Martijn Simons (1985) graduated in Humanistic Studies at the University of Humanistic Studies in Utrecht and Philosophy at the University of Amsterdam. He specialises in critical organisation and intervention studies and wrote his thesis on a Bergsonian conception of vital knowledge creation in organisations. Currently he teaching philosophy courses and works at De Baak Talent Group. 

In praise of problems: managing learning in organisations?
What strikes me these days is that all problems in organisations changed into opportunities or challenges. This kind of positive thinking became a tool for managers.  When problems are detected, they should be swiped off the workplace as soon as possible. It seems as if problems in organisations are not worth existing. Either they are opportunities or they are solved (stashed) as soon as possible. This ignores and reduces problems, as much in quantity as in quality. There is no longer an attention for the problems that are worth problematising. In this article problems in organisations and the vital creative act of problematisation will be advocated. The theme of knowledge management and knowledge creation will be used here in praise of problems in organisations. Problematisation in organisations is most important for innovative knowledge creation in organisations.

Knowledge creation in organisations is one of the most problematic issues in knowledge management theories. According to knowledge management theorists like Nonaka & Takeuchi (1995) and Weggeman (1997) knowledge is a specific result; an end product of innovative processes. An emphasis has been put on sharing knowledge by transforming personal tacit knowledge and mental content into explicit knowledge. This explicit knowledge can be applied to the organisational problems at hand. Knowledge is thus regarded either as a useful product, or as a problem-solving tool.
If knowledge is regarded as a useful product derived from a process, or as a handy tool within a process, it becomes quite difficult to create innovative knowledge in organisations. Mostly, the €˜end-product€™ is new but the knowledge used or €œgained is not. The product is built up from what is already known.[1] When we try to solve a problem, we use knowledge which is closest at hand. This means knowledge that is most common to us.

These solutions to problems at hand do not create new knowledge. New knowledge is created from a way out of the problem through the event of problematisation. (Deleuze, 2004a; Sørensen, 2005; Fuglsang & Sørensen, 2006)  That is by not trying to solve the problem but to stay in the problem, to discuss it, to live it through. In the event of the problem, the common ground of solutions can be left  aside in order to create new ways out of the problem.[2] Braidotti (2002) calls this "a challenge that shapes up long-established habits of thought". It is therefore important when dealing with creation of new knowledge to dig deeper into the problem at hand, to get better understanding of the situation where knowledge arises and is discussed, and to be aware of the act of knowledge creation instead of yielding to the desire to solve the problem. Counterintuitive as it may sound, knowledge creation in organisations is more about living the problem than finding solutions. In knowledge creation problematisation is a most important event. (Sørensen, 2005; Fuglsang & Sørensen, 2006;  Patton, 2006; Thanem & Linstead, 2006; Deleuze & Guattari, 2004)

For innovative and learning organisations, it is important not to devaluate or stash problems but to value and reply to problems. Real knowledge creation in organisations appears when problems are taken serious. In knowledge creating – or learning – communities professional dilemmas, problems and tensions are critically discussed. Professionals interact with each other around a central problematic theme. They create knowledge through problematising discussions. In these practices, problems are not to be solved but to be lived through. This involves a creation of different and contrary perspectives, as well as normative, personal and professional struggles. The event of problematisation in learning communities is as much a breeding ground for innovative insights as it is an event of labour, effort and harassment. (Wierdsma, 1999)  By living through in a personal relation to the process of problematisation, knowledge can be created from these tensions (Kunneman, 2005).

These practices of problematisation are relational processes in which a combination of new professional insights and repetition of known matters can become the centre of action in organisations. In problematisation the focus moves from the organisation of knowledge to organising knowledge creation in a continuous active conversation. In these practices, knowledge moves from what we already know through unstable moments of disorientation to a new situation. New knowledge uses what is known and changes existing knowledge in a permanent process of discussion and communication. Or in Deleuzian terms a process of deterritorialization and reterritorialization. (Deleuze & Guattari , 2004a/2004b; Sørensen, 2005:121) Professional knowledge emerges in interaction and in relation to the problem at hand, each other and the process of problematisation in which they are involved.

It is therefore important for organisations to have attention for the experiences of problems in organisation. Problematisation is a humanising process that hears and gives voice to different professional experiences. Professional communities do not only learn from but also through the experience of problems.