Making work and learning more visible by reflective practice

Abstract

Several characteristics are necessary to have a flourishing workplace: one is organisational learning. Modern workplaces call for individual responsibility, ability, and willingness to share expertise, as well as continuous learning. However, critical elements of the process of organisational learning – participating, knowing, cooperating and reflecting – are only partly ‘visible’. We propose that to cope with the pressure of renewal and to facilitate organisational learning, organisational structures and processes should be made more visible through reflective practice. The concept of reflective practice is analysed via its elements of reflective capacity, reflective dialogue, reflective experiment, and reflective management control systems. We investigate how reflection can be triggered and supported in real-life organisations, as a part of everyday work. Reflection is not studied as a hidden, mental process, but instead as a visible practice directed at past, present, or future objects. Enabling reflective practice, thus making learning more visible in the everyday agendas of the organisation, calls for genuine commitment and appreciation of reflective and dialogic ways of working. Reflective practice calls for a culture that values continuous discovery and experimentation. This appreciation is ultimately realised in reward systems, organisations’ official values and shared norms, thus forming a language and a culture that embrace reflection.

Keywords:

• reflective practice at work
• reflective capacity
• reflective dialogue
• reflective experiment
• reflective management control

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the other members of the REFINNO research team, Petri Suomala, Sanna Pekkola, Johanna Rämö, Minna Saunila, Juhani Ukko and Sanna Vauranoja, for the insightful and constructive academic discussions and joint efforts in case interventions. They have enabled the multidisciplinary development of the interpretation of reflective practice. Colleagues in the REFINNO research team have also provided feedback regarding earlier drafts of the manuscript, which is acknowledged here. Moreover, funding by the Finnish Agency for Technology has enabled the research projects underlying this publication.

Funding

The article is written for the REFINNO programme which is a joint venture (2012–14) between its funders Tekes (the Finnish funding agency for technology and innovation), four Finnish universities, and the participating companies.