Relevance of Adult Higher Education on Knowledge Management in the Healthcare Sector

Organizations, including the healthcare sector, are subject to changes in market, technology and regulations. This requires enhanced and different types of knowledge and has led to an increased demand for adult higher education. However, the competencies required need to be met by the providers of higher education. This article presents a qualitative case study investigating the work relevance of an adult education study bachelor program for middle managers of the public health sector in Norway. The paper explores how the education has shaped the interplay between the student/practitioner and his/her surroundings. The data in the study have been collected using in-depth interviews. The case study showcases the potential impacts of higher education within public healthcare management in the workplace, also highlighting the factors that are predominant regarding the application and dissemination of formal knowledge in the workplace. The primary findings of this study are that there is an interplay between the form and content of the education, personal capabilities, and individual characteristics of the student (employee/health manager), as well as an organizational maturity pertaining to knowledge-management and the exposure to organizational innovation in the broader healthcare system. The case study contributes to the field of knowledge management issues by showing how a study program can support the development of knowledge management practices in an organization, through focusing on the relevance pronounced through the management practices.publishedVersio

On Work Relevance of Adult Education: A Case Study Narrative

There is an increased focus on relevance of higher education. Mostly it is about enhanced job opportunities or job advancements for the individual. However, relevance of higher education may also be towards solving important issues or problems at a workplace. There are some necessary preconditions as to how an educational activity becomes relevant. Firstly, the student must be capable to discover how generic knowledge and acquired skills may or may not apply to concrete situations at work. This requires experience, understanding of the norms and culture of the organisation and a certain form of practical intelligence. Secondly, the conditions at work place must be conducive to innovation and change in various ways. In this article, we present a case study where employee turnover and lack of effective training routines were a major efficiency constraint in a Norwegian firm. With constant competition, changes in markets and other factors that influence the sustainability of an organization, cutting costs, such as high turnover and the time from being newcomer to being fully operative in the job. The responsible for training activities in the firm realized that additional formal education at the higher education level was needed, and he decided to enrol in a Knowledge Management study program at The Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences in order to learn how he could improve knowledge management and learning processes of new employees at his workplace. The case study ultimately demonstrates how crucial the interplay between content and form of education on one hand and specific conditions facilitating changes and improvements at work on the other is for the relevance in formal higher education narrative.publishedVersio

The Importance of Tacit and Explicit Knowledge Transfer in an Onboarding Programme

Abstract: “Onboarding” is one way of facilitating training for newcomers to get them socialized and trained for the job in question. Getting newcomers “up to speed” and reducing turnover is cost saving for a company. In this paper, we showcase how this has been done in a company in Norway. This organization suffered from high turnover and a lengthy training period for newcomers. Theory on socio-cultural learning, organizational culture, and knowledge management has enlightened our study. To display the interplay between organizational socialization and learning at work, we will present our findings on the development of an onboarding initiative. We dive into the subtleties of the border between formal structures of the onboarding and the informal best practices. Tacit knowledge conveyed through the informal best practices can be transferred and adapted through conversation and behavior. The data material is collected through qualitative in-depth interviews over a period of three years. The onboarding is not only contributing towards higher effectiveness and less turnover, but also developing, and continuously improving, learning structures in the organization.publishedVersio

Knowledge management in action: A case study from Norway

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Kahooting for Learning

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"Face-to-Face" or Sim-to-Sim: Pros and cons regarding groupwork using a games based environment

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Invisible work, making visible differences. Facilitating transformative learning circles.

The paper addresses the facilitation of experience based knowledge sharing through inter-organizational networking and dialog across the Nordic countries. Organizations nowadays look for ways to facilitate new thinking and innovation to develop their organizations. To stay competitive they need leaders and employees who assimilate, develop and share knowledge (Senge, 2006, Filstad & Gottschalk, 2011). Strategies on Knowledge Management therefore seem more important than ever. The Nordic Council of Ministers has initiated several development programs to meet both global, Nordic and national challenges concerning sustainability, citizenship, inclusion, togetherness and democracy. One of the Projects connected to these programs is “Transformative learning circles”. This paper focuses on the role of the facilitator in transformative learning processes in this network. Facilitators can apply different roles to activate groups of people to learn through dialogue. This include elaborating existing frames of reference to learning new frames and moreover transforming habits of mind and transforming points of view (Mezirow, 2000, Kitchenham, 2008). We examine how facilitators understand their roles as facilitators and what competences they consider as important for facilitating. A facilitator’s role includes both attitudes, knowledge and skills. Our empirical investigation uncovers that there is a delicate balance between leading the discussions and letting the participants run the discussions. The facilitator’s work is a kind of invisible when things work out well, but it becomes more obvious if they fail. Research methods were individual interviews, focus group interviews, observation of physical meetings and net meetings. By triangulating different qualitative methods, we consider the validity of the data to be satisfactory (Lincoln & Guba, 1994).publishedVersio

