scholarly journals Learning from incidents: applying the 3-P model of workplace learning

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria L. Murphy ◽  
Allison Littlejohn ◽  
Bart Rienties
Keyword(s):  
Informal Learning ◽  
Workplace Learning ◽  
Near Miss ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Front Line ◽  
Open Communication ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Line Staff ◽  
Context Learning

Purpose Learning from incidents (LFI) is an organisational process that high-risk industries use following an accident or near-miss to prevent similar events. Literature on the topic has presented a fragmented conceptualisation of learning in this context. This paper aims to present a holistic taxonomy of the different aspects of LFI from the perspective of front-line staff. Design/methodology/approach The 3-P model of workplace learning was used to guide a thematic analysis of interview data from 45 participants, exploring learner factors, learning context, learning processes and learning products. Findings The analysis was used to create a taxonomy of 21 aspects of learning, grouped into themes using the 3-P model of workplace learning. Many of the aspects of learning reflected previous literature, such as the importance of open communication. The analysis additionally demonstrated the interconnected nature of organisational and individual level learning, as well as how formal resources are needed to support informal learning in this context. Originality/value This study presents a holistic taxonomy of LFI from the perspective of front-line staff, addressing a known challenge of LFI literature being fragmented. Additionally, it provides examples of how aspects of organisational learning would influence individual-level learning and vice versa, adding to the relatively sparse number of studies that have explored this aspect. Finally, the paper highlights how informal learning in contexts where workers continually need to make sense of unseen hazards depends on formal learning activities and resources.

Firm size and workplace learning processes: a study of the restaurant sector

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (2/3) ◽  
pp. 305-320
Author(s):  
Daniel Bishop
Keyword(s):  
Informal Learning ◽  
Human Resource Development ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Workplace Learning ◽  
Firm Size ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Structured Learning ◽  
Individual Choice ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper asks how workplace learning environments change as firm size increases, and how employees respond to this. In doing so, it looks beyond an exclusive focus on formal training and incorporates more informal, work-based learning processes. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a comparative, qualitative research design, using semi-structured interviews with an under-researched group of workers – waiting for staff in restaurants. The data were collected from six restaurants of different sizes. Findings As formally instituted human resource development (HRD) structures expand as firm size increases are more extensive in larger firms, this leaves less room for individual choice and agency in shaping the learning process. This does not inevitably constrain or enhance workplace learning, and can be experienced either negatively or positively by employees, depending on their previous working and learning experiences. Research limitations/implications Future research on HRD and workplace learning should acknowledge both formal and informal learning processes and the interaction between them – particularly in small and growing firms. Insights are drawn from the sociomaterial perspective help the authors to conceptualise this formality and informality. Research is needed in a wider range of sectors. Practical implications There are implications for managers in small, growing firms, in terms of how they maintain space for informal learning as formal HRD structures expand, and how they support learners who may struggle in less structured learning environments. Originality/value The paper extends current understanding of how the workplace learning environment – beyond a narrow focus on “training” – changes as firm size increases.

scholarly journals Learning opportunities in rheumatology practice: a qualitative study

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 282-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margit Saskia Neher ◽  
Christian Ståhl ◽  
Per Nilsen
Keyword(s):  
Informal Learning ◽  
Workplace Learning ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Daily Practice ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Work Processes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Rheumatology Practice

