Organizing Reflection

1
Organizing Reflection

• A working definition
• - reflection as a tradition in management
  learning.
• - shifting the focus from individual to
• collective.
• Possible pitfalls
• - and as a suggestion for discussion -
• Organizing reflection in practice
• - what does it (could it) look like?

2
Reflection some definitions

• Reflection in action on-the-spot surfacing,
  criticizing, restructuring and testing of
  intuitive understanding of experienced phenomena.
  Often it takes the form of a reflective
  conversation with the situation.
• (Donald Schön)
• (Reflection is) making thoughtful and productive
  use of otherwise uncoded experience.
• (Robin Usher)

3
Why all the fuss?

• A fundamental change in emphasis in thinking
  about how people learn
• Reflection is the key in linking learning with
  action and experience a challenge to the
  academic tradition
• Learning from experience opens up possibilities
  of learning from peers

4
Whats the problem?

• Does reflection have to be only an individual
  process?
• Could it not be the basis of organizational
  change as well as personal/professional
  development?
• What ideas do we draw on in the process of
  reflecting?

5
Reflection as an organizing process - variants

• Individual reflection on organizational
• experience.
• Individual reflection as organizationally
• supported apparently collective.
• Reflection as collective organizationally
• situated.

6
Ideas and perspectives

• Brah and Hoy (1989) on experiential learning
• Can experience ever be constituted outside of
  social relations? We do not think so. Each of
  us, though unique as individuals, are positioned
  within society alongside hierarchies of power
  constructed around such factors as class, caste,
  racism, gender, age and sexuality.

7
Ideas and perspectives

• Schools of thought which emphasise a social
  perspective
• - Systems psychodynamic theory
• - Discourse Analysis
• - Activity Theory
• - Situated Learning Theory
• Or as Gabriel and Carr (2002) put it
• Organizations, as parts of society, become
• sites where broader social and cultural
• dynamics are enacted.

8
Questions!

• What might organizationally situated reflection
  look like?
• What structures are there to support it?
• Does it engage with organizational and emotional
  politics?
• Who is included and who isnt?
• Is this management by stress in the guise of
  organized reflection?

9
For discussion

• Examples from our experience.
• What makes them collective (as in
  organizationally situated)?
• What ideas and perspectives are drawn on?
• Do they work?