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This article evaluates the role of drama in management education and development programmes. The drama workshops utilise the methodology developed by Augusto Boal and focus on the issue of empowerment. Participants are engaged in the dramatic process through a series of exercises and role plays. The workshops have been incorporated into three very different programmes: a masters in human resource strategies, a management certificate and a management development programme for women academics. The impact on each of these programmes is described and evaluated and the outcomes of this type of learning experience for management education and development programmes are discussed.

The undergraduate business degree in the Dublin Business School was redesigned in 1988. The degree content and structure were changed to equip business graduates with the knowledge and skills they are likely to need in the 1990s. Subject content has been internationalised and European language options introduced. A Financial Services option has been included and increased emphasis given to computing, communication and innovative skills.

Considers the career profiles of 103 personnel specialists from research carried out in Ireland, in 1989/1990. The study examined education and training, career progression, reasons for working in personnel, membership of the Institute of Personnel Management and the differences in male and female careers. The research indicated that career progress in personnel management is more rapid if the individual is male and in possession of a postgraduate degree. The initial choice of organization may be critical to the type of career experienced. Some personnel specialists will find themselves confined to the resolution of industrial relations disputes or the provision of an administrative support system. For others a career in personnel will offer the opportunity of involvement in a wide range of activities and initiatives. The research indicated that there may be little movement between these two career paths.

This article assesses the impact of a specially designed management development course on the lives and careers of women working in universities as academics and administrators. The programme was designed and run by the authors and emerged from a combination of their research interests and their experience and recognition of the problems faced by women in a university setting. The course extends over two days and provides an opportunity for women to consider a variety of work‐related and personal issues, including the barriers they face and the ways in which these barriers might be overcome. These issues are considered in terms of their own personal development and of the responsibility they must take for this development. The course was assessed by both an immediate evaluation and a follow‐up questionnaire.

Reports on the process by which the undergraduate business degree in Dublin City University Business School was redesigned. Gives a description of the background research which was undertaken as part of the revision process and describes the new programme, which is structured around four elements: core subjects, electives, specialisms and skills. The degree is designed to combine academic rigour with transferable skills and to encourage in students a spirit of enterprise.

The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of organisational restructuring on the devolution of HRM to middle managers in the Irish health service.

The study involved interviews with a cross‐section of 48 HR and line managers in one area of the Irish health service.

Decision making by both HR and middle managers was adversely affected by the increased layers of bureaucracy that had resulted from the restructuring process. HR managers were devolving HR activities but were still retaining control of information systems and this was both slowing down middle management decision making and leading to the creation of new databases by the managers themselves. HR managers were emerging as regulators of HR activities.

The study was conducted in only one area of the Irish health service and with a limited number of respondents.

The study examines the way in which organisational context impacts on the devolution of HR activities to line managers and adds to an understanding of the relationship between HR and middle managers in the devolution of HR activities to line managers.

Reports on the development of a writing skills module for first‐year undergraduate business students in Dublin City University Business School. Details how students complete a series of assignments which aim to improve their writing skills, their understanding of library information systems and their ability to evaluate their own work. Describes the module, which introduces students to both academic and business writing, and they complete an essay, an examination answer, a business letter and an evaluation of a report. Points out that the course is integrated with a computing skills module and students must word process all assignments. Explains that the course has been developed over a number of years and is one of a package of skills which students acquire as part of their undergraduate degree programme.

The aim of this paper is to contribute to understanding the nature of specialist and generalist human capital by exploring the ways in which knowledge workers view their experience of working in specialist and generalist roles in pharmaceutical firms in Ireland and the UK.

The findings are based on interviews with 55 knowledge workers employed in a range of scientific, technical and managerial positions in four Irish and two UK firms located in the pharmaceutical sector. Interviews were also conducted with nine human resource/training and development managers within these six firms.

The findings suggest that the categorisation of human capital as either specialist or generalist is too rigid and does not take account of the fact that individuals may themselves choose to shape their careers by investing in a range of education, training and development opportunities that will enable them to move between specialist and generalist roles.

The paper unpacks the concepts of specialist and generalist human capital from an employee perspective and challenges the sharp distinction that is made between specialist and generalist human capital.

This article considers the role of postgraduate education in the process of management development. The article argues that most management education has to date concentrated on providing managers with a knowledge and understanding of specific organisational issues as defined by academics and that there are few attempts to provide managers with the skills to solve organisational problems as defined by managers. It is suggested that there is a need to rethink the structure and content of management education and that there are opportunities within specialist postgraduate programmes to experiment with new approaches and techniques. The article describes two Masters programmes in Ireland in which attempts are being made to move from a pedagogical to an andragogical approach in teaching and learning. The results to date indicate that there are positive results to be gained from this approach for both managers and lecturers.

Evidence from a survey of the Irish Q Mark companies suggests that there are implications for both the human resource (HR) function and for human resource practices where organizations are involved in the implementation of quality intiatives. In some cases the HR function has taken a role in strategic decision making and responsibility for the communications, training and involvement measures necessary to support the quality programmes. HR practices have also changed in some organizations, with a revision of selection, training and appraisal methods. From the employee’s perspective, quality programmes appear to lead, through teamworking and communications mechanisms, to increased involvement. However, the reporting and control measures allied to quality have the potential to increase the monitoring of work and there is little evidence that reward structures have been revised to take account of changes in work practices.