SHARING IS LEAR-NING- about how we learn from one another and grow when we share

a pocket guide from Media Evolution

This publication is published by the media cluster Me-dia Evolution. We are working to boost growth in the media industries in southern Sweden. One of our key areas is gathering intelligence to monitor what’s going on in the media industries across the globe. We take that information and use it to highlight opportunities and business models that our members, and media in-dustries in general, can exploit and develop.

www.mediaevolution.se

Media Evolution

All the information in the world is at our fingertips. But how do we actu-

ally learn new things? Without context and explanations, the data are just mea-ningless noise.

When the wheels all around seem to spin faster with each passing day and the flow paralyzes us rather than spreads new light on the unknown, the need to work with others to transform information into knowledge is greater than ever.

In this publication you can read about how to build a corporate culture that promotes learning among employees. In addition, Caroline McCarthy writes about her role as a trendspotter, while Petra Berggren writes about how Facebook could become just the breakthrough that internal com-munications needs.

INTRO by Media Evolution

4 Organization, learning and new media 8 Tools for a learning organization 10 From a must to own driving forces 12 10 tips for improved internal communica-tions 14 Internal communications on Facebook 16 Sharing knowledge with wikis 18 Monitoring and validating trends 20 Creating software with users and customers 22 Making the invisible visible 24 IKEA learning philosophy 26 Contemporary buzzwords

”the need to work with others to transform information into knowledge is greater than ever”

Creating knowledge together

Sharing is learningDecember 2011

Publisher: Media EvolutionEditors: Lennart Helmbold, Sara Ponnert och Martin Thörnkvistmartin@mediaevolution.seDesign: You Us and Them

WhaT by Lars Meding and Bosse Müller

Organization, learning and new mediaFacebook, blogs and YouTube have changed the lives of most people. People learn from the knowledge and expe-rience of others and contribute with their own in a way that is unprecedented. As a result people are learning—develo-ping new ways to understand themselves and the world.

The business community, public organi-zations, universities and schools share a strong belief and hope that new media and communications capabilities will lead to new and more effective ways to learn. The-re is also a clear tendency to focus more on learning issues than on teaching and edu-cation issues.

At the same time it must be noted that changing how learning is perceived is not easy. There is a deeply rooted tradition in some places where learning occurs when some people read (or lecture) to others, while others listen and read (or study) afterwards. This approach also largely characterizes new forms of e-learning and mobile learning.

Learning in the futureThis scenario is supported by experience from the network “Learning in the future in a business-driven organization” in which several international companies participate, in-cluding IKEA. Several of the companies in the network believe that 10 percent of skills development should be achieved through training, 20% through mentoring/coach-ing and 70% on the job. When companies present their ap-

Systems thinking

Individuallearning

Mentalmodels

Commonvision

Teamlearning

Peter Senge ”The fifth dicsipline”

proach, they focus almost entirely on training and mento-ring/coaching. They have well-developed systems for this purpose, both digital and analog. Very little is said about how on the job learning can be an important part of skills development.

But how can the experience gained from the open inter-net be translated and applied in the particular context of a company or organization? The concept of learning must be analyzed from angles other than the one so totally do-minated by our experience from school and other educa-tion. In addition, we must question the very nature of the organization today, when production of goods and servi-ces is so different from yesterday.

This does not mean that “traditional” education doesn’t work. But if learning is lifted from a personal to an organi-zational level, more entrances are required. The organiza-tion needs an integrated approach for handling questions about the organization, learning and new information and communication technologies. It is essential for developing a learning organization in our time.

Single or double loopOrganizational gurus Schön and Argyris describe two different types of organizational learning, single loop lear-ning and double loop learning. Single loop learning occurs when errors and irregularities are corrected so that indi-viduals continue to do what they were doing previously, only better. Double loop learning is not only a corrective process, but also entails formulating questions and consi-dering actions from a new perspective so that insights and procedures change. This approach corresponds with the

“People learn from the knowledge and experience of others and contribute with their own in a way that is unpreceden-ted.”

creation of conditions in which 70% of skills development takes place on the job, in activities that are not primarily aimed at learning, known as informal learning.

