Do organizations manage continuing professional development?

Abstract

Seeks to provide an organizational perspective on continuing professional development (CPD). Information was collected from 22 organizations in South Wales through a combination of questionnaires and semi‐structured interviews about how organizations attempt to manage the professional development of staff. The overall conclusion is that CPD is managed in a rudimentary and haphazard fashion, even in organizations which recognize the significance of development and are supportive of it. Argues that the absence of developmental objectives and policy statements makes it difficult to reconcile professional development activities with business objectives. Organizations collect little data about sponsored CPD, and this inhibits effective evaluation. The major focus of CPD remains the external course rather than the effective management of a learning environment at work. The responsibility for CPD tends to be vested in line managers, who appear to have development needs of their own to meet if they are to manage effectively the development of others.