Workplace Learning:The Roles of Knowledge Accessibility and

Management

Jessica Li, Gary Baker, Angeline Champion, Tony Fuller, Sandy Gabel and Lori Hatcher-Busch (2008), “Workplace learning: the roles of knowledge accessibility and management, Journal of Workplace Learning, Vol. 21 No. 4, pp. 347 – 364;

Reviewer

Michael Gezae

Authors

Jessica Li

Gary BakerTonyFuller

They are all graduate students at the University

AngelineChampion

SandyGabel

LoriHatcher-Busch

Assistant Professor, College of Education, University of North Texas

Purpose

Examining how knowledge management systems have been used

by studied organizations to improve

• Knowledge Accessibility

and To increase workplace learning

• Knowledge Sharing

Research Questions

1.How organizations use knowledge management systems to aid

workplace learning?

2.What specifically do organizations use to increase knowledge

accessibility, thus increase knowledge sharing and support

workplace learning?

Methodology/Approach

• Collective case study approach

• Case study helps to optimize understanding by looking beyond what has been

learnt in academia to what is being applied

• Multiple helps to add confidence to the findings and increase the reliability of the

study

• Data Collection

• In depth semi structured Interviews

• Review of Company Documents

• Onsite observations

Interview Guides

1. What systems does your organization have in place that helps

capture tacit knowledge and convert it to explicit knowledge to

improve workplace learning?

2. What plans do you have for improving knowledge sharing in your

organization?

3. How have the systems that you have in place improved

performance?

4. Based on your experience, what would you recommend to other

organizations wanting to increase knowledge sharing in their

organization?

Cont.

• Data Analysis

• Open coding

• Thematic Analysis

• Data Triangulation achieved by

– Data collection through various methods (interview, observation, documentation)

– Interviewing at multiple levels within the organization (managerial/non-managerial)

• Data analyzed first within a case and then across cases

• Initial analysis and identification of themes by each author

individually

• Then multiple discussions were held until consensus was reached

Findings

Organized according to the four interview guides

1. Current systems of KM

– Lack of overarching learning strategy

– Academic organizations lag behind non-academic organizations in KM

Initiatives.

2. Plans to improve knowledge sharing

• Different solutions were sought to share/transfer knowledge

Findings cont.

3. How KM systems helped in improving performance

• In non-academic organizations

– Improved corporate performance

– Better customer service

– Lower support response time

– Better product knowledge

– Improved internal processes

– Improved financial performance

– Increased external company recognition

Findings cont.

• In academic Organizations

– Increased ability to utilize learning technologies

– New program identification & higher awareness

– Increased co-ordination

– Increased ability to share expertise with colleagues

– Empowerment (decision making moved to lower level of the org’n)

Findings cont…

4. Recommendations for Other Organizations

– Organizational support is key to KM effort

• Organizational learning culture,

• Management,

• Financial,

• Technical, and

• Personnel support

– Suitable framework that facilitates a coordinated and centralized effort

• Consistent effort to embrace and utilize KM practices

• Flexible framework to be modified based on business constraints and needs

Conclusions

• A conducive organizational learning context will positively influence both

formal and informal learning

• Understanding of underlying business processes is important so as to be able

• Create an overarching framework of capturing, storing, and sharing

knowledge

• Fit to the organizational learning culture

• Difference in business processes of academic and non-academic

organizations requires different KM systems• Not having an overarching strategy and adequate financial and personnel

support to facilitate a coordinated and centralized effort could result in a deficiency in organization’s ability to support knowledge aaccessibility and sharing.

Summary of critiques

• Hence, while examining this subject is beneficial to understand how it is

implemented in some organizations in one part of the world; due to the

unrepresentativeness of the sample and the approach of the study, I cannot

say that new perspectives are gained.

• The findings and the recommendations are already clearly explained in

literatures, although pointing out them in a context of some organizations

might help similar organizations to have an insight into the subject.

• Most of their findings and recommendation are basic and fundamental to

knowledge management initiatives which are still applicable. Hence, even

though the findings and recommendations are not new, they can still bring the

topic to the forefront and initiate or entice further research.

Cont…

• With regard to writing style and structure, the authors followed a clear and

understandable approach for readers who are familiar with research

methodologies. However, for non-experts it seems that some terminologies

and approaches might have been explained in a better way.

• The article’s purpose and arguments are clear. The research questions are

clearly illustrated. The findings are applicable to organizations in a similar

situation.

• In discussing the results the authors are consistent with the findings.

Moreover, it can be seen that the conclusion clearly emanates from the data

collected and discussed.

Do you have any questions

Thank You!

PS• In qualitative research coding is the process of generating ideas and

concepts from raw data such as interview transcripts, field notes, archival materials, reports, newspaper articles, and art. The coding process refers to the steps the researcher takes to identify, arrange, and systematize the ideas, concepts, and categories uncovered in the data. Coding consists of identifying potentially interesting events, features, phrases, behaviors, or stages of a process and distinguishing them with labels.

• Open coding - a close line-by-line reading of the data in a search to identify as many ideas and concepts as possible without concern for how they relate

• Data triangulation – drawing on multiple sources of data

• Thematic analysis - each new piece of information is examined in light of a particular research question in order to construct a tentative answer to the question. Tentative answers are categorized into themes. This process continues until themes emerge that are well supported by all available information