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This paper reports on the value of the HR Professional Group at NHS Digital. A partnership between an academic researcher and an HR practitioner was adopted to bring together organizational knowledge with extant research. The study examined the lived experiences of members of the HR Professional Group in relation to social learning activities. Thirteen interviews were conducted with members of the HR Professional Group. A thematic analysis was undertaken on the resultant narratives. Three key themes emerged from the analysis. These were: strategic direction and ownership; professional identity and knowledge sharing; reflection and transfer of learning. The findings suggest professional groups offer a means of developing an expert learning community through the integration of research, practice, reflection, and knowledge sharing. By offering development beyond current job roles it contributes to talent development within the organization. Drawing on the findings, a model is proposed for professional groups which offers both development for the existing groups at NHS Digital and a template for HRD practitioners wishing to develop professional learning communities in their organizations. The proposed outcomes relate both to action for the organization and a contribution to knowledge in this field.

That reflection is part of the HRD academics’ continuing professional development is a powerful rhetoric. But to what extent are we guilty of hypocrisy? Inspired by the title and theme of the conference ‘HRD: Reflecting upon the Past, Shaping the Future’ this paper seeks to make a critically reflective statement on our own practice as HRD academics teaching and researching reflective practice. Researching ‘practising what we preach’, in the context of reflective practice, raises difficult questions but offers the potential for valuable insight into the HRD academics’ professional practice.

Against a backdrop of public sector cuts, increasing university fees and high youth unemployment, we are facing challenges in Higher Education to demonstrate the value of our courses. Assessing the value of learning, however, is not straight forward. This paper reports on a study of evaluation processes on a post-graduate, professionally accredited diploma delivered at a selection of post 1992 universities. The driver for the study was a concern that current evaluation processes do not fully demonstrate the value of the course nor take into account the needs of multiple stakeholders. The project included benchmarking University evaluation processes and conducting a dialogue with stakeholders. The study adopted a qualitative management research approach, involving: a review of current practice, comparison with a sample of equivalent courses, and consultation (in the form of focus groups and semi-structured interviews) with a sample of students and employers. The paper discusses findings and proposes recommendations for future evaluation procedures in the design of an ‘educational scorecard’ for the course. Kaplan and Norton’s ‘balanced scorecard (1996) concept was adapted to provide a mechanism to represent and balance the needs of different stakeholder groups in the education process. We argue that we cannot truly assess accountability and comparability without engaging a range of stakeholders, not only in soliciting their views on the outcome of the learning but also in the design and implementation of evaluation processes. The ‘educational scorecard’ presented in this paper is developed specifically for the post-graduate diploma in Human Resource Management (PDHRM) at Leeds Metropolitan University and the report concludes with some initial reflections on the benefits of adopting the scorecard methodology The proposed model is flexible and may be adapted for other HE institutions and courses.

Addressing organisation politics is problematic in all parts of the management curriculum. It alludes to the dark side of organisational life and requires engagement with contentious issues of power and interest. Yet, at the same time, it potentially provides a critical perspective or window through which a richer understanding of management can be achieved. Set in this context it provides a challenge for curriculum and associated professional development. This paper reports upon a research based teaching and learning initiative undertaken in the context of one branch of management, human resource development, and considers its application for other professions. The initiative sought to raise the profile of the politics of HRD within the curriculum. The paper discusses the research undertaken to generate teaching material and how we have subsequently deployed this research within a process of curriculum development. Outcomes are discussed at two levels. First, conventionally, in terms of our use, for example, of a number of depth case studies within the curriculum. Secondly, in terms of the impact of the initiative upon our own self development and professional practice. It is in respect of the latter where we lay claim to more 'benefits'; though questions are raised about the ease with which such benefits may be transferred into curriculum and professional development in higher education management teaching more generally.

This paper addresses the role of learning in assisting voluntary sector organisations achieve their organisational objectives. Specifically it seeks to develop a platform from which to position necessary research in order to understand the link between how learning is organised, managed and delivered within voluntary sector organisations and its impact upon performance. The paper is thus a step towards a more robust theoretical and evidential understanding of a relatively under-researched domain of HRD practice.

