The literature review conducted for this study revealed that workplace learning has a huge impact on the performance and image of organizations. A survey and focus group were used to investigate the intensity of workplace learning at MUT.
INTRODUCTION
Additionally, the type of workplace learning organizations engage in should be targeted to capture the needs of the specific industry, its employer and its employees. Ultimately, workplace learning should change the status of the organization to that of a learning organization.
Background of Mangosuthu University of Technology
On-the-job learning is both profit and service oriented, and employees are trained or empowered to increase their performance, which will ultimately create a competitive advantage for the organization they serve. The success of lifelong and workplace learning is solely in the hands of the individual and the organization.
Motivation for the Study
The cost of staff turnover is often underestimated in terms of on-the-job learning. The lack of a staff development strategy exacerbates the challenges MUT faces in terms of workplace learning.
The aims of the Study
It is done very haphazardly and there is no plan on which workplace learning is based. It was noted that MUT management supports workplace learning to some extent as there is a centrally controlled budget allocation for skills development.
OBJECTIVES
As a skills development practitioner, I have found myself working without a clearly defined mandate. In summary, the Skills Development Unit faces challenges that the skills practitioner hopes to address in its efforts to transform MUT into a renowned workplace learning institution.
PROBLEM Statement
Literature Review
Weldy (2009:2) proclaims that “…the learning organization is an effort to continuously learn and make changes in order to improve performance;. Again, Weldy (2009:1) places more emphasis on learning, as he states that “…the importance placed on learning, knowledge management and a knowledgeable workforce has increased the emphasis on the advantages of operating as a learning organization and improving the transfer of training as a valuable strategy for facilitating learning at both micro and macro levels, and enabling organizations to benefit from all aspects of learning”.
Research Approach
I would like to improve workplace learning as the responsibility for generating this process is in my office. The interactive approach was considered only in terms of the organization of learning; that is, how the MUT plans its learning in the workplace.
Research design and Methodology
Through involvement in the planning process, stakeholders gain insight into the organization and the role they can play in it. As stated under the objectives of this study, the researcher's intention was to see an improvement in workplace learning at MUT to the extent that this institution becomes a learning organization in the future.
Methods of Data Collection
Observation
Focus group
Survey
Data Analysis and interpretation
Delimitation of Study
Dissertation Structure
Chapter One
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
INTRODUCTION
DEFINITION OF LEARNING
Billet argues that learning comes in many forms, but most importantly, it is self-regulating. Learning comes in many forms which many emancipation and renaissance authors have written about, and there are many theories of learning that have emerged in recent times.
Types of learning and theories of learning
One-loop learning: According to Argyris and Schon (1978) and Argyris (1999), this type of learning is defined as that which enables people to take corrective action for errors they have discovered; therefore it forms an integral part of individual learning. Tosey (2010:65) asserts that “…one-loop learning is about improving the methods by which one pursues a goal”.
Workplace learning
RPL is a product of on-the-job learning and experience gained over time, as well as a result of knowledge sharing. These kinds of challenges must be addressed before the goals of workplace learning can be successfully achieved.
Purpose of Workplace learning
If the above two foci are analyzed, it is clear that the purpose of workplace learning is very capitalist in nature. Marxists can easily oppose the idea of workplace learning as they will see nothing in it for the employees.
Change Management
Workplace learning is supposed to be proactive in nature, but sometimes, due to global turmoil, it is reactive, and done with the aim of damage control. In this regard, change management and workplace learning are direct results of performance management and knowledge management.
Performance management
Also, it is no longer the concern of a few progressive organizations, but essential for all companies operating in an increasingly competitive business environment. MUT has realized that it cannot continue without a performance management system, so it is working on its own performance system, which was still in the consultation or planning stage at the time of the study.
Knowledge management
- Knowledge sharing
- Communities of practices
- Human capital
- Institutional memory
In many cases, the number of staff members in the organization is not necessarily equivalent to the performance of the organization. Communities of practice enable practitioners to take collective responsibility for managing the knowledge they need. In the latter, the emphasis is on the innovation and creativity that the workers bring into the organization.
Therefore, it becomes the duty of the organization's management to develop this memory bank by managing knowledge in the organization and guarding against memory loss.
Learning organization
- The 9-S Framework Model
- Synergistic teams
- Support
- Shared Values
- Style
- Systems
The ability to see interrelationships rather than linear cause-and-effect; the ability to think in context and appreciate the consequences of actions on other parts of the system. The Skills Unit was also in the process of negotiating a new partnership with the Communications and Office Technology Department at the time of the research to provide business writing skills to MUT secretaries. A prominent feature of the balance scorecard is the characteristic of interdependence, such as social systems constructed through interaction.
This involves sharing knowledge and learning from each other, which only the management style, culture and structure of the organization can make possible.
Structure
- Strategy
- Staff
- Skills
- Is MUT a Learning Organization?
