paper lithuania seoul 2009

8/11/2019 Paper Lithuania Seoul 2009

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Towards a Learning Organization: the Role of Core Competencies as an Internal

Factor for Transformation

Jrat Palas!ait" #ai$a %ze$i&it" 'i$il (tar!e$i&it

The purpose of this paper is to present the case study, which was aimed to identify whether

decision to transform an organization into a learning organization may be triggered by internal rather

than external factors) The hypothesis: to identify which factors (internal, such as decision to develop

competencies of members of an organization, or external, such as pressures of competitive market,

globalization, technological advancement) trigger the transformation of an organization to learning

organization is possible while identifying members attitude to their own core competence and the

need to develop them

*e+ words: !ore competencies, learning organization, "uality of services, front#officepersonnel

Introdction

$ccording to %auzackas & ('b), the development of core competencies could be

defined as the development of *knowledge, abilities, skills, attitudes and value orientations that are

being used for a long period of time and have the impact on comprehensive development of

personality, professional flexibility and mobility+ (p -) The significance for the development of the

learning organization and community, organization and states economy has been declared in

internationally recognized documents: $ .emorandum on %ife %ong %earning ('/), %isbon

0trategy ('), and in various documents of the 1uropean 2arliament and !ommission

$ state financed organization providing non#commercial services was chosen for the empirical

study of the paper $s Targamadze and 0imonaitien3 note (''), external factors are "uite often

relied on triggering transformations towards a learning organization 4ue to the fact that non#

commercial organizations are less susceptible for the external factors for transforming into learningorganizations, such as the rapidly changing markets in comparison with profit#making organizations,

it is likely that situation will reflect reflective and conscious choice of members of an organization

(internal factors) rather than reaction to forces of market (external factors) to implement

transformation 5on#commercial organizations should find other sources for transformation than

merely reaction to external pressures, and namely some internal triggers or factors The prpose of

this paperis to present the case study, which was aimed to identify whether decision to transform an

/


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organization into a learning organization may be triggered by internal rather than external factors The

h+pothesis: to identify which factors (internal, such as decision to develop competencies of members

of an organization, or external, such as pressures of competitive market, globalisation, technological

advancement, etc) trigger the transformation of an organization to learning organization is possible

while identifying members attitude to their own core competence and the need to develop them Theo,-ect of the paper covers attitudes of organizations members towards the development of

personnels core competences The following o,-ecti$es have been raised:to characterize the concept

of core competences, to define content of a concept of "uality of services, to reveal the relation

between front#office personnels core competences and the "uality of services6 to identify the

perceived significance of development of 7 organizations personnels core competences for the

transformation of an organization into a learning organization .sed methods include critical and

systemic analysis of references6 also case study that included internal documents analysis, also a two#

stage "uantitative research, which was completed in '8#'9 The following methods for an

empiric study were used: analysis of recent internal and strategic documents and "uestionnaires

comprising open and closed type "uestions Research limitations only clients and members of one

non#commercial, service orientated organization in one of ten counties in %ithuania were approached

This must be seen as a limitation of the study

Core Competencies / the Concept and Classification

The relevance of core competencies in professional activities was influenced byglobalization and constant changes covering various areas (economical, political, social,

technological, etc) ;lobalization caused the need for discussing what are the competencies with the

help of which one could flexibly adapt to changes occurring in professional, personal and other

activities $ certain value of core competencies is definitely gained within the area of services, which

is based both on technology and a certain form of relationship between a service provider and a client

$domaitiene et al('


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development, active citizenship, social integration and employment of all citizens 8 core

competencies (and their elements) are enlisted !ommunication in mother#tongue is defined as ability

to both in written and orally express and explain notions, feelings, facts and opinions !ommunication

in foreign languages is based on ability to understand a foreign language, express one#self, explain

notions, thoughts, feelings, facts and opinions within a certain society or cultural environment.athematical abilities and core competencies in research and technological areas (mathematical

abilities for developing and applying mathematical thinking when solving different every day

problems) !ompetencies in science area stand for a persons ability and willingness to apply

knowledge and methodology when explaining nature, trying to raise "uestions and draw evidence#

based conclusions 4igital literacy deals with reliable and critical appliance of ?T at work, for leisure

or when communicating %earning to learn competence (ability to study insistently and to arrange

ones learning process both in groups and individually, by effectively managing information) 0ocial

and civic competencies, initiative and entrepreneurship 0ability to turn ideas into actions1 creativity,

innovation, readiness to risk, pro@ect planning and managing in the pursuit of goals raised), cultural

consciousness and expression(perception of the significance of different creative ideas, music, stage

and visual art and literature) finalize the list

?n the AB (2aulauskait3, '9) core competencies are defined as a complex of abilities

providing the basis of any kind of effective activity They are necessary for successful work, learning

and other activities The structure of core competencies is comprised of communication (participation

in discussions, application of visual aids etc), mathematical literacy (data collection, recording andprocessing), ?T (preparation of information, processing, presentation etc), personal (personal learning

and professional improvement), problem solution (naming the problems, decision making etc), and

competencies of foreign languages (listening, speaking, reading and writing)

