Employee Learning and Resilience

Presenter: Dani Rius

Context

• Post 2011 EQ study

• 8 Leaders from two organisations of an alliance participated

• Atypical alliance:

a) Transient, finite

b) Natural Competitors

c) Similar knowledge, not complementary Collaboration vs Competition dilemma

September 2010 and February 2011 Earthquakes in Christchurch shattered the city. Businesses were struggling to survive in the highly challenging environment, where buildings were no longer safe to remain in them so several businesses had to relocate. Innovative ways of doing business were urgent in order to maintain their livelihoods.

Christchurch Cathedral, New Zealand

Picture taken on July 8, 2015

Post-earthquake (P-EQ) alliance components

Alliance

P-EQ

Govt. Agencies

Alliance Coordinating Team (CT)

Unit of Analysis 1:

APO1

Unit of Analysis

2:

APO2

Research Questions

• How do employees learn in the context of this complex alliance?

• What enables or facilitates their learning? What hinders their learning?

• Are there significant differences between Organisation 1 and Organisation 2?

• How does the tension between collaboration and competition relate to sharing or transfer of knowledge across organisations?

You know you're from Christchurch when https://www.facebook.com/ykyfcw?fref=ts http://www.startsatsixty.com.au/

Literature Review

• Learning theories Cognitive Psychology, Education Vygotsky, Piaget, Pritchard, A. (2008)

Learning Organisations Vera, D, & Crossan, M. (2004). Strategic leadership and organizational learning. The Academy of Management Review, 29, 222-240

• Strategic alliances Kale, P., & Singh, H. (2007). Building firm capabilities through learning: the role of the alliance learning process in alliance capability and firm-level alliance success. Strategic Management Journal; Inkpen, A. C. (2000). Learning through joint ventures: A framework of knowledge acquisition. Journal of Management Studies, 37, 1019-1043.

• Employee Resilience Katharina Näswall, Joana Kuntz, Morgana Hodliffe, Sanna Malinen - Employee resilience scale: Technical Report (2013) - www.resorgs.org.nz

• Organisational Resilience Weick, K. E., & Sutcliffe, K. M. (2007). Managing the unexpected: Resilient performance in an age of uncertainty

Secondary Data Review • Individual interviews

• Focus groups

Learning “Learning refers to the process of obtaining a new perspective or understanding of reality and adapting to it. The learning process usually happens in interaction with others. New knowledge and skills can be acquired formally (e.g., through training, education), or informally (e.g., through interaction with social networks)” Dani Rius, 2014 (Former ESL teacher)

Learning Theories (Cognitive Psychology):

• Assimilation/accommodation theories [Piaget];

• Social Development Theory [Vygotsky]. http://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html (90 second video on differences btw Piaget & Vygotsky)

Resilience Psychological Resilience • “A dynamic process encompassing positive adaptation within the context of

significant adversity” (Luthar et al., 2000, p. 543)* • “The capacity of individuals to cope successfully with significant change, adversity

or risk” (Lee & Cranford, 2008, p. 213)* • “An individual’s stability or quick recovery (or even growth) under significant

adverse conditions” (Leipold & Greve, 2009, p. 41)* [*In Fletcher, D. & Sarkar, M., 2013. Psychological Resilience: A review & critique of definitions, concepts and theory] • Adaptive capacity as a personal characteristic that enhances learning capability

(Chiaburu, Baker, & Pitariu, 2006) Good News: Resilience can be learned! (Coutu, 2002; Luthans, 2002; King & Rothstein, 2010)

Organisational Resilience • Maintenance of positive adjustment under challenging conditions such that the

organization emerges from those conditions strengthened and more resourceful (Vogus & Sutcliffe, 2007, p.3418)

Results

• Learning: Innovation, new ways to do things, trial and error • Learning enablers: * Leadership aligned to the organisational learning culture (of the home organisation and also aligned to the alliance culture), encouraged innovative thinking, trial and error, and mistakes as opportunities for learning * Motivation to learn (employee engagement) * Sharing knowledge /Resource availability (within organisation) * Social networking, collaboration and participation * Obstacles to learning: Competition and limited resource accessibility (across organisations) Learning capability, suggested as a predictor of resilience (Crick et al., 2013), was supported by findings.

Evaluation and discussion of current

work practice and specifications

Collaborative problem solving/Negotiation

'Best' solutions suggested

Proposed solutions put in practice (at

APOs)

Feedback with trial and error results

Learning Cycle at Upper Management

Learning and Resilience: Adaptive Ability

Learning (increased knowledge in a constructive context) Leadership aligned to the organisational learning culture • Facilitated learning by

encouraging employees to try things out, learn from mistakes, participate in problem solving, learn from each other in teams

• Enabled learning through providing physical resources and social networks (e.g. SMEs)

• Enhanced employee learning through challenging them to think out of the box & innovate

Resilience (enhanced skills in a disruptive context) Leadership aligned to the organisational learning culture • Enhanced employee resilience as

a result of leadership support and employee adaptability to the challenging work demands created by the EQs

• Employee adaptability as a result of their learning capacity and their ability to keep open to learning in spite of work pressure and challenging demands

Thank you!

DRR Consulting WorkNLifeTransitions@outlook.com

www.drrconsulting.co.nz

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=94757159 http://hdl.handle.net/10092/10522