According to De Geus (1988, as cited by Hitt, 1996), planning is an opportunity for members of the management team to come together, where vision and mental models are shared. Marshall (2009) argues that an organization can move to prospective heights through the human capital of the staff; so organizations learn through their staff. Staff members should be treated as valued assets of the organization and should be continuously serviced as they carry important information about the organization that needs to be constantly updated.
The learning organization has a shared vision for the future and challenges its employees to change and contribute to it.
Conclusion
There is something remarkable about the above points: they require that an organization must be a social system, since it admits all the characteristics of a social system, as stated in the first chapter. MUT is recognized as a social system; this means that even if on-the-job learning is not currently effective, the possibility for such a system exists. Positive answers would confirm that MUT was a leading workplace for learning, while negative answers would give MUT an incentive to improve and actively participate in learning.
The findings are explored in the fourth chapter and are based on the data obtained during the interviews.
- INTRODUCTION
- Key Questions
- Research Design
- Research Instruments
- Qualitative and Quantitative Methods
- Survey
- Focus group
- Advantages of focus groups
- Sampling
- Convenience sampling
- Judgment sampling
- Rationale for the content of questions in the questionnaire
- Biographical Details of Respondents
- Objective 1: To examine the extent to which MUT‟s workplace learning is strategically
- Objective 2: To determine what measures MUT have in place to retain knowledge
- Objective 3: To Determine whether workplace learning at MUT impacted performance
In this research project, a focus group was used to confirm or disprove the results of the study that had been conducted. The researcher must have some background knowledge about the respondents in terms of their values, culture, beliefs and attitudes. However, all employees must be part of learning at the workplace, as they all contribute to the university's development and productivity.
Workplace learning should be responsive and consistent with the goals and objectives of the organization.
Performance management at MUT has an impact on workplace learning?
The study wants to highlight the relationship between workplace learning and knowledge management and in this case the aim is to determine whether MUT employees understand this relationship. The purpose of this question is to verify that MUT employees understand the building blocks of the learning organization. This question suggests that MUT has already begun to assert itself as a learning organization, do MUT employees notice the indicators of the steps MUT has taken.
This was an open question where respondents had to give their opinion about workplace learning at MUT without being monitored by specific questions. This will make it possible to find out their attitudes towards workplace learning.
INTRODUCTION
Limitations of the study
- Challenges in the research site
- Technological challenges
CHARACTERISTICS OF RESPONDENTS
In terms of age and experience, the large group of younger respondents is significant, as it is a claim that the younger generation must learn from the older generation in terms of mentoring. Most lecturers are still studying towards their master's degree as the institution has enshrined a clause in its policies that the minimum qualification for lecturing will be a master's degree. These results reflect that the non-academics are willing to help improve the workplace; this is regardless of age and gender.
This is from the observation that most of the respondents have served in MUT for more than 10 years, which means that in relation to this study the workplace that takes place in this institution is significant.
Presentation of results in line with the objectives of the study
These results also correlate with the results in Table 4.7, where the majority felt that workplace learning was encouraged at MUT.
Open-ended responses
Responses from the focus group
- Summary of the results pertaining to Objective 1
- Summary of results pertaining to Objective 2
- Summary of responses pertaining to Objective 3
It turned out that the focus group shared the same sentiment; i.e. that MUT does something about learning in the workplace. Looking at the results from the data analysis, it emerged that MUT workplace learning is considered strategically informed. When comparing the short answers (open questions) from the questionnaire with the answers from the focus group (Appendix A), it became clear that MUT employees did not agree on whether workplace learning at MUT was strategically oriented.
The results on determining whether workplace learning at MUT had an impact on performance management are discussed below.
Conclusion
Results on the investigation of MUT measures put in place to maintain knowledge management and institutional memory are reported below. 2004:3) emphasize knowledge management in organizations and advise that "...organizations that are not yet applying knowledge management may be aware that they do not capture and reuse good or best practices, that they risk repeating the same mistakes and that they are likely to miss what employees learn." When we correlated this with the demographic information on age, qualifications and experience, as well as the statistics in the MUT profile, it was found that there was a lower proportion of employees in the fifty-five-year-old age group than in the age group. thirty-five and younger.
One could argue that MUT does not retain the employees trained or experienced in the institution and therefore knowledge management is questionable.
- INTRODUCTION
- Reflection
- Objective 1: To examine the extent to which MUT’s workplace learning is strategically informed
- Objective 3: To determine measures MUT have in place to retain knowledge management and
- Further research
- Conclusion
- REFERENCES
Part of the aim of the study was to assist the Skills Development Unit in improving its services as far as services that encourage and support work-based learning at MUT are concerned. However, being aware of the gaps in workplace learning practices at MUT, I realize that MUT still faces many challenges on this journey. Furthermore, it was clear that, despite all the challenges, MUT employees take workplace learning seriously.
The study revealed that workplace learning is mainly based on performance management, change management and knowledge management.
