Replying to LO28841 --
Hi Jim and fellow Orglearners.
You have raised some very interesting points with your response to
LO28677. The articles have a deeper meaning on their second reading.
(1) Grades can tend to be arbitrary, similar to learning objectives
within an organization.
(2) Based on the Pareto rule, 20% of these nodes, one could assume that
they produce 80% of the learning within an organization. That could make
an interesting research question, one which I have been pondering for the
past 5 years.
(3) I have found that Groups or Teams (we could call them pods) have a
great influence on learning within an organization because the inertia of
many is far greater than the inertia of one learner.
This is evidenced by Nevis, DiBella and Gould (1997. p.p. 1-16) research
study of four companies: Motorola, Mutual Investment Corporation,
Electricité de France, and Fiat which evaluated the processes that affect
how easy or hard it is for learning to occur. They concluded from their
studies that all organizations have systems that support learning. Their
research methodology employed field observations (Motorola's
organizational learning was observed during its fourteen-year quality
improvement effort); interviews and grounded analysis to identify
categories that reflected learning orientations and then constructed a
two-part model of the critical factors that describe organizations as
learning systems.
Gerwin's 1999 field survey of 53 cross-functional new product development
teams in 14 fourteen companies is also worth having a read as it supports
in part the Nevis et. al study.
(4) Individuals have freedom to learn whatever they want. However,
organizations generally dictate how learning is tapped, harnessed and used
to achieve strategic goals and objectives.
I hope I may have helped to answer some of your research questions.
Thank you and may the force be with you.
Kind regards,
Glebe Stcherbina
Sydney, Australia
Jim Marshall wrote:
> I have followed what we all did with this one and even threw a few pebbles
> into the pond myself. Sorry folks, but I don't think we have scored an
> "A". Let's hope the student did.
>
> Much of the responses were instances of us going straight to conclusions -
> established "knowledge" or opinion on the topic. After a kaleidescopic
> display of diverse perspectives - it's all settled into a stable array of
> opinions, with no momentum left - but unfinished, I believe.
>
> So I want to suggest a research agenda and invite everyone else to add to
> it. Let's see if we can agree on what is to be on it.
--Glebe Stcherbina <gstc3416@mail.usyd.edu.au>
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