This paper explores the background to and process of quality circles as well as the implications of circles for training. In the first section, the emergence and growth of quality circles in Japan and the United States are traced. Next, the theoretical and conceptual bases of quality circles are examined, while section 3 looks at implementation in…

One promising practice for improving workplace preparation, apprenticeship, has been effective in preparing skilled workers for the changing needs of the workplace. Apprenticeship is a training strategy with eight components: it combines hands-on training on the job with related instruction; employer needs dictate programs; it is regulated by law;…

Although large companies are more apt to provide training than smaller companies are, size is becoming less of a predictor of training than complexity of the environment, degree of market competition, and internal makeup of the company. The increasingly technological nature of the workplace has prompted many small businesses to increase their…

The growing interest in human resources development (HRD) is a response to the increasingly competitive business environment which, in turn, has been shaped by such forces as the emergence of global competition, the quickening pace of technological innovation and the reduction of federal regulations in some industries. This monograph seeks to…

This document examines the current state of workplace learning within the context of the changing workplace of the late 20th century. The document begins with an overview of the evolution of employer-dominated training from Taylorism to the rise of human resource development during the late 1970s and 1980s. The development of the concepts of…