R. Wayne Pace

The contributions of knowledge management to workplace learning

This paper argues that increases in workplace learning may occur concomitantly with ways in which knowledge is managed in an organization, and knowledge management effectiveness may be a function of how successfully an organization is able to put a technological infrastructure into place. It describes the phases in a strategy for implementing knowledge management procedures and processes and argues that an appropriate mix of technological equipment is pivotal to both knowledge management and enhanced workplace learning. The paper suggests that the cultivation of a climate and culture that support and encourage knowledge sharing and learning to occur may be more important than any of the technological advancements to assure enhanced workplace learning.

What Effects Do Practice and Video Feedback Have on the Development of Interpersonal Communication Skills

The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of the number of practice and feed back sessions on the development of select interpersonal communication skills. Measures were taken to determine whether the effects were only immediate or whether the subjects retained the information and new communication skills for a longer period of time. To test the effects associated with various combinations of practice and video feedback, 211 subjects were assigned to ten treatment groups plus a control group. Both cognitive recall scores and evaluations of the performance of interpersonal communication skills were taken two days prior to training, immediately after instruction, and both two- days and a two-weeks later. Results indicated that practice and feedback had a marked influence on the acquisi tion of interpersonal communication skills, but each seemed to be influencing different aspects of learning. Practice initially heightened the potential to learn the information about what to do, while feedback increased performance scores. Over time, however, the combination of both practice and video feedback produced the greatest effect on long term performance scores. Decay in the levels of achievement after training were more rapid in performance than in cognitive scores. Overlearning through practice and feedback was recommended as a way to produce long-term information retention and sustained skill performance.

The basic course in organizational communication

Introductory courses in organizational communication are becoming increasingly popular. This article reports a study of the characteristics of the basic course in organizational communication. Data on schools and departments offering a basic course, faculty who teach the course, textbooks used, and topics covered are described. 100 useable questionnaires were analyzed.

Natural growth goals and short- term training: a boomerang effect

The purpose of this research project was to determine the effect of a training session about achieving natural growth goals on perceptions of a university classroom as a learning organisation. The results indicated that a short training session on how to achieve natural growth goals in an organisation appeared to have a boomerang effect on perceptions of a university classroom as a learning organisation. This study should alert us to the inevitable consequence of having our best training efforts backfire when they conflict with powerful, though latent, beliefs or cultural values.

Thinking Seriously About Human Resource Development

The Problem and the Solution. It appears that HRD professionals and educators may be operating on different sets of assumptions and beliefs about the field of human resource development. An examination of HRD in terms of making knowledge useful, what people are being prepared to do, and the driving force that brings us together may lead us to understand the field more fully and evolve more commonalties than now exist

Trends in the Basic Course in Organizational Communication.

course (Pace & Ross, 1983). Books and articles attesting to the growing maturity oforganizational communication as a subset of the larger discipline of communication have appeared since the 1979 survey (Putnam & Cheney, 1982; Tompkins, 1984). The interpretive or cultural perspective, for example, is just one of the major developments in the field in the last decade. Other topics and issues suggest that some changes may have occurred in the basic course in organizational communication over the years since the data for the last study were gathered. Now seemed like a good time to look at the status of the basic course once again.

Communication, Work Systems and HRD.

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to show the foundational place that communication theory and its practice occupies in functioning work systems. Design/methodology/approach – This paper defines the word communication in terms of the creation and interpretation of displays, describes what it means to have a theoretical foundation for a discipline, identifies and elaborates on the development driving force of human resource development (HRD), presents and explains a model of a work system in which HRD functions, and elaborates on the role, function, and place of communicative acts in the maintenance of the work system and the work of HRD professionals. Findings – The article posits that communication theory underlies the processes and activities of both scholars and practitioners of HRD. Finally, it argues that courses in communication theory and organizational communication are essential in the preparation of both scholars and practitioners. Research limitations/implications – Research on the vagar...

The Founding of the Academy of Human Resource Development

The Problem. The Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD) evolved out of a perception that a practitioner-focused professional association (American Society for Training and Development [ASTD]) was not accommodating the interests of many members of the academic community, especially during annual meetings. Although a Professor’s Network existed, in the context of a meeting of working professionals, the network was too restricted in the kinds of scholarly presentations that could be made. The Solution. Ultimately, most of the academicians who were members of ASTD coalesced into a determined group dedicated to fashioning an independent society and creating a successful scholarly association. The Stakeholders. Members of AHRD—whether practitioners or scholars—will find it instructive to learn the behind the scenes story of the evolution of a professional association. For all who might imagine embarking on a similar process of invention, the connections between a personal life trajectory of the founder and the needs of a profession provide a study in perseverance and vision.