communities of practice in a voluntary youth organisation ... · frequent immersion within the...

Australian Journal of Adult Learning Volume 51, Special Edition, December 2011

Communities of practice in a voluntary youth organisation: reaching for the sky and building

social capital

Bill ChanAviation Academy, University of South Australia

Tom ShortSchool of Education, University of South Australia

The study is situated within a national youth organisation called the Australian Air League Inc (Air League). We examine the recent progress of the Air League in South Australia, starting as a loose network of volunteers engaged in a sporadic array of activities, to become a learning community that worked collaboratively and then developed further as a potential community of practice. This process involved sharing across boundaries in a way that was previously construed as undesirable as local achievement was seen as more important than the development of the larger community. In part, this paper takes the form of a personal narrative and draws insights from observations and interpretations during 2009–2010. Highlighting issues arising from the complexity

124 Bill Chan and Tom Short

of developing collaborative models of practice across organisational boundaries and competitive entities, we delve into challenges around maintaining devotion to one’s immediate unit while sharing experience and building capacity in the wider community. This includes gaining agreement to action, facing the fear of sharing diverse knowledge with new people, being found wanting, and working across organisational hierarchies in a setting characterised by uniform and a disciplined rank structure.

Introduction

TheAirLeagueisanationaluniformedorganisationforaviation-mindedboysandgirlsbetweentheagesof8and18.Formedin1934,andentirelyself-funded,theorganisationhascontinuedsuccessfullyforover75yearsandisproudtohavetheGovernor-GeneralofAustraliaasitspatron.TheAirLeagueaimstoencouragephysicalandsocialdevelopment,promoteaviationandbuildqualitiesofcitizenshipamongitsmembers.Meetingforjustonenightperweek,theofficersandcadetsstudyawiderangeofeducationaltopics,participateincommunityserviceevents,completetheDukeofEdinburghAwardschemeandtakepartinairactivitiessuchasglidingandflyingexperience.TheAirLeaguemarketsitselfasthe‘primaryschoolofaviation’.Thefoundationalunitisasquadron,normallynamedafteralocaltownorsuburbwheretheunitissituated.Squadronsvaryinsizefromtentofiftymembersandeachisledbyateamofvolunteerofficers.Inorganisationalterms,twoorthreesquadronsareadministeredasawingandineachstatetwoormorewingsmakeupagroup.Eachgroupismanagedbyasmallteamofstaffofficers.Presentlythenationalorganisationhas1200members,plus300associatesincludingparentsandsupporters.Volunteerofficerscomefromallwalksoflife,buthistoricallytheorganisationhasattractedadultswithpriorserviceinthedefenceforces,orthosepeoplewhoarefamiliarwithworkinginauniformed

Communities of practice in a voluntary youth organisation 125

environmentsuchaspoliceofficersandsecurityguards.However,inrecenttimes,theAirLeaguehasattractedvolunteerswithlittleornoexperienceofwhatitmeanstoserveinadiscipline-basedorganisation,wherecommandandcontrolmanagementtechniquesstillprevail.

TheAirLeaguehasachequeredhistoryinSouthAustraliaandinmid2009theChiefCommissionerchallengedlocalleaderstorenewtheireffortsandincreasemembershipthroughcommunityengagementandcollaborativepartnerships.Theconduitforthischangeindirectioncamefromanewleadershipteamwhoencouragedsquadronstogrowanddevelopbyfocusingonlearningasamajoropportunity.Aconcertedefforttoattractmoreadultvolunteersachieveda90percentincreaseinmembership.PartofthisgrowthcamefromanunexpectedalliancewiththeUniversityofSouthAustralia’sAviationAcademywherestudentpilotsagedbetween18and25wererequiredtoundertakethirtyhoursofcommunityservicesaspartoftheirdegreeprogram.AirLeagueandUniSAAviationAcademyleadersquicklyrealisedthemutualbenefitfromengagingthesestudents.Coincidentally,somehadpriorexperienceinsimilaryouthorganisationsoverseasandquicklysawanopportunitytocontinuewiththeirpassionforaviationwhileatthesametimebecominginvolvedinalocalyouthorganisation.Itisknownthatoverseasstudentswhoaredisplacedfromtheirnormalhomeenvironmentstaketimetointegrateintoanewcommunity(Handy&Greenspan,2009)andtheAirLeagueprovidedasafeandstructuredplacewherethestudentscouldcontributeandbelong.

InthispaperwereviewhowtheadultleadersinSouthAustraliafocusedongrowthandindoingsobecamepartofbothformalandinformallearningcommunities,boundtogetherbyakeeninterestinaviationandawillingnesstohelpyoungpeople.Furthermore,weconsiderorganisationaldevelopmentmodelsandlearningtheories,withaparticularfocusontheconceptoflearningcommunities.We


examinetheorganisationalstructure,functionandcultureoftheAirLeagueandtakeintoconsiderationtheliteratureandtheoreticalideasonlearningcommunitiestodeterminehowtheyinfluencethedevelopmentofacommunityofpractice.

Embeddedwithinthispaperisapersonalnarrative,writtenfromtheperspectiveofastudent/traineepilotwhobecameinvolvedintheAirLeaguewhilestudyingatUniSA.FollowingsevenyearsofexperienceinasimilaryouthorganisationinHongKong,thestudentvolunteeredtosharehispassionforaviationwithlocalyoungstersandhelptheorganisationtogrowinSouthAustralia.Drawingfrompersonalobservationandself-analysisoftheenvironmentoverasix-monthperiod,thenarrativeispresentedusingtheAirLeagueasacasestudy.Togetherwiththeco-author,whowasalsoinvolvedastheleadingchangeagentwithintheorganisation,thisreportdrawsinsightfromthecurrentliteratureonsociallyconstructedlearning,socialcapitalandinparticularthetextsoncommunitiesofpracticetocomparethesefindingswithinthosefoundintheorganisation.Finally,weconsiderhowlearninggainedwithintheAirLeaguecouldbetransferredtoanaviationenvironmentwhereaircrewandflightteamsmayengageincommunitiesofpracticeasameansofprofessionalandpersonaldevelopment.

