Dan Bishop

Constructing learning: adversarial and collaborative working in the British construction industry

This paper examines two competing systems of work organisation in the British construction industry and their consequences for learning. Under the traditional ‘adversarial’ system, conflict, hostility and litigation between contractors are commonplace. Such a climate actively militates against collective learning and knowledge sharing between parties. Conversely, under ‘collaborative working’, contractors share risks, pool knowledge and work together to solve problems at all stages and levels in the productive system – a process conceptualised as ‘knotworking’ by some theorists. The paper argues that such learning theories fail to take adequately into account the heavy hand of history and the importance of understanding the nature of the productive systems in which ‘knotworking’ is expected to take root. Both place limits on making ‘knotworking’ a habitual and commonplace activity in construction.

Looking inside the Russian doll: the interconnections between context, learning and pedagogy in the workplace

There is now much awareness of the symbiotic relationship between workplace learning, the organisation of work, level of employee involvement, organisational performance, and the broader economic, regulatory, and social context within which organisations have to operate. This article argues that we have to identify and take serious account of the contextual factors (external and internal) that affect all organisations, as these are central to developing our understanding of the nature of pedagogical practice within any workplace setting. By closely examining the nature and impact of these contextual factors, we can gain greater insight into the phenomenon of why organisations adopt different practices and why they create such different learning environments. The article draws on emerging findings from an ESRC‐funded multisector study in the UK and uses illustrations from two contrasting sectors to highlight the impact of context on pedagogical practice.

Firm size and skill formation processes: an emerging debate

Recent research has established that small firms tend to develop and acquire the skills they need in different ways to those employed by larger organisations. More specifically, due to certain characteristics inherent to their small size, small firms generally display greater informality in their learning processes. As such, it is now broadly accepted that they cannot normally be expected to learn in the highly formalised and structured ways more often pursued by their larger counterparts. However, this enlightened perspective has, in certain parts of the literature, arguably led to a neglect of formal training as a means of developing skills. Small firms can and do benefit from formal training – some more than others – but this is at risk of being ignored. Based on a critical review of the relevant research, the paper aims to bring a measure of clarity and structure to this emerging debate. In doing so, it draws on the concept of ‘learning architecture’ to illuminate the connection between firm size and learning processes.

The Importance of Being an Insider: How Networks Influence the Small Firm's Engagement with Formal Training.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the ways in which the small firms external relationships influence its approach to formal training and training providers.Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative approach was adopted, involving semi‐structured interviews with senior managers, in 25 small firms in South Wales. These interviews were informed by prior workplace observation and analysis of organisational documentation. Further interviews were conducted with employees in nine of the firms.Findings – The findings indicate that the small firms informal relationships with trusted, familiar and credible contacts – referred to as insiders, following Gibb – are central to the way in which it perceives both training and training providers. Government agencies, training providers and other traditional stakeholders generally sit outside these informal insider networks, and tend to be viewed as culturally remote by the small firm.Research limitations/implications – The findings emphasise the need f...

Mind the gap: personal and collective identities at work

Abstract This paper explores three different ways in which workers experience and react to managerial attempts to mould and shape their identities. It provides illustrations of three theoretically-derived identity modalities: ‘dramaturgical selves’; ‘conformist selves’; and ‘resistant selves’. The paper shows how the relationship between personal and collective identities is at the heart of these modalities, and how they are formed as a reaction to management attempts to narrow, maintain or widen the gap between personal and collective identities at work.

Small Firms and the Failure of National Skills Policies: Adopting an Institutional Perspective

Both skills and small firms have been increasingly prominent in policy agendas across the world in recent years. Skills are now seen as being crucial to economic prosperity, yet evidence consistently shows much lower levels of training, on average, in small firms than in larger businesses. Policy makers in various countries have sought to address this perceived problem and to stimulate skills development in small firms, but have attempted to do so in different ways and with varying degrees of success. It is this divergence in national skills policies, as well as its causes and implications for skill formation in small firms, that this paper seeks to illuminate. In doing so, it adopts an ‘institutional’ perspective that advances current understanding of how and why skills policies adopted in different countries appear to have varying effects on small firms. Through employing this institutional analysis, the paper promotes an awareness of how historical, social and economic forces in the ‘corporatist’ systems, found for example in Germany and Scandinavia, tend to provide a more supportive context for skills development in small firms than the liberal free market systems found elsewhere in the world, such as in the USA, Canada and the UK – which is highlighted as an illustrative case in this paper.

The importance of being an insider

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the ways in which the small firms external relationships influence its approach to formal training and training providers.Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative approach was adopted, involving semi‐structured interviews with senior managers, in 25 small firms in South Wales. These interviews were informed by prior workplace observation and analysis of organisational documentation. Further interviews were conducted with employees in nine of the firms.Findings – The findings indicate that the small firms informal relationships with trusted, familiar and credible contacts – referred to as insiders, following Gibb – are central to the way in which it perceives both training and training providers. Government agencies, training providers and other traditional stakeholders generally sit outside these informal insider networks, and tend to be viewed as culturally remote by the small firm.Research limitations/implications – The findings emphasise the need f...

Context, agency and professional workplace learning: Trainee accountants in large and small practices

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the ways in which organisational context and individual agency interact (co-participate) to shape the workplace learning of graduate trainee accountants, and to examine the role of firm size in conditioning this interaction. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative, comparative approach was used, involving interviews with 20 respondents across two large and three small accountancy firms in England. Findings Differences in individual learner biographies and trajectories generate divergent dispositions with regard to workplace learning. In turn, these dispositions influence the extent to which the generally less formal learning environment of the small firm is interpreted either positively or negatively. Research limitations/implications Further research is needed on processes of agency/context interaction across a wider range of organisational and professional environments. Practical implications Individual dispositions play an important role in determining the optimal approach towards professional development in practice. Originality/value The paper offers a novel insight into how variations in both context and agency – and the relationship between them – can generate significant divergences in the professional learning process.

Affordance, agency and apprenticeship learning: a comparative study of small and large engineering firms

Abstract Amidst concerns over skills shortages, both the current British government and its coalition predecessors have, against the grain of wider austerity measures, invested heavily in the apprenticeship system. The majority of apprentices are, and have historically been, employed within small businesses. However, research suggests that, in the main, small firms tend to approach management issues – including workplace employee development – in a less formal way than their larger counterparts. What implications this has for apprentices and their workplace learning remains unclear. The article aims to address this gap, and it does so through a qualitative study of apprentices in three English engineering firms of different sizes. The findings broadly support the established picture of informal working and learning processes in the small firm. However, it is argued that this does not inevitably restrict apprentices’ on-the-job learning. Rather, the ways in which apprentices learn, and what they learn, are conditioned by the interaction – or ‘co-participation’ – between the opportunities afforded by the workplace, and the apprentice’s subjective agency.

The importance of being an insider: How networks influence the small firm's engagement with formal training

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the ways in which the small firms external relationships influence its approach to formal training and training providers.Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative approach was adopted, involving semi‐structured interviews with senior managers, in 25 small firms in South Wales. These interviews were informed by prior workplace observation and analysis of organisational documentation. Further interviews were conducted with employees in nine of the firms.Findings – The findings indicate that the small firms informal relationships with trusted, familiar and credible contacts – referred to as insiders, following Gibb – are central to the way in which it perceives both training and training providers. Government agencies, training providers and other traditional stakeholders generally sit outside these informal insider networks, and tend to be viewed as culturally remote by the small firm.Research limitations/implications – The findings emphasise the need f...