First-line managers’ practices and learning in unpredictable work within elderly care
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21458760 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Karin Wastesson (0000-0003-1756-2811, Linköping University, corresponding author), Anna Fogelberg Eriksson (0000-0002-9287-1561, Linköping University), Peter Nilsson (0000-0002-4657-8532, Linköping University), Maria Gustavsson (0000-0002-2486-2663, Linköping University) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 44 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 376-391 |
| Publication date | 2022-09-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Studies in Continuing Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0158-037X • E-ISSN: 1470-126X |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/0158037x.2020.1868990 |
| OpenAlex | W3119016683 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 35 |
Despite the number of studies confirming a high degree of unpredictability in managerial work, little is still known about how managers' workplace learning happens within organisations in such circumstances. This paper therefore aims to contribute knowledge about managers' learning in managerial practice when work is unpredictable, by investigating how first-line managers deal with unforeseen situations and how they learn in such circumstances in everyday work. Data was collected via qualitative interviews with 40 first-line managers in Swedish elderly care. By using a theoretical framework based on practice and workplace learning theories, the paper analyses how managers address unpredictability in work through three embedded practices: maintaining, modifying and inventing. The paper goes beyond research on leadership training and leadership development by contributing knowledge about the everyday learning of first-line managers when their work is unpredictable. The unpredictable managerial work does not always create chaos; instead, there are very orderly ways of learning from dealing with unforeseen situations. The unforeseen is not as unpredictable as it might seem in managerial work. On the other hand, that which is not yet known calls for an inventing practice, which results in managers learning to take new paths that can create new practices
Business · Knowledge management · Line management · Organizational culture · Political science · Public relations · Qualitative research · Sociology · Computer Science · Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior · Management and Organizational Studies · Organizational Learning and Leadership · Psychology
Human services as complex organizations
Changing Practices, Changing Education
Leadership training design, delivery, and implementation
Qualitative content analysis in nursing research
A Practice Sensibility
Changing Practice
Masculinisation of the public sector
New Public Management Reforms of the Danish and Swedish Welfare States
Practice Theory
Learning and Everyday Life
Implementing, Embedding, and Integrating Practices
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |