The influence of flexible management practices on the sharing of experiential knowledge in the workplace: a case study of food service helpers

Abstract

Previous studies have shown that the job knowledge and prudent knowledge of experienced workers constitute a wealth that needs to be shared in workplaces to promote worker integration, job retention and occupational health and safety. It appears, however, that certain management practices undermine this knowledge sharing process. This case study of food service helpers in institutional food service departments is part of a research project aimed at comparing the impact of different work organization methods on knowledge sharing in the workplace on the basis of case studies carried out in several organizations. The results of this case study reveal that by destabilizing and weakening the work teams, flexible management practices create an environment that is not conducive to experiential knowledge sharing.

Developing a mentoring programme in the chemical industry

“…The mentor mediates, monitors and enhances what the younger worker learns, by getting actually involved in the daily work tasks (Billet, 2000). Consequently, such mentoring processes privilege a "situated approach" (Thébault et al, 2012;Ledoux et al, 2012) or a "situated learning", that is, the learning is merged with the development of the work activity. Consequently, the newcomers reveal a constructivist nature of learning (Illeris, 2003); in other words, learning the professional content in a specific working context is taken as a process to build competencies.…”

Conceptual framework for management or transmission of knowledge in companies: A systematic review

“…The second field concerns the scientific field of Work Psychology and Ergonomics (under the scope of the theory of activity research and social sciences), where knowledge is acquired, shared and preserved through a closer look at the real work activity in professional contexts (Lacomblez et al, 2007 ). This perspective considers the workers' experience, as well as the conditions and constraints associated with carrying out the activity itself (Ledoux et al, 2012 ; Santos et al, 2019 ), and the multiple dimensions of learning and knowledge transmission instancies (Delgoulet et al, 2012 ; Thébault et al, 2012 ). However, in the searches carried out, we didn't find studies that cross these perspectives, making it difficult to perceive their similarities and/or differences.…”