Shared knowledge is double knowledgeThis is the crux of a learning organization in our time – how can we best share practices, insights, etc., with other parts of the organization? The obvious answer would be to bring in the forms of communication developed on the open Internet, social media etc., as a common procedure within the organization. In addition to offering a chan-nel for the dissemination and sharing of knowledge from every corner of the organization, patterns could also soon be recognized at the system level.

Thinking about an organization’s communication in-frastructure from this perspective shows its strategic significance – a way to nurture employees’ reflective ex-periences, and thus a tool for recognizing patterns and developing.

In his influential book “The Fifth Discipline”, Peter Senge points out that systems thinking is the crucial (fifth) dis-cipline in terms of the ability of organizations to create their own future. New media offer a communicative arena where the big picture can emerge, allowing itself to be captured and become available for analysis.

The challengeThe challenge for companies is not primarily to implement Facebook-type social functionality in its intranet, that’s easy – but to build a culture that rewards employees who share their reflected experiences, a “culture of contribution”.

“New media offer a communicative arena where the big picture can emerge, allowing itself to be captured and become available for analysis.”

The entire field of activities for which Hu-man Resources (HR) and Learning and Development (L&D) are responsible would have a brand new digital arena for skills de-velopment, “talent management”, “change management”, and more. Top management and other operational managers, would have an instrument to make a systemic analysis of the organization, and thus could identify the needs of changing procedures, policies and practices – double loop learning.

Despite the obvious benefits of taking the step to build an internal communication and learning system inspired by innovations from the open Internet, we have noticed cau-tion from global companies. Some conduct the occasional experiment, but they are still hesitant to take a holistic ap-proach. Why is that? Must we finally come to terms with the hierarchical assumptions we inherited from industria-lism about how we organize work?

One thing is certain: people are developing new ap-proaches for collaboration and shared learning on the In-ternet. These new forms of communication will penetrate, and deeply influence, how we organize our businesses. Great opportunities are hidden here.

Lars Meding is development manager at Malmö University, and has worked with new forms of learning using digital tools since the late 1980s. Bosse Müller is project manager at Malmö University and has taught in high school and at the school of education with a focus on ICT and learning.

Tools

It would be no exaggeration to say that Johan Skoglöf, CEO at LearnTech, is a leading e-learning consultant

and learning trendspotter in Sweden. He has worked with several major organizations from different industries at va-rying levels of maturity with respect to learning.

What distinguishes mature learning processes from the more traditional?“Traditional courses and e-learning courses are often handled via a Learning management System (LMS). You administer courses and do reporting. More mature, target-driven and flexible learning is based on standardized pro-cess support for systematic skills management. What skills are needed for future business development? Which skills does it require? And what skills activities should be imple-mented operationally?”

“In mature learning processes, objectives are set at the individual level, activities come on time and e-learning is mixed with traditional courses. One new trend is to in-tegrate evaluations based on the impact of the activity at work.”

What do you do if you want to approach learning at work?“The purpose of work-oriented learning is to support staff on the job, like sales representatives with a certain product, or a group of financial advisers, and then the information is more contextualized directly on the web site in the form of screenshots, etc. The trend is to achieve what is known as a personal learning environment (PLE), in which the flow of knowledge is configured in a personal overview for blogs, Twitter flows and so on.”

WhaT by Lennart Helmbold

Tools for a learning organization

”companies are realizing how dif-ficult it is to draw the line between work-related learning and other things”

how do you take the step to collabora-tive learning and what does it entail?“Collaborative learning is completely user-driven and situational. It involves building a culture of learning from the knowledge and experience of others, while contribu-ting one’s own. You generate your own forums or wikis online that, for example, programmers often use. But the driving forces vary, depending on the organization and role. In some cases you use grades, or focus on specific items. But just having the opportunity to relate personal experiences and become visible in the organization is a strong driving force.”

