TThe secret operating organization Learning cultures in the light of performance management systems.

Abstract

What characterizes learning cultures in a high performing department in a global industrial company and what kind of learning takes place? The intention of enabling learning cultures in the workplace often must co-exist with established work practices, which are largely shaped by the Performance Management system. The employees’ language and the surroundings in the department will be analyzed using the analytical framework from situated learning to understand what kind of learning takes place. Based on prototypical, empirical examples from fieldwork in the marketing department in a global industrial company, it is argued that Performance measurement systems implicates a practice that conflict with the desire to create solid learning cultures in the workplace. The employees’ practices, the language and the environment are shaped in a dialogical interplay between the organization's management tools and the manager's attention and understanding of the embedded practice opportunities that the management tools generate.