Workplace Learning : A Case of Firewalls Replacing Office Walls?

It is not hard to see that the content as well as the context of learning in all organizations inevitably changes over time. Put simply, you are today dealing with a different generation of people, who have a different set of expectations from their forbears, as well as different resources. Tulgan (2006), states that generations X and Y should be viewed as ‘perpetual customers’ at work, as this is how they have been treated all of their lives. Drawing from his research Gen X and Gen Y tend to think like customers and like being treated as customers. So these dispositions they have begs the question as to why they should be treated or act differently at work? Collaboration through the use of Web 2.0 tools is allowing millions of people to share information and experiences in ways never dreamt of before. It is potentially empowering us all to be easily accessible to others online and, in effect, we are allowed to tap into a collective online ‘brain’—some call it an online wisdom but that may be a bit of an exaggeration sometimes. Predictably, businesses are beginning to harness some of the same forces of Web 2.0 for their sales and marketing efforts. From their Web 2.0 experience to date, the see working collaboratively as a means to allow them to better understand and connect with their customers