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Article
Publication date: 30 March 2022

Dave Silberman, Rob E. Carpenter, Elena Cabrera and Jasmine Kernaleguen

This paper presents a viewpoint that considers the construction of ‘expertise’ as an impediment to successfully using cross-functional expertise in the organization. The…

1446

Abstract

Purpose

This paper presents a viewpoint that considers the construction of ‘expertise’ as an impediment to successfully using cross-functional expertise in the organization. The construction of expertise forms a bounded perspective that creates hidden impediments to success that culminate in organizational underachievement.

Design/methodology/approach

Experiential knowledge of the authors that incorporated 20 years of organizational management experience and extensive practice of hiring experts to progress organizational learning, knowledge, and development is the primary basis of this work.

Findings

A common misperception of ‘expertise’ relates to a limiting perspective on what expertise is? Organizations segregate expertise (silo) as a way of increasing functionality and division of labor in an organizational structure. However, organizational underachievement is not due to functional arrangement in the organization’s structure (which is a commonly held belief) rather a byproduct of a bounded perspective necessary to construct expertise.

Practical implications

Organizations who understand that the bounded perspective of expertise is the source constraining use of their acquired expertise gain insight to an actionable opportunity to rectify cross-functional restraints. Core elements are offered to minimize the impact of organizational silofication.

Originality/value

This paper is unique in that it introduces a bounded perspective as the source impeding the use of workplace expertise rather than functional placement.

Details

Development and Learning in Organizations: An International Journal, vol. 36 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7282

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 July 2024

Rob E. Carpenter, Wafa Damlaj and Dave Silberman

To explore the Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE) bias as a potential impediment to organizational learning and to develop a conceptual model for practitioners and scholars to…

Abstract

Purpose

To explore the Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE) bias as a potential impediment to organizational learning and to develop a conceptual model for practitioners and scholars to consider.

Design/methodology/approach

Our methodology includes a review and adoption of concepts from social cognition, organizational psychology, and learning theory to examine the role of FAE bias in organizational learning.

Findings

FAE bias is characterized by providing implicit support for fostering employee cynicism and resistance behaviors and facilitates ongoing cognitive cycles that hinder collaborative learning and knowledge sharing.

Practical implications

By understanding the role of FAE bias in organizational learning, leaders can develop strategies to mitigate the negative impact of FAE bias on organizational learning dynamics and enhance a social cycle that can improve the organization's learning culture.

Social implications

This viewpoint highlights that FAE bias in the workplace can lead to a breakdown in how individuals process emotions (affect), actions (behavior) and thoughts (cognition) in social scenarios, exacerbating employee cynicism and resistance, which in turn undermines effective collaboration, communication and the overall social fabric essential for organizational learning.

Originality/value

This viewpoint presents a novel perspective by linking FAE bias directly to cognitive cycles that can impede organizational learning processes through cynicism and resistance behavior, which we propose should be proactively considered by organizations leveraging learning as a key management strategy.

Details

Development and Learning in Organizations: An International Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7282

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 March 2022

Mandolen Mull, Clayton Duffy and Dave Silberman

The purpose of this conceptual paper is to provide a foundation for human resource development (HRD) scholars in attempts to devise mechanisms for establishing and facilitating…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this conceptual paper is to provide a foundation for human resource development (HRD) scholars in attempts to devise mechanisms for establishing and facilitating actionable pathways through which unlearning can be acknowledged and serve as a contributing agent for HRD interventions. This paper concludes with a call to action for our HRD colleagues to join us in further examination of unlearning interventions within the organizational context.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper narratively details the literature associated with the myriad social science domains that have investigated the unlearning process. Additionally, a cross-disciplinary literature review provides the basis for an operational definition of unlearning provided herein.

Findings

The field of HRD is devoted to creating learning organizations as well as utilizing change initiatives to develop organizations. However, unlearning has been largely ignored within the field of HRD.

Originality/value

The first contribution is by answering the call of scholars across varied disciplines to further investigate unlearning within the organizational context (Bettis and Prahalad, 1995; Hedberg, 1981; Nystrom and Starbuck, 1984). Additionally, this paper seeks to specifically address the role that unlearning holds within the field of HRD as it builds upon the definition provided by Wang et al. (2017) and offers its own operational definition. Finally, this paper provides the only known review of cross-disciplinary research pertaining to unlearning.

Details

European Journal of Training and Development, vol. 47 no. 5/6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-9012

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 7 October 2019

Jules Naudet and Shirin Shahrokni

This chapter explores the class identities of upwardly mobile and middle-class members of racial minorities in France and the United States. Through in-depth interviewing with…

Abstract

This chapter explores the class identities of upwardly mobile and middle-class members of racial minorities in France and the United States. Through in-depth interviewing with African Americans and descendants of North African immigrants in, respectively, the United States and France, and comparing these with their counterparts of the racially dominant group, the chapter shows that racial processes significantly shape the mobility experiences and the range of dilemmas, challenges and identity negotiations faced by our minority respondents. Drawing on the Critical Race Theory and on the minority culture of mobility theory (Neckerman, Carter, & Lee., 1999), it suggests that the ongoing salience of racial discrimination coupled with the maintenance of ties with socially disadvantaged members of their groups significantly shape the ways in which our respondents make sense of their class location. The chapter further points to under-researched nation-specific ideological repertoires in shaping our respondents’ mobility experiences and class identities.

Details

Elites and People: Challenges to Democracy
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-915-6

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 September 2010

Joerg Koenigstorfer and Andrea Groeppel‐Klein

The purpose of this paper is to report the results of a study using photoelicitation interviews to investigate the relationship between the habitualised and unconscious aspects of…

1941

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report the results of a study using photoelicitation interviews to investigate the relationship between the habitualised and unconscious aspects of consumers' food choices, the front‐of‐pack nutrition labelling schemes on food products and the healthiness of their diets.

Design/methodology/approach

To this end, photographs of ten German middle‐class families at different stages of the family lifecycle were taken at the point of purchase (during a shopping trip made by the main person responsible for meal planning) and at the point of consumption (during a family meal at home). The paper used selected photographs as stimuli for photoelicitation. The interviews were recorded and analysed using a holistic approach.

Findings

Four themes concerning food characteristics, participants' food choices and their healthiness emerged from the data: perceived time pressure at the point of purchase; the relevance of nutrition information for making inferences with regard to the healthiness and tastiness of products; consumers' trust in nutrition information; and their use of this information at the point of purchase or point of consumption.

Research limitations/implications

Photoelicitation interviews allowed us to bridge the gap between researchers and respondents and to study what happens in real‐life situations when consumers go shopping and prepare family meals.

Practical implications

By putting nutrition information on food packaging, especially on the front of the pack, manufacturers and retailers enable consumers to make faster and healthier decisions at the point of purchase – i.e. as long as the consumers notice, understand, trust and like the labelling and use it in making their final decision. Front‐of‐pack labels are of less relevance at the point of consumption.

Originality/value

The paper provides a number of insights into the processes involved in making healthy (or unhealthy) food decisions. It also provides directions for future studies in visual research and in the fields of consumer behaviour, marketing and public policy.

Details

Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, vol. 13 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1352-2752

Keywords

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