HUMAN LEARNING - NATURAL DRIFT TO LOOSE COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE

HUMAN LEARNING - PROFESSOR CONCEDES CoP AS GOLD STANDARD IN EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT

 HUMAN LEARNING - 3,000 CoPS AT CATERPILLAR WORLDWIDE

MORE  IN  ARCHIVES...

RESEARCH NEWS NOTIFICATIONS...REGISTER

B. 'MISTAKES' REPRISALS MINDSET

In most cases, it is only through trial and error that new insight into skills and processes are generated. An atmosphere that embraces mistakes and motivates individuals to share the learning points with their colleagues is critical. However Russian workers see it as too much of a risk to admit them.

Two traditional obstacles present included (i) a worker and work group's resistance to share mistakes and failures for fear again of decreasing their personal value and (ii) mistakes cover-up for fear of negative consequences to their career or department.

Three additional obstacles are also evident in anti-knowledge sharing cultures:

(iii) Taboo Behaviours. Workers just never talk about their own mistakes. Although having a national history of suffering and misfortune, paradoxically, there is an absence of mistakes admission in the workplace. The Russian executives see no paradox here however.

'Most Russian middle managers and employees, however, do not share this struggle:

"Our slogan : 'We do not have the right to make mistakes!'"
--Russian middle manager, Buildcom

"I can only remember one single case when a mistake was made in our company over the last five years."
--Russian HR manager, Foodcom '

(iv) Lack of Reflection Skills. Although Russians are good at reflecting on personal matters, work decision processes are not one of those matters. Reflection on one's work is rarely ever encouraged because of a bureaucratic history.

'Many Russian companies are typically structured as a coercive bureaucracy. This structural configuration is based on positional authority, top-down command and control, and autocratic strategy development. The lack of interest in reflection and feedback perpetuates this tendency. '

Mistakes are neither learned from but are suspected to continually be repeated throughout a given organisation because one's own work is not critically examined for improvement.

(v) Focus on Procedures and Regulations. This has been a strong work ethic.

'Everyone is expected to stick to organizational rules and procedures. It is estimated that the average Russian enterprise during communist times may have had up to 80,000 rules and regulations.'

Recommendations II

Once again, a radical solution is needed to a radical transformation of a culture. Here, rewards will not motivate adequately. Appropriate punishment will.

'Our respondents constantly referred to punishing not merely as a well-functioning method, but as the only meaningful one in situations where, for example, employees do not correctly implement their decisions. Despite its basic regressive nature, punishment is efficient to ignite a change in terms of taking the first drastic steps to breaking knowledge-sharing hostility. Bigger (unpaid) workloads, demotion, and the firing of employees are possible punishment measures. However, managers need to be aware that this is a high-risk approach that can backfire if not applied in a patient and reasonable manner following the principle of creating a trust-based organizational climate through transparency and consistency.'

Reframing mistakes and failures as positive rather than career suicide will likely take the introduction of well-defined measures for punishing lack of initiative and attempts to hide mistakes.

Figure 2. Removing 'Mistakes' Reprisals Mindset

Next...

1  |  2  |  3  |  4