How to shape positive relationships in medical practices and hospitals

Managing workplace conflict is one of the most important, stressful, and time-consuming tasks faced by today's medical leaders. Poorly managed workplace conflict can alienate patients, demoralize staff, increase turnover, damage relationships with valued referral sources and third party carriers concerned about patient satisfaction, and lead medical practices to costly "corporate divorces." Physician executives cannot solve the problems caused by disruptive doctors simply by bolstering their own conflict management skills or by policing offenders. The larger contexts within which inappropriate workplace behavior occurs must also be assessed and addressed. The true leadership challenge is to intervene in ways that help to foster a "culture" of appropriate interpersonal dynamics throughout your organization. This requires learning to think and to intervene systematically.     

An evaluation of social learning and learner outcomes in a massive open online course (MOOC): a healthcare sector case study

ABSTRACT

This paper responds to calls for new inquiries into the use of technology in HRD. We examine how, and to what extent, social media tools contribute to learner experiences and learner outcomes in an HRD intervention in a workplace context. We analyse qualitative and quantitative data relating to a massive open online course (MOOC) in a healthcare sector case study setting. We examine the interaction between the MOOC programme, social learning through social media tools and learner outcomes. The results of our evaluation show that usage of social media tools does not significantly affect knowledge outcomes but social media usage enhances affective outcomes. We conclude that social media tools can foster productive social learning processes. We also find evidence of some reluctance to engage with the technologies and declining patterns of interactivity using social media over the duration of the MOOC programme. We conclude that a more nuanced theorization to take account of personal and professional workplace context is necessary to explain how learners regulate their engagement with social media tools and the effect of social technologies for sustained social learning in HRD interventions.     

Activity-based blended learning

As part of the trend towards blended learning, the Open University of Shell International Exploration and Production is shifting from predefined content-based learning to activity-based learning grounded in learners' actual workplace problems. This article acts as a case study by describing key design principles adopted by the organization and also describes how the shift addressed courses that served multinational participants. Data are provided on the learning activities in thirty-seven courses redesigned in 2002 (covering nearly 300 separate learning activities). The article concludes with some comments on work that still needs to be done as well as key implications for practitioners in other organizations.     

The impact of gendered power relations in HRD

This study examined how gender and power influence the interpersonal relationships among human resource development (HRD) managers. Specifically, the study focused on the workplace experiences of HRD managers and the strategies they used to negotiate their day-to-day interactions. A qualitative approach was used to examine respondents' experiences as well as the social contexts that framed their workplace relationships. Five female and five male HRD managers were interviewed using critical incident techniques to explore specific workplace interactions. Two major conclusions of the study indicated that the experiences of female and male respondents regarding the exercise of power were profoundly different and that the strategies used by respondents generally reflected the gendered contexts of power.     

Workplace learning strategies,barriers, facilitators and outcomes: a qualitative study among human resource management practitioners

Recently the role of human resource management (HRM) practitioners has become more professionalized and more strategic. Consequently, HRM practitioners have had to develop new competencies in areas such as change management, influence and technology. Workplace learning, which is important for professional development, is examined for 13 HRM practitioners in government, healthcare, post-secondary education and business organizations in the Halifax Regional Municipality area. Of particular interest were learning strategies, barriers to and facilitators of learning and outcomes of learning. To obtain rich data, practitioners were interviewed face to face using an interview guide. Results indicated that these practitioners are mostly similar to other professional groups in terms of workplace learning, with a few key differences. The similarities and differences are presented, and implications of these findings for HRM practitioners and future directions for research are discussed.     

The nature of learning being facilitated by frontline managers

This article, which is based on research conducted at five Australian organizations, explores the role frontline managers play in promoting and facilitating learning at work, an area in the field of workplace learning and human resource development that has not been extensively researched. This article provides a brief review of the literature, outlines the theoretical framework and research methodology and design utilized and presents the research findings and a brief discussion. The results of this study suggest that frontline managers, who were considered leaders of learning within their respective organizations, take an instrumental approach to leading employee learning, that is, learning is seen largely as a mechanism for getting work done. Additional evidence suggests that some frontline managers provide a more expansive learning environment through the purposeful creation of conditions for learning for their employees, beyond the immediate focus on learning, simply for the purpose of getting the work done. A further finding is that much of what frontline managers do in the promotion and facilitation of employee learning is deeply embedded in the idea and practice of being an effective manager. It is hoped that the findings will provide guidance to human resource development and frontline managers in shaping learning at work.     

