Islands of Practice: Conflict and a Lack of ‘Community’ in Situated Learning
Abstract
We examine how, in a utility company, existing practices and performance systems limited the scope of situated learning. We contribute to the understanding of situated learning by exploring how conflict, systems and artefacts also shape the trajectory of situated learning rather than just a sense of identity or meaningful participation. Systems and artefacts mediate interactions in organizations and potentially contribute to boundaries between teams, resulting in ‘islands of practice’ and stark variations in performance. This case study broadens our understanding of situated learning in organizations by challenging the relevance of ‘community’ in contemporary organizations where conflict and transience may be prevalent. We argue that practices and objects/artefacts are a fruitful way of researching organizational learning; situated learning in organizations is likely to be continually emerging against a constant battle to stabilize an appropriate set of practices that support the aims of management.
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- Authors
- Macpherson, A., & Clark, B.
- Affiliations
- University of Liverpool (GB)
- Fujitsu (United Kingdom) (GB)
- ORCID
- Macpherson, Allan
- Venue
- Management Learning
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2009-10-21
- Volume
- 40
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 551-568
- ISSN
- 1350-5076 (ISSN-L)
- 1461-7307
- OpenAlex
- W2043664783
- Semantic Scholar
- a0c0fb8485e3477bcf7bb79b875efb5e90cc3160
- Cited by
- 46
- References
- 43
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 1 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 8.12
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Management Learning (publishedVersion)
- DMU Open Research Archive (De Montfort University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Human Factors and Ergonomics › Innovative Education and Learning Practices
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Organizational Learning and Leadership
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Management and Organizational Studies
- Keywords
- situated learning, organizational learning, organizational conflict, community, artifacts, organizational practices, performance systems, public utilities, team boundaries, transience
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