Power, status, and learning in organizations
This paper reviews the scholarly literature on the effects of social hierarchy—differences in power and status among organizational actors—on collective learning in organizations and groups. We begin with the observation that theories of organization and group learning have tended to adopt a rationa...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences
2012
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/69925 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8706-3124 |
| _version_ | 1811096292387979264 |
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| author | Bunderson, J. Stuart Reagans, Ray Eugene |
| author2 | Sloan School of Management |
| author_facet | Sloan School of Management Bunderson, J. Stuart Reagans, Ray Eugene |
| author_sort | Bunderson, J. Stuart |
| collection | MIT |
| description | This paper reviews the scholarly literature on the effects of social hierarchy—differences in power and status among organizational actors—on collective learning in organizations and groups. We begin with the observation that theories of organization and group learning have tended to adopt a rational system model, a model that emphasizes goal-directed and cooperative interactions between and among actors who may differ in knowledge and expertise but are undifferentiated with respect to power and status. Our review of the theoretical and empirical literatures on power, status, and learning suggests that social hierarchy can complicate a rational system model of collective learning by disrupting three critical learning-related processes: anchoring on shared goals, risk taking and experimentation, and knowledge sharing. We also find evidence to suggest that the stifling effects of power and status differences on collective learning can be mitigated when advantaged actors are collectively oriented. Indeed, our review suggests that higher-ranking actors who use their power and status in more “socialized” ways can play critical roles in stimulating collective learning behavior. We conclude by articulating several promising directions for future research that were suggested by our review. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T16:41:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/69925 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T16:41:34Z |
| publishDate | 2012 |
| publisher | Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/699252022-10-03T07:37:31Z Power, status, and learning in organizations Bunderson, J. Stuart Reagans, Ray Eugene Sloan School of Management Reagans, Ray Eugene Reagans, Ray Eugene This paper reviews the scholarly literature on the effects of social hierarchy—differences in power and status among organizational actors—on collective learning in organizations and groups. We begin with the observation that theories of organization and group learning have tended to adopt a rational system model, a model that emphasizes goal-directed and cooperative interactions between and among actors who may differ in knowledge and expertise but are undifferentiated with respect to power and status. Our review of the theoretical and empirical literatures on power, status, and learning suggests that social hierarchy can complicate a rational system model of collective learning by disrupting three critical learning-related processes: anchoring on shared goals, risk taking and experimentation, and knowledge sharing. We also find evidence to suggest that the stifling effects of power and status differences on collective learning can be mitigated when advantaged actors are collectively oriented. Indeed, our review suggests that higher-ranking actors who use their power and status in more “socialized” ways can play critical roles in stimulating collective learning behavior. We conclude by articulating several promising directions for future research that were suggested by our review. 2012-04-04T16:31:19Z 2012-04-04T16:31:19Z 2011-09 2010-01 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 1047-7039 1526-5455 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/69925 Bunderson, J. S., and R. E. Reagans. “Power, Status, and Learning in Organizations.” Organization Science 22.5 (2010): 1182–1194. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8706-3124 en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1100.0590 Organization Science Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ application/pdf Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences Prof. Reagans via Alex Caracuzzo |
| spellingShingle | Bunderson, J. Stuart Reagans, Ray Eugene Power, status, and learning in organizations |
| title | Power, status, and learning in organizations |
| title_full | Power, status, and learning in organizations |
| title_fullStr | Power, status, and learning in organizations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Power, status, and learning in organizations |
| title_short | Power, status, and learning in organizations |
| title_sort | power status and learning in organizations |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/69925 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8706-3124 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT bundersonjstuart powerstatusandlearninginorganizations AT reagansrayeugene powerstatusandlearninginorganizations |