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Action Learning for Managers
Mike Pedler, Lemos and Crane, 1996, L7.99, 112 pp.
This short paperback is packed full of goodies. It is shorter than the 112 pages that it claims; chapter 1 starts on page 13 and the index starts on page 107. The downside of that is that it makes the book fairly expensive for a paperback: over 8 pence per page. Moreover, the print is of ample size, well spaced and the publisher has been quite generous with the white space. The upside is that the book can be read quickly. I read it in about two hours, and that includes one hour spent on a train with all the attendant distractions. And I was not skimming, but making plenty of margin notes.
So much for the shortness issue; the other half of my opening sentence says that the book is filled with goodies. Each chapter contains a case study and a resource. Examples of cases include a segment of a transcript of an action-- learning set, the structure of a particular action-learning programme, illustrations or the process of questioning in a set. Examples of "resources" include such items as a questionnaire to diagnose organizational readiness for action learning, design of a half-day conference, and sample ground rules for an action-learning set. Excellent stuffl
The book contains nine chapters, and each chapter is designed to answer a question. A list of those questions will give you a good idea of the scope of the book:
* What is action learning?
* Will it work in my organization?
* What does an action-learning programme look like?
* How does an action-learning...