Job resources and emotional exhaustion: The mediating role of learning opportunities

The Job Demands-Resources model predicts that job demands increase and job resources decrease emotional exhaustion in employees. In this study, we investigated one possible mechanism for this, in order to provide a deeper insight into the role of job resources in this energy-depletion process. We assumed that job resources (autonomy and task variety) reduce emotional exhaustion through the promotion of opportunities for personal growth and development, especially workplace learning. Moreover, we expected that job demands (workload, cognitive and emotional demands) would be positively related to work-related learning opportunities. Our research model was tested in a large and heterogeneous sample out of the Dutch working population (N = 4589), following a cross-validation procedure. Multi-group structural equation modelling revealed that autonomy and task variety promoted learning opportunities, which in turn partially mediated between these job resources and emotional exhaustion. With respect to job demands, our study showed mixed results: cognitive demands promoted learning opportunities, workload frustrated such opportunities, and emotional demands were not significantly related to learning opportunities. Our results contribute to a better understanding of the interplay between job demands, job resources and learning opportunities in the energy-depletion process, and support the need for the promotion of learning opportunities in the workplace.     

Open sourced organizational learning: implications and challenges of crowdsourcing for human resource development (HRD) practitioners

As the value of organizational learning as a source of competitive advantage has become increasingly evident, human resource development (HRD) practitioners may face stronger demands to develop training more quickly and efficiently and increase rates of training transfer. One approach is to externally source organizational learning. In using this approach, it may be important for HRD practitioners to both develop training to engage external participants while utilizing organization development solutions to help internal employees adjust to the change. By examining the impact of open sourced and crowdsourced organizational learning on HRD practitioners, it is hoped that HRD practitioners may engage in informed workplace learning practice, even as the nature of the employment contract changes.     

A Step in the Right Direction? Investors in People and the Learning Organization

Investors in People (IiP), the state‐sponsored workplace training initiative, has been interpreted as a tool which managers can apply towards developing a learning organization. In this paper we seek to evaluate the validity of this claim on the basis of a qualitative study of six case‐study organizations which explores the social and micro‐political aspects of IiP from the viewpoints of senior managers, personnel and line managers and employees involved with the standard. We suggest that implementation of IiP involves negotiating a central paradox – the tension between the hard, content‐focused nature of the IiP framework and the softer, process‐focused nature of much workplace learning. In particular, the administrative aspects of implementation associated with the standard can obscure the social processes of sense‐making and collective negotiation of meaning, which are integral aspects of organizational learning. This can lead to an objectification of learning and may not allow for the participatory negotiation of meaning crucial to forming a community of practice. IiP continues to form a central part of the British government’s workplace learning agenda and it is now also being developed as an international standard. We conclude, however, that this institutionalization of practice has the potential to inhibit organizational learning.     

‘First,get to know them’: a relational view of organizational socialization

An important episode in workplace learning is the socialization of newly hired people into the organization. Typically, the literature conceptualizes the socialization of new employees as a learning process whereby the newcomer is responsible for learning to fit into the organization. This perspective seems to underestimate the social influences of co-workers and managers. Research and theorizing on social exchange and interpersonal relationships identify the quality of relationships between members of a group as a fundamental factor moderating the quality and outcomes of other interactions related to learning and work. This paper presents the findings of a recent study of organizational socialization experienced by new engineers recently hired into a large, global manufacturing company based in the US. Results of this qualitative case study explore and explain the socialization process from a relational perspective providing compelling evidence that relationship building is a primary driver of the socialization process in organizations.     

