Current level and intensity of competition in the world has pushed individual companies, organizations and institutions to improve their approaches in managing inputs (Lalleman, 2008 pp. 18). Activities of the companies are aimed at maintaining a competitive edge in the market, thus, increasing revenue generated. Leadership in the organization is a crucial factor in ensuring that the work in the organization is arranged and managed amicably to ensure maximum generation of profit. With innovation taking place in most parts of the organization and technology is being advanced on a daily basis, boosting adequate education and learning in an organization must be promoted. Organizational learning enables an organization to upgrade its operation continuously. This also opens an avenue for transforming an organization driving it towards a more competitive organization in the market.
In the wake of safeguarding the consumers’ interest and loyalty, the organization has to maintain a consistent flow of high quality products. A learning organization enables the employees to learn, adopt and change effectively and timely. However, not all learning in the organization leads to sound changes in the organization. A corporate culture of the organization can affect the management and leadership in the organization either positively or negatively. Therefore, exploring the influences of organizational learning on management will improve the understanding of the best approaches of learning.
The most affected field of the organization’s learning in the business world is electronic production and marketing companies. These are the companies that design, assemble, produce and sell electronic devises and appliances. The companies need to improve their production and brand design strategies with a focus on the market trends. New recruits in the market have to be inducted in the company’s culture and ensure that they adopt the values of the organization. The companies need to ensure that employees are constantly in a progressive learning process. Leadership and management failure is associated with a weak position in poor organization learning, which influences the employees’ behavior (Chen& Chen2010). It is clear that education makes a community easy to lead and govern but difficult to enslave and mislead.
The aim of this study is to evaluate possible areas and avenues where organizational learning affects management and leadership in the organization. The innovative ideas and the need to change with respect to market trend among the electronic companies calls for organizational learning (Lalleman2008 pp. 7). These changes will be void in an environment where the organization’s corporate culture embraces a routine approaches tinkering in the historical paths of production. Such organizations have to empower their employees with well-worn operating strategies that should be complimented with fresh, advanced and research proven models. The organization’s leaders play a major role in stimulating innovative, creative and resourceful ideas among the employees. Therefore, determining the link and the association of the two fields, management and organization learning, forms the core of the study. According to a study by Alican (2008 pp. 91), human resource management establishes a key avenue in business neoliberalization. Human capital, expertise and skills comprise critical aspects in improving business output. Therefore, managing human resources and improving their capabilities, results in the maximization of the organization’s profit.
Many problems encroaching in the business field are related to poor improvement and leadership strategies. Exploring the leadership and management qualities in the organization sets a foundation in solving these problems. Sound human resource management among the electronic companies will motivate advancement of the organization’s learning (Barker, 2011). Consequently, the electronic companies will be at a better position to flex, in the ever changing market structures. Technology advancement and the rate at which machines and appliances are changing pose a challenge in the running of organizational operation. A minimal pause in the market survey and response may create a significant gap between two organizations. The study results are expected to draw interest in initiating strategies as well as job enriching programs.
According to Hovland (2003 pp. 12), on the job training empowers the employees with the required skill to move an organization forward. Hovland (pp. 56) emphasized that involving employees in decision making and determining their levels of weakness ease the management roles. Employees own up the company and develop loyalty and commitments towards their responsibility facilitating effective communication in the organization. Therefore, management and leadership in the organization are made easy in platforms where collaboration forums are enforced. Moreover, a number of practices are acquired during school training and class work education. Thus, organizational learning will reduce the cost incurrent from time and resource wastage in an institution where poor strategies concerning organizational learning are employed.
Achieving the aim of the research and maintaining the research on course will be guided by the study objectives. The study objectives will also play a crucial role in exploring the available data that will be used in the study. Research objectives of this study are delineated below.
Broad objective: to determine the implications of organizational learning to leadership and management in the U.S. based electronic companies.