Purpose – This paper aims to explore what opportunities for learning practitioners in rheumatology perceive of in their daily practice, using a typology of workplace learning to categorize these opportunities. Design/methodology/approach – Thirty-six practitioners from different professions in rheumatology were interviewed. Data were analyzed using conventional qualitative content analysis with a directed approach, and were categorized according to a typology of formal and informal learning. Findings – The typology was adjusted to fit the categories resulting from the analysis. Further analysis showed that work processes with learning as a by-product in general, and relationships with other people in the workplace in particular, were perceived as important for learning in the workplace. The use of many recognized learning opportunities was lower. Barriers for learning were a perceived low leadership awareness of learning opportunities and factors relating to workload and the organization of work. Research limitations/implications – The generalizability of results from all qualitative inquiries is limited by nature, and the issue of transferability to other contexts is for the reader to decide. Further studies will need to confirm the results of the study, as well as the proposed enhancement of the typology with which the results were categorized. Practical implications – The study highlights the importance of relationships in the workplace for informal learning in rheumatology practice. In the clinical context, locally adapted strategies at organizational and individual levels are needed to maximize opportunities for both professional and interprofessional informal learning, taking the importance of personal relationships into account. The findings also suggest a need for increased continuing professional education in the specialty. Originality/value – The workplace learning typology that was used in the study showed good applicability to empirical health-care study data, but may need further development. The study confirmed that informal workplace learning is an important part of learning in rheumatology. Further studies are needed to clarify how informal and formal learning in the rheumatology clinic may be supported in workplaces with different characteristics.

scholarly journals Co-designing tools for workplace learning

2020 ◽  
Vol 121 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 175-205
Author(s):  
Sebastian Maximilian Dennerlein ◽  
Vladimir Tomberg ◽  
Tamsin Treasure-Jones ◽  
Dieter Theiler ◽  
Stefanie Lindstaedt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Informal Learning ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Technology Enhanced Learning ◽  
Cognitive Tools ◽  
Formal Learning ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Design Decisions ◽  
Content Type

Purpose Introducing technology at work presents a special challenge as learning is tightly integrated with workplace practices. Current design-based research (DBR) methods are focused on formal learning context and often questioned for a lack of yielding traceable research insights. This paper aims to propose a method that extends DBR by understanding tools as sociocultural artefacts, co-designing affordances and systematically studying their adoption in practice. Design/methodology/approach The iterative practice-centred method allows the co-design of cognitive tools in DBR, makes assumptions and design decisions traceable and builds convergent evidence by consistently analysing how affordances are appropriated. This is demonstrated in the context of health-care professionals’ informal learning, and how they make sense of their experiences. The authors report an 18-month DBR case study of using various prototypes and testing the designs with practitioners through various data collection means. Findings By considering the cognitive level in the analysis of appropriation, the authors came to an understanding of how professionals cope with pressure in the health-care domain (domain insight); a prototype with concrete design decisions (design insight); and an understanding of how memory and sensemaking processes interact when cognitive tools are used to elaborate representations of informal learning needs (theory insight). Research limitations/implications The method is validated in one long-term and in-depth case study. While this was necessary to gain an understanding of stakeholder concerns, build trust and apply methods over several iterations, it also potentially limits this. Originality/value Besides generating traceable research insights, the proposed DBR method allows to design technology-enhanced learning support for working domains and practices. The method is applicable in other domains and in formal learning.

The impact of the Greek economic recession on workplace learning

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 345-358
Author(s):  
Stavros Papakonstantinidis
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Informal Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Workplace Learning ◽  
Economic Recession ◽  
Economic Recovery ◽  
Business Success ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The paper aims to examine the impact of the Greek economic recession on workplace learning. Specifically, it surveys the views of Greek business professionals regarding whether workplace learning could be used as a competitive advantage in achieving business success. Design/methodology/approach The paper follows a qualitative research method and discusses the findings of semi-structured interviews with professionals in various industries in Greece. Findings This study provides evidence of an overall reluctance to adopt formal learning strategies. Although hiring and retaining the best talent at work is seen as a competitive advantage, Greek professionals do not attribute success to formal workplace learning. Instead, digitalization of informal learning becomes essential for acquiring new knowledge. Social implications In the first few years of Greece’s economic recovery, companies aim to keep their budgets low in anything that seems luxurious and ultimately unnecessary. The paper discusses some implications of the implementation of digitalized informal learning in business. Originality/value This study is the first to explore how Greek professionals from various business sectors and managerial levels view workplace learning during the initial years of the country’s economic recovery.

