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This thesis proposes a learning systems-based model for the optimum development and transfer of conflict handling skills <i>via</i> Outdoor Management Development (OMD) programmes. Despite a rapid increase in provision for OMD, there is a lack of empirical evidence to support the efficacy of the learning process and transfer to the workplace. Existing research focuses primarily upon the outcomes of courses, rather then the means by which these outcomes may accrue. Accordingly, focusing on this context, the literature on cognitive skill acquisition was used to construct a new framework for analysing the mechanisms of skills learning and transfer. Using the skills of conflict handling as an example, the role of knowledge in skill acquisition was linked to the issue of learning transfer to propose a way in which different methodologies may influence learning outcomes. However, whilst the initial aim was to empirically test this framework, a cursory consideration showed that a large number of factors had to be empirically confirmed before this could be accomplished. Thus in order to assess the applicability of the framework to management development provision, a mixed methods design involving both qualitative and quantitative and inductive and deductive approaches was utilised within the overall research strategy. The earlier stages of the fieldwork focused upon the nature of the conflict handling process and the characteristics of conflict in business contexts. This research provided a basis for investigations into the process of conflict regulation and the knowledge base underlying skills application. The final phase of the fieldwork focused upon the development of conflict handling skills, including perceived provision for conflict handling in OMD. Methods used were content analysis, in-depth semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire survey. A total of five studies were completed.

This thesis investigates issues associated with the economic evaluation of government intervention in the youth labour market. Specifically, it focuses on the evaluation of youth training programmes and assesses the sensitivity of post-programme impact estimates to methodological choices embodied in different non-experimental methods. Relatively high and persistent youth unemployment rates, together with rapidly changing patterns in the demand for skills, demographic change and social exclusion fears, have led to the expansion of government provided education and training opportunities in most modern economies. Moreover, the increased application of ‘active labour market policies’ combined with the desire to maintain international competitiveness has contributed to a greater emphasis on training in most industrial countries. Clearly, the outcome of evaluation research has an important bearing on the course and scale of such intervention and is necessarily an integral part of any active labour market policy. The use of non-experimental techniques in evaluation research has been widely questioned in light of divergent cross-study impact estimates, even when applied to seemingly similar programmes and data together with inconsistencies when compared to estimates derived using experimental techniques and data. This thesis investigates different non-experimental methods used in economic evaluation through the detailed examination of government assisted youth training in Scotland supplemented by an examination of training provision in Australia. The experimental/non-experimental debate is used as a framework to review recent theoretical developments in the evaluation field. The analysis begins with an examination of issues in the youth labour market that have lead to increased levels of intervention. Different evaluation methodologies are then outlined followed by a detailed exploration of the institutional developments in the youth labour markets of both the United Kingdom and Australia. This is complemented by a critical review of the relevant empirical literature focusing on potential sources of cross-study variation in reported impact estimates. A meta-analysis carried out on evaluation studies in the United Kingdom confirms that a substantive part of the variation may be due to the model employed. To investigate this issue in more detail the thesis then employs sensitivity analysis to determine the impact of model choice on a common database. The empirical analysis draws on two distinct longitudinal datasets the Scottish Young Person’s Survey and the Australian Youth Survey and examines initial returns to training in the early 1990s.

Skills are increasingly identified by policy makers as a central means to address social and economic challenges at national and supranational levels. The present study looks specifically at the Greek economy and explores the determinants, nature and extent of skills development in Greek manufacturing SMEs, notably in the textile sector. The research involved three main stages. First, interviews were conducted with high-ranked industrial policy makers in Greece to gain an understanding of the key problems facing Greek manufacturing industry, and to identity the policy measures introduced to promote skills upgrading and industrial competitiveness. The policy agenda was then interrogated `in practice', through complimentary survey and case study research of textile SMEs. The study argues that current policy intervention neglects the workplace and production context in which skills are created and mobilised, which acts to impede the policy agenda of a viable skills strategy. The study reveals that a narrow skills supply strategy is adopted by the Greek government and policy action is based on simple targets for the accumulation of human capital. It is strongly believed by decision makers that publicly-funded boosts to stocks of qualifications will push the Greek economy onto a new, higher skilled, higher value added pathway. Yet, the demand for skills, which appears to be the real problem, is not considered. The research shows that the vast majority of textile employers do not demand a highly-skilled workforce and that formal HRD interventions are not their preferred method of skills development. In contrast, informal learning activities seem to serve as the key vehicle to help Greek SMEs meet their skill needs. This suggests a new agenda for policy intervention. What is being contested in the present study is the tendency by Greek policy makers to depict skills as a panacea for a range of social and economic ills. As such, there is an immediate need for a more open debate about what skills can contribute as part of wider strategies to help improve the economic performance of Greece and the competitiveness of SMEs specifically. VET has a role to play, but its nature, scope and relationship with other policies needs a lot more thought. Greek policy makers need to construct a more sophisticated and integrated approach to developing social and economic policies wherein skills play a part rather than carry the entire weight of policy.