Method and approach

Wehaveusedaninterpretiveapproachinthispaper,sincethestudywasprimarilyconcernedwithperceptionsandexperiences.Aninterpretiveapproachisbasedontheviewthatpeoplesociallyandsymbolicallyconstructtheirownorganisationalrealities(Berger&Luckman,1967).Itconstruesknowledgeasbeinggainedthroughsocialconstructionssuchaslanguage,sharedmeaningsanddocuments.Thustheindividualiscastas‘acentralactorinadramaofpersonalmeaningmaking’(Fenwick,2001:9).Inthisway,


individualsareunderstoodtoconstructtheirownknowledgethroughinteractionwithenvironments.

UsingtheAirLeagueorganisationinSouthAustraliaasacasestudy,wereportonourpersonalexperienceandadoptaqualitativeperspective.Drawingonareviewoftheliteratureonorganisationaltheoryandsociallyconstructedlearning,observationsthroughfrequentimmersionwithintheorganisationandreviewingdocumentsthatdetailaccountsofrecenthistory,weexamineandinterpretinformationinformofascholarlynarrative.Thesetechniquesaremostcommonlyemployedincasestudieswheretheresearcherseekstoengagewithandreportonthecomplexityofsocialactivityintheareaunderinvestigation(Somekh&Lewin,2005).

Inusingthisapproach,wedecidedtopresentanaccountofoursharedexperiences,takingadiverseperspectivebecauseofourdifferentages,occupationsandculturalbackgrounds,butfindingcommongroundasprofessionalsworkinginAustraliaforaspecifiedperiodoftimeandwithpriorexperienceofservinginsimilaryouthorganisationsoverseas.Thispaperdiffersfromotherqualitativestudiesinthatthoseobservedwerenotformallyinterviewed,norhaveanyidentifiableunitsofanalysisbeenaddressedbyname,otherthantheirassociationwithSouthAustralia.Inchoosingthismethodologywehaveavoidedtheneedforadetailedethicssubmissionsincenoindividualwasidentifiedorsingledoutforattention.Predominantly,inthispaperwepresentareflectiveaccountofeventsfromthemainauthorwhobecameinvolvedintheorganisationtofurtherhiscareerinaviation.ThereportisbasedonananalysisbetweenSeptember2009andSeptember2010,takingpreviousinformationfromorganisationaldocumentsandartefacts.

About the organisation

Essentially,theAirLeagueorganisationisstructuredontraditionallineswithanoperatingstyledrawnfromclassicaltheoriesmade


popularbyHenryFoyolandMaxWeber(Robbins&Barnwell,1994).Severaloftheseidealsareembeddedintheorganisationandinclude:Workisdividedthroughanoperationalstructureofspecialisedappointmentsinadministration,education,physicalactivitiesandairactivities.

• Authorityandresponsibilityaredistributedthroughahierarchicalrankstructureatsquadron,wing,groupandfederallevels.

• Membersareexpectedtofollowtherulesoftheorganisation,wheregooddisciplineisseenastheresultofeffectiveleadership.

• Juniormembersreceiveinstructionsfromseniorofficers.

• Theinterestsofthegrouptakepriorityovertheneedsofanindividual.

• Decisionmakingiscentralisedandproportionaltorankand/orappointment.

• Communicationsfollowachainofcommand.

• Theorganisationalculturevaluesstability,orderandcontrol.

• Detailedprocedures,rulesandpoliciescreateauniformandidealisedbureaucracy.

• Highturnoverofpersonnelisseenasinefficientandimpedesperformance.

• Teamspiritoresprit de corpsispromotedtobuildharmonyandmoralewithintheorganisation.

Dealing with changing times

Firstly,itiswellknownthatdespitethecontinuingpresenceofclassicalmanagementideologies,especiallyinlargerorpublicsectororganisations,therehasbeenasignificantshiftinthinkinginrecentyears,notonlyintheapproachtotraditionalorganisationaltheory,butalsoabouthoworganisationshavebecomeplacesofeducationorlearningcommunities(Senge,1990).Notonlydomodernorganisationsadoptideasfromlatertheories(suchasthehumanrelationsschoolofmanagementandcontingencyapproach)


whereorganisationalneedsarebalancedwiththoseoftheindividualmembers(Fulop,1992);but,morerecently,organisationshavetransformedintoplaceswherepowerisshared,workflowisflexible,peoplearelessfocusedonpositionandprofessionaldevelopmentisseenasanimperative.Thesignificanceofthesedevelopmentscanbeseenintheeducationsector.Whenschoolsdriftedmoretowardsbureaucracy,thehierarchicalpower-basedrelationshipstendedtoalienateteachers,parentsandstudentsfromeachother.Conversely,schoolsthatwereeffectiveintermsofstudentachievementandbehaviourmanagementexhibitedqualitiesthatfocusedonrelationshipsandvaluesaswellasacademicachievement.Theseschoolsbuilta‘senseofcommunity’(Merz&Furman,1997).

Secondly,theAirLeagueiscaughtupinmanytensionsbetweenthestronginfluenceofitsclassicaloriginsandcontemporaryideology.Inrecentyears,thesechangesinhowpeoplerelatetotheirorganisationhavepresentedseveralproblemsandimpactedseriouslyontheAirLeague’ssuccess.InSouthAustralia,currentchallengesincludedafailuretoattract,motivateandretainnewmembers,particularlyyoungeradultvolunteers,commonlyreferredtoasGenerationsXandY(MacLeod,2008).Presently,adultmembershipislargelypolarisedintotwodistinctgroups:maleofficersovertheageof50(formercadetswhoremainedintheorganisationorreturnedafteraperiodofserviceinanaviation-relatedcareer)andyoungermaleofficersundertheageof25(whohavecontinuedasadultmembersafterreachingtheupperagelimitforcadets).Asmallerpopulationofofficersbetweentheagesof25and50aremadeupfromanincreasingnumberofwomenwhoaremothersofcadets.

