Experiential learning in management education: A knowledge management perspective

Abstract

Knowledge creation, acquisition, sharing and application are essential elements of the learning cycle of students in education. Knowledge Management processes becomes all the more important for business school students who need to transform themselves into future-ready entry level managers. Acquisition of tacit knowledge in the form of critical life skills relevant to the world of work differentiates successful managers from others. This in turn depends on the variety and kind of experiences they participate in. In this context, this paper attempts to explore the linkage between knowledge management processes and experiential learning in management students with special focus on tacit knowledge. It describes the introduction of an experiential learning course aimed at acquisition of critical life skills by the students of a business school and valuable learnings through the engagement of students in the processes of knowledge creation, acquisition and sharing in the business school setting. The course titled “Learning Organizational Realities through Organization based Projects” was conceived as a core course for the first year post-graduate management students of the business school and three iterations of the course have been completed as on January 2019. The learning objectives of the course included enabling the students experience and address the challenges of collaboration, conflict resolution and other such organizational processes through participation in various student clubs and committees and executing projects aligned with the institution building activities of the business school. Knowledge was sought to be acquired through doing and reflecting on the experiences gained through doing. The paper describes a situated experience of using experiential learning in management education and how such experience has been enriched with an explicit focus on tacit knowledge. The results of the study will be relevant for designers of experiential learning courses in management education and researchers and practitioners in knowledge management and organizational performance.