This study examines the dynamics of skill formation through a case study of the UK printing industry. The analysis presents an integrated assessment of the key factors shaping skill demand, supply, acquisition and deployment within the industry. Particular attention is given to the inherited traditions of training provision embedded in the industry’s national training agreement, the production and human resource management (HRM) strategies of employers, trade union policies and concerns, and the role of evolving labour market strategies for the industry. Following an embedded case study design, the study utilises complementary empirical techniques to explore the dynamics of skill formation at the national, local and workplace level. Empirical data are presented on the relationship between restructuring processes, the dynamics of skill formation and firms’ HRM policies and practices. The findings show the way in which investments in training and development are shaped, and influenced, by patterns of industrial and organisational restructuring, and how these processes of restructuring are themselves mediated by national, and local economic and sectoral developments. Whilst the printing industry’s historic structures and mechanisms for skill formation appear to be in a state of atrophy, there is little evidence to suggest that firms are supplanting traditional industry provision with well developed internal labour markets and career paths. At a conceptual level, this study challenges accounts which seek to understand policy debates concerning training interventions and skill upgrading strategies in isolation from the detailed realities of enterprise restructuring within specific firms and industries. The thesis identifies the need for an analysis that highlights the inherent tensions in the training system between capital, labour and the state, and reveals the way processes of skill formation are inserted into, and played out in, the contested environment of the industry, the local labour market and the workplace.

Healthcare systems need strong leadership if they are to be sustainable and responsive to the health needs of the future. It has been suggested that involving clinicians in management has potential to improve performance of healthcare organisations. However, there is very little empirical and theoretical literature about how medical managers conceptualise management or undertake management roles. There has also been very little formal evaluation of the capacity of medical managers as well as their needs for future training. Competency frameworks have been described as offering a common language for describing effectiveness in an organisation and possibly helping to achieve a high level of consistency when assessing performance. There has been a recent surge in the number of international projects studying various aspects of leadership and developing leadership frameworks (including in healthcare) which indicates the interest in understanding and better defining leadership.The aims of the study were first to explore and compare the experiences, leadership and management competencies and development needs of doctor managers in Kenya and the United Kingdom, and secondly to explore the use and the applicability of a leadership competency framework specifically developed for doctors. In order to do this, qualitative interviews were done in the first stage of the study with doctors managing healthcare institutions in Kenya and the UK. In the second stage of the study, a survey questionnaire based on the Medical Leadership Competency Framework (MLCF) 2008 was conducted on doctor managers in the Ministry of Health in Kenya and the NHS in the UK. The survey design also allowed for testing of hypotheses that had been constructed before the data was collected. The two sets of data were analysed together to explore the applicability of the MLCF (2008). The template method was used for qualitative data analysis while appropriate statistical methods in SPSS were used for quantitative data analysis.The findings from the survey data validated the findings of the interviews in addition to providing additional information on the applicability of the MLCF (2008). Doctor managers in Kenya and the UK find the job difficult and stressful. Various reasons for and ways of addressing some of the difficulties were proposed. Some key differences between the two countries regarding the issues making management difficult were identified. The participants reported themselves as competent in leadership and management and related tasks in management to their experiences in patient care. The doctors identified their training and development needs. There was a difference between the two countries as to when to start management training for doctors. Study participants were equivocal on the applicability of the MLCF (2008) and results of the data analysis suggest that competency frameworks may not be very good at assessing doctor managers' skills. The findings from this study have provided a better understanding of the experiences, leadership training development needs for doctors in management and validity of some hypotheses. In addition, they have provided a better understanding of limitations of leadership competency frameworks in healthcare and limitations of self evaluation.

