Whilst continuing with my literature review about blogs and organisational learning it appears that there is a greater focus upon the uses of blogs in organisations. This is indicated, for example, by the International Journal of Information Technology and Management’s (IJITM) special issue on: “Organisational Blogs: Opportunities and Challenges.” However, there still appears to be, certainly at the time of writing this post, no direct link associated with the concept of organisational learning within studies concerning blogs and organisations. As part of my research, I intend to see whether a relationship between the two concepts exists whilst continuing to network with fellow researchers who are analysing similiar subject areas.
Trying to ascertain whether there is an association between social software and organisational learning is an avenue of research that I feel is worthwhile exploring.
An in-depth research report from Futurelab entitled ‘Social software and learning’ focuses upon the use of educational uses of learning technology, of which many of the ideas and concepts can be applied towards organisations and how people now learn within them.
In terms of considering the theoretical development of organisational learning, I feel that it may prove to be more beneficial to focus upon the discipline’s ‘practical’ side. By this I mean that importance should be given towards concentrating upon ‘the means’ in which organisations now internally operate and communicate. As most people are aware, most organisations are surrounded and immersed in the ‘digital age’. However, a question worth reflecting upon is can the discipline of organisational learning concurrently evolve and adapt in technological world companies find themselves in. Is technology often used as a mode of learning in organisations or is it simply seen as a more effective form of communication? Though is the concept of communication deemed as a form of learning? Through my research, I intend to see whether the traditional concepts associated with organisational learning can be applied towards the use of blogs, often considered to fall under the classification of ‘social software’ or ‘learning technology.’
In some of my previous written work for my thesis, I have reflected upon the question of how should the discipline of organisational learning continue to develop. The countless debates located in the academic literature are often divided upon this issue. I feel that that the development of the theoretical side of the field of organisational learning still remains important though equally so is trying to advance the discipline by testing such theories in ‘real life’ organisational settings. I consider research relating to organisational learning continuing to evlove in a cyclical manner – theories are devised in the literature, then examined in ‘real life’ settings and reported to the wider academic community resulting in new theories or verifications of the existing ones. In my research, I hope to see whether any relationship exists between organisational learning and blogs. This is an avenue of research that appears to be not yet sufficiently explored in the academic literature. I therefore hope to present some new findings in this area so as to inform the wider organisational learning community.
Gavin Baxter
