PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe how, from 2004‐2006, a New Zealand research team experimented with the “change laboratory” learning process to create a new method of government policy development and implementation, referred to as “practice‐making”. The apple industry in Hawke's Bay was chosen because of the level of tension among government agencies and small/medium‐sized firms in the industry, particularly around the scarcity of seasonal labour, amid growing concerns about the possible collapse of the industry.Design/methodology/approachThe team stimulated a cycle of expansive learning among the network of activity systems in the industry. Laboratory participants were growers, labour contractors, pack house operators, quality controllers, horticultural consultants and government officials. The expansive learning cycle is a core concept in developmental work research (DWR) and cultural‐historical activity theory (CHAT).FindingsParticipants created a shared “object” for apple production and its government policy and regulation built around quality, making a substantive shift from adaptive learning to transformational learning, and creating a major redesign of the industry. Many of the new practices are now being implemented in the industry and government.Practical implicationsThe CHAT/DWR approach seems particularly well suited for complex problem solving in any network where there are intractable systems contradictions and a strong desire among participants to make real change.Originality/valueIt is understood that this is the first time a change laboratory process has been used for government “practice‐making” with industry, in contrast with traditional policy development and implementation that frequently does not address systemic problems.

This paper reports findings from five case studies of New Zealand organisations that introduced new initiatives such as TQM and “learning organisation” concepts as a result of facing a business environment of continuous change and uncertainty. The case studies, carried out between 1993‐96, highlight seven crucial limitations in the debate about the appropriate skills for such environments. Research findings also provide: evidence of the core skills that employees and managers need for such environments; and a new paradigm of the critical organisational characteristics, culture and form that facilitate learning in these conditions; and the implications for managers, human resource practitioners and training providers.

The environment in which New Zealand businesses and public agencies operate is volatile, complex and uncertain. Organisations face a wide and competing range of demands. Managers and employees need to collaborate across functions, business units and teams. Practical research approaches are needed to help support them.This paper illustrates how a developmental work research (DWR) approach can support business process improvements and organisational/earning in continuously-changing, complex environments. We present findings from a PGSF study of cross-functional team problem-solving and learning at DHL Worldwide Express in Christchurch between April1997 and June 1998. The study used DWR methods, including analysis of videotaped meetings, developed at the University of Helsinki and the University of California San Diego by Engestrom and his colleagues (1996b).We describe how DWR was used to: analyse a process improvement initiative, or 'problem-trajectory', and how disturbances and tensions within this work activity reveal the underlying contradictions in DHL's operational and training systems; and identify opportunities for comprehensive system innovations that have a marked impact on productivity, efficiency and customer service.

In recent years there has been continuing debate about what skills are needed for New Zealand's competitive business environment. Many commentators talk of a skills crisis, while some academics argue that the skills crisis is a myth. Recent research on workplace reform in seven 'leading edge' New Zealand companies highlights six crucial limitations of the debate. These are a focus on: i) individual skills rather than organisational culture, work design and employment relationships; ii) formal training rather than work-based learning; iii) the skills of school leavers rather than those of managers, supervisors and workers; and iv) technical, rather than organisational and team, skills. The debate also pays inadequate attention to v) how people learn in teams; and vi) the complexity of the current business and policy environment. In November 1993, N7JSR &D commenced a FRST -funded, three-year project on 'Economic Restructuring and Skills Formation' to address these limitations. Based on jive case studies in a range of sectors, the project examines characteristics of enterprises seeking sustainable competitive advantage by operating as a 'learning organisation'; one where the organisational structure itself is an environment for continuing education. Case study analysis is also used to understand the relationship between the company's corporate strategy and skilling process; the core skills required by managers, supervisors and workers, and how these are formed. The purpose of this paper is to outline the project's case study design, explain why this methodology has been selected and examine debates about its validity and utility.