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Open Access
Article
Publication date: 29 September 2022

Tuuli Turja

In a best-case scenario, both organisations and their employees gain from technological changes by staying up to date on developing digitalisation. However, opportunities to learn…

Abstract

Purpose

In a best-case scenario, both organisations and their employees gain from technological changes by staying up to date on developing digitalisation. However, opportunities to learn and use modern technologies may not be shared equally in the workplace. Employee groups can be divided between those with and without access to new technologies. This study aims to examine the extent to which the position of an employee may be associated with the opportunity to work with robots.

Design/methodology/approach

Health-care work was chosen as an exemplary context of emerging robotisation. To gain correlative evidence on how the position and technology orientation of an employee associate with access to care robots, the study used online survey data collected from Finnish care workers (N = 226).

Findings

Workplace hierarchies were found to play a significant part in robotisation. Management experience increased the probability for an employee to have access to care robots, but this position did not differentiate between the employees in their aspiration to use care robots. Individual interest in technology was associated with robot use only among care workers with no management experience, whereas managers’ access to robots did not depend on their personal interests.

Originality/value

This study brings new information about the equity of robot-use opportunities in workplaces. Distinctive to care robots was the significant number of motivated non-users. Thus, adding to the categories of “have-bots”, “have-nots” and “want-nots”, this study introduces an important group of “want-bots”.

Details

Journal of Workplace Learning, vol. 35 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-5626

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 June 2023

John Muzam, Jacek Bendkowski, Pascal Muam Mah and Polycap Mudoh

The study discusses the importance of workplace learning in the current era of work and how organisations are shifting their focus toward employee learning and development. It…

558

Abstract

Purpose

The study discusses the importance of workplace learning in the current era of work and how organisations are shifting their focus toward employee learning and development. It highlights the need for employees to continuously up-skill themselves to keep up with the demand for skills. The purpose of this study is to introduce a modern approach to evaluating workplace learning to promote and enhance better performance within the workplace.

Design/methodology/approach

It introduces a deep modern learning approach called “behavior-oriented drive and influential functions of formal and informal learning”. The study also develops the concept of the “Study, Plan, Do, Check, and Act” framework to simulate practise and theory within and outside of work to allow continuous improvement, learning new workplace tools, and bridging digital transformation challenges. The study highlights that workplace learning occurs in a variety of contexts and uses various tools, which poses challenges for the design and development of technology that supports and analyses workplace learning.

Findings

Based on behaviour-orientated drive and influential functions for formal and informal learning, a grade of 6.54% days was registered for formal learning tools and 4.89% days for informal learning tools. From the statistics in this study, This study concluded that informal learning tools contribute more to the development of the workplace than formal learning. In informal learning, employees act autonomously at their own will and pace to obtain the required knowledge. The time to acquire knowledge through informal learning tools is shorter than in formal learning. Future relevant research should review more learning tools for formal and informal learning.

Practical implications

Modern workplace learning is a key tool for organisations to gain a competitive advantage. Learning based on formal training and development programs, informal learning and knowledge sharing influence the development of human capital resources.

Originality/value

The study combines social science and engineering approaches to enable non-engineers to pioneer execution of tasks and examine their performance based on the approach detailed in the results, methodology and discussion sections. It contributes to the field of learning organisations and organisational learning by exploring the learning processes of modern professionals. By investigating the learning practices and experiences of knowledge workers, this study seeks to identify the factors that promote or learn and the impact of learning on the workplace.

Details

The Learning Organization, vol. 30 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-6474

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 August 2023

Rachel Shanks

The focus in professional learning is often on formal activities such as workshops, conferences and courses. There is also a tendency to focus on formal programmes of coaching and…

Abstract

Purpose

The focus in professional learning is often on formal activities such as workshops, conferences and courses. There is also a tendency to focus on formal programmes of coaching and mentoring in teacher education. Emphasising the formal activities means that everyday informal learning in educational settings is overlooked. Informal coaching and mentoring could be utilised to support teachers' career-long professional learning.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a conceptual paper which draws on the author's research and seeks to expand what is considered as professional learning within teacher education – namely, informal coaching and mentoring. To understand how to support this professional learning, the lens of social practice is used with an emphasis on learning environments and learning practices.

Findings

Coaching and mentoring can be identified in informal encounters in the staffroom, school corridors and many places and situations. Findings are presented in relation to the importance of informal learning from and with colleagues and the role of headteachers.

Originality/value

More attention has been paid to informal learning, but there is still a need for what could be termed an “informal turn”. Understanding that informal coaching and mentoring afford professional learning opportunities to the teachers who both provide and receive coaching and mentoring can help to support their learning. Recommendations are provided on how educational settings can facilitate and support these professional learning opportunities while preserving their informality.

Details

International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, vol. 12 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6854

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 December 2022

Ranjany Sundaram, Snehal Shetty and Prashobhan Palakkeel

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of informal and formal learning processes on protection behavior with a focus on the role of resilience as a potential mediator.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of informal and formal learning processes on protection behavior with a focus on the role of resilience as a potential mediator.