Thirdly,inthis‘age-polarised’environment,oldermembersretainmanyoftheclassicalmanagementbehavioursandfallbackeasilyonthesetraditionswhendealingwithday-to-dayproblems.ThisnotionisconfirmedbyWarr,MilesandPlatts(2001)whofoundthatolderadultswerelessoutgoingandlesschangeorientedthan


youngeradults—whoweremorefamiliarwithcontemporaryvaluessuchasflexibility,multi-taskingandtheacceptanceofchange.IntheAirLeague,thissituationresultedinanunsettlingenvironmentcharacterisedby:

• Polarity in values:Inaworldofincreasedegalitarianismandindividualism,feweradultvolunteershadeitherthetimeorinclinationtobecomeboggeddownwithhierarchicalcontrolandbureaucracy.Manyexistingadultvolunteersworkedinsuccessfulcommercialorganisationsthathadmadegreatprogressinpromotingemployeedemocracy,flatterorganisationalstructuresanddecentraliseddecisionmaking.Accordingly,someadultsresentedbeingtoldwhattodoandfounditpersonallychallengingtodealwithheavy-handedpolicy,rulesandproceduresthat,intheirminds,defiedcommonsenseanddidnotassistinpromotingoperationaleffectivenessatthegroundlevel.

• Falling interdependence:IntheAirLeague,eachsquadronisultimatelyresponsibleforitsownperformanceandsurvival,yetmanyday-to-dayproblemscouldberesolvedthroughworkinginpartnershipwithadjoiningsquadrons.However,thislevelofcooperationfailedwhenadultvolunteersdidnotbuildcollegialrelationshipsandbecamepolarised.InSouthAustralia,severaldevelopmentscontributedtoabreakdownintheinterdependenceofsquadronpersonnel.First,anacquisitionprogramduring2006(fromanothersimilaryouthorganisation)createdapowerdivisioninadultstaffbetweenthosewhowerepreparedtoacceptthechangeandthosewhowerenot.SouthAustralian‘air-minded’youthorganisationshaveahistoryofadultleaderssplittingawayfromtheirparentorganisationstoformdefectorregimeswhentheycannotagreewithorganisationalpolicyorcannotworkwiththeseniorleadershipoftheneworganisation.Secondly,theorganisationinSouthAustraliawasaffectedbythecreationofanewunit,wheretheadultvolunteerschosetooperateindependentlyoftheothertwosquadrons.


• High staff turnover bringsarangeofchallengestocomplexvoluntaryorganisationssuchastheAirLeagueincludingalossoftacitknowledge,perpetualtraining,uncertaintyaboutbeingabletooperatewithsufficientnumbersofadultstaff,failuretoprocesspaperworkandaninabilitytoraisefunds.Furthermore,thepresenceoflesspredictableworkpatterns,self-employment,workingfamiliesandtheuncertaintyofsecureemploymentmeantthatadultvolunteerswerelessabletomakeafirmcommitmenttoattendingeachweek,preferringtokeeptheiroptionsopenandremainflexible.Thissituationcreatedastaffshortageandwasexasperatedinlate2008whenthecommandingofficeroftheSouthAustraliaWingrelocatedtoanotherpartofthestateandbecameunabletoprovidetheleadershipsorelyneeded.Asanemergencymeasure,administrativeleadershipwasprovidedbyahighrankingofficerbasedinVictoria.

• Unreliability among the younger members:Thedwindlingnumberofolderadultvolunteerofficersmeantthattheorganisationwasbecomingincreasinglyreliantonitsyoungermembers.Researchshowsthatolderpeoplearemorereliableandconscientiousthanyoungstersandaremotivatedtocompletetasks(Kanfer&Ackerman,2004),buttheyoungeradultvolunteersintheAirLeaguewereprovinglessreliableduetoparticipationinhigherorvocationaleducation,part-timeemploymentandapreferredlifestylepredicatedbyflexibility,multi-taskingandkeepingoptionsopen.Forseniorvolunteersthisunreliablebehaviourbecameasourceoftensionandmeantthatadministrativeandorganisationalworkloadsinevitablyfellbackontheoldershoulders.

A problem in need of resolution

Againstthisbackground,therewasanurgentneedtochangethecultureinSouthAustraliatopreventtheorganisationfromdwindlingaway.Fortunatelythepresenceofatleastonesuccessfulsquadron


meanttheAirLeaguehadafirmpositioninonesuburbnorthofAdelaide.Inmid2009threeopportunitiesemergedthatwouldpavethewayforamajortransformationinhowtheorganisationfunctioned.

Firstly,anewadultvolunteerjoinedtheAirLeaguewithoverthreedecadesofknowledgeandskillsinasimilaryouthorganisationoverseas.FollowingashortperiodoftimeinaprobationaryrolethisindividualwasquicklyplacedincommandofthesquadronsinSouthAustralia.Inadditiontoextensiveexperienceofworkingwith‘aviation-minded’youthorganisations,thisvolunteerhadexpertiseinhumanresourcemanagementandorganisationaldevelopment.Thearrivalofthisofficersetinplaceachangemanagementstrategythatwouldeventuallyplacelearningatthecentreoftheorganisation;onewheretheorganisationbecamelessboundbybureaucracyandmoreorganicintheformofalearningnetworkwhereinformationandinnovationcouldflowfreely(Morgan,1989).Thiswasachievedfirstthroughtheintroductionofaproject-styleorganisationandlaterthroughencouragementtobecomeanintegratedlearningcommunity.