“Openness in the large organizations is still quite limited. Communities are built inside firewalls, even though little of the information involves trade secrets. An ex-ample of the opposite is Cisco, which has open forums for developers.”

“Creating Facebook or LinkedIn groups at work, which are work-related, is also beco-ming increasingly common since compa-nies are realizing how difficult it is to draw the line between work-related learning and other things.”

Lennart Helmbold is responsible for the Future Learning project at Media Evolution.

ToolsGoal-oriented courses and training programsBoth traditional courses and e-learning are distributed and administered using a LMS. Moodle.org is an open web-based system that is free. Shorter goal-oriented courses can be quickly produced with programs such as Articulate.com. Web meetings can be quickly organized and broadcast using the free software Skype.com.

Job-oriented learningLearning material can easily be uploaded and distributed using the platform Dru-pal.org. It is web-based and free. Power-Point or Keynote presentations can ex-ported to Articulate.com and the inflow of information and knowledge can be orga-nized using the free service Netvibes.com.

Collaboration and CommunicationThe social web service Ning.com can be used to get started with knowledge sharing and collaboration. To build and share common knowledge, try the web-based Wikispaces.com, which is similar to Wikipedia. If you want to produce and upload videos, try Ning or streaming on YouTube.com.

”dare to make mista-kes and think about what the feedback means”

With today’s extreme access to information and knowledge, traditional courses are declining in re-

levance, while the collective knowledge and experience of employees become increasingly important to nurture and disseminate. Especially since the turnover rate for know-ledge is very high.

Social media functionality can support the knowledge sharing process in an organization, easily integrating it into everyday life, but it requires a whole new approach to learning at work and its importance to the organization’s operational or business development, as well as a vision of the ultimate goal.

The transition toward organizations where employees share lessons learned and create new knowledge requires strong motivation from both management and employees, since the obstacles are so strong. Most organizations still operate in a hierarchical structure, based on the industrial-military tradition.

Sharing knowledge and experience in a non-hierarchical manner counters that tradition, though different obstacles will be encountered instead.

Driving forces for knowledge sharingManagement’s driving forces for knowledge sharing:

Boosts employee initiative and innovationPicks up important signals about problemsEnables management to communicate on equal termsImproves employee performanceFosters a culture of openness and participation

hOW by Lennart Helmbold

From a must to own driving forces

Learning to fly

Employees’ driving forces for knowledge sharing:My knowledge becomes visibleFeedback from coworkersGrowth and job satisfactionContributes to operational and business developmentRemote collaboration and communication

Obstacles and counterargumentsCommon obstacles to knowledge sharing:

How are we supposed to find the time? Clear signals from management that participating in the exchange of knowledge is accepted and desirable; exactly when depends on the type of organization.How does it work? Depends on the type of content to be created and com-mented on. Narratives and case studies are best pre-sented with images/video/audio. A Smartphone goes a long way! Social web services can be rented.How do you measure results? Direct measurements can be made on most social sites, i.e., how active people are and the posts that are published.What do I get from sharing? The answer is try it and see. The key is to get started.I don’t have anything in particular to tell... Are my skills and experiences worth sharing with oth-ers? How do I formulate them in words? Start small and tell about an event, as though you are talking to a col-league over coffee.

Dare to make mistakes and think about what the feedback means. What worked and what didn’t? That’s learning too. Action-Reflection-Learning!

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The Intranet—past and present—is the megaphone the ma-nagement group uses to keep employees informed. Even though people in the marketing world have encouraged dialogue in relation to the market for decades.

This era, however, is finally over! Companies are finally beginning to realize that even the internal organization should be regarded as a market.

We have organized our experience on these issues into ten points to consider for your company’s internal communi-cations strategy. We call it a digital workplace.

Philosophical:Transparency! – Feedback and dialogue encourage innovation and creativity in the organization. A com-pany with open discussion promotes participation.

Collaboration is the very purpose – In addition to being able to interact transparently with each other, your em-ployees should also be provided with tools that encou-rage effective collaboration.