Specific objectives:
To determine how organizational learning influences organizational leadership and management culture
To determine leadership and management roles in organizational learning among electronic companies in the U.S.
To determine how organization learning influences policy adoption in the U.S. based electronic companies
To determine leadership traits that enhances organizational learning, among electronic companies in the U.S.
The research questions will enable the study to focus on the outlines objectives. The data collection tool will also be formulated based on the ideas in the research questions.
How does organizational learning influence electronics companies’ management and leadership culture?
What are the leadership and management roles in the organizational learning among the U.S. based electronic companies?
How does organizational learning influence the adoption of organization policies among employees in the U.S. based electronic companies?
What are the leadership traits that enhance organizational learning?
The concept of organizational learning has been studied since 1980s (Wang and Ahmed, 2002, pp. 5). Organizational learning is largely associated with improved results in the organizations. According to Lejeune (2009: 3), organizations have adopted the culture in growing and developing employees’ talents through organizational learning. It has been identified to be a critical approach in motivating organizational changes. The dynamics of development in the organization and institution can be benched on the leadership factor and organizational learning. Organizational learning is assumed to affect a number of organization’s departments. The human resource docket has drawn interest among researchers evaluating the impact of organizational learning.
The scope of organizational learning has divergent views reflecting different approaches to the definition of the concept. The different typologies used in expounding organizational leaning include the level of learning and form of learning (Lejeune 3).Under the level of learning, researchers have evaluated the individual and organization levels of learning. The driving question in this approach is benched on determining the level at which learning is taking place. Researchers have majored on exploring the interplay between the input and output strategies in improving the interaction in the organization and how it affects individual learning (Barker, 2011). Forms of organizational leaning include descriptive and normative context of the organizational learning. Descriptive learning is inclined to passive learning that is not conscious of results and outcome in the organization. The normative context learning is based on the need to improve the operations in the organization. According to Wang and Ahmed (2002), competition has been the major force that is motivating organizations to adopt normative context organizational learning.
Evaluation of theories leading to organizational learning spurred a rich insight on modes of organizational learning. Determining the methods of organizational learning is imperative in determining the role that leaders play in the organization and in the organizational learning. (Wang & Ahmed 2002, 15). Leaders can either impede or promote innovation and creativity in an institution or a company. Having an ambitious and inspirational leader can trigger informal learning in the organization. Moreover, the leadership and managerial approaches employed in a given institution have significant influence on the development of skills in the organization. According to Alican (2008: 93), organizational development may be promoted through involving employees and other stakeholders to the core decision making process. Alican (94) argues that the fact that there are various sources of easily accessible and abundant information, the nature of management and leadership instituted in an organization has to be polished. Employees may tend to outdo their seniors by deploying exceptional skill; thus, creating informal leaders in the working places. Such scenarios may lead to adverse complications if integrity of the officials is not honored. However, skilled managers will discover particular skills among the employees and harness them for the benefit of the company (Hovland 2003). This was also echoed by Lellenman (2008) who emphasized the importance of involving employees in a forum to share their opinions, ideas and discoveries in the company’s line of production.
The electronic industry is characterized by growing innovation approaches resulting in the production of highly consumer appealing products (Chen & Chen 2010).Leaders in these organizations have to embrace the culture of modernity and flexibility in the market choices. The General Electric Company is one of the organizations in this industry promoting organizational learning. The program is aimed at developing managers internally to succeed the outgoing ones. Since the time GE was started, Chief Executive Officers have been sourced internally within the organization leadership clues. The company runs a Leadership, Innovation and Change forum where core issues are discussed by the management teams. The Apple Company is also another company that has embraced organizational learning in promoting products quality. On the same footing, the Microsoft Corporation falls in the categories of organizations actively employing organizational learning.
Adequate data is available on the organizational learning with its repercussions in different institutions. However, there is a knowledge gap in identifying the influences of organization learning to the management approaches in the organization. Therefore, data collected will be aimed at bridging this gap and expounding more on the leadership and organizational learning.