However,thestartingpointofthechangeprocesswastoengageadultvolunteersinwhatJonesandMaycall‘techniquesofmanagerialism’(1992:388).Inwhatwaslaterreferredtoas‘tillingthesoil’inthetextsoncommunitiesofpractice(Wenger&Snyder,2000:143)thesetechniquesadopteda‘visioningframework’usedinorganisationalexcellenceconcepts(Oakland,2004:64)andincluded:

• developingamissionstatementtoclarifythepurposeoftheorganisation,itsgoalsandobjectives

• developingawrittenplanandstrategytocommunicatetheorganisation’svisionandvaluesandtakeintoaccountlocalenvironmentalconsiderations

• puttinginplaceaformalreviewprocesstomonitoroverallperformance


• definingkeyindicatorsofperformanceandcriticalsuccessfactors

• targetingresourcestowardsastrategyofgrowthandsuccess

• settinginplacemechanismsforcommunication,structuredproblemsolvingandtraining,and

• aligningprogressionandpromotionwithone’spersonalcontributiontotheorganisation.

Secondly,inearly2010,anunexpectedalliancedevelopedwiththelocaluniversity’sAviationAcademy,whereoverseasundergraduatepilotswereundergoingtrainingincommercialaviationaspartofadegree.Acomponentoftheacademicprograminvolvedeachstudentworkingforatleast30hoursinacommunity-basedorganisation,helpingthestudentstointegrateintoAustralianculture.Fortunately,manyofthesestudentswerevisitingfromHongKongandhadpreviousconnectionswithsimilaryouthorganisationsoverseas.Afterashortperiodofnegotiation,acohortofeightstudentsranginginagefrom17to22wasencouragedtojointheAirLeagueastraineeofficers—immediatelyincreasingthenumberofadultvolunteerswithakeeninterestinaviationandalsohelpingtolowertheaverageageprofileofstaff.Onestudentsaid:

AsaCivilAviationstudentattheUniversityofSouthAustralia,oneofthecourserequirementswastogainvolunteerexperiencethroughcommunityservices.JoiningtheAustralianAirLeaguewassuggestedbytheprogramdirectorsinceitisanationalvoluntaryaviation-relatedyouthorganisation.Theprocessofjoining,visitingalocalsquadronandmeetingwiththeofficersawakenedmymemoryofbeinganaircadetinHongKongforthepreviousfiveyearsoflife.

Thirdly,asuccessionofformalandinformalpublicrelationsactivitiessparkedarenewedinterestfromtheparentsofcadetmembers,resultinginafurtherincreaseinbothuniformedofficersandassociatemembers.


Using learning to build a positive community and innovative culture

Theresultofthesestrategieswashighlyeffectivebutasmallnumberofpeoplebecamepolarised.Avastmajorityoftheadultvolunteerssupportedthechangesandweremotivatedbytherenewedleadershipactions,butafewindividualsfeltmisalignedwiththeprocess,outofplace(Short,2009)andsubsequentlylefttheorganisation.WengerandSnyder(2000:143)refertothiseffectas‘looseningtheweeds’beforesowingtheseedsofacommunity.Thecollectiveresultoftheseinitiativeswasa90percentincreaseinadultstaffanda60percentincreaseinnewcadetmembersinlessthantwelvemonths.Theseincreasesledtothecreationofanewofficertrainingunit,anewsquadroninthesouthernsuburbsofAdelaide,andarangeofeducationandtrainingprogramstoequipnewofficerswiththerelevantknowledgeandskills.Manyexistingofficerschosetoattendthetraining,therebyrefreshingtheirskillsandhelpingnewmembersfeelpartoftheemergingcommunity.InlessthantwelvemonthstheAirLeagueredefineditspositioninSouthAustraliaanditiscurrentlyprogressingtobecomingalargergroupin2012.Inadditiontoalargegrowthinmembership,othermeasuresofsuccesshaveemergedsuchasincreasedfundraising,staffretention,inter-squadroncooperationonactivitiesandthedevelopmentofanewsquadron.Thisprogressinvolvedadultparticipationanumberofmajorchanges,notleastinthevolunteers’approachtoleadership,communicationandseeinglearningasavitalcomponentofsuccess.Importantly,onemajorsuccesshasbeentheemergenceofaconsolidatedlearningcommunity.AttributedinitiallytotheGermansociologist,Tönnies,communitieshavesincebeenclassifiedasexistinginthreebasicforms:communitiesofplace,kinshipandofmind(Hough&Paine,1997:194;Merz&Furman,1997:14):

• Communities of placearewherepeoplelive,workandsharethelivesofothercommunitymembers.


• Communities of kinshipareboundbyrelationships,suchasfamilies,extendedfamiliesandgroupsoffriends.

• Communities of mindemergefrompeoplecomingtogetherwithcommongoals,sharedvaluesandsharedconceptionsofbeinganddoing.

Notsurprisingly,alltheabovetypesofcommunityarerelevanttohowtheAirLeaguehasdevelopedandoverlapinthewaymembersgainmeaning,identityandasenseofbelongingfromtheorganisation.However,acommunityisalsoassociatedwithfellowship(Webster,1989)andadultvolunteersinanorganisationsuchastheAirLeaguecanbeinvolvedinmultiplecommunitiesoffellowship;existingnotonlyintheorganisationitself,butalsointhewidercommunity,whichmayintersectorbecompletelyseparate.Oneformofcommunitycantakealeadinginfluenceovertheothers,butthiscanchangeovertime,oraccordingtopersonalcircumstancesandlevelsofmotivationamongthoseinvolved.Howpeopleinteractwitheachotherandbuildgoodwillintothegroupistheessenceofsocialcapital(Dekker&Uslaner,2001;Adler&Kwon,2002).AkeyquestionforthisstudyistheextenttowhichthebehavioursexhibitedintheAirLeagueduring2009–2010notonlyreflectedthecharacteristicsofthesethreelearningcommunitiesandbuiltsocialcapital,butalsoextendedtoincorporatetheelementsofacommunityofpractice.

