Dr. Wen-Bing Gau Dr. Booker Chi-Kang Liaw The Implication of Shared Practices on Public Servants’ Workplace Learning

Working, Knowing and Learning According to Araujo (1998), working, knowing, learning and innovating are blurred activities that are “embedded in situated practices and are coextensive” (p.317). Based on negotiable interactions, people build their own representations of knowledge and at the same time help other members in the group to understand the context, the content and the process of the knowledge.

Workplace learning According to Forrester (2005), workplace learning is strongly associated with societal concerns, which is not only for the purpose of enhancing employability, but also of identifying the notions of independence, participation, and shared identity. “learning becomes part of work and working contributes to the knowledge and skill base” (Jubas et al., 2006).

Communities of practice Members get together for the purpose of taking a rest or having fun. They have common topics to discuss. Because of different degrees of understanding, people can broaden their horizons by way of sharing experiences. The communities do not focus on certain skills or knowledge and they do not impose the stress of exchanging knowledge on members. Because of the relaxed atmosphere, participants do not mind revealing themselves to other members.

The researchers attempt to answer the following questions: (1) How do the public servants in Taiwan engage in workplace learning during the process of dealing with tasks? (2) What does shared practice mean with the respect to the concept of Communities of Practice?

Interviewees 48 interviewees who were public servants in 17 departments of the central government were recruited Worked in the central part of Taiwan. most viewpoints in this study were from 10 similar departments including 22 interviewees. Other colleagues’ experiences referring to the particular learning features of each organization were also used to strengthen the arguments derived from data analysis.

Observation & semi-structured interview Particular working processes were observed so that different ideas from varied departments referring to specific practices were collected. In order to probe the causes of sharing practices in depth, the semi-structured interview method were employed. All the interviews were tape-recorded and were between 1 to 2 hours in duration. The data collected from the field work were transcribed before being categorized and subjected to analysis.

Data analysis

How do the public servants in Taiwan engage in workplace learning during the process of dealing with tasks? Shared practices SharedPractices Organizational routinesArchive systemOfficial business

Archive system Organizational routines Helping with each other to get job done / exchanging expertise Reviewing previous performances to find out solutions / fusion of experiences The organization has ready- made solutions for everyday- tasks. Individuals and groups are unconsciously affected by regular interactions The three stages of shared practice Implication on interaction

Helping with each other to get job done / exchanging expertise Reviewing previous performances to find out solutions / fusion of experiences The organization has ready- made solutions for everyday- tasks. Individuals and groups are unconsciously affected by regular interactions Implication on interaction Learning is compelled to happen / Individuals are spontaneously involved in learning process Knowledge base is ready to use / documentary knowledge base & living knowledge base To learn or not to learn / members sharpen their expertises and learn how to manage organizational resources / The organization keep updating its formal and informal knowledge bases Implication on learning

What does shared practice mean with the respect to the concept of Communities of Practice?

Learning is compelled to happen / Individuals are spontaneously involved in learning process Knowledge base is ready to use / documentary knowledge base & living knowledge base To learn or not to learn / members sharpen their expertises and learn how to manage organizational resources / The organization keep updating its formal and informal knowledge bases Implication on learning A liberal environment / task orientation Too loose to keep learning Learning by networking Knowledge is stored in the process of sharing practices Daily sense making activities Routines can be structured to HRD need Reflecting on CoPs

Conclusion – individual level Individuals’ interpretation of their own experiences depends on their attitudes to shared practices. When the practice depends on how hard the individual interact with the documentary or living knowledge base, it is the individual who can totally manage his or her own learning. When the practice is derived from organizational routines, the individual may sharpen his or her expertise unwittingly and it is also possible that people may rely on the ready-made solutions too much to re-examine their established understandings.

Conclusion – organizational level Because the practices come from the formal assignment, different levels of learning may occur. Members sharpen their expertises and learn how to manage organizational and interpersonal resources through interacting with official business, archive system and organizational routines. Because the communication is open, the organization can keep updating its formal and informal knowledge bases, such as archive system or organizational routines, in order to adjust itself to changes.