Design/Methodology/Approach

Using web-based survey questionnaires on informal and formal learning, protection behavior, and resilience the survey collected information from 329 employees working in various organizations in India. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze employees’ protection behavior in protecting organization resources.

Findings

Findings indicate that informal learning has a significant positive effect on employees’ protection behavior, in protecting organization information. Further, resilience is found to be having a small mediation effect on informal learning and protection behavior relationships. Formal learning has no impact on employees’ protection behavior.

Originality/value

One of the scarce empirical research works that have substantiated the informal learning effect on organization protection behavior among employees.

Practical implications

Informal learning increasing the protection behavior has implications for the organizations in promoting social interactions. Formal learning not impacting protection behavior implies that organizations may reduce the expenses of sending their employees to formal training on information protection behavior.

Details

Development and Learning in Organizations: An International Journal, vol. 37 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7282

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Understanding Intercultural Interaction: An Analysis of Key Concepts, 2nd Edition
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-438-8

Article
Publication date: 17 June 2022

Osvaldo de Souza, Marcio C. Machado, Victor Silva Correa and Renato Telles

This paper aims to explore the formal (i.e. contracts, standards, processes, and structure) and informal (i.e. social structure, norms, information sharing, and value system and…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the formal (i.e. contracts, standards, processes, and structure) and informal (i.e. social structure, norms, information sharing, and value system and culture) governance instruments used in supply networks and their influence on quality.

Design/methodology/approach

This research is qualitative-exploratory in nature, involving semi-structured interviews with 20 managers from three essential layers in the dairy industry's supply chain: companies that supply essential inputs to milk producers; milk producers; and milk cooperatives.

Findings

Analysis of the generated data show that formal governance instruments have a strong and/or weak influence on products' and operations' quality in the dairy industry context; informal instruments have a strong and/or weak influence on quality, as a counterpart to formal instruments; and the integration of verified governance instruments positively influences the quality of products and operations.

Practical implications

This paper offers several managerial and practical implications. The first is to encourage suppliers of primary inputs and milk producers to invest in the formal structure, primarily in formal contracts with each other. The second implication suggests the relevance of creating different training and qualification courses with members from all organizational levels. Third, there is a need for cooperatives, encompassing all industries, to consider several informal instruments, complementary to contracts and standards currently used for processes.

Originality/value

Governance instruments can lead to desired supply chain outcomes, including those related to quality. Although previous supply chain studies have investigated the relationship between governance instruments and the supply chain, and quality management and the supply chain, studies on governance instruments' influence on supply chain quality are limited.

Details

Benchmarking: An International Journal, vol. 30 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-5771

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 May 2023

Kyung Hee Park, He Li and Chang Liu

As university faculty faced new challenges, such as rapid digital social and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) response, this study aimed to identify the daily changes in…

Abstract

Purpose

As university faculty faced new challenges, such as rapid digital social and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) response, this study aimed to identify the daily changes in the interaction between the faculty and the organizational environment (colleague, policy and new issue) by exploring their recent dynamic educational efforts and the professional development.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a study wherein perceptions of 20 faculty from 15 universities and colleges were collected through in-depth online interviews. The authors analyzed interview data by arranging and visualizing the analyzed data using network clustering. Further, they applied the Latent Dirichlet allocation of the topic modeling to monitor the appropriate number of clusters, ultimately determined as four clusters using partial clustering.

Findings

The results showed that university faculty spontaneously tried to solve the problems through informal learning while the commitment to peer learning was deepening, reflecting the collectivist orientation nature of Chinese culture. Besides, the faculty also required support to reflect on their daily efforts for professional development. These results about their various learning routines prove the justification for the faculty's professional development to be discussed from the “learning by doing” perspective of lifelong learning.

Originality/value

This study proved the significance of informal learning for university faculty's professional development and the reasonable value of peer learning, and provided insights into how the Chinese context may influence university faculty's informal learning experience.

Details

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, vol. 16 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-7003

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 July 2022

Jinnan Wu, Mengmeng Song, Pablo Zoghbi-Manrique-de-Lara, Hemin Jiang, Shanshan Guo and Wenpei Zhang

This study investigated why employees' cyberloafing behavior is affected by their coworkers' cyberloafing behavior. By integrating social learning theory and deterrence theory…

1038

Abstract

Purpose

This study investigated why employees' cyberloafing behavior is affected by their coworkers' cyberloafing behavior. By integrating social learning theory and deterrence theory, the authors developed a model to explain the role of employees' perceived certainty of formal and informal sanctions in understanding the effect of coworkers' cyberloafing behavior on employees' cyberloafing behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted a survey that involved a two-stage data collection process (including 293 respondents) to test our developed model. Mplus 7.0 was used to analyze the data.