Learner Engagement: A New Perspective for Enhancing Our Understanding of Learner Motivation and Workplace Learning

Abstract

Organizations invest millions of dollars in workplace learning programs to develop human capital for competitive advantage. The effectiveness of workplace learning programs is directly linked to learner motivation. However, we contend that our current understanding of learner motivation and workplace learning is limited by the tendency to conduct research based on the traditional instructional system design model and the limited adoption of organizational behavior theories to guide such research. We propose that studying workforce learning from a psychological engagement perspective is necessary to gain a better understanding of learner motivation and subsequent knowledge and skill acquisition. We review studies of learning methods and contextual factors that likely influence learner engagement. We propose a research agenda focusing on six directions for future research.     

Dynamic collaboration between small- and medium-sized enterprises from highly dissimilar markets

Emerging markets have created significant opportunities for European small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Highly dissimilar market contexts compared to traditional markets and missing resources present substantial barriers to successfully serve those markets. Collaborative partnerships with local SMEs can help to overcome the barriers. Knowledge on how SMEs can develop lasting collaborative relationships in highly dissimilar contexts is scarce. This research investigates which factors influence the stability of more informal collaborative partnerships of Central European SMEs with SMEs located in China. A qualitative analysis of four cases confirms the importance of complementarity of partner resources, working well together based on mutual trust and commitment, shared sensemaking, and the balanced consideration of partner interests. Mutual learning and adaptation in iterative steps to enhance shared sensemaking and seeing differences in interpretation and behavior arising from contextual dissimilarity as opportunities instead of threats turn out to be SME-specific factors essential for building stable informal collaborative relations.     

Conceptualizing reflection in experience-based workplace learning

This paper seeks to understand key dimensions of reflection in experience-based workplace learning for research being collaboratively undertaken by scholars in Dutch and US research institutions. We systematically explore and compare Tara Fenwick’s analysis of five perspectives on cognition to distinguish among constructivist, psychoanalytic, situative, critical-cultural, and enactivist perspectives on reflection. Our aim is to examine how to conceptualize reflection so that one or more perspectives can complement our understanding of learning through experience at work. We position reflection not only from a practical but also from a theoretical perspective that moves beyond the individual focus of the constructivist perspective. Fenwick’s five perspectives are described in terms of whether and how reflection is utilized, key activities in the process of reflection, relative focus on the individual and/or the context, triggers for reflection, role of power and positionality, role of emotions, and reflection outcomes. We conclude that adding other lenses to the dominant constructivist perspective helps expand our understanding of reflection as well as identify and attend to other tools, people, and factors in the work situation that influence reflection processes and learning outcomes. The paper closes with a discussion of promising new approaches that have emerged since Fenwick’s analysis.     

Human resource development practice: the paradox of empowerment and individualization

The main objective of the current paper is to point to the dualistic nature of HRD practice: employee empowerment strategy juxtaposed with high levels of individualization. HRD practice contributes to a series of dualities in organizations such as flexibility vs. loyalty, commitment vs. individualization and responsibility vs. alienation. The paper will argue that current HRD strategies have an individualistic role rather than an interactive and interpersonal influence for better knowledge sharing and organizational learning. The research implies that HRD should change its interventions in terms of how the individual is conceptualized to make knowledge actionable in social contexts to create favourable conditions for knowledge sharing and organizational learning.     

Processes of senior managers' sensemaking and learning in a transitional economy

The purpose of this paper is to use sensemaking and learning theory to gain insight into how senior Ethiopian managers are coming to terms with radically different political and economic forces. These theories have developed in mature Western contexts and a further purpose is to test their applicability in an African context. The methods employed were detailed data gathering in five cases using semi-structured interviews and documentary analysis. The research found that senior managers in the five enterprises constructed very different sense-making patterns about the business environment and about appropriate business strategies depending on the degree of market or state dependency which they perceived. The analysis also reveals how these actors reflected upon the implications of their sense-making for their own and their organizations' future learning and capability development.     

