Managerial culture, workplace culture and situated curricula in organizational learning

Seen from a perspective of symbolic interaction and social constructivism, organizational learning is a practical accomplishment that takes place among and through other organizational members. This study sets out to explore the social construction of organizational learning by examining the responses of members to a management-imposed teaching curriculum that contradicted basic assumptions regarding professional identity. We build on the results of recent ethnographic fieldwork which has investigated the incorporation of communication skills training in an Israeli medical school. This professional socialization is examined in terms of its theoretization by the management, its implementation in the curriculum, and its interpretation by supervising physicians and medical students. These various facets of meaning and their mismatches provide a concrete example for the study of situated learning in organizations. We conclude by exploring the meaning and interplay of managerial ideology, workplace culture and situated curricula in organizational learning.