GRA 2426 Organizational Learning and Knowledge Creation

APPLIES TO ACADEMIC YEAR 2012/2013

GRA 2426 Organizational Learning and Knowledge Creation

Responsible for the course
Cathrine Filstad

Department
Department of Leadership and Organizational Behaviour

Term
According to study plan

ECTS Credits
6

Language of instruction
English

Introduction

    Learning outcome
    Organizational learning and knowledge creation are considered vital to any organization for survival, change and innovation. It is also considered important as competitive advantage and to meet expected challenging within a knowledge society. Hence, many scholars and practitioners have joined in the debate around the many faceted relationship between learning, knowledge, knowing, development and organizational processes. As a consequence, the concepts of organizational learning and knowledge creation have grown into a number of approaches and perspectives. The aim of this course and the learning goals will therefore be
    *To give students and understanding of, and raise questions on, the nature of organizational learning and knowledge creation, recognising its complexity and crucial value in all organizations
    *Provide students with necessary knowledge on how organizational learning and knowledge concepts can be understood and facilitated in organizations, with a special focus on leadership faciliation
    * Understand the importance of knowledge and knowledge sharing and be able to participate in the knowledge debate in our society
    *Recognizing the challenges in the transformation from educational and theoretical knowledge to applied knowledge in professional life, and with this knowledge understand the role of education in a society
    *Be able to analyze complex phenomenon and work independently
    *Be critical and nyanced and able to balance own interpretation of relevant methods, both qualitative and quantitative
    *Take responsibility of own learning procesess and knowledge development, both as students and in professional life

      Prerequisites
      A bachelor degree qualifying for admission to the MSc Programme

      Compulsory reading
      Books:
      Filstad, Cathrine and Gunnhild Blåka. 2007. Learning in organizations. Cappelen
      Newell, Sue ... [et al.]. 2009. Managing knowledge work and innovation. 2nd ed. Palgrave Macmillan

      Articles:
      A collection of scientific articles

      Other:
      During the course there may be hand-outs and other material on additional topics relevant for the course and the examination.


      Recommended reading

      Other:
      Lave, Jean and Etienne Wenger. 1991. Situated learning : legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
      Rainbird,Helen, Alison Fuller and Anne Munro. 2004. Workplace learning in context. New York: Routledge
      Wenger, Etienne. 1998. Communities of practice : learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press


      Course outline
      What is Organizational Learning and Knowledge Creation
      Disciplinary Perspectives
      OL as Participation and Practice
      OL as Knowledge Acquisition
      The Learning Organization
      An Organizational Learning Framework
      Knowledge Intensive Firms
      Knowledge Work and Knowledge Sharing
      Tacit and Explicit knowledge
      Communities of Practice
      Social identity, emotions, and trust in OL and KC
      Newcomers Learning Processes
      Organizational Socialization
      Informal and Formal Learning
      Leadership and Trust
      The role of Middle Management
      Power and Politics in OL and Knowledge
      Organizing for Knowledge Creation and
      Knowledge Work – Teams and Projects
      Managing Knowledge for Change and
      Innovation
      Strategic OL and LO
      Creating a strong Learning Culture

      Computer-based tools
      Power–point presentations, It's learning

      Learning process and workload
      The course is structured as a combination of lectures, discussions, in-class activities, and compulsory student presentations. It requires a substantial amount of preparation by the students and active involvement during class.

      A course of 6 ECTS credits corresponds to a workload of 160-180 hours.

      Please note that it is the student’s own responsibility to obtain any information provided in class that is not included on the course homepage/It's learning or text book.


      Examination
      20% - Class contribution (graded individually)
      30% - Student presentations ( two -four students) of cases or course literature
      50% - Term paper written by up to 3 students

      In this course class attendence is mandatory. Unexcused absence can result in a lower score. Specific information regarding student evaluation beyond the information given in the course description will be provided in class. This information may be relevant for requirements for term papers or other hand-ins, and/or where class participation can be one of several elements of the overall evaluation.

      This is a course with continuous assessment (several exam elements) and one final exam code. Each exam element will be graded using points on a scale (e.g. 0-100). The elements will be weighted together according to the information in the course description in order to calculate the final letter grade for the course. You will find detailed information about the point system and the cut off points with reference to the letter grades on the course site in It’s learning.

      Examination code(s)
      GRA 24261 accounts for 100% of the final grade in the course GRA 2426.

      Examination support materials
      Exam aids at written examinations are explained under exam information in our web-based Student handbook. Please note use of calculator and dictionary. http://www.bi.edu/studenthandbook/examaids

      Re-sit examination
      It is only possible to retake an examination when the course is next taught.
      The assessment in some courses is based on more than one exam code.
      Where this is the case, you may retake only the assessed components of one of these exam codes.
      Where this is not the case, all of the assessed components of the course must be retaken.
      All retaken examinations will incur an additional fee.

      Additional information
      Honor Code
      Academic honesty and trust are important to all of us as individuals, and represent values that are encouraged and promoted by the honor code system. This is a most significant university tradition. Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the ideals of the honor code system, to which the faculty are also deeply committed.

      Any violation of the honor code will be dealt with in accordance with BI’s procedures for cheating. These issues are a serious matter to everyone associated with the programs at BI and are at the heart of the honor code and academic integrity. If you have any questions about your responsibilities under the honor code, please ask.

      Semester

      Oversettelser