Patricia Bryans

Beyond training: reconceptualising learning at work

Radical shifts are taking place in management theory; equivalent shifts need to occur, we argue, in the theory of training and development. The move towards a knowledge economy makes such a shift particularly urgent. Notions of training tend to foreclose on outcomes; typically they are short‐term and assume transferability of skills. Notions of personal development may be insufficiently focused on the workplace. We argue for a conception of workplace learning that foregrounds the dialectical relationship between persons and their organisations. Crucial in that relationship are notions of openness, uncertainty, complexity, relationships, reflection, reframing and restoration.

Gender on the agenda in management education

Business/management schools may be currently using an exclusive approach to the study and development of management; by ignoring gender in this arena they are reinforcing the notion that women in management are invisible. Previous research suggests that there is a masculine bias in management education, which disadvantages both female and male learners and which may discourage managers from capitalising on gender diversity in the workplace. Discusses experiences of women academics and students in a business/management school and is based on the premise that change in management education will facilitate change in organisations. Therefore, rather than reinforcing the premise that management knowledge contributes to the maginalisation of women in management, argues that business/management schools should move to an inclusive approach, where management incorporates the experience and abilities of both men and women. Concludes by suggesting a number of initiatives to place gender on the agenda in business/management schools.

Management development in the public sector – what roles can universities play?

The 1990s have seen wide‐ranging culture changes throughout the public sector, introducing a business focus and a customer‐led approach, resulting in the recognition that organisations must invest training and development in their greatest asset – their staff. In this context, there is a growing trend to use universities as external providers of training and development, reflecting the need for continuous professional development, for flexibility and for continuous adaptability to change. Explores a spectrum of partnership arrangements between universities and public sector organisations, and discusses the mutually beneficial outcomes which can result, including the development of continuous learning, culture change, organisational development initiatives and appropriate restructuring. Presents three case studies to illustrate these developmental partnerships and concludes by offering significant learning points to those public sector organisations planning similar partnerships to facilitate management development.

Partnership in practice: what can be learned?

This article explores a partnership arrangement between a public sector organisation and a university to jointly provide a management development programme for a group of new managers. It discusses the mutually beneficial outcomes of a partnership focused on learning, which can support public sector organisations and the universities themselves to embed continuous learning and promote organisational development initiatives. The article outlines the context of the organisation and the aims of the partnership. It provides some detail of the content of the management development programme, which was jointly designed, delivered and assessed. It concludes by considering the ways the partnership may change and develop in the future and by noting the learning points for similar partnerships planning to facilitate people and organisational development.

Family learning in the workplace: nurturing lifelong learning

Abstract Lifelong learning must become a reality for all employees if we are to create and sustain organizations which can survive in the knowledge economy of the future. But how do we engage those who never access training and development opportunities at work? In this article it is argued that these people may be attracted back to learning by offering them opportunities at work to learn with their families. This different method of facilitating lifelong learning is examined here. The benefits to business and the wider community of encouraging families to learn together at work are explored. It is concluded that the addition of family learning in organisations to our current range of training and development activities can engage a new constituency in learning at work and can model the importance of lifelong learning to a new generation of future employees.

New initiatives to place gender on the agenda in business schools

Discusses universities role in resolving gender problems and of combating “impoverished” learning. Argues that gender should be central to management development and education and proposes that gender should be placed high on the agenda to challenge traditional sex role stereotypes in students’ organizations. Proposes that because of problematic areas in educational environment these may not be conducive to women’s development managerially. States that women academics have to get to these management positions to challenge the status quo, but that the movement up the ladder of management responsibility is very difficult. Goes on to highlight the various supporting arguments and discusses these at length. Gives an example in management educationof gender on the agenda and details out the occurrences and effects. Concludes that the initiatives discussed should be taken on board business/management schools should begin to place gender firmly on the agenda‐increasing awareness of gender issues through the process.

‘Woman as a project’: Key issues for women who want to get on

The following chapter explores senior women’s key issues for women who want to get on as managers and leaders. We present analysis drawn from a wider qualitative study of 81 senior women who hold UK FTSE 100/250 executive/non-executive director and/or influential leader positions, set against a background assumption that ‘male-defined constructions of work and career success continue to dominate organizational research and practice’ (O’Neill et al., 2008, p. 727). The senior women participants have achieved a traditionally ‘masculine strategic situation’ (Tyler, 2005, p. 569) in breaking through the gendered glass ceiling (Morrison et al., 1987) and in doing so may be viewed as no longer ‘the organizational second sex’ or ‘others of management’ (Tyler, 2005, p. 572). The study, following Ellemers et al. (2012) and Chesterman et al. (2005), therefore explores experiences of women in high places who have overcome gendered barriers to achieve senior leader positions, and advances Terjesen et al.’s call for ‘truly innovative research into the female directors’ experiences’ currently lacking in the literature (Terjesen et al., 2009, p. 332).

What do professional men and women learn from making mistakes at work

Abstract This article reports research investigating the experience of making a mistake at work and the learning which resulted, from the point of view of a range of professionals, including social workers, teachers, solicitors and human resources managers. It concludes that the experience is different for men and women and that this has major implications for the management and development of people at work.

Management education must place gender on the agenda

By ignoring the concept of gender in management in this way, business/ management schools magnify the choice to collude with the status quo, simply repeating existing management theory and practice. Organisations and students of management can no longer depend on these repeated patterns, as organisations of the future will require people who can think beyond the traditional paradigm. This includes rethinking management in terms of the role of men and women and valuing both. We argue that gender should be central to the study of management and propose that it is the responsibility of business/management schools to place gender high on the agenda in order to challenge traditional perceptions of manager equals male. This will in turn support the move to dismantle sex role stereotypes in the organisations to which the students belong. This is particularly important when those organisations are schools, for gender balanced patterns can then be modelled to a new generation. Gender on the agenda will therefore allow the development of more appropriate management styles for organisations, such as feminine and androgynous leadership / management approaches. At the core of the androgynous management style are behaviours that are instrumental and