There is common agreement about the importance of workplace learning. Discussions about the topic have mostly focused on two major components: formal training and informal learning. These components have become the defining features of workplace learning. This article proposes a conceptual framework of workplace learning that is comprised of the interaction of three variables: 1) the location of the learning; 2) the extent of planning that has been invested in developing and delivering the learning experiences; and, 3) the role of the trainer, facilitator, or others during the learning process. The need for the proposed framework stems from two concerns. First, formal training and informal learning represent incompatible levels of discourse, making it difficult to have a cohesive understanding of workplace learning. Second, workplace learning appear to exclude a large segment of HRD practice, particularly when formal training programs occur in the work setting.
This study investigated the mediating relationships among an organizational variable (supervisory support), three trainee characteristics (self-efficacy, expected utility, and learning motivation), a training design variable (content relevance), and training transfer perceived by both the trainees and the supervisors in South Korean organizational setting. Data analysis indicated that course relevance mediated the relationships between the study variables for both the trainee's and the supervisor's assessment of training transfer. Based on the study findings, training transfer is considered a multiphasic process including many factors interacting simultaneously rather than a linear influential process. For practical implications, content relevance and expected utility were identified as critical factors to enable training transfer in the workplace, which could be controlled and developed by training designers. Also, supervisory support should be carefully controlled to reduce its negative effect on training transfer.Key points 1 As content relevance of a training program is a critical factor for sustained training transfer, instructional designers should develop training programs that precisely reflect the trainees' task requirements. 2 As training transfer is a multiphasic process that includes many factors interacting simultaneously, any training transfer effort would be augmented through transfer strategies address the obstacles and promotional factors. 3 During the training transfer process supervisory support should be carefully controlled to reduce its negative effect on training transfer.Today's organizations experience changes and threats to survival in the competitive business world. To overcome these challenges, companies have spent a great deal of their
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.