The chapter addresses the methodology that is used in the study. Research methods, research design, data collection, sampling methods and data limitations are delineated in the study. Supportive reasons behind the choices of the approaches are provided further.
The design approach employed in this study will be a case study analysis of the available data. The research method that is applied in this study is a qualitative exploratory strategy. Selecting the most appropriate research method and design approaches determines validating of the data. Qualitative approach is preferred due to the nature of data. Exploratory approach enables the researcher to collect information extensively; thus, possibility of generalizing the result. According to Ghauri (2005), qualitative design is best suited for explaining behaviors in a society or given setup. The researcher has an opportunity to expresses his opinions and suggestion from the explanation of the data obtained. Therefore, the data collected is prone to researchers’ perceptions, sensitivity and sensibility of the researcher (Sandelowski2000).
Secondary data forms the backbone of the study. Extensive data will be gathered from the existing publications and websites. Among the publications used as sources of information include journals, reports write ups, books, articles and authentic website resourceful for the research. Primary data will also be gathered using interviews with a representative group in the targeted companies. In addition, observation will also be employed to determine the leadership approaches employed and how organizational learning is organized among the study site. Interview will be incorporated in data collection since they are effective in gathering current data related to organizational learning, leadership and management among electronic companies based in the USA. The website sources are enriched with broad views of information, hence, this increases validity and reliability of the research results.
According to Sandelowski (2000), researchers may employ one of the four formats (single case study, multiple case study, question answer case study or combined approach) of case studies as a data analysis method. The study will employ multiple case study approach analysis where no single case is quoted since the data presented is built on different case studies. The case studies will be investigated, compared, and then a conclusion will be drawn from the data. Data from interview and observation will be analyzed using Social Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and manual qualitative data analysis. Manual analysis will be extensively used since the research will have a closer approach to the collected data, hence, becoming conversant with terms and concepts used by the respondents. Data would be further presented in figures and narratives.
Validity and reliability in a qualitative research is affected by the degree of researchers’ opinions in the study. In a qualitative study, research reliability depends on the precision of the researchers’ approach to the procedure of data collection and analysis strategies (Cherry, 2000). Reliability in this study will be enhanced through clear delineation of data collection approaches and its analysis. Sufficient information and explanation of the data, providing evidence and triangulation approaches will be employed to enforce reliability of the study. Validity refers to the extent by which the research result measures what it was intended to measure. Enhancing the study validity is done through using extensive data to draw a conclusion. The researcher also uses different data collection approaches. This nullifies the chances of effluence threatening external validity of the study.
Ethics refers to principles that differentiate what is right or wrong, good or bad in a given context. In a research, ethical considerations contribute to the level of reliability and authenticity of the result findings. Among ethical concepts that will be given much emphasis in this research are confidentiality, anonymity, privacy, consenting, and understanding the possibility of conflict of interest. According to MacMillan and Schumacher (1997), all individuals in the research should be concealed from the public by employing anonymity. Confidentiality and anonymity are crucial in assuring the rights of the participants to participate in the study. This will enable them to participate without fear of litigation due to comments raised concerning their company. The study will code participants and no names will be used when reporting respondents’ opinions in the report. Seeking consent for participation in a study is also a crucial step before embarking a study. Consent involves complete understanding of the role, positive and negative effects of participating, and the clear clue of the study topic. It should not be forced or gained through persuasion (Cherry 2000).
The right procedure for acquiring the go ahead node for the study will also be followed. A letter of authorization will be sought from the relevant authorities in the institutions involved. If necessary, permission will also be obtained from the companies where the study will be conducted.
Despite enough preparations for the study, the researcher is aware of possible limitations that may affect the research results. Analyzing extensive data will require adequate time, which is a core limitation in this study. Availability of information that is reliable from the website will also be another challenge limiting the reliability of the study. Given the differences in markets and economic capacities of different companies in the U.S., generalization of the results may be affected.