Purpose--The purpose of this paper is to increase understanding of how the introduction of a team-based work organization can affect the opportunities to learn at work. Two research questions are addressed: "What conditions are important for learning and competence development in a team-based work organization?" and "To what extent…

Purpose: All workplace learning takes place under specific temporal conditions. In fact, one learns in order to be better equipped to deal with future challenges. At the same time, learning is always embedded in previous experiences. Thus, the notion of time needs to be theoretically integrated into organization and workplace learning. This paper…

Purpose--What is required of job design and production planning, if they are to result in a work group taking a self-starting approach and going beyond what is formally required of it? This paper aims to contribute to group research by testing a theoretical model of relations between job design on the one hand (captured as completeness, demand on…

To demonstrate the impact of planned learning on company performance, direct relationships between training and systematic job performance improvements were observed. Results were used to refine Kirkpatrick's four-level evaluation model with an intermediate level 3.5 (performance impact) between levels 3 (behavior) and 4 (results). (Contains 29…

The Knowledge and Learning in Advanced Supply Systems (KLASS) project developed collaborative learning networks of suppliers in the British automotive and aerospace industries. Methods included face-to-face and distance learning, work toward National Vocational Qualifications, and diagnostic workshops for senior managers on improving quality,…

Purpose--In an empirical study learning opportunities were identified. Learning opportunities are enablers or disablers for the achievement of shared understanding. Design/methodology/approach--Actors were interviewed about their communication process. The learning history method was used to analyze and structure the data. From the learning…

Purpose: This paper investigates the specialist learning undertaken in graphic design classrooms and its relationship to industry practices. It considers how well students are prepared for work and the nature of this vocational preparation. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is based on an empirical study using a qualitative, case study…

Purpose: This article investigates the reasons for collaboration and the barriers to cooperation between universities and industry organizations. In an increasingly integrated world, cooperation between universities and companies is likely to grow in forthcoming years. Design/methodology/approach: The approach taken in this article differs from…

Purpose: This paper seeks to provide an empirical insight into the facilitation dilemmas for conversational learning in a project team environment. Design/methodology/approach: This paper is an outcome of a participative action research process into the dynamics of situated learning activity in a case study project team. As part of their…

Purpose--This article outlines the experience and approach of an Australian university in developing and managing education program partnerships within industry. Design/methodology/approach--Describes how the university has established a specialist Strategic Partnerships unit for managing the customisation and delivery of postgraduate award…

Epistemological beliefs are fundamental assumptions about the nature of knowledge and learning. Research in university contexts has shown that they affect the ways and results of student learning. This article transfers the concept of epistemological beliefs on workplace learning. The basic assumption is that employees epistemological beliefs…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe how, from 2004-2006, a New Zealand research team experimented with the "change laboratory" learning process to create a new method of government policy development and implementation, referred to as "practice-making". The apple industry in Hawke's Bay was chosen because of the…

Purpose--The purpose of this work is twofold. First, the vagueness of e-learning terminology is explored as a premise that the uncritical use of language reflects uncritical approaches to e-learning. North American practitioner literature is then reviewed to examine the way(s) in which e-learning vocabulary and metaphors reveal the attitudes and…

Purpose: This study considers the recently established higher vocational education reforms with Swedish advanced vocational education (AVE) and Finnish polytechnics in terms of organisational structure, the design of workplace learning, and furthermore, what kind of practical implications these new models of learning at work have resulted in.…