This paper presents our sense-making of the learning that has occurred during a collaborative research partnership. The concept of ‘communities of practice’ and a discourse perspective on learning and identity inform the paper. Our collaboration originated in a conversation and a concern which brought us together. This concern focused on our unease with current approaches to teaching and assessing reflective practice. We agreed to undertake a collaborative research project and in 2014 we received a Researcher Development Grant from the British Academy of Management (BAM). Our teaching and research interests are aligned in that we teach and research reflective practice at a variety of levels, from undergraduate to Doctoral level. We would consider ourselves to be reflective practitioners and collaborating on the BAM research project provided an opportunity to turn the critical lens on ourselves; as educators and researchers. In doing so we were aware of the gap identified by Bell & Thorpe (2013:105) that: ‘despite elaborate theorising, there is relatively little published research in which reflexivity, or even reflection appears to be practiced to any significant extent’. Our aim in this paper, and the conference presentation, is to contribute to this gap by sharing our reflections of participating in this research collaboration.

There can be few business schools in Britain that have not been influenced by a discourse holding that reflective practice on behalf of managers provides real value to the organisation in which they operate. Influenced by high profile cases of management failings (both ethically and organisationally) the impact on the management curriculum has been significant. Reflection is now enshrined in most professional and postgraduate management programmes. Anderson (2003), for example, argues that critical reflection is a ‘hallmark’ of Masters level management education, whilst authors such as Gray (2007) and Reynolds (1998) see a management curriculum embracing reflection as indicative of a more critical curriculum, challenging the traditional, functionalist orientation, with its emphasis on the transmission of knowledge. That reflective practice should feature prominently within the management education curriculum is a position supported by bodies such the British Academy of Management, the Association of Business Schools, the Association of Management Education and Development as well as many of the quasi professional bodies who purport to promote the education and continuing professional development (cpd) of their member managers (e.g. Chartered Management Institute, Charted Institute of Personnel and Development, Charted Institute of Management Accountants etc.).

Despite a strong discourse promulgating the individual benefits and organisational value of reflective activity within management education, there is a lack of empirical data to show that teaching managers reflective processes, in an academic context, has long term and definitive benefits to a majority of learners. Our recent research endeavours sought to engage key participants in a discourse about issues and engagement with reflective practice in order to better understand the different perspectives. As arguably the most influential stakeholder group in determining teaching strategy for reflective practice, our focus here is on ‘faculty’, namely those responsible for managing and teaching reflective practice on professional CIPD accredited HRM programmes. The aim is to generate an enhanced understanding of the tensions of teaching reflective practice to HRM students, in order to better support the transfer of this learning to the workplace and everyday practice. The investigation involved 3 stages: an analysis of the approach of three institutions; a workshop with 48 participants at the CIPD Centres Conference 2013; and 25 explorative open-ended questionnaires. The findings raise questions about the requisite outcomes and expectations of different stakeholders in the teaching of reflective practice. One common theme throughout the analysis is an acknowledgement of the challenges involved in engaging and assessing a diverse range of students in an equitable and ethical way. Finally, the paper raises a number of important questions for future research in this area.

Threshold concepts have received considerable attention in the literature since their development by Meyer and Land (2003), but while there has been some interest in relation to their applicability to management and business disciplines, this has been limited and threshold concepts have yet ‘to significantly impact the field of management education (Hibbert and Cunliffe 2015). The aim of this paper is to explore the extent to which reflective practice can be considered as a threshold concept, with the scope of the study being graduate students who participated in postgraduate programmes in Human Resource Management and Development. The discussion draws on data from eighteen interviews with HR professionals who had undertaken a Masters or Postgraduate Diploma in HR at one of three participating universities. The findings show that the concept of ‘threshold’ is highly relevant to reflective practice and demonstrates that reflective practice in the broadest sense can offer considerable value to postgraduate management students in relation to supporting their learning of both the technical and behavioural elements of their studies. Furthermore the findings can offer deeper insights into the integration of formal teaching processes on reflective practice.

Does HE based teaching of reflective practice transfer into management practice in the workplace? This paper reports on research addressing this question. Initially the research is set in context. Extensive theorising, conceptual debate and discussion on a problematic curriculum have not been matched with empirical data about reflection as part of managing. Interviews with eighteen HR professionals provide the data upon which initial findings are drawn. Management practice is influenced by their professional programme and, in the main, reflection is an important element of perceived change. For some transfer appears restricted to instrumental practice. For others, however, a more complex picture emerges; one where glimpses of criticality are evident but where the link to the formal teaching of reflection is less straightforward. This, together with factors influencing the reflective landscape observed, warrant further analysis as a precursor to consideration of curriculum implications