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Developing managerial learning styles in the context of the strategic application of information and communications technologies
Author(s) -
Holtham Clive,
Courtney Nigel
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
international journal of training and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.558
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 1468-2419
pISSN - 1360-3736
DOI - 10.1111/1468-2419.00119
Subject(s) - bespoke , context (archaeology) , extranet , knowledge management , face (sociological concept) , public relations , business , marketing , psychology , computer science , sociology , political science , world wide web , paleontology , social science , the internet , intranet , advertising , biology
This article reports on collaboration between a research university and a consortium of leading public and private sector organisations to enable their senior executives ‘to get our arms around this thing called IT’. The project started in 1995 and ran for almost four years. The learning materials were developed with the participants at face‐to‐face meetings mediated by group decision support software. The initial requirement for paper‐based out‐puts was soon augmented with bespoke software, CD‐ROM and online databases accessed via an extranet and then an interactive website. An action research approach was used to observe and measure the effectiveness of a theoretical model – the Executive Learning Ladder. During one 12‐month period, 50 events involved 561 executives. Analysis of the results indicated that sense‐making was accelerated when conducted within peer‐groups before being ‘cascaded’ to less experienced managers. Senior executives preferred metaphors that triggered connections whereas their subordinates tended to display an appetite for extensive case study portfolios. The report concludes with a discussion of the successes and failures of the Executive Learning Ladder and its potential as a generalisable model for executive development in the ICT domain.