Organizational learning among senior public‐service executives: An empirical investigation of culture, decisional latitude and supportive communication

Abstract

For several years, organizational learning has been a concept of interest in the search for efficiency, innovation, and knowledge management in both the private and public sectors. In general, three determinants of organizational learning are identified in the literature: the organizational learning culture as a major determinant, the control or decisional latitude that individual employees have over their work, and the impact of supportive supervisor communication. However, little empirical research has been offered to substantiate the relationship between these variables. As part of the national Association of Professional Executives of the Public Service of Canada (apex) study on work and health, a representative sample of 1,822 public‐service executives were surveyed. Results showed that organizational learning culture and decisional latitude played an important role in the acquisition of organizational learner attitudes and behaviour. Supportive supervisor communication was not significantly related to individual organizational learning. This article offers unique empirical evidence concerning the relationship between organizational learning culture, decisional latitude and individual learning attitudes and behaviour. The discussion emphasizes the contribution of theoretical models of organizational learning and suggests future avenues of research.Sommaire: Depuis plusieurs années, l'apprentissage organisationnel est un concept interessant pour la recherche de l'efficience, de l'innovation et pour la gestion des connaissances, a la fois ans dans les secteurs privé et public. On retrouve generalement trois determinants de l'apprentissage organisationnel dans la documentation: la culture de I'apprentissage organisationnel comme determinant principal, le con‐trôle ou la latitude de décision que les employés individuels ont sur leur travail, et l'impact de la communication des superviseurs attentionnés. Cependant, peu de recherche empirique a été entreprise pour corroborer les relations entre ces variables. Dans le cadre de I'étude nationale de Aapex (Association professionnelle des cadres de la fonction publique du Canada) sur le travail et la santé, un échantillon représentatif de 1 822 cadres supérieurs de la fonction publique ont participéà un sondage.* Les résultats ont indiqué que la culture d'apprentissage organisationnel et la latitude de décision jouaient un rôle important dans l'acquisition d'attitudes et de comportements de l'apprenant organisationnel. La communication des superviseurs attentionnés n'était pas liée de manière significative à l'apprentissage organisationnel individuel. Le présent article offre une évidence empirique unique en ce qui concerne les relations entre la culture d'apprentissage organisationnel, la latitude de décision et l'attitude et les comportements lies à l'apprentissage individuel. Le débat met l'accent sur la contribution des modèles théoriques de l'apprentissage organisationnel et offre des pistes de recherche pour l'avenir.

The sharing and management of managers' knowledge: A structured literature review

“…Organizational structure was identified as a determinant of knowledge management in four of the articles we reviewed (Barrette et al, ; Grant, ; Monavvarian & Kasaei, ; Pee & Kankanhalli, ). Organizational structure refers to the formal division of roles, administrative mechanisms, and the decision‐making procedure used within the organization so that it may accomplish its work (Monavvarian & Kasaei, ; Pee & Kankanhalli, ).…”

“…Organizational structure refers to the formal division of roles, administrative mechanisms, and the decision‐making procedure used within the organization so that it may accomplish its work (Monavvarian & Kasaei, ; Pee & Kankanhalli, ). For these authors, a high degree of formalization of procedures and a concentration of decision‐making by upper management can inhibit the implementation of knowledge management mechanisms (Barrette et al, ; Grant, ; Pee & Kankanhalli, ).…”

The limits of learning: Policy evaluation and the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation

“…The latitude that an organization offers to those who occupy it directly contributes to the institutional flexibility of the organization (Barette et al. ). This also suggests that, for an institution to become innovative, to develop an institutional culture of policy learning, a way must be found to encourage the individual components of the institution to adopt such practices.…”

“…Successfully fulfilling institutional functions reinforces the tendency to approach problems in the same way; choices become limited, in that it becomes harder for actors both within and outside the institution to adopt new techniques or strategies (Pierson 2000(Pierson , 2004Mahony 2006). The latitude that an organization offers to those who occupy it directly contributes to the institutional flexibility of the organization (Barette et al 2007). This also suggests that, for an institution to become innovative, to develop an institutional culture of policy learning, a way must be found to encourage the individual components of the institution to adopt such practices.…”

“…Sectoral investment remains, but rather than promoting the emergence of new sectors, it will be limited to those where a return is ensured by a pre-existing competitive edge. The luxury to plan for the long term and to experiment seems to have been replaced by a political imperative to produce demonstrable results (Ontario, Ministry of Research and Innovation 2006b, 2007.…”