Narrative Learning Systems

There are five elemants that I build a course around.

1. Participants are co-constructors
2. There is a central theme that provides the primary drive around the course.
3. The sequencing of the events and information create the right context.
4. Involvement in the course is constant. The environment must be active, not passive.
5. Participants seek meaning through exploration and reflection.
   

During my years in corporations I had the dual role of human resources and training/development. As a result, I was able to discover how critical the link is between organizational change and training. Early on, I noticed that when a major initiative began, the initial push to support it was impressive. Meetings were held to introduce the program. Managers were given the responsibility to implement and support the program. And non-management employees were expected to get excited about it.

Three to six months later the enthusiasm was wavering,or even gone. the program was ultimately a failure and the company move on to the next stage. Why? The people who had to think and act on it daily didn't understand its importance. This is where training can supply the missing link.

The question comes up whenever the subject is e-learning. How much of the training in the organization can be done on-line? In a recent conversation, an executive the training, remarked that he was coming to the position that all of it could be done online. Others have offered opinions that run the gamet of the percentage line. Most run between 40% and 60%. And yes, there is still the ocassional person who believes that e-learning can't do anything well. My own conclusions put it more at the 90-10 level.

Story, or narrative, plays a critical role in our lives. It is our most fundamental way of communicating, learning, and creating. Early human societies used narrative to pass on their experiences to each other through conversation and art. These stories were passed on to future generations to maintain their society and culture. Through the telling and re-telling of mythical stories they solidified the culture’s foundational rules, laws, and practices. It is the nature of human societies. This practice continues in all human societies in today’s world.

The modern organization works the same way. Every organization has a culture that is a story that defines the company’s identity. This “grand narrative” becomes a framework that relates to their people the norms, expectations, the strategic direction, the rewards, and the risks associated with being a part of the company. Anyone who has worked in an organization knows the power of stories. The grand narrative is reinforced in meetings, handbooks, memos, etc. throughout the organizations. The informal networks passes on stories in lunchrooms, restrooms, designated smoking areas, and during after work activities. Stories are the natural means of communication in the organization.

I have conducted many employee satisfaction surveys. The key problems fall into three categories: communications with thier manager, communications within their departments, and communications with other departments. This category will look at how individual, group and company-driven narratives impact organizations. I will also discuss how narrtive learning can change negative impact narratives to bring about a more productive and cohesive narrtives for everyone in the organization.