Learning as Dialogue: An “On-the-Go” Approach to Dealing with Organizational Tensions

Abstract

Any tension or contradiction that is experienced in an organizational setting can be viewed as either something to be resolved individually or as a constitutive aspect that people have to learn to deal with collaboratively (Lewis et al. Commun Monogr 77(4):460–479, 2010). In this chapter, we explore the latter perspective by showing how dealing with a specific tension on a daily basis can be reflected in what we propose to call an on-the-go approach toward learning (and collaborating), an approach that is built upon informal dialogues and that fosters a process of co-construction. Mobilizing what we call a ventriloquial perspective on interaction (Cooren, J Commun 62(1):1–20, 2010; Commun Monogr (ahead-of-print):1–23, 2012), this paper identifies and analyzes communicative practices (hence, the on-the-go approach) that enable the international humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (also referred to as “MSF”) to deal with specific tensions that seem ubiquitous in members’ discussions. This tension results from the need to deploy an emergency-oriented approach while adopting a more long-term perspective during the implementation of missions around the world (Fox, Ann Am Acad Pol Soc Sci 595(1):309–326, 2004). Our aim is to empirically demonstrate how an experienced and an inexperienced member of MSF both deal with and learn from such a tension in their daily activities, building on it as well as embedding it one interaction at the time. Organizational learning (OL) is, therefore, envisaged as a communicative achievement. Through their conversations, organizational members, especially inexperienced ones, learn how to evaluate what should matter or count in a given situation, that is, they learn to read or decipher what a given situation is supposed to dictate or require (Dewey, Democracy and education: an introduction to the philosophy of education. The Free Press, New York, 1916, p. 324; Misak, The American pragmatists. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2013). Such a reading is cultivated by keeping it updated, contextualized, and attuned. More specifically, we argue that organizational learning is subtly occurring during mundane interactions, implying in the process an evaluation mechanism where the situation itself contributes as a third party.