I. Chaston et al., Organisational learning style, competencies and learning systems in small,UK manufacturing firms, INT J OP PR, 21(11), 2001, pp. 1417-1432
Citations number
46
Categorie Soggetti
Management
Journal title
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OPERATIONS & PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT
Organisational learning is increasingly being mentioned in the literature a
s a mechanism for assisting the market performance of smad firms. There exi
sts, however, limited empirical evidence on either the benefits conferred b
y organisational learning and the learning systems utilised to manage the p
rocess. A survey of small UK manufacturing firms was undertaken to acquire
data on whether a relationship exists between learning style and the compet
encies exhibited by organisations. The survey also sought to determine the
nature of learning systems used by small manufacturing firms. The results s
uggest that as firms move from a lower-level to a higher-level learning sty
le, this is accompanied by competence enhancement that can contribute to im
proving organisational capability. It also appears that a higher-level lear
ning style is accompanied by the adoption of a more formalised learning sys
tem inside the organisation. The implications of these findings are discuss
ed and proposals presented on the needs for further research.