Communities of practice

AccordingtoWenger,McDermottandSnydercommunitiesofpractice(COPs)are‘groupsofpeoplewhoshareaconcern,asetofproblems,orapassionaboutatopicandwhodeepentheirknowledgeandexpertiseinthisareabyinteractingonanongoingbasis’(2002:4).PeoplewithinaCOPmaynotworktogetheronaregularbasisandtheircollectivepassioncanbedrawnfromalmostanydiscipline;thekeydriveristhecommonlysharedvaluesofgroupmembersandtheircommitmenttolearningasagroup.OthercharacteristicsofaCOPincludethevoluntarynatureofmembershipandabsenceofformal


structureorprocess.GroupmemberscanjoinaCOPforalimitedamountoftime,bepassiveoractiveparticipants,beinternalorexternalmembersofthehostorganisationandchoosetocontributeatalevelappropriatetotheirknowledgeandexperience(Mitchell&Young,2002).Whatbindsthegrouptogetherisasharedinterestinthetopic,eagernesstolearnanddesiretoimprove.ItiseasytounderstandfromthesedefinitionshowtheAirLeaguecouldprovidearichenvironmentforaCOP,providedtheenvironmentwascultivatedforaCOPtogrowanddevelop.Communitiesofpracticecanbeasvariableastheenvironmentinwhichtheycanthrive.However,cultivatinganenvironmentforacommunityofpracticethatservesaspecificpurposerequiresorganisationalsupportandaclearpurpose.Iftheenvironmentwereconsideredtoxic,peoplewouldsoonbecomereluctanttoparticipateforfearofretribution.Examplesoftoxicitymightinclude,butnotbelimitedto,lackofmanagementsupport,dominationoftheagendaforpoliticalgain,membersunabletofindavoiceinthegroup,anexpectationofhighperformanceanddisinterestininnovation.Wengeretal.(2002)suggesttherearesevenprinciplesonwhichanorganisationcanbeevaluatedtoascertainifithasbecome‘alive’tothepotentialofbecomingaCOP.TheseareconsideredbelowwithexamplesdrawnfromAirLeague.

Design for evolution

Themainroleofthedesignelementsistoencouragetheevolutionofanadd-valuecommunity(Wengeretal.2002).Duetothedynamicnatureofacommunity,todesignforevolutionistoprovideguidanceratherthancraftingthecommunityfromgroundzero.Thefoundationofacommunityisbuiltonpersonalnetworksthatarealreadyinexistence.Therefore,thecommunitydesignelementsshouldactascatalyststohelpthecommunitydevelopasopposedtoimposingastructurelikemosttraditionalorganisationdesign.Itoftenrequiresfewerelementsatthebeginningcomparedtoanorganisationdesign.AlthoughtheAirLeagueishierarchicalandstructured,thereare


threewaysinwhichtheorganisationcanbeconsideredtobedesignedforevolution.

Firstly,astheAirLeagueisavoluntaryorganisation,memberscomefromallwalksoflifewithdifferentculturalbackgrounds,lifeexperiencesandexpertknowledge,whichaddsvaluetothewholeorganisation.Bringinginnewperspectivesandideasveersthegroupinthesamedirectiontowardsacommongoalbydiscussingandimplementingthebestpracticeasagreedbythemembersofthegroup.Mostofthesenewmemberscomefrombackgroundssomehowrelatedtotheaviationindustry,whichgivesabroadspectrumtoothermembersinvolvedandalsoencourageslearningthroughcommunicationandsparksnewinterests.AfewexampleswouldbehavingmembersinvolvedintheRoyalAustralianAirForce,theUKAirTrainingCorps,HongKongAirCadetCorps,theDefenceScienceandTechnologyOrganisationandtheScoutsofSouthAustralia.

Secondly,becausetheAustralianAirLeaguehasbeenestablishedinSouthAustraliaformanyyears,networksandconnectionswiththelocalcommunitieshavebeenbuiltovertime.Eventsandactivitiessuchascitizenshipceremonies,AnzacDayparadesandfundraisingbarbequesimprovetherelationshipwithlocalcouncils,ReturnedServiceLeagueclubsandthecommunity.ThefullextentofthisinvolvementledtheSouthAustraliaWingtoobtainusageofastatemuseumasameetingplaceforoneofitssquadrons.Furthermore,agrowingexternalrelationshipwiththeUniversityofSouthAustraliaopeneddoorsfortheSAWingtotakepartinamajorpromotionalopportunityintheformofanationaleducationalexhibitioninAdelaide.TheAirLeagueexhibitedovertwodays,increasingpublicawarenessoftheorganisationandalsoattractingseveralnewmembers.Thirdly,aviationiscentraltotheAirLeague’smissionandthearrivalofanewofficerandprivatepilotswhowerealsoamembersofalocalflyingclubprovidedagatewayformembersofthe


SouthAustraliaWingtoparticipateinairactivitiessuchasglidingandintroductoryflights.

Throughoutthepasttwelvemonths,conferencesandmeetingshavebeenheldtosetcleargoalsandaligntheofficers’mindsetssothattheyareallworkingtowardsacommonobjectiveratherthanworkingagainsteachother.Inordertoworkcollaborativelyinaneffectiveandefficientfashion,differentstrategiesindifferentareasofexpertiseweresettoachieveacommongoalwhichallowedandencouragedtheformationofsmallergroupsofexpertofficersfromallunitswithinthebiggerestablishmentofthewing.Indoingso,someofthemembersalsofilledakeyroleasfacilitatorsforthesmallergroups,whichwasneededtoaddvaluetothebiggergroup.Despitethehierarchicalstructurethatwasinplacewithintheorganisation,allmemberswereencouragedtospeakupandexpresstheirviews,whichcreatedacultureoftrustandopenness.

Open a dialogue between inside and outside perspectives

Thesecondprincipleclaimsthattheperspectivesofthecoremembersofacommunityareinvaluabletotheunderstandingofcommunityissues,whilenewmembersormemberswhoarenotinvolvedinorpartofthecommunityoftenshednewlightontopicsonwhichexistingmembersmayhavebecomeblindedbysharedperceptions.IntheSAWingin2009therewereanumberofcoremembersrunningseparateunitswhoformedthepillarsoftheorganisationandthesemembershadbeeninvolvedforalmosttenyearsservingtheAustralianAirLeagueanditspredecessors.Eachofthecorememberscarriedforwardthesolidexperienceofhowtoruntheorganisation,butalsounderstoodtherestraintsthatprohibitedchangeorprogression.

