Abstract

The paper presents the outcomes of a research that makes a part of a doctoral thesis, both dealing with in-company training and competence development in companies as a part of lifelong learning. While the latter is more complex, the former concentrates on conditions of learning in companies. These topics are rare in the Czech Republic and there is a lack of researches and infomation for improvement in in-company training systems.

The objective of the paper is to outline the relationship between factors of organizational climate - as it is perceived by employees - and learning (nonformal and informal) in a company. The main question is: What factors of organizational climate influence the attitude of employees towards learning in their company?

The concept of organizational climate has been assessed by various authors and there are different definitions. We can describe it as an individual perception of the work environment and of the characteristics of the enterprise (so-called organizational culture, ex. strategies, rules, values, management etc.). Our research has been inspired by several researches of learning environment (Ellström, 2005, Evans et al., 2006, Rainbird et al., 2004) and we concentrate on deep and detailed analysis of organizational climate in a large-sized entreprise in relation with in-company training.

In-company training can have different forms - formal, nonformal and informal learning. Our research concentrates on nonformal (courses organized by the entreprise) and informal (during work, unorganized, unsystematical, often unconscious, mentoring, coaching etc.) learning, which are more common and more influenced by the organizational climate than formal learning.

Methodology or methods/research instruments or sources used:

The data is collected as part of a larger research for doctoral thesis. We use a qualitative methodology based on interviews with chosen employees at different positions of a large-sized company. The interviews are recorded and analysed.

Conclusions or expected outcomes or findings:

An important concept in the research is the organizational climate, corresponding to the feelings of employees at work, their perception of the entreprise and also their identification with the entreprise. The organizational climate includes several factors which can have different influence on employees´ attitude towards learning. Authors (igut, 2004) usually understand in-company learning as a way to change organizational climate and culture. We suppose also inverse influence - organizational climate can change (facilitate or hinder) learning in a company. We expect findings interesting and useful not only for researchers and experts but also for companies and other people interested in further education.

References (including own publications):

• Evans, K., Hodkinson, P., Rainbird, H., Unwin, L. (2006) Improving Workplace Learning. London, Routledge.
• Lukáová, R., Nov, I. (2004) Organizacní kultura. Praha, Grada Publishing.
• Rainbird, H., Fuller, A., Munro, A. (eds) (2004) Workplace Learning in Context. London, Routledge.
• igut, Z. (2004) Firemní kultura a lidské zdroje. Praha: ASPI.

Full Papers for the contributions

[Word version - full paper] Factors of organizational climate influencing learning in firms

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Zuzana Šimberová, Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic...Paper #599 - "Factors of Organizational Climate Influencing Non-Formal and Informal Learning in Companies" - ECER 2007