This book, the first to address issues of reflection in the context of work, is an accessible entry point into the theory and practice of work reflection for students and practitioners. Consisting of contributions from diverse range of international authorities in the areas of management, education, organizational psychology and sociology, it draws on examples from work settings in Europe, the Middle East, North America and Australia. Identifying the importance of reflection at work, this book traces it from an emphasis on training, through a focus on how organizations learn, to a concern with the necessary learning that needs to occur for organizations and work groups to operate effectively. It emphasizes productivity combined with satisfying lived experience of work life, and points the way to a new collective focus on learning at work that moves away from an individual one and critically mirrors the current context of production in workplaces.

This book, the first to address issues of reflection in the context of work, is an accessible entry point into the theory and practice of work reflection for students and practitioners. Consisting of contributions from diverse range of international authorities in the areas of management, education, organizational psychology and sociology, it draws on examples from work settings in Europe, the Middle East, North America and Australia. Identifying the importance of reflection at work, this book traces it from an emphasis on training, through a focus on how organizations learn, to a concern with the necessary learning that needs to occur for organizations and work groups to operate effectively. It emphasizes productivity combined with satisfying lived experience of work life, and points the way to a new collective focus on learning at work that moves away from an individual one and critically mirrors the current context of production in workplaces.

Europe's work force is subject to a dual convergence process: from the transnational spread of new management practices and from the political force of European Union. Trade union rights, hours of work, working practices and training provisions are all being subjected to these twin pressures. This text assesses both the convergent and divergent developments taking place at both pan-European and cross-national levels. Comparisons of British and French retailing, German and Italian manufacturing jobs, German and British youth training schemes and small business strategies of Britain, France and Italy show simultaneous elements of convergence and national specifity.