Neartheendof2009andthestartof2010anumberofnewvolunteersfromoutsidetheSouthAustraliancirclejoinedasofficersandwereabletobringtheirownexperiencesfromserving


insimilarorganisationstotheAirLeague.Theyallworkedondifferentlevelswithintheorganisationandinstigatedchangebysparkingoffnewideaswithintheparametersthattheconstitutedpolicywouldallow.Theseincludedhowthewingwouldberunasateam,asopposedtobeingindividualunits,inordertocreateamoreorganisedenvironmentandstructureinwhichtheleadersofthewingcouldwork.Additionally,thecreationofanewwingcouncildrewallthekeypeoplewithinthewingintoonesinglemeetingtodiscussstrategiesandrectifyproblems;asaresult,SAWingcouldrunmoreefficientlyandeffectively.TrainingprogramsthatwerenotknowntotheSAWingbeforewereadoptedtoenhancethequalityofeducationfortheyoungmembers,suchastheintroductionoftheDukeofEdinburghawardschemeandthetwoAustralianAirLeagueDiplomas.Operationalmethodsandtechniquesborrowedfromothergroupsinterstatealsoprovidedreferencepointsonhowthewingcouldberun.

Moreover,placingayoungertraineepilotfromHongKonginoneoftheestrangedsquadronsastheeducationofficerresultedinanoverallimprovementintheperformanceofthesquadronandashiftofmindsetfromself-governingtoincreasinginvolvementinthegreaterwingcommunity.SettingeducationplansandprogramstailoredtothesquadronwhilealigningitwiththeAirLeagueDiplomarequirementsprovidedatimeframeandagoalforthememberstolookforwardto.Therewasalsoasenseofachievementforthosewhotookpartandfollowedtheschedulethatwaslaidout.Thenewinstructiontimetablealsoprovidedthesquadronwithmorestructuretotheparadenightsaseverymemberknewwhatwasinplaceandwhattoexpect,whichslowlyformedaroutineintheirmindsetsoastoenhancetheefficiencyoftheoperationandtheeffectivenessoftheprograms.IntheprocessofaligningthetrainingprogramswiththeAirLeaguesyllabus,thesquadrontransformedfromaself-centredunittoamoreopenunitbyparticipatinginmoreSouthAustraliaWingactivitiesandfunctionssuchasvisitsandflyingdays.Italso


sawtheneedtoestablishbetterconnectionswithlocalcommunitygroupswhichcreatedanunderstandingofmutualsupportbetweenthesquadronandtheothergroupssuchaslocalpipeanddrumbandsandReturnedServiceLeagueclubs.

Invite different levels of participation

Asmembershipsincommunitiesofpracticearevoluntary,participationinvolvedmanyfactors.Time,interest,commitment,motivation,abilityandskilllevelswerenormallytakenintoconsiderationwhenmakingthedecisiontoparticipateinacommunityofpractice.Thecommunityalsohadtobeinvitinginawiderangeofwaysinordertoattractadiverserangeofmembers.Membersofthecommunityparticipatedondifferentlevelsatdifferenttimesondifferenttopics.Therewerealsonon-memberswhohadaninterestinthecommunity.Communitymembersdriftedtodifferentlevelsofparticipationfromtimetotime.Forexample,intheAirLeagueformalmembershipissegmentedintothreelevels,namelyofficers,branchmembersandcadets.However,informallybroaderparticipationincludedparents,schoolteachers,localauthorities,communitygroupsandthebusinesscommunity.

Developing public and private community spaces

InkeepingwiththeideasofWengeretal.(2002),wefoundtheAirLeaguetobeaspecialplacewheremembersgathered,asformalorinformalnetworks,tofurthertheinterestsoftheorganisation.Arangeofpublicevents,suchasparades,sportsactivitiesandairshows,allowedparents,friendsandtheuniformedmemberstomixandbuildcollegialrelationships.Invariably,themaintopicofconversationwasdirectedtowardsthesharedinterest(theAirLeague),buttheseadultsalsoexchangedknowledge,insightsandexperienceonawiderrangeoftopics.Inanorganisationwherethesafetyandcareofcadetmembersisparamount,itwasimportantforparentstoknowtheirkidswereinsafehands;soprivateandinformalcommunitynetworkshelpedtobuildtrustandconfidence.Awayfrom


thepublicsetting,thesamepeoplekeptintouchinsmallergroupsornetworkstocontinuetheirwork.Itwasnotuncommontoseeadultsdroppinginonothersquadronstocollectdocuments,talkaboutplansforaforthcomingeventorsimplymeettobounceideasaroundoveradrink.Theseinformalandprivatecommunity-basedactivitiesactedasakindofadhesivetoholdtheothereventstogetherandoftenprovidedtherightenvironmentforsparkingoffinnovativeideasorcreatingnewstrategies.However,downsidestothiscommunity-generatedenergyemergedintheformoffrustratingclasheswithpolicyconstraintsandchaoticplanningasnewideaswereimplementedwithoutfullconsiderationofpreviousarrangements.

Focus on value

OneofthekeydevelopmentsinAugust2009wasthere-establishmentofanewwingstructure.Priortothistime,thethreesquadronshadreportedseparatelyanddirectlytotheAirLeagueheadquartersinVictoria.Asaresultofthisaction,therequirementsforlocalcommanderstodealwithVictoriawaseffectivelyremovedandreplacedwithanintermediatelayerofmanagement.Forthepeopleontheground,thevalueofthisnewlayerofmanagementwasnotimmediatelyapparentandsomefearedthestructurewouldaddanewlayerofcomplexitytoanalreadybureaucraticsystem.Moreover,withinthisnewwingstructure,threenewofficerswereappointedintokeypositionswithnofirst-handknowledgeorexperienceofrecenteventsinSouthAustralia—sothepotentialriskofrejectionamongtheexistingpersonnelwashigh.

