Knowledge Transmission in Light of Recent Transformations in the Workplace

Abstract

In a context of changing demographics and transformations to the world of work, concerns about age management are gradually turning into concerns about knowledge management. The vast experiential knowledge and diverse skills developed by workers to cope with the numerous situations encountered in the course of their work and to protect themselves against risks to their health and safety constitute part of the intangible assets vital to the sustainability of worker expertise and even the survival of the organization. Management practices play an important role in helping safeguard experiential knowledge in organizations. However, the transformations that have been taking place in recent years in response to an unstable economic climate have driven organizations to introduce a number of changes in workplaces. Three case studies, conducted in Quebec, each focused on the study of a specific occupation (film technicians, food service helpers, and homecare nurses), and based on interviews and observations made in the field, will be presented in an effort to describe the impact of some of these changes, namely precarious employment, flexible management practices and work intensification, on knowledge sharing in real work situations. The results suggest that by undermining work teams and increasing the workload of experienced workers, these changes actually hinder the knowledge sharing process. In fact, in such a context, the work teams are continually being reconfigured, which can demotivate experienced workers who constantly have to initiate new recruits despite already having a work overload. Possible avenues for research are proposed with a view to helping organizations cope with these changes in a way that supports the experiential knowledge transfer and sharing process so vital to organizational performance and the preservation of worker health.Dans un contexte de mutations démographiques et de transformations du monde du travail, les préoccupations pour la gestion des âges se sont progressivement transformées en préoccupations pour la gestion des savoirs. En effet, les nombreux savoirs développés avec l’expérience par le personnel pour faire face aux multiples situations rencontrées dans l’exercice de leur travail et se protéger des risques à leur santé et à leur sécurité constituent une part du capital immatériel essentiel pour la pérennité de l’expertise, voire la survie de l’entreprise. Les pratiques de gestion occupent une place importante pour assurer la sauvegarde des savoirs dans les entreprises de même que le contexte organisationnel. Or les transformations du monde du travail des dernières années en réponse à un univers économique instable ont poussé les entreprises à introduire de nombreux changements dans les milieux de travail. Trois études de cas menées au Québec, portant sur un métier donné (technicien de cinéma, aide en alimentation, infirmière en soins à domicile), et s’appuyant sur des entrevues des observations sur le terrain, seront présentées pour tenter de décrire l’influence de certains de ce...

Contexts and Determinants of the Management of Occupational Safety and Health in European Workplaces

“…In addition, the growth of elaborate subcontracting networks has shifted employment into smaller firms. A substantial body of international research, including research undertaken in the EU, has linked job insecurity and the growth of precarious employment to poorer OSH outcomes, as measured by an array of indices including injury rates, hazard exposures and self-reported health (as well as more subtle effects on knowledge transmission at work 35 ). In addition, there is growing evidence that this shift weakens the effectiveness of regulatory oversight by labour inspectorates and can also undermine OSH surveillance systems.…”

Replicative indwelling: Mitigating lost knowledge through accelerated experiential exposure

“…al. (2009) make these clear distinctions between the two terms, other researchers have not made the distinction as clear, especially with regard to knowledge transfer being inter-organizational, and knowledge sharing being intraorganizational (Cloutier, Ledoux, & Fournier, 2012;Hansen, Mors, & Lovas, 2005;Van Wijk, Jansen, & Lyles, 2008), For the purposes of this paper, we recognize the term knowledge sharing as an intra-organizational construct, but because our primary focus is inter-generational, knowledge transfer remains an appropriate term.…”

“…The same processes and shaping of experience holds true for the Abduction and transmission of knowledge intra-organizationally. According to Cloutier, Ledoux, & Fournier (2012): …experiential knowledge is built in tandem with changes occurring in the organization, while also conveying the occupational culture and values. Though this experiential knowledge will never be completely formalized, we believe that it is important for more research to be conducted on the places, moments, spaces, and conditions which are conducive to the building, sharing, and evolution of such knowledge within changing contexts, all from a learning support perspective (p. 317).…”

For Organizational Communication that Promotes the Sharing of Tacit Knowledge

“…In this way, a good internal communication process can generate: greater commitment on the part of employees; superior organizational results; influence the organization's reputation; greater knowledge sharing; and greater involvement on the part of the collaborators (Verghese, 2017), so, in the context of demographic changes and social, economic, cultural transformations, with repercussions in the workplace and in organizations, the authors and the organizations themselves have come to be increasingly concerned with issues related to knowledge sharing (Cloutier, et al, 2012).…”