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This study aims to explore a self-managed action learning (SMAL) initiative undertaken by social work assessors in England, which led to insights into the practice of SMAL.

The paper draws upon the experience of the authors in relation to an actual SMAL intervention in a social care context in England.

The paper suggests that, in contrast to extant literature, it is not the absence of an “expert” facilitator, which has proved to be most challenging but rather dealing with the practicalities of managing inter-organisational sets online. Specific individual and inter-organisational learning came about as a result of the SMAL initiative, including the implementation of inter-organisational networking to support isolated assessors.

The ideas and perspectives discussed in this paper will be explored through further empirical research.

The paper illustrates how SMAL can be implemented and suggests how it can facilitate organisational and individual learning.

The paper discusses an initiative with the aim of better supporting assessors of newly qualified social workers; a task of enormous importance to the future of social work practice in England.

The paper contributes to a limited literature on the practice of SMAL. The uniqueness comes from both the multi-organisational aspect of the programme, that it is self-managed and delivered virtually.

The purpose of the paper is to assess the extent to which these practitioners ' perspectives and practices match Willis ' s conception of a Revans “gold standard” of action learning.

This study adopts a qualitative design and methodology based on interviews and the collection of cases or accounts of practice, and upon the analysis of both. This exploratory study draws on 24 cases of academic practice of action learning within higher education (HE) institutions in the UK and 21 cases drawn from practitioners in the UK National Health Service.

Whilst action learning is shown to be a context sensitive and protean methodology, the findings demonstrate that approaches to practice are not as divergent as anticipated. On the evidence of this study, many aspects of action learning practice remain rooted in the principles originally established by Revans, sometimes termed.

The limitations of this study stem from its exploratory nature using small samples in the NHS and HE sectors. Nonetheless, the results could stimulate further empirical research on approaches to the practice of action learning in a range of other contexts.

The study provides a basis on which practitioners can critically reflect on their own professional practices, and a means to review their own purposes in making use of action learning in their work situations.

The study extends earlier research by confirming the persistence of Revans Classical Principles in the present practice across two professional practice contexts.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight some of the issues involved in ensuring that final year undergraduate students have a meaningful WBL experience as part of their business degree. It originated in discussions between the authors concerning varying attitudes towards the idea and practice of WBL in business schools. The study examines examples of artefacts produced for assessment, as well as perceptions of the practice of WBL through an exploration of the perspectives and views of students and employers. Material was also gathered from the reflections of the authors in their capacity as WBL supervisors.

This paper draws on a qualitative research study which used semi-structured interviews to obtain views on a range of issues associated with WBL, including the nature and scope of what is learnt and acted upon in the workplace and the value of the learning contract. The data comprise semi-structured interviews with 13 graduates of a post-1992 UK university and with five employers. The authors also reflect on their experience in delivering the WBL unit.

This study examines some key issues associated with WBL. It supports the idea that unintended, informal and even “tacit” knowledge may be effectively reflected upon and assessed; that learning contracts play an important role in WBL arrangements and do not necessarily restrict or constrain what is learnt or how that learning is developed, and that artefacts provide the bridge between knowledge and work.

Employer feedback was limited, and despite attempting to contact all WBL graduates, only 13 responded and were able to be interviewed. The findings will be helpful to different stakeholders engaged in WBL who wish to develop effective strategies to maximise the benefits of WBL. The findings of this research relate to different elements in the process including the value of the employer-led project and the evidence of real improvements/contributions made in delivering their artefact, of the learning contract as a “live” document and the value of informal, experiential learning in the process.

The findings will be helpful to different stakeholders engaged in WBL who wish to develop effective strategies to maximise the benefits of WBL.

The paper offers a contribution to our knowledge and understanding of perceptions of the actual practice of business students’ WBL.

The following is an annotated list of materials dealing with information literacy including instruction in the use of information resources, research, and computer skills related to retrieving, using, and evaluating information. This review, the twenty‐second to be published in Reference Services Review, includes items in English published in 1995. After 21 years, the title of this review of the literature has been changed from “Library Orientation and Instruction” to “Library Instruction and Information Literacy,” to indicate the growing trend of moving to information skills instruction.

The paper considers gender identities in higher education. It examines how people involved in university life engage in (re)creating gender identities and in (re)producing gender‐related expectations (and stereotypes) of managerial behaviour. The process of construction of feminine identities is explored through the discourses of academics from a UK university (mainly women who hold managerial positions). The paper reports findings from a series of in‐depth interviews with women managers (dean, associate deans and heads of departments) and with university academics (men and women) from a Business School, part of a large British new university. The school was of special interest because women held the majority of senior managerial posts. It appears that the process of construction of femininities is mainly developed around four (stereo‐)typical aspects generally associated with feminine management practices (multi‐tasking, supporting and nurturing, people and communication skills, and team‐work).

This article compares consumer decision‐making styles between Singaporeans and Australians. Utilising Hofstede’s framework, the paper argues that cultural dimensions influence consumer decision making styles. It is essential that managers understand cross‐cultural consumer decision‐making styles to make strategic decisions or effectively handle members of these nationalities. Marked differences were found between the two populations for: brand consciousness, innovativeness and overchoice confusion. The results suggest that some consumer decision‐making styles differ due to consumers’ cultural values. Managerial implications and future research directions are discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of the use of the human resources (HR) intranet at managerial levels in terms of internal customer satisfaction with the HR function.

Using role theory to underpin the research, this study examines both the changing role of managers as well as managers' expectations of the HR function as an internal service provider and HR's use of intranet applications to provide these services. The current literature encompassing ICT, marketing and HR is reviewed and used as a guide for the design of the single case pilot study.

Overall, the results indicate that managers who perceive their expectations as being met, express satisfaction with the HR intranet and record increased satisfaction with the HR function. However, differences of perceptions emerge concerning this satisfaction between HR managers (i.e. suppliers) and other managers (i.e. customers). The findings also indicate that the effectiveness of communication concerning information about new technology (including that of training, marketing, user involvement and feedback) influences managers' perceptions of satisfaction with both the HR intranet and the HR function.

These findings suggest that the intranet can play a powerful part in helping HR to build a closer and more satisfactory relationship with its customers in order to achieve mutual organisational benefit. However, this preliminary study also emphasises the need for further research on the impact and effectiveness of the HR intranet.

This paper begins the process of filling a substantial gap in the literature and provides a framework from which further research can be continued.