Work-Based Learning and Knowledge Management: An Integrated Concept of Organizational Learning

Organizational learning requires individual learning. Individual learning has to interact in a dynamic social environment in order to contribute to organizational learning. Work-based learning as a new concept and understanding of learning at work place and knowledge management conceptualized as a spiral of knowledge creation by enabling the dynamic knowledge conversion process between the individual and the organization, and between the tacit and explicit knowledge deliver the grounds for organizational learning. The objective of this paper is to give an overview of both concepts related to organizational learning and to show their complementary in an integrated concept of a continuously learning organization which is finally illustrated with the case "Swiss Re Group", a global acting Insurance Company in Switzerland. I NEW REQUIREMENTS FOR MANAGEMENT EDUCATION Nowadays, we often hear the justified complaint that in Management Education a large amount of knowledge is imparted additively, i.e., in broad contexts without any attempt being made to interlink them by means of questions arising from the reality of actual daily business practice and experience. Such knowledge remains in many cases knowledge which has not been truly understood and assimilated, because it has been merely learnt by rote during seminars away from the work office, very abstract and isolated from their daily business and cannot therefore be consciously disposed of, or summoned up to help its possessor to deal with concrete situations. In Management Education a direct connection between conventional frontal teaching in seminars and the real work life has not yet been achieved. A new understanding of learning at workplace is necessary. Learning has to become a way of life in our organizational systems and should be introduced as an organizational property that extends to all managers. Furthermore, new skill requirements for managers arises forced by changed leadership and communication skills which are demanded at their workplace (CF. Fig. 1). New Skills for Managers at their workplace Lacks of traditional Management Education