Using action learning to reduce health inequity in Danish municipalities

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 194-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Paldam Folker ◽  
Sigurd Lauridsen
Keyword(s):  
Health Services ◽  
Social Service ◽  
Action Learning ◽  
Health Inequity ◽  
Front Line ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Disadvantaged Groups ◽  
Line Staff ◽  
Socially Disadvantaged ◽  
Municipal Health

Purpose The aim of this study is to clarify how action learning can be used as a vehicle for promoting equal access to municipal health services for socially disadvantaged groups in a Danish context. It is the purpose of this paper to describe the methods for reducing health inequity developed in the study and to discuss how action learning methodologically contributed to achieving these results. Design/methodology/approach In the study, the front-line staff from 19 health and social service units in six different municipalities, in Denmark, each formed an action learning group to develop methods for reducing health inequity in a municipal health setting. Each group was guided by an external facilitator, according to an Action Learning Action Research phase model (ALAR-model), which structured the cyclical development of methods into four phases: diagnosing, planning action, taking action and evaluating action. Findings Two types of results of the study are reported in the paper. First, the authors present an overview of the results the 19 participating municipal units have achieved in their action learning processes, as well as two case examples of how two units have worked with action learning and the concrete methods and tools they have developed in this process. Second, they report the challenges and dilemmas the 19 units faced when working with action learning in the study. Originality/value With its use of action learning techniques and the ALAR-model, this study contributes to the development of practice-based methods to reduce unequal access to municipal health services for socially disadvantaged groups. Through the study, the front-line staff in the health and social service units has been involved in the problem-solving process, to a much greater extent than it has previously been adopted in a Danish municipal health setting.

The importance of engaging in workplace learning

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 25-27
Keyword(s):  
Informal Learning ◽  
Workplace Learning ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Middle Managers ◽  
Formal Learning ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Pertinent Information ◽  
Informal Settings ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach – This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings – Despite organizations spending billions of dollars each year on formal learning, >70 per cent of learning in the workplace is informal. Employees are constantly picking up additional skills, knowledge and ideas in informal settings. This article identifies the informal learning activities and learning processes that middle managers find most useful in their work and careers. Practical implications – Provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations. Social implications – Provides strategic insights and practical thinking that can have a broader social impact. Originality/value – The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

Consumer preferences for gender typicality in front-line services staff in the United States vis-à-vis South Korea: an experimental approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (8) ◽  
pp. 1839-1864
Author(s):  
Andrew Timming ◽  
Chris Baumann ◽  
Paul Gollan
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Experimental Design ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Consumer Preference ◽  
The United States ◽  
Consumer Spending ◽  
Front Line ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Gender Typicality ◽  
Line Staff

Purpose This study aims to examine how variations in the perceived gender (a)typicality of front-line staff impact on consumer spending. Gender typicality is defined here as traditionally masculine-looking men and feminine-looking women, whereas gender atypicality, in contrast, refers to feminine-looking men and masculine-looking women. Design/methodology/approach Using an experimental design, the authors use simulated consumption scenarios across two separate studies, one in the USA and the other in South Korea. In each study, the authors investigate main and interaction effects in relation to front-line employees’ race (white vis-à-vis Asian) and baseline gender (originally male vis-à-vis originally female). Findings Across the two studies, consumers spent more money with gender-typical female front-line staff or, alternatively stated, less money with more masculine-looking female front-line staff. The effect of the male service staff was more complicated. In both countries, the authors found a significant consumer preference for gender-atypical (i.e. more feminine-looking), Asian male employees, compared to more masculine-looking Asian men. Research limitations/implications The experimental design strengthens claims of not only good internal validity but also weakens the generalizability of the findings. Field research is needed to explore these effects in various workplaces and sectors. The authors also acknowledge the limitations of operationalizing the gender (a)typicality of front-line staff by manipulating facial structures. Future research should manipulate gender (a)typicality using sociological and performative indicators. Practical implications The authors contribute to ongoing debates surrounding the legality and ethics of regulating employee appearance in the workplace. Employers must consider whether this type of “lookism” is legally and morally defensible. Originality/value This is, to the knowledge, the first-ever study to examine the effect of front-line employee gender non-conformity on consumer behavior and decision-making. The authors show how variations in perceived gender (a)typicality can, variously, promote or retard consumer spending. The study is original in that it shifts the debate from traditional studies of between-gender differences to a focus on within-gender differences. The key value of the research is that it shines a much-needed light on the changing role of gender in the workplace.

