Action Learning in Practice

480 Pages·2011·3.635 MB·English

by  Mike Pedler

Action Learning in Practice
4th Edition
Edited by
Mike Pedler
Action Learning in Practice
This page has been left blank intentionally
Action Learning
in Practice
Edited by
MikE PEdlEr
Henley Business School, UK
© Mike Pedler and the contributors 2011
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording
or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.
Mike Pedler has asserted his moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988,
to be identified as the editor of this work.
Published by
Gower Publishing Limited Gower Publishing Company
Wey Court East Suite 420
Union Road 101 Cherry Street
Farnham Burlington
Surrey VT 05401-4405
GU9 7PT USA
England
www.gowerpublishing.com
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Action learning in practice. – 4th ed. 1. Active learning. 2. Organizational learning.
3. Executives – Training of.
I. Pedler, Mike (Mike John), 1944–
658.4’07’1245–dc22
ISBN 9781409418412 (hbk)
ISBN 9781409418429 (ebk)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Action learning in practice / [edited by] Mike Pedler. – 4th ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4094-1841-2 (hbk. : alk. paper) – ISBN 978-1-4094-1842-9
(ebook) 1. Executives – Training of. 2. Organizational change – Study and teaching.
I. Pedler, Mike (Mike John), 1944–
HD30.4.A3 2011
658.4’07124–dc23
2011018047
IV
Contents
List of Figures ix
List of Tables xi
Notes on Contributors xiii
The State of the Art xxi
Mike Pedler
PART 1 ORigins

Introduction to Part 1 3
Chapter 1 Action Learning: Its Origins and Nature 5
Reg Revans
Chapter 2 The Enterprise as a Learning System 15
Reg Revans
Chapter 3 The Power of Action Learning 21
bob garratt
Chapter 4 Minding our Ps and Qs 35
John Morris
Chapter 5 Continuity in Action Learning 45
Jean Lawrence
Chapter 6 David Casey on the Role of the Set Adviser 55
Ddavid Casey
Chapter 7 Digging Deeper: Foundations of Revans’ Gold Standard of
Action Learning 71
Verna J. Willis
Chapter 8 Ad Fontes – Reg Revans: Some Early Sources of His Personal
Growth and Values 81
Yury Boshyk
Chapter 9 Getting Started: An Action Manual 93
David Pearce
vi Action Learning in Practice
PART 2 VARieTies

Introduction to Part 2 111
Chapter 10 Self-Managed Action Learning 113
Tom Bourner
Chapter 11 Action Reflection Learning 125
Lennart Rohlin
Chapter 12 Business-Driven Action Learning Today 141
Yury Boshyk
Chapter 13 Virtual Action Learning 153
Mollie Goodman and Jean-Anne Stewart
Chapter 14 Critical Action Learning 163
Kiran Trehan
Chapter 15 The Practice and Politics of Living Inquiry 173
Judi Marshall
Chapter 16 The Varieties of Action Learning in Practice: A Rose by Any
Other Name? 183
Judy O’Neil and Victoria J. Marsick
PART 3 APPlicATiOns
Introduction to Part 3 197
Chapter 17 Leadership 199
Richard Thorpe
Chapter 18 Developing Facilitative Leaders: Action Learning Facilitator
Training as Leadership Development 211
Katie Venner
Chapter 19 Action Learning in SME Development 221
Lisa Anderson, Jeff Gold and Allan Gibb
Chapter 20 Addressing Systemic Issues in Public Services 233
Clare Rigg
Chapter 21 Action Learning for Organization Development in South Korea 249
Yonjoo Cho and Hyeon-Cheol Bong
Contents vii
Chapter 22 Facilitation and the Affective Domain 261
Ian McGill and Anne Brockbank
Chapter 23 Learning to be an Action Learning Facilitator:
Three Approaches 273
Christine Abbott and Tom Boydell
Chapter 24 Action Learning and Organization Development 285
John Edmonstone
Chapter 25 Network Learning in an Austrian Hospital – Revisited 297
Otmar Donnenberg
Chapter 26 Action Learning and Social Capital 313
Mike Pedler and Margaret Attwood
Chapter 27 Action Learning around the World 325
Michael J. Marquardt
PART 4 QuesTiOns
Introduction to Part 4 341
Chapter 28 Action learning: A Pragmatic and Moral Philosophy 343
John Burgoyne

Chapter 29 Practical Knowing: The Philosophy and Methodology of
Action Learning Research 357
David Coghlan
Chapter 30 The Action Modalities: Action Learning’s Good Company 369
Joe Raelin
Chapter 31 Action in Action Learning 381
Roland Yeo and Jeff Gold
Chapter 32 Learning in Action or Learning Inaction? Emotion and
Politics in Action Learning 391
Russ Vince
Chapter 33 Reflective Practice: Origins and Interpretations 403
Michael Reynolds
Chapter 34 Adult Learning Theories and the Practice of Action Learning 415
Deborah Waddill and Michael Marquardt
viii Action Learning in Practice
Chapter 35 Evaluating Action Learning: A Perspective Informed by
Critical Realism, Network and Complex Adaptive Systems
Theory 427
John Burgoyne
Index 439
List of Figures
Figure I.1 Three types of problem xxiii
Figure 3.1 The crucial formula for the survival of an organism 24
Figure 3.2 Diagram of the typical amount of risk taken by a manager 26
Figure 3.3 The two worlds of the organization and the integration mechanism 26
Figure 3.4 The organizational hierarchy 27
Figure 3.5 Operational and strategic learning loops 28
Figure 3.6 Action-fixated cycle of learning 31
Figure 3.7 Action learning cycle 31
Figure 3.8 Projects and participants in the project set 31
Figure 3.9 The job/organization matrix 32
Figure 4.1 The Good Company model 42
Figure 9.1 The action learning decision process 95
Figure 9.2 The learning matrix 96
Figure 9.3 Deciding the type of action learning programme 97
Figure 9.4 The set 99
Figure 9.5 Action learning web 106
Figure 10.1 Conclusions about the values and beliefs that underpin
action learning 118
Figure 11.1 The Actor strategy for change and development 126
Figure 11.2 An Action Reflection Learning perspective on human beings 127
Figure 11.3 The learning actor model 128
Figure 11.4 The both-and principle in design of learning interventions 130
Figure 11.5 Action Reflection Learning, a summary highlighting the
learning dimension 131
Figure 11.6 Some dimensions in the paradigmatic shift (as perceived in 1994) 133
Figure 11.7 The context of leadership 134
Figure 11.8 Adapted from Rhinesmith 1993 135
Figure 12.1 What is Business-Driven Action Learning today? 143
Figure 12.2 Example of voluntary and fluid self-organization by Business
Challenge teams working on the Business Challenge 147
Figure 12.3 Business-Driven Action Learning and its component parts 150
Figure 16.1 Formal and informal learning 184