E-Learning Curve Blog

Knowledge Workers and Corporate Learning Environments

As discussed in previous blog entries, the 21st century corporate learning environment is an ecosystem of services, tools, technologies, and processes that support (more or less) knowledge workers, including individual and team learning, as well as organizational performance and development.

We can say with a degree of certainty that these systems are in place for a range of tactical, operational, and strategic reasons. According to Klein and Eseryl (2005) this agglomeration of systems can be viewed within

…a framework based on the premise that different methods are needed for different levels of knowledge and expertise.

(The Corporate Learning Environment, p.8)

Klein and Eseryl extend Dillon and Hallett’s 2001 learning curve model; by making it the basis for a framework (see Figure 1) that applies the notion of the conventional learning curve to the context of the corporate learning environment, they assert that to supply an “apt” structure for understanding when and how different learning approaches and strategies are used.

Within this framework, the conceptualization of the learning environment consists of systems to manage and support:

1. cohesive team management
2. knowledge generation and sharing
3. performance support
4. document storage and retrieval
5. on-demand learning
6. traditional training

More…

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References:

Dillon, P. & Hallett, C. (2001). Powering the leap to maturity: The eLearning ecosystem. Cisco Systems white paper.

Klein, J. Eseryel, D. (2005). The Corporate Learning Environment. [Internet] Available from: http://www.igi-pub.com/downloads/excerpts/159140505XCh1.pdf
Accessed February 18 2010
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February 23 2010 02:30 pm | e-learning

4 Responses to “Knowledge Workers and Corporate Learning Environments”

1. Harold Jarche on 23 Feb 2010 at 3:32 pm #

   Traditional training for novices is a standard maxim in the industry but I wonder if it’s really been tested & researched, or if it’s just a gut feeling. A while back, I came across an excellent example of successful informal learning for new hires that made me question that assumption:

   http://www.jarche.com/2009/03/informal-learning-works-for-new-hires/

2. Michael Hanley on 23 Feb 2010 at 4:03 pm #

   Thanks for taking the time to comment, Harold.
   My interpretation of Klein & Eseryl’s work was that traditional training is one of the options available to trainers in corporate environments. My own experience working with new hires (in a six-week orientation program for example) is that initially I’m providing them with quite general information about the organization, and depending on their speciality, these workers receive more role-specific training as they progress through the program.

   I find that it’s easier to communicate general policies & procedures to a large group at once in a classroom environment than to do it on a one-to-one basis. There’s also an element of enabling groups of people to get to know one another / begin to build personal networks in this environment.

   Having said that, I have also developed purely web-based induction programs. Is one approach more successful than another? That’s for later in this series of blog posts!
   Michael
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   PS – Thanks for the link I’ll certainly follow up on it.
   PPS – I know I haven’t touched on formal / informal approaches in the above; the reason being that I think that there’s a third way, which I will discuss later in this series.
   M

3. A Holistic Approach to Workplace Competencies | E-Learning Curve Blog on 03 Mar 2010 at 5:32 pm #

   [...] Knowledge Workers and Corporate Learning Environments [...]

4. Steve on 23 Dec 2010 at 3:47 pm #

   We’ve used performance support with great success from the complete novice to expert level. In some cases our test group novices were children age 13 – 15 performing at the level or beyond educated or experienced professionals. A good job aid will be valuable for task performance by anyone that can access and consume it.

   Does the diagram above represent change in intervention based on role transformation? A maintenance technician will have a significantly different work focus than a supervisor of maintenance technicians.