Ashridge: Shaping an Integrative Approach to Management Development

Abstract

Proposes a framework for gaining a greater understanding of all types of managerial learning which builds upon Gregory Bateson′s (1973) notions of levels of learning. Goes on to discuss a major emergent issue, which has implications for the everyday realities of course content and design, namely a cyclical view of the learning process. As a means of grounding theory in reality, concludes by exploring the rudiments of a particular Ashridge course, which uses this framework extensively to guide its development. Ultimately, the course is guided by the notion of “individually tailored learning”.