LITERATURE REVIEW
7. Formal and informal learning
2.9 The Organisational Learning Implementation
In the rapidly changing and competitive environment of the 21st century, organisational learning is needed to ensure the organisation is in line with changes in technology, customer expectations, product innovation and service efficiency, all of which are critical for survival (Armstrong 2000; Schein 1993; Senge 1990). According to Locke and Jain (1995) the competitive challenges of the 1980s and 1990s threatened many established management and organisational practices. Further, Cook, Staniforth, and Stewart (1997) suggest that for the individual, company or country to flourish, it needs to construct an internal learning culture. Organisational Learning benefits the organisation by promoting information that is easily accessible from all directions: vertically, horizontally, and diagonally (Brown and Brudney 2003), to help respond to uncertainties and unexpected events. Therefore, there will be increasing pressure on organisations to manage the process and incorporate feedback (Williams 2001).
Quality feedback can only occur if learning takes place in a way that allows an organisation to learn faster than rivals and apply new knowledge effectively (Prahalad and Hamel 1990). According to Prahalad and Hamel (1990), organisational learning builds the “core competencies” to make the organisation superior to rivals through the employees. This means employees need to learn and have a clear understanding of the organisation’s mission, strategies and goals for them to provide quality feedback about past and present performance. This first step in achieving competitive advantage is developing and shaping an appropriate mental model of OL (Williams 2001).
2.10 Conclusion
This literature review has explored the important issues related to Organisational Learning and identified that organisational learning is important to enhance organisational competitiveness. While organisational learning per se clearly has benefits, the notion that there is one best way is questionable. The reality is that there are a range of strategies to choose from, and the most successful are likely to be those that best relate to the organisations context. The literature does identify that the most important learning strategies affecting employees’ behavioural performance are action learning, active learning, action learning, experiential learning, cooperative learning, problem-based learning, coaching and mentoring as well as both formal and informal learning. In addition, it must be remembered that these attributes represent a synthesised model based on the western literature. The aim of this research is to explore whether or not these attributes apply equally within the Malaysian context.
A model of organisational learning for Malaysian organisations can only be developed by acquiring knowledge about how Malaysian organisations acquire knowledge and promote employee performance. Therefore, this research takes a qualitative approach to exploring how ‘Organisational Learning’ is practised and implemented in Malaysian organisations. The conceptual framework, drawn from the literature, is a useful framework to inform the research approach and to help identify similarities and dissimilarities with the way organisational learning is understood and implemented in Malaysia. To achieve this, information will be garnered from Malaysian ‘experts’ who are either senior practitioners or academics, so a model of organisational learning that is relevant to the Malaysian environment can be developed. The study will make a significant contribution to the academic literature
and Malaysian organisations by helping to clarify the understanding of OL as it is practiced. This should also provide guidance on how organisational learning can be better implemented. This result will contribute to the general understanding of OL and may provide insights that any organization, and particularly those in developing countries, may learn from when seeking the best learning strategies to implement. The conceptual model of organisational learning drawn from the literature is presented below in Figure 1.1.
Figure 2.1: Conceptual Model drawn from the Literature
This model shows that learning strategy can be categorised into six mechanisms: action learning, active learning, experiential learning, cooperative learning, problem- based learning, and coaching and mentoring. The researcher added formal and informal learning, to capture whether learning occurs as one of the learning strategies Implemented Learning Strategy 1. Learning Mechanism * Action learning * Active learning * Experiential learning * Cooperative learning * Problem-based learning * Coaching and mentoring 2. Learning Type * Formal * Informal Independent * Absenteeism rate * Turnover rate * Performance Appraisal * Job satisfaction * Job commitment * Intention to stay Employees’ Behavioural Dependent Variables Moderating Variables Context: Years of operation No. of employees Organisation status Type of industry Mediating Factors * Management Support * Self esteem
practised by the organisation, or it arises from informal processes. It is also important to consider the environment an organisation works within, so four context factors affecting the organisation were included. These include years of operation, number of employees, organisational status (for instance local or multinational organisations), and the industry the organisation operates within. These environmental or contextual factors will moderate the learning strategy chosen by the organisation.
The research questions seek to understand how the OL concepts and learning strategies suggested in the literature are implemented within Malaysia. So far, no research has been conducted to explore the learning strategies or measure the understanding of OL within the country, despite that its implementation is an important Government supported strategy. This study seeks to fill this knowledge gap and help identify ways Malaysian organisations can improve implementation and ensure there is a good fit between their chosen learning strategies and the environment, to enhance organisational and employee performance. Effective learning strategies can contribute to an organisations bottom line in many ways, by reducing absenteeism and turnover, providing a benchmark in the performance appraisal process, increasing employee job satisfaction and commitment as well as intention to stay in the organisation.
In conclusion, this review of the literature has revealed the learning strategies that are available and practiced within the business environment. The evolution of OL in terms of the characteristics, concepts, impacts, and importance have all been discussed. The next chapter provides an overview of the methodology used in this thesis.