Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemManagers perceptions of workplace learning( 1999)This thesis sets outs the post-industrial organisation as the learning context in which the manager manages. By highlighting the set of skills that is required of the post-industrial manager it then examines how the manager learns these in the course of daily work. This was achieved by conducting interviews with a limited range of managers who are employed by the same retailing company but work across two store locations. What is apparent is that the successful manager needs to be able to respond to the emotionality of the workplace by having well honed 'people' skills of which communicability is uppermost. It was found that the 'people' skills were not only the hardest to learn but also contributed to the definition of the successful manager. The thesis also establishes that managers learn to manage in and through the workplace experiences of managing thereby supporting the contention that learning is fundamentally a socialisation process which occurs within a specific context and, within that, the most meaningful individual learning is, indeed, experiential. Learning to manage is very much about dealing with 'people' issues and, in this respect, the experiences of trial and error, then reflection, are the manager's teacher.
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ItemLearning organisations and their educational impact in a corporate environment( 1995)This thesis is a study of learning organisations and their educational impact in a corporate environment. It provides an overview of the theory of organisational learning, and of learning organisations and describes several models of learning organisations. The important principles of holism and explicitness are established. Examples of learning organisation practices in overseas enterprises are compared with two case studies of Australian organisations which are aspiring learning organisations. These practices are then critically reviewed leading to the development of a new model for learning organisations, based upon 'empowered leadership', which explains holism and explicitness in detail. It concludes by addressing the issue of what learning organisations provide educationally, using the emerging prominence of 'life-long learning' as a focus.
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ItemThe effectiveness of review planning at the University of Adelaide( 1995)This study investigates the response of academic staff in two faculties (A and B) to the implementation of a new performance appraisal scheme termed Review Planning at the University of Adelaide. Review Planning requires academic staff to participate in annual discussions with their head of department or senior colleague regarding their current work performance and their individual goals for the next 12 month period particularly in relation to professional development. These sessions are designed to create conditions under which staff motivation is enhanced and to assist heads and staff with strategic planning for their departments. Review Planning was introduced to all staff of the University in 1991 and is a condition of the Australian Universities Academic Staff (Conditions of Employment) Award (1988). Most staff have participated in the process at least once but until now no formal review has taken place to explore the response of staff to the implementation of Review Planning. The findings of this study provide a useful comparison with the work of other writers in the field of appraisal from both the private and public sectors. Some contrasts can also be made with studies of related schemes operating within higher education institutions in Australia and overseas. Faculties A and B were chosen because they are both large containing numerous departments and provide contrasts in gender discipline funding and staffing. A quantitative approach to this study was chosen over other qualitative methods as it seemed the most appropriate given the large size of the sample population and the relatively short time frame in which to work. A survey was conducted through use of a questionnaire which was circulated to all academic staff of the two faculties. It was anticipated that there would be some differences in response to the implementation of the scheme at the faculty level or on the basis of gender but no meaningful differences were found Instead an overall view of the response of staff from the two faculties was gained. The key findings of this study show that most full time academic staff have participated in Review Planning and many have found the interviews to be a positive experience. However staff and heads do not yet see a clear link between Review Planning and longer term strategic planning. Staff believe that there are few opportunities and limited resources available for professional development and this affects their motivation. Training materials are viewed as being helpful to staff in their preparations for Review Planning but workshops have not been well attended. Heads of departments generally agreed that Review Planning is a demanding and time consuming role for which training is required.
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ItemA Review of the changes necessary to ensure the successful implementation and maintenance of a competency based training and assessment program into the Australian Customs Service( 1995)This review examines the changes necessary to to ensure the successful implementation of competency based training and assessment into the Australian Customs Service as recommended by the "Review of the Australian Customs Service and Australian Customs Service - Report of the Consultancy for a Human Resource Development Plan" completed in November 1993.
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ItemThe evaluation of training( 1990)The focus of this study is on program evaluation as it applies to training and development initiatives in a large Australian organisation. The purpose of the study was to investigate an evaluation methodology that could be built in to a training program to provide information about the program's effectiveness and its impact on the target population in order to make decisions about program improvement, expansion, or termination. The trends in program evaluation that were applied in this area included contributions from the work of Michael Scriven who proposed a needs based evaluation as opposed to goals based evaluation, Bob Brinkerhoff who proposed a six stage model based on the Action Research process, and Michael Patton who focused attention on the information needs of program stakeholders, amongst others. Development of an evaluation process and methodology based on the Action Research process was achieved through research into three separate training and development programs implemented in the Broken Hill Proprietary Company Ltd over a four year period.