Findings

The results revealed that employees' cyberloafing was positively affected by their coworkers' cyberloafing both directly and indirectly. The indirect effect of coworkers' cyberloafing on employees' cyberloafing was mediated by the employees' perceived certainty of formal and informal sanctions on cyberloafing. Employees' perceived certainty of formal and informal sanctions were found to mediate the relationship both separately (each type of sanctions mediates the relationship individually) and in combination (the two types of sanctions form a serial mediation effect).

Originality/value

The study reveals an important mechanism – employees’ perceived certainty of formal and informal sanctions – that underlies the relationship between coworkers' cyberloafing and employees' cyberloafing, thus, contributing to the cyberloafing literature. It also demonstrates the importance of negative reinforcement (perceived sanctions) in the social learning process, which contributes to the literature on social learning theory because previous studies have primarily focused on the role of positive reinforcement. Lastly, the study reveals a positive relationship between employees' perceived certainty of formal sanctions and informal sanctions, which has important implications for deterrence theory.

Details

Information Technology & People, vol. 36 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-3845

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 26 July 2023

Giuseppe Russo, Alberto Manzari, Benedetta Cuozzo, Alessandra Lardo and Francesca Vicentini

This study aims to investigate the impact of technologies on the knowledge transfer process. In particular, the authors aim to analyze the topic of knowledge brokers and the…

1352

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the impact of technologies on the knowledge transfer process. In particular, the authors aim to analyze the topic of knowledge brokers and the relationship between broker and digital tools in the knowledge transfer process in the sport context. The study developed, therefore, aims to investigate the creating of this environment for knowledge transfer and knowledge sharing between man and machine, looking to improve the planning of technical sports projects of the clubs.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents a qualitative approach aimed at analyzing how platforms and the players’ agents can be useful tools in the knowledge transfer process. The research was conducted through a survey with a structured questionnaire via e-mail to 64 managers at the head of clubs playing in the Italian Series B basketball in the 2021–2022 championship. The total number of questions administered is 21.

Findings

The results demonstrate how sports directors, for the construction of a technical sports project, in addition to learning off the pitch by interactions with media, fans, pressure management, leadership skills, positive attitude, tolerance, understanding of other opinions, background and cultures, see the athletes’ agents as the main stakeholder of the managers. The research resulted, by the clubs’ managers, in both formal learning and informal-type learning. Informal learning, by far the most frequently used and most important in the general learning process of executives, is identified in the use that executives make of information available on digital platforms and of the fiduciary relationships that management has with players’ agents.

Originality/value

The results demonstrate the valuable opportunities for executives, coaches, managers and clubs to strategically manage learning and knowledge sharing. Improving and managing knowledge-sharing strategies would help increase knowledge, not only of the sports directors but also of the entire club, thus improving the absolute quality of the game within the Italian basketball divisions. The authors have developed an innovative framework regarding the construction of a “typed sports technical project”, and the authors have identified a series of crucial phases capable of determining the creation of a new roster of athletes.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 27 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 December 2022

Xiangfei Zeng, Ting Zhang and Yafei Zu

This paper aims to investigate the law and logic mechanism of management control matching pattern and company strategy aggressiveness under different strategies by textual…

1003

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the law and logic mechanism of management control matching pattern and company strategy aggressiveness under different strategies by textual analysis, based on the empirical data of Chinese A-share listed companies during the period from 2010 to 2018. Additional analyses further investigate the moderating effect of environmental uncertainty and R&D intensity on the relationship between management control matching type and strategy aggressiveness. The conclusion can help relevant departments to develop management control theory and method system with Chinese characteristics and provide theoretical reference for the matching mode of dual control.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses the text analysis method. The main explanatory variables are analyzed using the computer SQL Server database software through the relevant text of the board of directors report in the company annual report. Other financial data came from the CSMAR database, excluding ST and PT and companies with missing data, and 16,902 samples were finally obtained. This paper conducted statistical analysis through Stata12.

Findings

This paper shows that the matching pattern between formal and informal control is divided into three types. They have different impacts on strategy aggressiveness. Specifically, consistent matching type II significantly positively influences the aggressiveness of offensive strategy. Consistent matching type I significantly positively influences the aggressiveness of defensive strategy. Complementary matching type I significantly positively influences the aggressiveness of analytical strategy. Additional analyses find that compared with non-high-tech companies, high-tech companies have more significant influence on the relationship between management control matching pattern and company strategic aggressiveness. And compared with other two “strategy-control” matching patterns, both environmental uncertainty and product innovation have more significant influence on the relationship between consistent matching II and offensive strategy aggressiveness.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper divides the formal and informal control matching patterns of management control into three categories for the first time. It examines the relationship between the formal and informal control matching of management accounting and the degree of strategy aggressiveness. The conclusion provides new empirical evidence to promote the effective implementation of development strategies for companies. It can help relevant departments to develop management control theory and method systems with Chinese characteristics and provide theoretical references for the matching mode of dual control.

Details

Chinese Management Studies, vol. 18 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-614X

Keywords

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