Open space for dialogue – Email is a short-term form of dialogue with contents that does not reach the entire organization. To build structural capital, information should be exchanged in a work space to which eve-ryone has access.

Encourage innovation and creativity – A company that is transparent, encourages dialogue, provides tools for collaboration and has structural capital readily availa-ble will increase innovation and creativity.

WhaT by Jens Almgren

10 tips for improved internal communications

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Build the internal brand – A thoughtfully planned and open digital workplace is the ideal forum in which to build and strengthen corporate culture and to inter-nally build the company brand and values.

Practical:An irresistible home page – A successful storefront att-racts customers into a store. The same applies to the home page. Base it on the needs and ordinary work day of the employee.

Comment, share & like – Giving employees the oppor-tunity to comment on a news item, share horizon scan-ning and say what they think about the content is what social media is all about. It encourages dialogue and allows for transparency.

Filtering is the new “like” – All information should be accessible to everyone, but the employee must be able to choose what he or she needs to follow.

Maximum searchability – Think carefully about how to structure and tag information and documentation. It should be just as easy to find on the digital workplace as on Google.

Don’t forget the mobile units – Accessing digital work-place content by tablet and mobile phone should be just as natural as from the computer.

“To build structural capital, information should be exchanged in a work space to which everyone has access.“

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Jens Almgren is marketing manager and business developer at Stratiteq.

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Producing enjoyable and inspiring internal com-munications is a major challenge and something I

think many workplaces should work harder at achieving. I’m referring to the kind of communication that invites spontaneous learning and knowledge sharing among colleagues.

My experience is that communication in separate projects usually goes well, but we don’t have a format in which we can discu-ss things in general that don’t fit in there.

We can always use a good place for tips, ideas, status updates, spontaneous thoughts, an eye on the outside world, ha-ving fun – that’s what makes the job better and so much more enjoyable.

Several workplaces have both physical and digital channels for this type of discu-ssion, but getting them to work properly is difficult.

a virtual watercoolerThis was one of my major challenges when I worked as strategic information officer at Media Evolution. My col-leagues were working on a variety of exciting projects, often in the field. Occasions when everyone had time to gather and be inspired by one another and find synergis-tic effects among the projects were few and far between.

We wanted to find a digital channel where we could di-scuss day-to-day work, a virtual watercooler where eve-

hOW by Petra Berggren

Internal communications on Facebook

Wanna poke your colleagues?

ryone could gather. We tested a few different tools over a couple of months, but the results were always the same. They worked so-so for a couple of weeks, after which the activity slowed to a crawl and interest dwindled.

Meeting place where everyone already isTo get the conversation rolling, we tested moving com-munication over to a closed Facebook group. At first, some people were resistant to letting job discussions slip into a forum that otherwise belonged to the private sphere, but it turned out to be a successful idea.

Everyone knew the rules on Facebook. Logging in was already part of daily life and talking with colleagues, sharing links and providing inspiration was easy and fun right from the start. After two weeks the discussions grew in number and interest never waned.

The desire to talk and learn from one another was always there and the accessibility that Facebook offers sparked the discussions.

For us, Facebook worked as an optimal internal commu-nications tool, where Media Evolution colleagues exchan-ge information, bounce ideas and inspire one another. It may not be the best place for project and document ma-nagement, but that doesn’t matter, since other tools are more suitable for those parts.

“…talking with col-leagues, sharing links and providing inspiration was easy and fun right from the start”

Petra Berggren is information officer at the cultural administra-tion for the City of Helsingborg, with responsibility for Sofiero Pal-ace and Gardens

hOW by Linda Kiby

A wiki can be an incredible place for a company to gather its knowledge. Not only can it help to retain

knowledge when employees move on or make it easier for new employees, but it is also a great place to gather docu-mentation on things that may not be used every day, but are still important.

To ensure getting maximum benefit from a wiki, certain things should be considered.

