Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Management development experiences and expectations: informal vs formal learning

Management development experiences and expectations: informal vs formal learning PurposeMany organisations are reconsidering their investment in formal education and training, in favour of more informal approaches to learning such as mentoring, temporary assignments, stretch assignments, and job rotation. The purpose of this paper is to explore the ways in which managers have developed capabilities for their roles thus far and their preferred approaches for future development with particular consideration given to a comparison of formal and informal learning.Design/methodology/approachThis paper reports on a case study conducted within an Australian nonprofit organisation focussing on the extent to which managers attribute their current level of management skills to formal or informal learning and the extent to which they would prefer formal or informal learning (or a combination) for future development.FindingsFindings indicate a large part of the managers’ current management capabilities were acquired through informal means, and these are seen as desirable for ongoing development, however, there is also a desire for formal learning methods to complement informal methods.Originality/valueManagement development is a critical HRD activity however there is limited knowledge about how managers have built their current capabilities and their preferences in terms of the mix of formal and informal learning for the future. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Education + Training Emerald Publishing

Management development experiences and expectations: informal vs formal learning

Becker, Karen; Bish, Adelle
Education + Training , Volume 59 (6): 14 – Jul 10, 2017
Download PDF
14 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/emerald-publishing/management-development-experiences-and-expectations-informal-vs-formal-j2j8FOn1Ug
Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © Emerald Group Publishing Limited
ISSN
0040-0912
DOI
10.1108/ET-08-2016-0134
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

PurposeMany organisations are reconsidering their investment in formal education and training, in favour of more informal approaches to learning such as mentoring, temporary assignments, stretch assignments, and job rotation. The purpose of this paper is to explore the ways in which managers have developed capabilities for their roles thus far and their preferred approaches for future development with particular consideration given to a comparison of formal and informal learning.Design/methodology/approachThis paper reports on a case study conducted within an Australian nonprofit organisation focussing on the extent to which managers attribute their current level of management skills to formal or informal learning and the extent to which they would prefer formal or informal learning (or a combination) for future development.FindingsFindings indicate a large part of the managers’ current management capabilities were acquired through informal means, and these are seen as desirable for ongoing development, however, there is also a desire for formal learning methods to complement informal methods.Originality/valueManagement development is a critical HRD activity however there is limited knowledge about how managers have built their current capabilities and their preferences in terms of the mix of formal and informal learning for the future.

Journal

Education + Training – Emerald Publishing

Published: Jul 10, 2017

References

  • Management development practices: empirical evidence from Sri Lanka
  • Learning on demand, at your own pace, in rapid bite-sized chunks: the future shape of management development?
  • Informal learning in organizations
  • Critiquing workplace learning discourses: participation and continuity at work
  • Using thematic analysis in psychology