Responsible leadership development – crucible experiences and power relationships in a global professional services firm

There is increasing consensus that Human Resource Development (HRD) has a central role to play in promoting the principles and practices of corporate responsibility (CR). An important HRD intervention involves developing responsible leaders able to attract support for CR throughout the organisation, but empirical research is lacking in this area. This article contributes to the theoretical and practical knowledge of responsible leadership development (RLD) by addressing two questions: first, how does RLD engender learning that goes beyond basic cognitive awareness? Second, what affects participants’ abilities to manifest this learning in the workplace? A review of the RLD literature reveals a ‘knowing-doing gap’, which, it is posited, may be linked to a lack of theorisation around power. This issue is investigated by means of a case study on a responsible leadership development programme run by a professional services firm. Drawing on Bourdieusian concepts of language and power, the study reveals some of the mechanisms that inspired new socially responsible values whilst also demonstrating some of the contextual barriers inhibiting their manifestation in the workplace. It is argued that HRD professionals need to engage with Bourdieusian ideas of language and power to promote deeper learning around responsible leadership, which can more easily be embedded into the workplace.     

我国企业学习取向的初步研究

组织学习取向的研究有助于理解和改善组织学习过程,从而提升组织学习能力。实证研究得出我国企业有五个学习取向:知识来源、学习效果、学习幅度、学习投入、传播形式。我国企业在各个学习取向上都不太极端,都采取比较折衷的学习方式;但是也存在着比较偏重于内部开发知识、渐进式的学习取向、侧重群体学习的特点。我国企业学习风格可以称之为不断改良型和实践共同体型(community of practice:即非正式的、集体学习实践)。     

Exploring the effects of workplace support on work-life experience: a study of Malaysia

To date most studies of workplace support and work-life experience have been of contexts where government policies and legislation to protect employee work-life balance interests are well established, such as US, UK, and other European countries. Little scrutiny has been given to these issues in less developed economies, where support and protection in terms of work-life policies and legislation at the national level is rather limited. Malaysia, the setting of this study, provides such a context. Two types of organizational support, work flexibility and superior support, are studied for their impact on work-life experience of Malaysians. The findings of this study are based on a national survey of working adults in Malaysia. Work-life experience is conceptualized to capture conflict and enrichment aspects, as well as bidirectional effects between work and nonwork. Results show that work flexibility and superior support lower work-life conflict marginally but facilitate greater work-life enrichment among Malaysians. The paper also draws out implications of these findings for human resource development professionals operating in workplace settings within national contexts with limited mandatory work-life provisions.     

Short‐Run Subsidies and Long‐Run Adoption of New Health Products: Evidence From a Field Experiment

Short‐run subsidies for health products are common in poor countries. How do they affect long‐run adoption? A common fear among development practitioners is that one‐off subsidies may negatively affect long‐run adoption through reference‐dependence: People might anchor around the subsidized price and be unwilling to pay more for the product later. But for experience goods, one‐off subsidies could also boost long‐run adoption through learning. This paper uses data from a two‐stage randomized pricing experiment in Kenya to estimate the relative importance of these effects for a new, improved antimalarial bed net. Reduced form estimates show that a one‐time subsidy has a positive impact on willingness to pay a year later inherit. To separately identify the learning and anchoring effects, we estimate a parsimonious experience‐good model. Estimation results show a large, positive learning effect but no anchoring. We black then discuss the types of products and the contexts inherit for which these results may apply.     

Not more learning logs! A research based perspective on teaching reflective learning within HR professional education

The challenges of teaching reflective learning, whilst not peculiar to the HR profession, assume a poignancy given HR's claim to be the natural custodians of ‘all things learning’. The paper discusses the impact of attempts to enhance the reflective learning curriculum within one professional HR programme. Tensions in terms of the positioning of reflective learning within a predominantly functionalist management curriculum can, in part, be ameliorated. Developing a capability amongst students for reflective dialogue and careful construction of assessment work, for example, can enhance engagement with reflective learning rather than simply ‘knowing’ about it. More problematic is impact beyond the classroom. Research revealed ambivalence in respect of transfer and significance beyond the specifics of the professional programme. HR graduates need a capability that extends beyond individual reflective learning and into creating and supporting reflective learning in organizations. Herein lies the distinctive and fundamental challenge facing tutors of reflective learning within HR professional education.