StructureFirst, having a good structure ready when setting up the wiki is helpful. You may not know exactly how it will be used, but sit down and work out the best structure you can think of at the time.

Examples:Guides – step by step, how do I do this? Documentation – description of code standards, server information, etc.Design – what is already implemented, but also what is planned and wild ideasCompany information – contact list and information about time offProjects – all possible information about completed and planned projectsWiki – syntax, FAQ, proposals, rules

Dividing information by department is often a good idea. For example, the Paradox internal development wiki uses the sub-headings programming, graphics and scripting.

Sharing knowledge with wikis

Participate with your expertise

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OrganizationTo ensure that it’s actually used, start by posting as much information as you can think of, then share the wiki with people who might be most interested first. Give them some time to fill in the information and then share it with everyone else. This way, those who are less interested can immediately see how it could be useful. The wiki is frequently filled with information quickly, people see how great it can be, and most people like to have the opportu-nity to organize their knowledge.

In my experience, not many rules are needed, but if the company has topics that are sensitive, it may be best to be aware and mention them when the wiki is introduced.

Maintain enthusiasmThe next difficult step is to ensure that the wiki is updated. Many people like the idea of a wiki, and enjoy reading it, but if the information starts to become outdated, it’s easy to just ignore it and then the knowledge gets lost again.

The best way to prevent this is to ensure that the wiki is updated. If you have to send out information about so-mething, post it on the wiki and send a link to it. Remind others to do the same. If people go to the wiki, it’s easy to update what was changed last week while they are there.

It requires a little management, but done properly, the wiki can become what it is meant to be – a great tool for sharing knowledge and simplifying communication.

Linda Kiby is Associate Producer at the computer game company Paradox Interactive.

“If you have to send out information about something, post it on the wiki and send the link to it.”

Maybe today it seems like everyone’s talking about the photo-sharing application Instagram, or sharing

a link to a hilarious commercial for a cereal brand, or is absolutely convinced that a certain feature in a yet-to-be-released mobile phone will be the feature that will make it the world’s most desirable piece of hardware.

On the internet, there are a lot of people talking about a lot of things, and it’s sometimes - okay, it’s often - difficult to differentiate between what really shows potential as a new trend and what’s just someone’s crazy idea, or the product of pure hype. I work on the Trends and Insights team at Google, which produces a lot of materials for marketers, thought leaders, and other people who are interested in hearing more about the future of digital, so keeping on top of the real trends is extremely important to us.

It’s really all about two things: listening and filtering.

Listen Listening, on the internet, usually takes the form of reading (or watching video). There are a couple of really great trend blogs out there, many run by some of the edgiest marketers and agencies out there - psfk.com, joshspear.com, coolhun-ting.com - that provide a mix of the practical and fantastical.

Internet culture blogs like Boing Boing and Know Your Meme are also now a must for keeping on top of emerging pop culture trends, especially for those who don’t have the bandwidth to deal with labyrinthine underground forums and communities like 4chan and Reddit, where many of the most widespread digital cultural phenomena we’ve ever seen have arisen (“lolcats” among them!) but which are so

hOW by Caroline McCarthy

Monitoring and validating trends

”check out new apps, sites, and services yourself”

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complex and packed with content (much of it explicit) that navigating them is practically a full-time job.

FilterAs for straight-up technology blogs, I find that this is where it’s most important to apply a filter. Mashable, Tech-Crunch, and their brethren are must-reads for anyone inte-rested in digital trends, but at the same time their job is to write about what’s new, whether it ends up lasting or not.

There are a lot of ways that you can dig a little deeper and investigate trends here: Search on social media sites to see what people are saying in reaction to what the tech press is publishing. More importantly, check out new apps, sites, and services yourself to see what’s most important - what the users are really doing.

For an example from my own employer: When Google launched Google+ this past summer, it was less compel-ling to read bloggers’ speculations about what would hap-pen in the months following the new product launch, and far more interesting to see, for example, that indie musici-ans were using its “Hangout” feature for sporadic private concerts. Within months, the Black Eyed Peas had used Google+ for a Hangout backstage at a concert.

