Evaluative Inquiry for Learning in Organizations [Hardcover]

Hallie Preskill (Author), Rosalie T. Torres (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0761904530 | ISBN-13: 978-0761904533 | Publication Date: October 20, 1998 | Edition: 1

How does evaluative inquiry contribute to organizational learning? How can we practice evaluative inquiry in ways that maximize individual and team learning? This book provides a data-based approach to organizational learning and change and focuses on the use of evaluative inquiry processes with organizations rather than across large-scale, multi-site programs. It contains four illustrative case studies, interview extracts, strategy plans and flow charts, diagrams and advice boxes that consultants can use for implementing their own training and development sessions.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I would encourage anyone with an interest in building the evaluation capacity of the organizations within which they work to carefully consider the content of this book." 

(Jean A. King Evaluation and Program Planning )

About the Author

Hallie Preskill, Ph.D., is a Professor of Organizational Learning and Instructional Technologies at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.  She teaches graduate level courses in program evaluation (introductory and advanced), organizational learning, consulting, and organization and training design, development, and delivery.  She coauthored Evaluative Inquiry for Learning in Organizations (Preskill & Torres, 1999), Evaluation in Organizations: A Systematic Approach to Enhancing Learning, Performance & Change (Russ-Eft & Preskill, 2001), Evaluation Strategies for Communication and Reporting: Enhancing Learning in Organizations (Torres, Preskill & Piontek, 2004), and Building Evaluation Capacity: 72 Activities for Teaching and Training (Preskill & Russ-Eft, 2004). Preskill also coedited Using Appreciative Inquiry in Evaluation (Preskill & Coghlan, New Directions for Evaluation #100, 2003) and the Human Resource Development Review (Russ-Eft, Preskill & Sleezer, 1997). She has served on the Board of Directors of the American Evaluation Association and the Academy of Human Resource Development and is the section editor of the Teaching Evaluation column in the American Journal of Evaluation.  She received the American Evaluation Association’s Alva and Gunnar Myrdal Award for Outstanding Professional Practice in 2002 and the University of Illinois Distinguished Alumni Award in 2004.  For over 20 years, she has provided workshops and consulting services in the areas of program evaluation, training, and organization development.  She has also written numerous articles and book chapters on evaluation methods and processes, and has conducted program evaluations in schools and health care, nonprofit, human service, and corporate organizations.  

Rosalie T. Torres, Ph.D. is President of Torres Consulting Group, an evaluation and management consulting firm that specializes in the feedback-based development of programs and organizations.  Formerly, she was the Director of Research, Evaluation, and Organizational Learning at the Developmental Studies Center (DSC), an educational, nonprofit organization based in Oakland, California. She earned her Ph.D. in research and evaluation in 1989 from the University of Illinois.  Over the past 27 years, she has conducted more than 60 evaluations in education, business, health care, and nonprofit organizations, holding both internal and external evaluator positions.  She has authored/coauthored numerous books and articles articulating practice-based theories of evaluation use; the relationship between evaluation and individual, team, and organizational learning; and communicating and reporting evaluation findings.  Among them are Evaluative Inquiry for Learning in Organizations (Preskill & Torres, 1999) and Evaluation Strategies for Communicating and Reporting: Enhancing Learning in Organizations (Torres, Preskill, & Piontek, 1996).  She is a recent past Board Member of the American Evaluation Association, and served as the Staff Director for the 1994 revision of the Joint Committee’s Program Evaluation Standards.  She has taught graduate level research and evaluation courses at Western Michigan University and the University of Colorado (Denver and Colorado Springs campuses), and routinely conducts workshops on various topics related to evaluation practice.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: Sage Publications, Inc; 1 edition (October 20, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761904530
• ISBN-13: 978-0761904533
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,284,291 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Evaluation from a new, more powerful perspective!, May 19, 1999

By 

Executive coach (Hong Kong) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Evaluative Inquiry for Learning in Organizations (Paperback)

This book presents a convincing case for changing the purpose and methodology of organizational evaluation. The old 4-stage Kirkpatrick model may have been fine for the industrial age, but in the era of knowledge, globalization and learning organizations, it is no longer valid or valuable. Evaluative inquiry is the road to the 21st century.

1 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding! The place to start in creating a learning org., December 6, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Evaluative Inquiry for Learning in Organizations (Hardcover)

The first book to link evaluation practice with the notion of organizational learning. This book provides both a theoretical and practical approach to addressing compelling evaluation issues.