In the first half of Block 3 (Part 6 and Part 7), we have been discussing "knowledge creation theory" and "organizational learning theory" in management studies, keeping in mind their relationship to human resource development. Through this study, we believe that we have been able to organize issues related to human resource development that have emerged through discussions on "knowledge creation theory" and "organizational learning theory.
Based on this, in the latter half of the three blocks (the 8th to 10th sessions), we will focus on "learning methods through practice" to promote knowledge creation and organizational learning.In particular, we will take the "action learning" method as a starting point, summarize the characteristics of the "learning through practice" method used in today's human resource development, and explore its potential and challenges.
The action learning methodology is said to have been practiced by R. Revans in England in the 1940s, who presented its basic concepts (McGill and Beaty, 1992). Since then, this methodology has been used in various forms in the field of human resource development. In the research field of human resource development, there are researchers who are trying to refine the basic concepts and learning process of action learning proposed by R. Levans, and to build their own unique system. For example, M. J. Marquardt (2001, 2004) and M. Pedler (1997a, 1997b) are known as "action learning researchers" in the United States and the United Kingdom, respectively. In general, however, it can be said that the term is often interpreted to mean "learning through problem solving in the real world and programs for that purpose in general," rather than only a form of learning that strictly follows the trend since R. Revans (and is systematized in its own way). In today's corporate education, project-based training and problem-solving training are widely used, which can also be considered to be based on the "action learning" method in a broad sense.
Based on the above, in the 8th through 10th sessions of the Advanced Management Special Theory, we will take "action learning" as a uniquely systematized form of learning as a starting point for discussion, but we will also develop the discussion from there to deepen our consideration of the "relationship between problem solving and human resource development.
Please note that for the second half of the three blocks [8th-10th], the themes "Action Learning," "Systems Approach," and "Critical Approach" are listed respectively, but they are interrelated themes, not independent of each other. What these three methods (or approaches) have in common is an awareness of the mutually constitutive relationship between the activities of "problem solving" and "individual and organizational learning. In the 8th through 10th sessions, we would like you to be aware of this point, and to work through the three sessions as a series of three successive learning sessions.
First, in Session 8: Methodology of Organizational Change (1): Action Learning, we will focus on the "MarCord Way" of action learning as a starting point for discussion. We will review the method advocated by McCord (2001), its aims and methods of implementation, and explore its characteristics as a "learning through practice" method. This is the aim of this study.
In the following "Session 9: Methodology of Organizational Change (2): Systems Approach," we will critically examine action learning from the perspective of "problem solving" as a human resource development methodology. The aim of this session is to organize issues in human resource development activities that utilize the problem-solving methodology (i.e., systems approach).
Furthermore, in the last of the three blocks, "Session 10: Methodology for Organizational Change (3): Critical Approach," we will introduce the perspective of the learning model. After organizing the characteristics of various models of learning activities assumed in the management field, we will further examine the possibilities and challenges of "learning methods through practice.