We’re seeing these things bubble up from grassroots indie ideas into big, mainstream events - and it’s really exciting.

Caroline McCarthy works on Google’s Trends and Insights team and is a writer and editor of Think Quarterly.

“Adobe is completely dependent on active and engaged users.”

Adobe has developed software products in close collaboration with our users for over 25 years. The

methods and tools for this purpose have been refined and developed throughout this period. The typical product cycle for our products is 12 to 18 months, which allows plenty of time for development teams and product coor-dinators to verify ideas, functions and solutions with the users.

Early feedbackEarly feedback occurs through Prerelease Programs – which begin 6 to 8 months before the program is fun-ctional, complete and ready for delivery. We offer a small circle of users the opportunity to test new features, along with documentation explaining how they should work and the problems they solve. Special discussion forums are linked to this testing activity to communicate with users, get feedback and answer their questions.

Shorter product cyclesDevelopment of the Adobe Digital Publishing Suite, a page layout, technology and distribution product, for building iPad magazines and the like, is completely dif-ferent. Adobe uses the Scrum application development method for DPS, which allows significantly more frequent upgrades. From a product cycle of 12 to 18 months, we can now present an updated product at intervals as frequent as four to six weeks.

Adobe is completely dependent on active and engaged users. At most over 3,000 users were involved. Develop-ment was also carried out in close collaboration with selected major publishers – partly to get direct feedback

hOW by Roger Risdal

Creating software with users and customers

on layout program features, interactive tools such as vi-deo, panoramic photography, navigation and 360-degree image rotation, but also to ensure that this new way of pu-blishing material also offers the opportunity to integrate the digital workflow in daily production and to be able to use existing systems such as subscription to the digital iPad edition.

Closer collaborationTo do this we opened a number of App-lication Program Interfaces (APIs) and worked directly with the publishers’ deve-lopment department. Some examples of such close collaboration include Condé Nast and Bonnier Digital – Dagens Ny-heter.

Regarding the latter, DN+ in AppStore, daily meetings were held between the development teams: Bonnier Digital in Stockholm and the Adobe Digital Publis-hing team in San Francisco. As a result, Adobe now not only delivers software for design and layout, but is also responsible for daily distribution of newspapers and magazines to readers around the world, regardless of e-reader or system platform.

To date, around five to six months after the launch, over 9 million copies have been distributed to over 1,200 cus-tomized apps.

Roger Risdal is Business Development Manager at Adobe’s de-partment for Digital Publishing Creative & Interactive Solutions.

The outcome of the collaboration between Adobe and Bonnier.

“building the neces-sary culture may be more difficult“

“If HP knew what HP knows we would be three times as profitable”. Yes, if HP knew what HP knows… that’s what

former Hewlett-Packard CEO Lew Platt said.

What Lew Platt called for, structures for internal feedback loops in the organization, can now be easily achieved in purely technical terms, though building the necessary cul-ture may be more difficult.

YouTube for the Intranet In 2007 Microsoft established a system for podcasting and videocasting internally in the organization. Anyone could upload and download media and other users could com-ment on and rank the individual contributions. The contri-butions that the collective deemed most interesting could float to the surface and become visible.

The original purpose was to encourage the developer orga-nization in the United States (approx. 22,000 people) and the sales organization (approx. 60,000 persons) around the world to approach one another. What’s happening? What do the development strategies look like? How are the products received by customers? In 2010 the system had 42,000 users and 100,000 viewers/downloads per month.

Development and unforeseen useAfter three years of experience with the podcasting sys-tem, the unforeseen and non-planned uses may just be the most interesting:

Innovation, idea incubatorThe employees soon began to use the communication channel as an idea incubator in order to get feedback.

CaSE by Lars Meding

Making the invisible visible

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Projects – status reportsThe projects in the organization also used podcasting early on for regular status reports so that integration opportunities among projects could be recognized at an earlier stage.