Theriskofrejectionwasoffsetbyanumberofactionsdesignedtopromotethevalueofthenewstructure.Tobegin,ameetingofalladultmemberswasconvenedtodiscussissuesandallowmemberstoaskquestions,therebyenablingpeopletogaugetheknowledgeandexperienceofthenewstaff.Later,thenewstaffconsultedwidely,helpedoutatthelocallevelandtookaleadroleinorganisingamajoractivitythatwaspreviouslyconsideredanorganisational


headache.Finally,thenewofficersarrangedmuchlargereventsanddemonstratedleadershipbytakingonstrategicissuesatthefederallevel.Theseactivitiesalladdedvaluebyencouragingtheemergingcommunitytodevelopconfidenceinthenewofficersandrealisethecommunitywasgrowing.

Combine familiarity with excitement

OneimportantcharacteristicofanAirLeaguesquadronisthelocalmeetinghallwherememberscanfeelathomeandhaveasenseofownershipoftheenvironment.Themeetinghallisaspecialplacewheremembersenacttheirnominatedroles,freefromothercommitmentssuchashome,workorschool.Someunitshireorowntheirmeetinghallwhileothersuselocalfacilitiesinschoolsorcommunitycentresmadeavailablethroughgoodwill.

Throughout2010,thesquadronmeetinghallsbecamevitalhubs,inwhichnewactivitiesemergedsuchasinformalactivitydays,drop-ineveningsforgamesandsports,andspecialprojectmeetings.Whereaccesswasreadilyavailable,theorganisationmovedfrombeingaonce-per-weekeventtoaperpetualarrangementofmeetings,discussionforumsandactivities.Whenthemeetinghallscouldnotbeopened,thememberssimplymovedelsewhereandfoundanotherplacetoconducttheiractivities—sothemeetingplacesbecomelessimportantforawhile.

Creating a rhythm for a community

Theuseoftraditions,ritualsandroutinesinateamsettingisatriedandtestedprocessforbuildingharmonyandpurpose,andpassingontheculture(Martens,2004).Whenpeoplebecameinvolvedinavibrantcommunityofpracticearhythmsoondevelopedthatgeneratedasteadyflowofinformationandideasthatpromotednotonlyasenseofbelonging,butfeelingsofinclusionandinvolvementamongthemembers.


IntheAirLeague,thisrhythmwascreatedbyablendofformalandinformaltraditionsandnewroutinesintroducedbytheemergingcommunity.Forexample,weeklyparades,staffdevelopmenttrainingdays,briefingcommunicationsandorganisedcadettrainingactivitieswerecomplementedwithjointfundraisingefforts,regularemailinformationsharing,coachingsessionsbetweenmoreexperiencedadultstaffandnewmembers,plusspecialactivitieswherepeoplecouldrecallenjoyabletimesspentineachother’scompany.Wengeretal.(2002)referredtothesesocialeventsasmilestonesthatpunctuatetheregularrhythmofthecommunity.

Transition to the commercial aviation environment

SohowcansomeoftheseinsightsonsociallyconstructedlearningandCOPsobtainedfromtheAirLeaguebetransferredtotheworldofcivilaviationandwhatlearningpointscanbeusefullyappliedtopilotsworkinginanaircrewenvironment?Astheaviationindustryisconstantlyevolving,newmanagementsystemshavebeendevelopedoverthepastfewyearswithamainfocusonsafety.Mostcametotherealisationthatthedevelopmentofasafetycultureandcommunitywasoftheutmostimportanceforasystemtowork.

Onesuchsystemcanbefoundinasimplemodeldevelopedbyagroupofcivilaviationstudentsstudyingtheimplementationofeffectivesafetymanagementsystemsforawell-establishedinternationalairracein2011.Usingasimpleacronym,WINGS,showninTable1,thestudentsidentifiedfivecharacteristicsofasafetyculture.Mostorganisationsintheaviationindustryareplantingtheseedsofajustandsafetyculturewhichencouragespeopletomaketheirconcernsknownandtoreportaccidentsandincidentswillinglyinanhonestandtruthfulmannersothattheothersworkingwithinthesameenvironmentwillbeabletolearnfromtheeventsandavoidsimilaroccurrencesbyusingmoreadvancedtechnologyordevelopingbetterprocedures.


Inacommunityofpractice,participantssharethesameinterestorfocus,andvolunteertheirefforttoaddvalueontheissueconcerned.AgoodexampleofCOPintheaviationindustrywouldbetheAviationConfidentialReportingScheme(REPCON)ortheAviationSelf-ReportingScheme(ASRS).AREPCONreportmaybemadebyanyonewhoobservesorbecomesawareofareportablesafetyconcern.Byimplementingsuchschemes,theAustralianTransportSafetyBureau(ATSB)hascreatedanenvironmentwherepeople’sconcernsaboutaviationsafetycanbefreelyexpressed,therebycultivatingtheresultsoftheschemeswhichgeneratenewtoolsforenhancingsafetythroughanetworkwherepeoplewillinglysharetheirconcernswithintegrity.

Asacommunityofpracticecannotbebuilt,thesafetyandjustculturethatmostorganisationsintheaviationindustryareinstillingintotheiremployeesmaybethemeansofcreatingtheenvironmentforcommunitiesofpracticetoflourish.Thewillingnessofmanagementtoallowsuchagrowthiscrucialasitmaysavecosts,reduceaccidentratesandmostimportantlysavelives.

Figure 1: The ‘swiss cheese’ model (Reason, 1998)

Intheaviationenvironment,errorsprovidecriticallessonstobelearntbyothersinasimilarsituation.TheReasonmodel(Reason,1998),showninFigure1,illustrateshowaccidentsoccurwhengapsindefencemechanisms(representedbythecheeseslices)become


aligned.Alignmentoftheholescanbecreatedbyactivefailuresuchashumanerrorand/orarangeoflatentconditions.Bylearningfromthemistakesmadebyothers,theindustryisabletodevelopmoreeffectivemeasurestopreventmishaps.WeknowfromWengeretal.(2002)thatdifferentlevelsofparticipationareimportanttothegrowthofacommunityofpracticeasconcernscanbeviewedfromdifferentperspectivesandanglesinordertocreateabalancebetweenpreventionandproduction,whichkeepstheorganisationoperatinginasafebutprofitablemanner.

