Learning is a Bridge between Work and Innovation

Literary, Learning is transmitting knowledge from one to another which helps one or a certain group of people enhancing knowledge, productivity, efficiency, skill and innovativeness. In the current competitive world an organization has to be innovative and bring new ideas time to time in order to sustain and maintain a steady growth. All those factors which are achieved by learning are really needed when an organization needs to adopt new technology or process in order to bring new product to the market.

Traditional concept of innovation in any particular organization was like one specific department will do research and generate new ideas. But this idea is replaced by approach of organizational learning. Organizations are now paying more and more attentions in generating new ideas, innovations and effectiveness. And for this now a day’s organizations are emphasizing on learning which is not out of work but also in the native working environment.

Learning could be done in two approaches. One is formal training which involves in transferring explicit knowledge from one head who knows to other head who does not know that. And another way of learning could be informal meeting, discussions, etc. The central issue in learning is becoming a practitioner not learning about practice. From the article we find according to Orr’s study this sort of learning going on in the process of and inseparable from work.  Again, Orr shows that the reps develop their understanding of machine, sometimes more than their employer either expects or allows, not in the training programs, but in the very conditions in their daily work.  So learning in the work place is the best approach of acquiring knowledge which is achieved by informal discussions and practice within the organization. This should be supported by the organization directly or indirectly and this is how community of practice is described. This does not only involve individual practice but also the organizational practice which results some learning of both explicit and tacit knowledge.  This often takes place in the coffee place or during lunch time through the informal discussion and sharing experiences with each other between the co-workers.

Learning increases sharing knowledge and experiences, ideas, understandings and also helps more in decision making. Though it takes time initially but once the process is started it makes the organizational members perform more efficiently in their regular work and also helps generating new ideas which lead them to innovation.

The concepts of learning especially organizational work by Mitzberg (1979), Miller (1986), Landry in 1992, Brown and Duguid (1991) are almost same and reflect the same principle that learning is a bridge between works an innovation.

Some sort of learning is not always possible by formal training, which can be experienced by informal learning. This sometimes leads to more innovativeness and creativity. Thus we can come to an end that working, learning and innovation are inter related with each other and learning while working sometimes proves as more fruitful.

Reference Article:

J. Seely‐Brown & P.Duguid “Organizational Learning and Communities of Practice: Toward a Unified View of Working, Learning and Innovation”