Corporate communicationsTop management was not as quick to start using the new communication channel. But once management discovered the effectiveness and the high distribution they began using it as an accessible way to communi-cate the company’s strategies, etc.

Virtual eventEmployees can now follow previously time-dependent discussions, seminars and other events on-demand.

User communitiesA wide range of expert groups on various subjects have evolved, where professionals share their experience and knowledge.

New fields of knowledgeWe have much to learn about the importance of implemen-ting a communication infrastructure. A whole new field awaits exploration on how to stage an intra-organizational dialogue using new media.

Even more can be learned about the culture shift that will be necessary to take serious advantage of the collective knowledge.

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“We want to integrate learning in the business. We do it by making ‘Stop & Reflect’ an everyday ingredient. It is about stepping back, thinking, looking and describing. You de-tect patterns, get insights and explore what things can mean. It is about finding meaning and discovering new opportunities.”

IKEA Learning Booklet (2009)

Curt Temin, Learning and Development Manager at IKEA of Sweden, believes that more employees at IKEA must become seniors. This means they should climb up a step on IKEA’s skills ladder from being “in the role,” where they master their field from every possible aspect, to become “se-nior” and thus take responsibility for de-veloping the field, as well as coaching and mentoring employees in the field.

In Donald Schön’s terminology, it could be described as becoming a reflective practitioner, i.e. a person who has acquired the ability of “reflection in action”.

Learning in the business processIKEA’s learning philosophy is based on Kolb and ultima-tely aims for learning to become an integral part of the business process and thus a means for developing the organization and all of its business processes. At both the team and the individual level, learning is based on actions undertaken in a given situation.

For learning to occur, it is necessary to step back and

CaSE by Lars Meding och Bosse Müller

IKEa learning philosophy

Action

Conclusion Reflection

Insight

Schematic diagram of the learning process

reflect on what did or did not go well. Only then can pat-terns emerge and conclusions be drawn about one’s be-havior. With such insights, the individual is better equip-ped to deal with a similar situation the next time around. Learning has occurred.

Creating a learning cultureTo build a culture that integrates learning into daily work, IKEA tries to take a reflective approach by applying “Stop and Reflect”, a method that entails stopping and conside-ring a situation from a learning perspective.

At the individual level it is about questions such as: What did you learn about the business? What did you learn about yourself? What do you need to improve?

At the team level, it primarily involves issues relating to cooperation: What helps or hinders us from working together effectively? What do we need to change and im-prove to become a more effective team?

IKEA also addresses a more systemic level, known as “Big talk”. Questions that are relevant here apply to the organization as a whole:

What does this say about other parts of IKEA and about the rest of the world? What does the rest of the world say about us? What does it mean for us and how can we make good use of it? How can we share our insights and discove-ries with other parts of IKEA?

“For learning to oc-cur, it is necessary to step back and reflect on what did or did not go well”

GLOSSaRY by Media Evolution

Contemporary buzzwords

Flexible learningA collective term for the mix of new and old forms of lear-ning.

Learning on demandLearning organized so that the specific knowledge that is needed can be directly accessed.

LMS/LCMSAbbreviation for Learning Management System and Learning Communication Management System; course administration tools with and without communication function.

PLEAbbreviation for Personal Learning Environment, a per-sonally designed toolbox of programs that make new knowledge accessible.

ScrumMethod that facilitates development carried out horizon-tally in an organization. The work is divided into different phases with clear handovers.

WikiA web site for which everyone can create content. The best known example is Wikipedia, the online encyclope-dia.

This publication comprises texts previously published at www.mediaevolution.se. The idea is to repackage our regular analysis as focused in-depth looks at areas that we think the media industries need to understand a little bit better.

We release four publications annually. At our web site you can download or order mail copies of previous and future editions.

Sharing Is Learning is published under the Creative Commons licence by-nc-sa. Read more at creativecommons.se

about this publicationContact Media Evolutioninfo@mediaevolution.se0706-37 28 47 (Pernilla Lavesson)

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