Social interactions and workplace learning

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 31-33
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Informal Learning ◽  
Workplace Learning ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Reading Time ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Heterogeneous Firms ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Pertinent Information ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings Businesses that place strong emphasis on workplace learning become better positioned to succeed. Social interactions play a critical role in enabling the informal learning identified as an important aspect of learning overall. Leaders should therefore design tasks to enable such interaction which can become more significant still within culturally heterogeneous firms. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

Sense of community and job satisfaction among social and health care managers

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 228-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mai-Stiina Lampinen ◽  
Elina Annikki Viitanen ◽  
Anne Irmeli Konu
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Sense Of Community ◽  
Middle Managers ◽  
Linear Regression Analysis ◽  
Front Line ◽  
Health Care Managers ◽  
Open Communication ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Care Managers

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify how the factors associated with sense of community at work are connected with job satisfaction among the front-line managers and middle managers in social and health-care services in Finland. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire prepared for this study was sent to 241 social and health-care managers (front line and middle managers) in Finland. A total of 136 of managers responded to the survey (response rate was 56 per cent). Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis and multiple linear regression analysis. Findings – Alongside job meaningfulness, open communication and good flow of information within the organization, sense of security provided by close relationships at work and managers’ own superiors’ appreciation of their leadership skills all are related to managers’ job satisfaction. Originality/value – The study adds to our understanding of factors which are connected to the job satisfaction among social and health-care managers’. The findings of this study can be used in the development of leadership to support managers in coping at work.

Insights from a Bourdieusian lens

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adeline Yuen Sze Goh
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Training ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Workplace Learning ◽  
Training Programme ◽  
Practical Significance ◽  
Theoretical Point ◽  
Legitimate Peripheral Participation ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Trainee Teachers

Purpose – This paper aims to extend the workplace learning literature by conceptualising the relationship between college-based and workplace learning, through critically examining how trainee teachers learn when they enter an initial teacher training programme. Design/methodology/approach – This paper draws on the findings of a completed research study which explores how individuals learn to become a vocational and technical teacher (VTE) in Brunei. The research comprises a qualitative study of a group of student teachers enrolled on a one-year teacher training programme that consists of a combination of college-based and workplace learning. This approach argues that it is necessary to look beyond demarcating what is formal and informal learning. Findings – From a theoretical point-of-view, Bourdieu's theoretical tools can be used to extend Lave and Wenger's notion of legitimate peripheral participation in understanding how individuals learn in a learning context. This approach provides us with a way to think of learning as relational to the individuals. That is, learning is influenced by the roles and practices of each individual, even within the same learning context. Thus, to label the college-based learning as formal and workplace learning as informal is unhelpful in understanding this relationship. Practical implications – Understanding that roles and practices in different learning sites such as college and workplace influence learning has practical significance for teacher training organisations wanting to focus on learning issues and opportunities for the development of trainee teachers. More specifically, such an understanding also acts as a reminder to teacher training organisations of the importance of considering learning within a teacher training programme as a whole, rather than focusing only on the practices within each of the learning sites. Originality/value – This paper highlights the importance of roles and practices in relation to particular situations which are often overlooked in the learning literature. In addition, the paper focuses on both college-based and workplace learning in order to understand learning within a vocational and technical teacher training programme.

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