Table 1: Comparison chart of aviation security in relation to communities of practice

Aviationindustrysafetycultureprinciples

Alignmentwithcommunitiesofpractice

W Willingness:Willingnessofemployeestoreportaccidentsandincidents.Willingnessofmanagementtopromoteandadoptasafeandjustculture.

Participationinacommunityofpracticeisvoluntaryandreliesheavilyoneachpersonmakingameaningfulcontributiontothelearning(VanWinkelen,2003).

I Integrity:Levelsofhonestyinreporting.Upholdingadegreeofself-disciplinetowardssafetysuchasaccuratereporting,withholdingofevidence,trustandtransparency.

Membersofacommunityofpracticeareboundtogether,andfosterasenseofcommontrustandcommonpurposeamongeachother(Wenger&Snyder,2000:139).

N Enhancement:Howtoimprovethecurrentsystemcontinuouslyandmaketheenvironmentsafer.

Communitiesofpracticefocusonaddingvalueinacontinuouscycleoflearningandimprovingproductivity(Mitchell&Young,2002).

G Generative:Comingupwithnewideasandtechnologiestotackleissuesthatmayarisefromsafetyconcerns.

Communitiesofpracticeprovidethepractitionerwithaccesstonewknowledgeandcomeupwithinnovativenewideasandtechnologiestotackleissuesthatareofcommonconcern(Mitchell&Young,2002).

S Sharing:Collegialandcollaborativecommunicationprocessesamongstakeholdersbuildasafetycultureandraiseawarenessofemerginghazards,risksandpossiblesolutions.

Havingasharedvisionensuresthatallmembersofthecommunitycansharein,andrespondto,futureopportunities(Armstrong,2003).


Projecting forward

Ascommandersofaircrafts,pilotsareinchargeofnotonlyflyingtheaircraftbutalsothelivesofeveryoneonboard.Therefore,pilotsmustmaintainacertainlevelofinterpersonalrelationshipwithbothcrewmembersandpassengerstoensurethesafeoperationofaflight.Externally,pilotsalsoneedtoconnectwithotheraircraftandtrafficcontrollersinordertogaincrucialinformationforthesakeofsafeflight.Amidstthesenetworks,sociallyconstructedlearningoccursthroughoutpilottrainingasstudentsoftendiscusstheirflyingamongstthemselvesinformallyduringtheirfreetimeoutsideformalbriefingsessions.Fromsuchconversations,individualslearnaboutwhatactionsweretakenandwhatcouldbedonebetter.Thishabitcarriesthroughtotheircareerasflyingisalmosttheirsoleinterestandpassion.Althoughthistypeofsociallearningmaynotbeacommunitythatiscultivatedbyanorganisation,itisconsideredabroad,worldwidecommunityofprofessionals.Flightcrewtravelallaroundtheworldandworkwithavarietyofpeopleandpotentiallyadifferentcreweverytimetheytaketotheskies.

Conclusions

Inthispaperwehavediscussedhowthevalueoflearningisshapedbyorganisationalcultureandhowtheimplementationofmodernmanagementpracticescanbeusedtofocuseffortandbringaboutasystemisedprocessofchange.Thoughmuchlearningcanexistintraditionalorclassicalorganisationalstructures,suchastheAirLeague,theimplementationofmodernmanagementpracticeswasfoundtoassistinaligningdiversegroupsofpeoplewiththecharacteristicsofaunifiedlearningorganisationandindoingsopavedthewayforsociallyconstructedlearningcommunities,suchascommunitiesofpractice,todevelop.Centraltothistransformationwastheroleofanewleadershipteam,whoenabledfreshcommunitiestoemergeinanunpredictableandsometimesunstructuredway.Mitchell,WoodandYoungfoundthatthe


importanceofsituatedlearningwasdefinedbylearningthat‘occurredincertainformsofsocialco-partnering’(2001:4).AstheAirLeaguevolunteersbuiltanewcultureoflearning,theyenjoyedbeingpartofanorganisationthatwasfullofsupport,informationsharingandparticipationatalllevels.Thislevelofmotivationcontributedsignificantlytoimprovementsinperformanceandgrowthduring2009–2010.

Moreover,wehavecomparedpracticesfoundintheAirLeagueagainstsevenprinciplesdefinedbyWengeretal.(2002),andconcludedthatmuchevidencecanbefoundtosupporttheseprinciplesofsociallyconstructedlearning.Inregardtothesignificanceofbuildingsocialcapital,wealsoreflectedonhowwe,asparticipantsintheorganisation,mightbenefitfromourinvolvement.Foroneauthor,thepersonallearningjourneywasanewexperienceandhediscoveredthattheconceptofasociallyconstructedlearninggroupwasrelevanttohisprofessionaldevelopmentandlearningopportunitiesinthewideraviationindustry.Importantly,wefoundthatvolunteerswhoworkincommunityorganisationsreadilyassimilateandcommutetheirnewlearningtomanyaspectsoftheirlivesandthisisanessentialfacetofbuildingsocialcapital.

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About the authors

Bill Chan is a private pilot and an aviation undergraduate student at the Aviation Academy, University of South Australia and is Officer Commanding of the Munno Para Squadron, based in the South Australia Region of the Australian Air League.

Dr Tom Short is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Research in Education, Equity and Work (CREEW) at the School of Education, University of South Australia. Tom is the Regional Officer for South Australia and the Federal Training Officer of the Australian Air League.

Contact details

UniversityofSouthAustralia,SchoolofEducation,MawsonLakesCampus,MawsonLakes,SA5095Tel:0883024521Email:[email protected]

communities of practice in a voluntary youth organisation ... · frequent immersion within the...

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