Central to effective open learning is a partnership which recognises the different expertise of both trainer and user. A group of Chinese agricultualrists worked with the British company The Learning Business to develop open learning material for Chinese farmers. One participant, Zu Shien, used this approach to design training on how to increase profits from farming products. Training and franchise agreements Body Shop is a successful British cosmetics company with an expanding network of retail outlets right across the Asia Pacific region. It has developed a unique approach to personnel development which is consistent with its ethos as a business dedicated to the pursuit of social and environmental change.
Staff get half a day off each month with full pay to take part in a local social project.
Personnel at all levels in the organisation work with communities or campaigning organisations, earning goodwill with potential customers, broadening their experience and living out the company's ideals. Body Shop franchises anywhere in the world are obliged to give their staff the same opportunity. Operating environments are being transformed across the world by major shifts that create threats for companies which cannot adapt, opportunities for companies which can. The information revolution, the explosion of entrepreneurship, globalisation, privatisation and deregulation are all testing the ability of managers to adapt to new circumstances. Success in these new environments will depend on investments in new thinking and new ways of learning.