Educating Managers in Knowledge Intensive Organizations

Education boosts leaders’ confidence and competence level. A survey undertaken at Hedmark University of Applied Science shows that managers that enroll in studies in Organization and Management claim that studying has been a support in their development as managers, and has contributed to their confidence and competence level. In an increasingly more competitive marked, strategies on Knowledge Management (KM) seem more important than ever. By being able to assimilate, develop and share knowledge, organizations are able to stay competitive. The organizations thus need managers that accept, understand and can work with KM principles and strategies. KM is defined by Davenport(1994) as being about capturing, distributing and making sense and use of knowledge. In all the courses in the year program, there are elements from KM. However, it is not enough “knowing what”, this needs to be supported by “knowing how”, terms coined by Gilbert Ryle (1949). Supporting the process of going from declarative knowledge to procedural knowledge can be undertaken by e.g. features from Senge’s five disciplines(Senge, 1992), in particular team learning, systems thinking and shared visions. Underlying team learning, systems thinking and sharing visions, are reflection and how to utilize reflective methods. Student active methods embrace activities that facilitate reflection and reflective thinking, and experiencing. This paper presents how KM principles and strategies are supported in the education of leaders using the different student active methods. The data are mainly retrieved from a survey, and are supported by data from interviews and observations. The data from interviews are “member checked” to secure validity and credibility issues

Blended learning: How to combine different ways to interact online

Adult students need to be activated and engaged to optimize a learning process (Knowles 1984, Rogers 2007). In online learning, it is challenging to obtain engagement and interactivity, even when combining asynchronous and synchronous communication. At The Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, different takes on creating activity and engagement have been tried out. Projects using mandatory on-campus seminars, different types of media and live tutoring have shown that there is a need for blended learning. This paper present different ways of utilizing both on-campus and online teaching. Our approach to collecting data is a combination of qualitative and quantitative research. We have observed and interviewed students, and on a particular group of students that both have online and on-campus lectures, we have collected data from a survey. Our respondents have been both students and lecturers. Our theoretical backdrop rests mainly on theory on blended learning approaches, adult learning and theory on co-creation of consumer value. Findings and results are a combination of Lervik’s PhD work and Vold’s PhD work. Preliminary results points towards a combination of online and on-campus teaching is preferred and provide an optimized learning outcome. Some students, e.g. full time employees, prefer the blend of online and fewer on-campus seminars as this provide them with the opportunity of studying whilst keeping a full time job. It also allow them to stay at home – most of the time – and not move in order to study. Some students may also have a family situation that makes going away to attend classes e.g. every week is difficult. Our results also show that to start the semesters with an introductory seminar that requires attendance provide the students and teachers with the possibility of being acquainted. This enables the development of trust that lay the ground for involvement and engagement, and also boosts communication between peers (students) and between student – teacher. Lowering the threshold for contacting fellow students allows colloquial groups or “communities” to form easier that for students that only have Access to online learning. Learning from peers is important for the total learning outcome. Different learning styles also require different approaches. A blend of different learning approaches will thus support the individuals learning outcome.publishedVersio

How Can User Generated Content in Games Foster Enhanced Learning Outcome

Games used for learning purposes, also called «serious games» have been a focus for research for several years. However, the content is either developed by pedagogues or game designers. This paper is investigating if using a «dewanian» take on the content development can enhance the learning outcome. Assuming, like in a Socratic dialogue, that the answers lie within the learners themselves, there is no reason as to why the content, or to be more precise; the scenarios, could be developed by the learners. Given a game environment, like a city, a port, or other geographical representation, what is happening there can be based on the learners input. In this way it is also possible for faculty staff to keep on track with the students perception of relevance to a present or future worklife. At The Inland University of Applied Sciences, Campus Rena, we have tested out making the students come up with scenarios depicting different crisis scenarios. These scenarios are then given to the game master for the game environment and played. The class that has tested this, were divided in two groups. Most of the students, though not all, have a background within crisis management, and all attend the 6th semester of their BA in Crisis Management study. Both groups handed in a scenario to the game master. The game master developed the scenario in the game environment and then the group that «owned» the scenario was playing out different issues. The other group were the responding units. When both groups’ scenarios were played, the groups met for an «after action review». The preliminary results show that this increased the realism in the gaming sessions. The paper will present an in-depth presentation of the course layout, and a complete review of the feedback from the students. The data is mainly qualitative and are based on observations and interviews with the students. Using games this way was indeed a ludic way of learning more about crisis. There were some issues that needed to be addressed, like the communication devices, but the total impression were positive. To be able to contribute with a scenario they had built on their own, they also found to be supportive of their learning process.publishedVersio