empowered organization focused on delivering service to customers. The model of the inverted triangle leaves middle managers still in the middle, but now confused as to their new role – their world is literally...

Global competition has forced downsizing and restructuring, producing a shortage in many organizations′ managerial talent base. This deficit has highlighted an important need to integrate management development into the competitive strategy formulation process. However, many organizations lack...

Elucidates the nature, purpose and application of the Merlin Exercise in the context of a middle manager leadership programme conducted by the authors with personnel from the Hoechst Celanese Corporation (HCC). Describes the content of three modules – “Visionary Leadership”, “Strategic...

Presents and examines the “live case method” as an increasingly influential means of broadening the thinking of middle managers, prompting them to adopt senior managerial perspectives on problems currently besetting their organizations. Claims that it is the live‐case orientation of the...

Numerous organizations find themselves in a “turbulent field”. The greater the complexity of their environment, the greater is their external uncertainty. It is possible to cope with these uncertainties by structuring the organization differently and bringing about a new way of thinking....

All attempts to improve corporate performance since World War II have led to nought. Managers are still calling for change. One new school of thought holds that development programmes should emphasize learning not teaching, action not theory and business results not classroom results. Total...