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Reconsidering the Variables
There is a growing recognition that power can influence learning, but not
enough empirical research has been done on the subject, notes Dr. Camilla
Krebsbach-Gnath, a partner in K-G&D Management Consultancy. She adds,
“Pretending that power does not exist does not make it go away.” The same
holds true for the relationship of conflict and organizational learning, as
Prof. Victor Friedman of the Ruppin Institute in Israel notes.
Definitions offered by workshop participants make it clear that “power” is
seen in many different ways, but most fall into three categories. As
summarized by Prof. Silvia Gherardi of the University of Trento,
these categories broke down with power seen as a resource, as a social
relationship or as something that is only used to resolve conflict.
Krebsbach-Gnath explains that power can enhance learning by being used to
mobilize resources, shape or implement structures and shaping perceptions of
meaning.
But also there are significant ways in which power can inhibit learning. In
particular, four ways were identified by the workshop participants:
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Control over scarce resources
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Control of knowledge and information
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Use of organizational structures and
rules
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Control of the decision process.
Such power to impede
learning is not just wielded by top leaders, as evidenced by the senior
government officials who complained of their powerlessness in the face of
bureaucratic intransigence. It’s a common reaction to obstruct the flow of
information or knowledge that threatens to disrupt our worlds and/or the way
we see them. |