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ItemThe influence of accelerating technological change on staff development within a specific department of a TAFE college( 1984)In this thesis the influences of rapidly accelerating technological change on staff development practices and requirements within TAFE college have been investigated. Although the investigation is directly related to one specific department, which is particularly influenced by rapidly changing technology, a broad-based review of literature covering the various aspects of technological change, TAFE and its changing role,and the generally accepted phases of staff development,was found to be necessary. From this review of literature specific implications have been drawn. To relate these implications, drawn basically from theoretical literature, to the practical requirements of a teaching department, a descriptive case study, involving the department and its teaching staff members was conducted, the relevant data collected and analysed. From the review of literature and the analysis of the departmental data a series of conclusions have been drawn and recommendations made. Finally, to complete the exercise, an integrated development programme for the department has been proposed.
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ItemAdvancement for women in organizations: a training perspective( 1980)This thesis will attempt to add a practical case history to the growing body of literature on special 'In-house' training programs for women. A special training program for women was designed and implemented in the South Australian Public Service as part of that organizations' overall Affirmative Action Plan to effect Equal Opportunity. The literature review (Chapter I) determines and explores the nature of the barriers women experience at work today and considers the alternatives in overcoming them from an 'In-house' training perspective. A complex interplay of internal barriers within the woman herself and external barriers created by the organization is offered as an explanation of the real problem women are facing at work today. 'In-house' training, amidst other 'Equal Opportunity' strategies which are designed to take account of the whole organization system, is offered as a partial solution to the problem under consideration. An exploration of the nature of the 'In-house' training which should be offered by the organization is then undertaken. In this regard the case 'for' and 'against' special training programs for women is presented; the former position being advocated by this writer. As this 'Women in Organizations Workshop' program was one of the first of its kind developed in Australia an attempt has been made to detail the history of the development of the program and consider the question 'why' it was developed and implemented in the South Australian Public Service in 1977. A modern Administrative Theory, known as 'Systems Theory' has been used as the conceptual framework for this historical analysis which is contained in Chapter II. Chapter III also uses the conceptual framework of 'Systems Theory' to detail the actual 'Women in Organizations Workshop' program content, design and its management by the two women lecturers of the Training and Development Branch of the Department of Further Education in South Australia. The 'Women in Organizations Workshop' program, being a pilot program, was evaluated by various groups throughout 1977 and 1978 (Chapter IV). The Occupational Psychology Branch of the Public Service Board of the South Australian Public Service undertook a rigorous, formal evaluation of the program. This Branch represented the major client of the workshop program. They interviewed a substantial proportion of the workshop participants, two months after the completion of the program. A 'significant incident' method was employed which required interviewers to state whether they had employed skills, knowledge and attitudes gained in the workshop, at their workplace by recalling a specific situation. The two women lecturers' evaluations of the program are then detailed, these being both formal and informal. A final evaluation is given, that-of the Review Committee established in 1978 to evaluate the overall Training and Development activities of the Training and Development Branch of the Department of Further Education. All evaluations conducted of: the program considered it as a great success. Finally, a conclusion (Chapter V) is given which offers recommendations as to the value of this experiment conducted in the South Australian Public Service. Congruent with the research it is argued that currently, special 'In-house' training programs for women are viable and necessary given their current status in the workforce. However these programs are of an essentially short-run duration (approximately 5 to 10 years). An 'Androgynous Management Style' is offered as the future management model to be utilized in all management training programs. The total organization is then considered from a 'Systems Theory' perspective; strategies to implement Equal Opportunity, apart from (or in addition to) 'In-house training' are mentioned.
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ItemConfucian confusion: a western analysis of the efficacy of contemporary workplace training methods in a multicultural environment( 1999)This research investigated the extent to which experiential training techniques are appropriate for use with multicultural groups by testing an assumption that a dissonance exists between the perception of training efficacy assumed by "Western" adult education methods, and the concomitant perceptions of training participants of Asian/Confucian background. Data relating to the research question was collected through a process of interpersonal interviews with adult educators working in Victoria and from focus groups involving people of Confucian background who have participated in workplace based training. The responses of the two groups were compared and contrasted. The research found that significant difference of perception exists between the two groups. The research identifies opportunities to render training programs more culturally inclusive through adaptations to program structure, processes, attention to learning styles, the level of interpersonal interactivity and the training environment. The research proposes that we are often unaware that our accepted notions and most ethically based intentions are often blinkered by our subconscious cultural socialisation. The implications of these findings are significant for those who have the responsibility to design, implement and coordinate workplace education and training. The research concludes with suggestions for changes in practice and recommendations for future research.