Developing a service management strategy facilitated by action learning: an empirical study from the UK health & fitness industry

One of the principle tenets of action learning is that it provides the potential to explore and solve complex organisational problems. The question of how best to develop a future business strategy is such a problem. Existing literature on strategy making presents a multi-faceted debate, suggesting that the complexity of competitive environments means that the strategic route forward for many organisations can often be unclear. As a lecturer who teaches strategy at university, I have been intrigued by the ‘Learning Group’ of strategy making (Argyris & Schon, 1974; Quinn, 1980; Mintzberg, 1987; Argyris, 1993, 2004) for some time, as it argues that competitive environments are complex and unpredictable, and therefore, organisational strategies must be reactive and flexible. As a consequence, strategies simply emerge over time, and are characterised by a process of trial and error where individuals and groups within the organisation learn more about the environment they are competing in and how best to take advantage of it.

This paper aims to explore two key questions: firstly, to examine the role that action learning could play in helping strategy makers become more reflective practitioners, and secondly, to explore the use of peer consultancy as a vehicle to enable action learning. This paper presents the findings of empirical research from an action learning project with the Chief Executive of a leading UK service provider of health and fitness. It provides a detailed examination of how a service management strategy was developed in practice and enabled by a process of iterative action, change, reflection and learning.     

Long-term effects of the 11+ warm-up injury prevention programme on physical performance in adolescent male football players: a cluster-randomised controlled trial

This study examined the long-term effects of the 11+ on physical performance in adolescent male football (soccer) players. Eighty-two 14- to 16-year-old male football players (11+ = 42 players, control = 40 players) participated. Teams were randomised to control (CON) and intervention (INT) groups. INT applied the 11+ injury prevention programme for 30 weeks at least twice a week as a warm-up. CON performed their standard warm-up. Motor performance tests were conducted 1 week prior and 1 week after the competition season. We used magnitude-based inferences and linear mixed-effects models to analyse performance test results. INT showed superior results compared to CON in the vertical jump height 7.5% (95%-CI 4.4%, 10.7%), the Bosco 15-s-jump test 7.2% (95%-CI 2.2%, 12.4%), and the Illinois agility test ?2.6% (95%-CI ?4.1%, ?1.1%). Possibly beneficial effects in favour of INT were found in the 9.1 m sprint test ?3.1% (95%-CI ?6.1%, 0.1%). Possibly harmful effects (i.e. in favour of CON) were observed in the dribbling test 2.8% (95%-CI ?0.8%, 6.4%). The 11+ warm-up programme can improve different performance measures in football players. Coaches might implement additional dribbling drills next to the 11+ to achieve improvements observed in dribbling ability when using a regular warm-up programme.     

亚太(中国)金融并购一笔交易四步流程

从北京到班加罗尔,从悉尼到汉城,并购热潮席卷亚太金融服务业.2005年整个亚太地区银行、经纪和保险并购业务总额高达300亿美元,是过去十年来并购频繁程度排名第二的年度.显而易见,强劲的经济增长,颇具吸引力的目标公司价格促使国际投资者蜂拥在亚太金融市场下注.而中国在整个地区表现最为突出.