Proposal and evaluation of a method to induce a chat leading to organizational learning

Abstract

Importance of organizational learning has been widely recognized and it has been introduced in various companies in recent years. Informal communication such as a chat is expected to share unexpected but useful information without heavy workload. In this study, therefore, a method to induce a chat has been proposed which can promote organizational learning. In order to implement the proposed method, a resting room has been prepared and a system has been developed in it where work related information on the Internet is displayed on a large display. A case study was conducted to confirm whether the proposed method induced a chat which led to organizational learning or not. Two groups of two female specialists participated in the case study, where they conducted dummy tasks and took a break in the prepared resting room in which the system had been installed. As the result, a few chats leading to organizational learning were induced. In addition, it was found that the proposed method had a possibility to promote their work related chat for the workers who usually talk about their works.