Learning through work experience: an investigation into the ways in which UK managers learn at work with special reference to the National Health Service

A summary of 21 key points covering the concepts and ideas
concerning managerial learning at work of Professor Alan
Mumford was produced. The 21 points were used to design a
questionnaire around 4 headings; Learning Needs, Human and
Organisational Development, Learning Opportunities and Management of Learning.
The questionnaire was used together with a 2 part interview
to verify Mumford's hypothesis in 3 Health Districts with a
sample of 60 managers. The research was in two stages, a pilot and a main study.
The writings of Mumford were compared with other studies and
writing in the field of managerial learning at work, the link
between effective learning and effective management, the
importance of learning how to learn, the concept of learning
as a process and methods of promoting learning in the work
place.
The results were analysed by Database III. Analysis showed
that the Mumford hypothesis was generally true in the context
of the sample, though there were important variables such as
location of staff, type of discipline and, in some cases, age of the respondent.
The research suggested that there is considerable scope to
promote actively the use by managers of learning opportunities latent in day-to-day work. Possible initiatives are positive policies which promote a learning environment with self-directed learning and personal learning plans.