No description available.

The purpose of the study was to try to locate causes of wastage among trainees in the Telecommunications business and suggest improvements in the training of apprentices. A preliminary investigation in this direction examined the system of training and emphasised, in the recommendations put forward to the man.aqement, the necessity to replace the present subjective procedures of assessing trainee proficiency in field work by an objective measure, TRADE TEST. The main study dealt with the designing of the measure - 'Skills Measure'. The report falls into three sections. Section One gives the background· of the organisation in which the study was conducted and the history of testing. The first chapter describes Post Office activities and training in the Telecommunications busiftess. The rest of this section is concerned with the development of Objective and Trade Tests and their application in investigations. Section Two starts witft the preliminary investigation mentioned above and then discusses the methods employed to collect test materials. These include - Observation of trainees and experts at wo~; Participation in the performance of same tasks; examination of documents, handouts and textbooks in use for training; interviews with various grades of people (e.g. students and instructors) in the organisation; job descriptions and job analyses. Test items fram these materials were selected according to set criteria - 'Criticality', 'Difficulty' and 'Frequency' - and related to four classes of knowledge - factual, comprehension, application and simplified analysis - to measure' 'perceptual motor or psychomotor skills, Cognitive objectives and Affective objectives in the experience acquired in field training. The advance test, 'Skills.Measure (written) " was tried out on three experimental and two control groups. The test discriminated well between groups. In the London Telecommunications region, 'Skills Measure (written)' was administered to 296 trainees and 'Skills Measure (practical)', to 276 trainees. In the South East region 64 trainees took the 'Skills Measure (written) " and 63 took the practical. 'Predictive Measure', developed from 'Skills Measure (written) " through item analysis, and improved for identifYing candidates for specialist training, was administered to 154 students in London region. 3 Results and conclusions are considered in Section Three. The Birkbeck tests (Tests 1 to 5) on all round ability, and Test 1 (abstraction), had significant relationships with 'Skills Measure, Part I', (a written test on theoretical engineering knowledge), and 'Predictive Measure' (testing ability for specialist training in engineeri.ng), respectively. A combination of Birkbeck tests 2 and 5, (mechanical comprehension and spatial judgement) was positively related to 'Skills Measure Part II' (practical, assessing practical skills in engineering) • Correlation of Skills and Predictive Measures with course test scores gives some justification to the claim of 'Skills and Predictive Measures' to measure theoretical engineering knowledge. Neither the field and centre instructors' ranking of trainees, nor the Area grades on which so much importance is attached in selection for specialist training, showed any positive relationship with any of the proved objective measures and tests.

No description available.

As Director of Learning for one of the country’s largest training providers I have access to the most senior learning and development professionals in many of the nation’s largest organisations. This access gives me a unique insight into the nature of their major challenges and an understanding of the business drivers that underpin their decision-making. What is becoming very clear is that whilst there is an increasing acceptance of the role of learning in providing competitive advantage, there is also an increasing dissatisfaction with the ability of traditional training methods to supply that need. The result is that organisations are looking for more innovative means of providing access to learning and for clear evidence that the investments they make in training and learning are indeed generating value. Organisations are increasingly committing significant capital investment in their learning programmes and are naturally keen to be able to demonstrate quantitative benefits. But experience shows that the current evaluation models are difficult to deploy and produce little information that is valuable to the operational managers that commission the training programmes. The most recent trend in evaluation has been an attempt to overlay existing models with simple financial justification techniques such as ROI (Return on Investment) calculations. It is my contention that this approach is too simplistic and prone to emphasise cost avoidance rather than increased human capital. The organisations I work with are crying out for an evaluation model that clearly demonstrates the real value generated by their training and learning programmes; a model that can be consistently deployed and one that provides real insight into the effectiveness of their decisions. This research programme grew out of my daily work and a desire to better understand the drivers of value creation in learning programmes. At the outset I envisioned the purpose of this research to be to examine the current state of practice in training evaluation in order to determine what is generally considered to be acceptable evidence of success.