Science fiction can be seen as a diagnosis of the present, and a vision of possible futures. Therefore, it provides an excellent resource with which to interrogate both contemporary organizing processes and organizations as institutions. The marginal activity of science fiction has however, been largely ignored in writing on organization theory. This international collection explores how science fiction can enrich studies of organization by drawing on perspectives across the arts and social sciences.

The current orthodoxy is that knowledge is the most powerful resource for organizational success. So how can managers develop the appropriate knowledge base to make their organizations grow? The answer lies in action research. Action research is increasingly perceived and used as a powerful methodology to promote professional awareness and development. However, there are very few texts that demonstrate how this can be utilised to promote management and organisational improvement or that emphasise the reflective nature of improving professionalism. Action Research in Organisations fills this...

This edited volume contains original chapters by some of the leading researchers and writers in HRD. It provides a definitive work on the design and conduct of research in HRD and identifies and examines the possibilities and limitations of particular methods and techniques. Emerging debates on the purpose, nature and practice and theoretical base of HRD are examined. Each chapter is structured with:

* Statement of aims
* Description of theoretical and empirical context DEGREES
* Identification and examination of methodological issues
* Description and evaluation of...

'Lifelong learning' is moving from buzzword to reality for ever more workers. Firms increasingly need their workers to be active, self-directed learners who contribute to innovations and improvements of processes, products and services. Companies that explicitly encourage and support worker learning, from a strategic perspective, are called 'learning organizations'.
This book is the result of a European study into the changing views and practices of professionals in the field of Human Resource Development within such organizations.
Focusing on Europe, the book contains authors and...

Work Process Knowledge brings together the findings of twenty-four leading researchers on new forms of work and the demands these place on workers' knowledge and skill. Their findings, based on a new set of investigations in a wide range of manufacturing and service industries, identify the kinds of knowledge required to work effectively in the post-Taylorist industrial organization.
Raising fundamental issues for current industrial policy, science and technology policy, and ways of managing the post-Taylorist organization and developing human resources, this book will be of...

Small organisations are of growing influence as a source of employment opportunities, but HRD in small organisations is a neglected field of study. This book provides a comprehensive and contemporary review of research into the practice of HRD in small organisations. The book is divided into three sections. The focus of part one is on the context of HRD research in small organisations, the contextual characteristics of small organisations and the implications of these for the design and conduct of research into HRD practices. Chapters in part two report the results of research that informs...

Russ Vince examines learning as both a social and a strategic process, invariably linked to emotions and politics that are mobilized by attempts at learning and organizing. He makes a substantial contribution to theories of organizational learning and develops new ideas about critical reflection and collective leadership.
The author outlines a critical perspective on HRD, arguing that staff responsible for learning and change in organizations have put too much effort into the development of individuals and not enough into understanding and engaging with organizational dynamics that limit...

This collection presents an innovative and challenging approach to HRD theory and practice. A strong critically reflexive approach is adopted in order to explore the highly contested nature of HRD in the organizational context.

This book provides a reflexive critique of the assumptions of orthodox HRD research and practice and questions the conception of humans as resources, as well as the conventional performative focus of HRD. Examining the broader social, political and economic contexts, the book offers alternative perspectives for considering both the needs of individuals and the sustainable development of organizations in post-industrial economies.

The first book to look at both aesthetics and human resource development, this timely and original work investigates existing, as well as possible future, connections and relations between the two areas.

Well structured and expertly written, The Aesthetic Challenges of Human Resource Development is undoubtedly a valuable reference for students of human resource management, business and management, and aesthetics.