Predictors of employees’ self-reported future learning ability and disengagement at work

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between job characteristics that foster learning (experience with and demand for continuous learning at work, skills variety and autonomy) as potential predictors of self-reported outcomes, such as future learning ability and employee disengagement at work for a cohort of employees with no or very limited job change experience. Further consideration was given to employees’ experiences at work (meaningfulness and recognition at work) as potential mediators in this relationship between job characteristics and employee outcomes. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional design was applied. Participants (N = 284) were recruited from Northern Germany and asked to complete a paper-and-pencil survey. The results were subsequently analyzed using path models to examine direct and indirect effects associated with mediation. Findings Path model analysis indicated that job characteristics promoting learning at work are positive predictors of self-reported future learning ability and negative predictors of disengagement. Both meaningfulness and recognition predict future learning ability as well. However, these variables only operated as significant mediators in the relationship between job characteristics and employee disengagement (but not self-reported future learning ability). Originality/value The study outlines the importance of job characteristics and employee experience to understand employees’ beliefs about their learning ability and engagement at work. The findings highlight the importance of meaningfulness and recognition for employees, as well as the role of learning-supportive job characteristics.

Human Resources Management Practices Perception and Extra-Role Behaviors: The Role of Employability and Learning at Work

Human Resource Management (HRM) processes are considered the beating heart of any successful organization. Recently, several studies have highlighted how organizations can use commitment-oriented HR practices to generate organizational and individual effectiveness. The aim of this study was to verify whether the perception of HRM practices could be able to elicit extra-role behaviors and, at the same time, whether this relationship could be mediated by employability and learning conditions. The analyses were carried out on a sample of 1219 Italian workers using Structural Equation Models. The structural model yielded good fit indices and the results showed a significant and positive effect of the perception of HRM practices on both employability and learning. However, the perception of HRM practices is not directly associated with extra-role behaviors, but only through the effect of both mediators (full mediation). Practical implications about the importance of creating working conditions that are adequately oriented to the development of individual skills in order to produce indirect beneficial effects on the organization are discussed.

How do managers promote workplace learning? Learning-oriented leadership in daily work

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore managers’ learning-oriented leadership, and what conditions managers face when working with the promotion of employees’ learning. Design/methodology/approach Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with managers in three manufacturing firms. Verbatim expressions of the interview participants were analysed using stepwise analytical procedures. Findings The managers used many kinds of activities to promote learning. Most common were activities related to learning opportunities that arose during daily work. The identified activities ranged from being planned to occurring more spontaneously. Depending on the situation or the learning activity, the managers used different behaviours to promote learning. They supported, educated and confronted employees, and they acted as role models. Factors constraining the implementation of learning-oriented leadership included limited resources, and a lack of commitment from top management, employees or the managers themselves. Research limitations/implications Future research should study learning-oriented leadership from the employees’ perspective. Practical implications Managers’ notions about learning and development constitute an important condition for learning-oriented leadership. Therefore, managers need to be trained in how to promote their employees’ learning at work. Originality/value This study adds to the limited knowledge of how managers carry out a learning-oriented leadership in their daily work. The findings contribute knowledge regarding managerial practices of promoting employees’ workplace learning by identifying different activities and behaviours that managers could incorporate into their leadership.

Teaching the Online Marketing Research Course for MBA Students

Learning in an online environment shares many aspects with the learning required in marketing research projects conducted by research agencies with client firms. However, learning-management-system platforms now provide powerful ways to enrich learning in the online environment through threaded discussions, access to video clips and lively interaction between students and instructors. In such ways, an asynchronous online marketing research course can allow the type of rich experience and reflection that are the hallmarks of valuable experiential-learning. The purpose of this article is to discuss the benefits and challenges of teaching a key course in the education of business students—the marketing research course—in an online environment. This article integrates theoretical frameworks of online education and discusses timely issues for those teaching an online marketing-research course to MBA students, such as the importance of imparting the scientific method, the role of the teacher as a facilitator, content for the course, and thoughts about future marketing research courses. Because most online MBA students are currently working in business, they have an opportunity for applying their learning at work in a very valuable way. Such opportunity can bring an energy and excitement for learning not matched in other contexts for the MBA.

Action design research as a means for organizing workplace learning: case studies of e-learning platforms

Purpose Although there is a large body of literature available on the foundations of workplace learning (WPL), little is known about designated research methods that systematically combine intervention, design and learning at work. The purpose of this study is to propose action design research as an alternative method for organizing WPL in general and facilitating pedagogically rich activities in particular. Design/methodology/approach This research used a case study approach to focus the action design research method and exemplify its utility through two case studies that emphasize WPL in general and how the method can be used to facilitate pedagogically rich activities in particular. Findings The results of the case studies indicate that the action design research method had a significantly positive effect on organizing WPL in organizations systematically, as well as creating a narrative that structures the research process and its outcomes. Originality/value The findings help scholars that are in need of organizing WPL research in a systematic way. The findings do also help practitioners in organizations to solve real-world problems and develop new knowledge jointly together with scholars. Consequently, the findings contribute to the existing literature by exemplifying how to facilitate pedagogically rich activities and disseminate the outcomes of doing so in a formalized way.

Methods of Promoting Professional Agency at Work

In the midst of continuous changes in working life, finding a way to balance organizational demands and the needs of employees has become an important task. This task has highlighted the significance of agency and social interaction, as influencing factors that can enhance people’s potential to meet new learning tasks. In the Scandinavian and Finnish contexts, research institutions, in cooperation with work organizations, have developed practical methods to promote agency and learning at work. The objective of this study is to evaluate the potential of two different workplace development methods, identity (ID) training, and participatory action research (PAR) using dialogue forums if combined and applied as a two-level approach. The study asks what the characteristics of these methods are in general and if there are any key characteristics that could support their combined application. The research question is answered by a qualitative descriptive analysis of the literature on organizations, agency, and applications of the methods. The results shed light on and emphasize the intertwining characteristics of the methods. The research concludes with the hypothesis—to be tested in further research—that the methods are necessary for each other and recommends a preliminary investigation on the prevailing organizational culture, as a resource for organization-specific modifications.

Learning at work: a model of learning and development for younger workers

In rapidly changing work environments, individuals need a willingness and ability to learn new skills and knowledge to contribute to their organization's goals and their own employability. As the baby-boomer generation begins to exit the workplace, organizations need to pay attention to developing the capability of younger, novice workers who will increasingly comprise the core workforce of the future. The present study, grounded in social cognitive theory, develops and examines a model of learning and development for younger workers. In total, 1,732 employees in New Zealand aged 16–24 years completed a survey relating to their perceptions, beliefs, and intentions regarding learning and development. The results from structural equation modeling show that individual and work-environment factors both influence younger workers' developmental intentions but affect this through different pathways. The study contributes to a better understanding of the development process for younger workers and offers implications for management based on these findings.