Journal of Workplace Learning

Hibbert, Kathryn Marie; Faden-MacDougall, Lisa; Huda, Noureen; DeLuca, Sandra; Seabrook, Elizabeth; Goldszmidt, Mark

2018 Journal of Workplace Learning

doi: 10.1108/jwl-01-2018-0004

This paper aims to trace the relational and material ways in which workplace teams come together (or fail to) in the provision of patient care.Design/methodology/approachSix interprofessional scholars brought their unique theoretical and disciplinary lenses to understand the contextualized experiences of the patient and the team. Adopting a critical narrative inquiry (CNR) approach, the experiences of 19 participants were documented as they interacted in the care of an elderly patient over a three-week period. Actor network theory constructs enabled the analysis of multiple artefacts implicated in the interactions to learn of their contribution to the enactment of her care.FindingsThe study gives empirical insights about ways in which knowledge circulates amongst the workplace and how systemic structures may impede effective and quality patient care. Various types of knowledge are held by different team members, and both individuals and materials (e.g. technologies) can influence the way those knowledges are shared (or not).Research limitations/implicationsFocusing on a rich data set surrounding one patient documented as theatre serves pedagogical purposes and serves as a shared “boundary-breaking” object to interrogate from multiple stakeholder perspectives. CNR provides for recursive, dynamic learning as readers critically consider experiences within their own contexts.Practical implicationsDespite research that documents competing political, systemic and economic goals, sedimented policies and practices persist in ways that undermine care goals.Social implicationsTackling the urgent issue of an aging population will require expanding collaboration (for planning, research and so on) to include a broader set of stakeholders, including operational, administrative and post-discharge organizations. Attention to social infrastructure as a means to assemble knowledges and improve relationships in the care process is critical.Originality/valueBuilding a boundary-breaking shared object to represent the data offers a unique opportunity for multiple stakeholder groups to enter into dialogue around barriers to workplace interaction and collaboration progress, linking problems to critical perspectives.

Matsuo, Makoto

2018 Journal of Workplace Learning

doi: 10.1108/jwl-03-2018-0045

Although unlearning is considered an essential step for creativity, little is known about the relationship between team unlearning and employee creativity. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating role of individual reflection between team unlearning and employee creativity.Design/methodology/approachThe research model was tested using multisource survey data from 164 employees in 28 teams at a manufacturing firm and a service firm.FindingsThe results of the multilevel analyses indicated that team unlearning had a positive influence on supervisor-rated employee creativity, fully mediated by individual reflection.Practical implicationsIt should be noted that employee creativity is not automatically enhanced through team unlearning. Managers should encourage members to reflect on their work practices following team-unlearning exercises for the purpose of enhancing their creativity.Originality/valueThe findings contribute to the existing literature by demonstrating that reflective practices play significant roles in linking team unlearning with employee creativity. This study explored preceding literature examining employee creativity in terms of the unlearning process.

Ellström, Eva; Ellström, Per-Erik

2018 Journal of Workplace Learning

doi: 10.1108/jwl-03-2018-0056

The purpose of this study was to explore what learning-oriented leadership could mean in practice and to identify possible sources of variability in this leadership between first-line managers (FLMs). The empirical basis of the study comprised FLMs in nursing homes for elderly care.Design/methodology/approachThe study was carried out using a sequential mixed-method design based on interviews, observations and documentary analysis.FindingsThe study contributes an in-depth analysis of two modes of learning-oriented leadership: development-oriented and production-oriented. The two orientations represent an open and enabling pattern versus a constraining and controlling pattern of leading and organizing employee learning and development. The observed differences in learning-oriented leadership between the FLMs were interpreted in terms of the demands–constraints–choices model proposed by Stewart (1982; 1989).Research limitations/implicationsFuture research should include data from employees to analyze how the mode of learning-oriented leadership shapes the conditions and opportunities for learning at work.Practical implicationsEmployee learning and development issues should be clearly linked to business strategies, and it is imperative that senior managers actively support and follow up on FLMs’ work with these issues. Furthermore, there is a strong need for training and development of FLMs – formal and informal – to improve their knowledge of and skills in leading and organizing workplace learning.Originality/valueThe study adds to previous research by elaborating what learning-oriented leadership could mean in practice and how it can be theoretically understood.

Mornata, Cecilia; Cassar, Iolanda

2018 Journal of Workplace Learning

doi: 10.1108/jwl-06-2017-0045

This study aims to focus on newcomers’ learning strategies when they perceive organizational socialization support to be lacking, and on interpersonal characteristics that insiders should possess to support the newcomers’ proactive behaviors in this context.Design/methodology/approachData were collected through 14 face-to-face, in-depth semi-structured interviews and analyzed with a conventional content analysis method (Paillé and Mucchielli, 2013), involving first a thematic analysis and afterward, a conceptual analysis using MaxQDA11©.FindingsThe authors’ analysis highlights that when newcomers perceive the formal organizational socialization support as lacking, they regulate their proactive behaviors by seeking indirect guidance, and more precisely, by engaging in informal interactions with insiders likely to help them socialize. These interactions can have a cost in terms of self-image, so newcomers regulate their proactive behaviors by looking for insiders perceived to be psychologically safe, even if they have to look for them in other working contexts.Practical implicationsConsidering the regulation process of newcomers’ proactive behaviors according to their perceptions, human resources management should focus on those perceptions and develop a blended learning approach including formal learning programs, as well as individualized support to facilitate on-the-job learning and respond to personal needs. Special consideration should also be given to interpersonal skills displayed by insiders.Originality/valueThe originality of the study is the use of a qualitative methodology focusing on newcomers’ main learning strategy according to their perception of organizational socialization support and the psychological safety climate. The limitations of the authors’ work are the size of the study population and the fact that part of the interviewees were successfully socialized by reaching 15 months on their new post at the point where the interviews were conducted.