Considering unlearning in HRD practices: an Australian study

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to explore the level of consideration given to unlearning during human resource development interventions and to identify the methods being used to reinforce training and development. Design/methodology/approach -A self-administered questionnaire was given to a convenience sample of employers in regional Queensland and the Northern Territory, Australia. Analysis of responses using descriptive statistics was conducted to identify whether approaches differed in relation to unlearning and reinforcement between large and small organisations, and between those with high labour turnover and those with low labour turnover. Findings -Results reveal that larger organisations give far more consideration to unlearning than smaller organisations. Those organisations with high labour turnover focus less on unlearning that those with a more stable workforce. Coaching and performance feedback were reported as the most commonly used method of reinforcement of learning and unlearning. Research limitations/implications -Low response rates mean that results are not statistically generalisable. Owing to the regional location of respondents there may be differences in findings in large metropolitan centres. Practical implications -Reinforces to practitioners the need to consider unlearning, and also indicates a need for further research in this area. From a managerial perspective the results show that managers need to employ a range of tools and techniques to ensure unlearning can occur. Originality/value -This paper reports on a study examining unlearning; and begins to address the lack of empirical research on this important concept.

Goal orientation, critical reflection, and unlearning: An individual‐level study

“…For strategic change to be successfully executed in a turbulent environment, firms must unlearn or discard old routines to make way for new ones (Hutzschenreuter, Kleindienst, & Greger, ; Tsang, ). Becker, Hyland, and Acutt () reported that organizations with a defined HRD function are aware of the importance of unlearning as an integral part of embedding new learning. In prior research, the concept of “unlearning” has attracted many researchers from diverse fields, although most studies of unlearning have been case studies without statistical support and quantitative examination (Akgun, Lynn, & Byrne, ; Akgun, Byrne, Lynn, & Keskin, ).…”

Learning, unlearning and internationalisation: Evidence from the pre-export phase

“…This unlearning context has been analyzed in relation to the information acquisition processes relative to the markets (Sinkula, 1994(Sinkula, , 2002, and from different levels of analysis-individual (Day & Nedungandi, 1994), groupal (Becker, Hyland, & Acutt, 2006), of innovation (Akgün, Lyn, & Byrne, 2006), competitive (Lei, Slocum, & Pitts, 1999;Sinkula, 2002), etc. Though there exist no work on this subject, it is expected that this process of unlearning-learning will be applicable also to the process of internationalisation of the business, given its similarity to the processes of innovation (Bilkey & Tesar, 1977;Knight & Cavusgil, 2004).…”

Facilitating Organizational Unlearning using Appreciative Inquiry as an Intervention

“…Organizational memory develops with size and age of the organization; older organizations find unlearning more difficult as their practices have got embedded in the system, allowing very little scope for change (Argyris and Schon, 1978). Organiza-tions with low employee turnover might find unlearning difficult due to lack of new ideas entering the organization (Becker, Hyland and Acutt, 2006). This paper focuses on the appropriateness of AI as a developmental intervention to facilitate unlearning of explicit and implicit knowledge at individual, group, and organizational levels in organizations.…”

“…Other approaches that focus on problems or issues do not lay emphasis on past/current success and hence aggravate resistance to unlearn. According to Becker, Hyland and Acutt (2006), individual unlearning is the starting point for group or organizational unlearning, and individuals who believe they are experts in a specific field show more resistance to unlearn as they have invested a lot of time and resource creating their current knowledge, which is mostly internalized in the form of tacit knowledge (Zell, 2003).…”

“…This assumption of AI that something is working well is critical to reduce resistance and make individuals view situations in a new light. This is also termed as the affirmative competence of Appreciative Inquiry (Becker, Hyland and Acutt, 2006).…”