Linking organisation culture and e-learning
Organisation culture consists of three central components:
- Myths: about how the organisation began, difficulties that were overcome, colourful figures and monumental events.
- Ideology: the unified set of beliefs which explain and legitimise the organisation.
- Values: which tell people what is important, and how to behave. Values provide meaning and standards.
In an organisation with a strong culture, key values are intensely and widely shared. The stronger the culture is, the greater the influence it has on the behaviour of an organisation.[i]
In customised elearning programmes, good instructional design will consider and reflect the culture of the organisation. It should tell the myths, speak to the ideology and advocate key values of the organisation. It should be integrated into design from the very early stages.
Because the strength of a culture is built upon consistency, elearning can be a useful way to reinforce and shape culture. It is particularly effective when used to induct and train employees new to the organisation. Well designed elearning programmes for new staff can deliberately and convincingly shape their thinking and teach the legends of the organisations history to ensure continuity in the way culture is learned and applied across the organisation.
For these reasons, using the standard public offerings of independent training organisations for developing staff can sometimes be contrary to maintaining a powerful internal culture, or at least be off less value than a customised solution that meets training needs and is fully consistent with the core culture of the employer.
Sometimes culture is being considered not as something to be maintained and strengthened, but instead as something to be created, shifted or changed.
Handling change is not easy. People fell uncomfortable when shifted from the status quo, negativity grows very easily and there is often tremendous resistance. Taking risks, or looking at the organisation from a different perspective can be exciting, but people will need extra support to help them reach their potential. [ii]
Often a conscious shift in culture is being implemented by key change agents and needs to be sold to the wider ‘community’ within the organisation. Sound decisions by champions of change are often carefully considered and meaningful, but rational decisions mean little to others unless they fully understand the reasons behind them.
Elearning can be an effective way to bring people on board and promote a desired change. Organisation theories can be taught, advantages can be understood, new knowledge can be acquired and essential skills developed. Perhaps most importantly, ideas that make sense in principle can be applied to ‘real life’ scenarios so people grow to believe in the change being advocated.
Finally, elearning itself can be a manifestation of a healthy and vibrant culture. If your organisation values innovation, best practise, learning, competitiveness or quality, e-learning should definitely be part of the mix!
[i] People and Enterprises: Organisational Behaviour in New Zealand, McLennan et al, p398, 1995.
[ii] Everything you ever needed to know about training, Thorne and Mackey, p184, 2007.
Related posts:
