For several decades, management educators have discussed the difficulty of accommodating the competing values of academic rigor and organizational relevance. Only a few articles, however, consider approaches for integrating theory and practice in educational programs for working managers. Building on 15 years of experience in executive education, this article presents an approach grounded in experiential and action learning, which combines personal learning and organizational action without compromising academic standards. The following educational practices are discussed and evaluated: reflection reports, personal learning contracts, roundtable examinations, live cases, action-oriented thesis work, and organizational knowledge theaters. Taken together, the approach constitutes a powerful program design to address multiple learning loci and combinations of reflection and action, albeit one with considerable challenges and difficulties, as the authors discuss.
Barnett, M. ( 2007). (Un)Learning and (mis)education through the eyes of Bill Starbuck: An interview with Pandora’s playmate. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 6, 114-127.
2.
Boal, A. ( 1992). Games for actors and non-actors. London, England: Routledge.
3.
Boal, A. ( 1995).The rainbow of desire: The Boal method of theatre and therapy. London, England: Routledge .
4.
Boyatzis, R.E. ( 1994). Stimulating self-directed learning through the managerial assessment and development course. Journal of Management Education , 18, 304-323.
5.
Coopey, J. ( 2007). Theatre in management and organization development. A critique of recent trends. In M. Reynolds & R. Vince (Eds.), The handbook of experiential learning & management education (pp. 169-186). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
6.
Cunliffe, A.L. ( 2004). On becoming a critically reflexive practitioner. Journal of Management Education, 28, 407-426.
7.
Daft, R.L., & Lewin, A.Y. ( 2008). Rigor and relevance in organization studies: Idea migration and academic journal evolution. Organization Science, 19, 177-183.
8.
Dahlgren, J., Söderlund, J., & Tell, F. ( 1996). The New Zealand Project: Risks, roles and relations in an international project (PMEX Live Case). Linköping , Sweden: The International Graduate School in Industrial Management and Engineering, Linköping University.
9.
Dehler, E., & Edmonds, R. ( 2006). Using action research to connect practice to learning: A course project for working management students. Journal of Management Education, 30, 636-668.
10.
Flyvbjerg, B. ( 2006). Five misunderstandings about case-study research. Qualitative Inquiry, 12, 219-245.
11.
Gallos, J.V. ( 2008). Charting a new course for the scholarship of management teaching and learning. Journal of Management Education, 32, 535-540.
12.
Gherardi, S., & Piggio, B. ( 2007). Tales of ordinary leadership: A feminist approach to experiential learning. In M. Reynolds & R. Vince (Eds.), The handbook of experiential learning & management education (pp. 155-168). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
13.
Ghoshal, S. ( 2005). Bad management theories are destroying good management practices. Academy of Management Learning & Education , 4, 75-91.
14.
Hatton, N., & Smith, D. ( 1995). Reflection in teacher education: Towards definition and implementation. Teaching and Teacher Education, 11, 33-49.
15.
Holman, D., Pavlica, K., & Thorpe, R. ( 1997). Rethinking Kolb’s theory of experiential learning in management education: The contribution of social constructionism and activity theory. Management Learning, 28, 135-148.
16.
Hyde, P. ( 2007). Integrating experiential learning through "live" projects: A psycho-dynamic account. In M. Reynolds & R. Vince (Eds.), The handbook of experiential learning & management education (pp. 291-306). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
17.
Jönsson, S. ( 1995). Goda utsikter: svenskt management i perspektiv [Good prospects: Perspectives on Swedish management]. Stockholm , Sweden: Nerenius & Santérus Förlag .
18.
Kachra, A., & Schnietz, K. ( 2008). The Capstone strategy course: What might real integration look like? Journal of Management Education, 32, 476-508.
19.
Kayes, A.B. ( 2007). Power and experience: Emancipation through guided leadership narratives. In M. Reynolds & R. Vince (Eds.), The handbook of experiential learning & management education (pp. 363-375). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
20.
Kayes, D.C. ( 2002). Experiential learning and its critics: Preserving the role of experience in management learning and education. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 1, 137-149.
21.
Kolb, D. ( 1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
22.
Kolb, A.Y., & Kolb, D.A. ( 2005). Learning styles and learning spaces: Enhancing experiential learning in higher education. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 4, 193-212.
23.
Magnusson, T., & Johansson, G. ( 2000). GTX 100: Environmental demands as a driving force for innovative product development (PMEX Live Case). Linköping , Sweden: Linköping University.
24.
Marsick, V., & O’Neil, J. (1999). The many faces of action learning. Management Learning, 30, 159-176.
25.
Mintzberg, H. ( 2004). Managers not MBAs: A hard look at the soft practice of managing and management development. San Francisco, CA : Berrett-Koehler.
26.
Mintzberg, H., & Gosling, J. ( 2002). Educating managers beyond borders. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 1, 64-76.
27.
Moon, J. ( 1999). Reflection in learning and professional development. London, England: Kogan Page.
28.
Moon, J. ( 2004). A handbook of reflective and experiential learning: Theory and practice. London, England: RoutledgeFalmer.
29.
Mumford, A. ( 1996). Effective learners in action learning sets. Employee Counselling Today, 8(6), 3-10.
30.
Nonaka, I., & Takeuchi, H. ( 1995). The knowledge creating company. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Olausson, D., & Berggren, C. ( 2010). Managing uncertain, complex product development in high-tech firms In search of controlled flexibility. R&D Management, 40, 283-399.
33.
Pavlovich, K., Collins, E., & Jones, G. ( 2009). Developing students’ skills in reflective practice . Journal of Management Education, 33, 37-58.
34.
Pfeffer, J., & Fong, C.T. ( 2002). The end of business schools? Less success than meets the eye. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 1, 78-95.
35.
Raelin, J., & Coghlan, D. ( 2006). Developing managers as learners and researchers: Using action learning and action research. Journal of Management Education, 30, 670-689.
36.
Reynolds, M. ( 1999).Critical reflection and management education: Rehabilitating less hierarchical approaches. Journal of Management Education , 23, 537-553.
37.
Reynolds, M., & Vince, R. (Eds.). (2007). The handbook of experiential learning & management education. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
38.
Rhodes, C., & Garrick, J. ( 2003). Project-based learning and the limits of corporate knowledge . Journal of Management Education, 27, 447-471.
39.
Schön, D.A. ( 1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. New York, NY: Basic Books .
40.
Shareef, R. ( 2007). Want better business theories? Maybe Karl Popper has the answer. Academy of Management Learning & Education , 6, 272-280.
41.
Tranfield, D. ( 2002). Future challenges for management research. European Management Journal, 20, 409-413.
42.
Tushman, M., Fenollosa, A., McGrath, D., O’Reilly, C., & Kleinbaum, A. ( 2007). Relevance and rigor: Executive education as a lever in shaping practice and research. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 6, 345-362.
43.
Van de Ven, A. ( 2007). Engaged scholarship. New York, NY : Oxford University Press.
44.
Van de Ven, A., & Johnson, P.E. ( 2006). Knowledge for theory and practice. Academy of Management Review, 31, 802-821.
45.
Varner, D., & Peck, S. ( 2003). Learning from learning journals: The benefits and challenges of using learning journal assignments. Journal of Management Education, 27, 52-77.
46.
Watson, C., & Temkin, S. ( 2000). Just-in-time teaching: Balancing the competing demands of corporate America and Academe in the delivery of management education. Journal of Management Education, 26, 763-777.