$ny organization, including a learning organization, has to perform certain functions such as

recruitment of employees and support for the development of competencies as well as career

planning ?n addition to technical competencies (knowledge and skills characteristic to a certain

profession), other important competencies may be identified, including communicational (ability to

start and sustain relationship with customers), organizational (ability to organize ones work activities,

plan them and set priorities), managerial (ability to organize activities of others, inspire and motivate

them), strategic (ability to communicate within a system and interact with other participants),

educational (ability to explain, consult and support learning of others), cognitive (ability to develop

new competencies), recognition of clients environment (ability to recognize a client, discover his=her

needs and expectations) and those of common culture (an important part of holistic competence)


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(Birby, /999, here from 2aulauskaite, '9) $ccording to the number of authors and references, core

competencies are identified as comprehensive and applicable within different spheres of life and

professional activities Curthermore, they play an important role in the context of constant economical

and social, as well as technological changes !ore competencies (and their elements) are the result of

lifelong learning

O$er$iew of the Concepts of (er$ices

0ervices have certain characteristics: heterogeneity, unsteadiness, clients participation in the

process of service provision, the unity of service provision and consumption (Dagdoniene, Eopeniene,

') There is a variety of ways to classify services $ccording to ;rFnroos ('/), non#commercial

services are not aimed at profit6 rather they are aimed at meeting community needs 0uch services are

provided by governmental non#commercial organizations and private non#profit organizations

Asually, state budgetary funds comprise a large proportion of budget of such organizationsCurthermore, such kind of an organization faces harsher restrictions (laws, regulations) Asually,

private non#profit organizations are not entitled to share profit between members or managers 0uch

kind of organizations promote voluntary work and their profit is not always expressed in terms or

forms of money

The #ariet+ of 2alit+ Concepts

There is also a variety of concepts of "uality $ccording to Gesterhei@den ('), every

definition of "uality is a matter of agreement The sub@ectivity of the concept of "uality comes from

three interacting parts: benefit (features, form and tune), value (economical, intellectual) and

suitability (amount and timely performance) The above enlisted may be perceived differently by each

individual $ccording to %ok and !rawford ('), an ob@ective (visible, measurable features) and

sub@ective (immeasurable, experienced via consciousness) "uality may be distinguished ?n addition,

there are internal and external perceptions of "uality ?nternal "uality is related to organizational

culture, history and structures as well as the "uality level of the way its inner elements function

(mission, human resources, and monetary resources) .eanwhile, an external "uality deals with thesatisfaction of client needs and re"uirements The latter one may be influenced by political regulations

as well

?t may be concluded that there is no universal definition of "uality $ccording to .isiHnas

('8), the diversity of concepts comes from the fact that there are several "uite different perspectives

of "uality Iuality is rather a socially negotiated construct than a definite constant ?t is dynamic and,

nevertheless, the contents of the concept serves as a starting point for activities in any organization


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2alit+ of (er$ices and Core Competencies in a Learning Organization

To add to the complexity, the concept of the "uality of services and its models are widely

analyzed in management and marketing literature ?t is impossible to evaluate "uality of services and

the "uality of products applying the same criteria $ccording to 1riksson et al (/99J), services may be

defined as a product resulting from experience that may be evaluated only through consumption The

orientation towards client is often emphasized when analyzing organizations providing services $

service must respond to clients needs and expectations Eere the main evaluator is the client, thus, it

is significant to manage perception of "uality of services and satisfaction Darczyk (/999) states that

the "uality of services is expressed in terms of the level of customers satisfaction that depends on

customers needs and experience $ccording to ;umesson (''), it is important to be aware not only

of present customers needs, but future ones as well Therefore, by applying the before#mentioned

definitions, we may state that in the area of services the "uality is often perceived as satisfaction ofclients needs Eowever, it may interfere with other concepts oriented towards inner "uality of

activities Cor that reason, it is not recommended to identify the parameters of "uality solely based on

clients opinion, since not all services are e"uivalent $ccording to %angviene and Kengriene ('), a

conceptual key for perceiving "uality of services is the interaction between the "uality perceived by a

supplier and a client $n important role in this interaction is given to front#office personnel, since

they not only perform certain actions and procedures necessary for providing the service, but they also

communicate with customers and involve them in one way or another into the process of service

provision The key task of such employees is to serve the client and stand for the interests of the

company (Kengriene, '-) Therefore, the improvement of "uality could be related to investments

into personnel and development of both core and other competencies that are significant for

professional activities

1very client individualizes specific services and differently prioritizes its features ;rFnroos

('/) in his research of the area enlisted specific features of services that clients @udge !lient is

interested in basic characteristics of providers activities, such as professionalism and skills, attitudes

and behavior (attentiveness, politeness and respect), also availability and flexibility (convenience ofoffice#hours, short waiting time, convenient location) &eliability and ability to manage unexpected

situations are important as well as reputation and creditability (it is expected that the value provided

will be ade"uate to the amount paid) $ccording to Dagdonien3 and Eopeniene ('), the ma@ority of

authors assume that reliability, flexibility, providers readiness to help and to manage unexpected

situations are the most important issues for clients The above#presented brief analysis criteria applied


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for evaluating services, confirms that among other factors influencing the "uality of services,

personnels core competencies are included

The necessity of life#long learning is determined by constant changes within different areas

and by increasing global competition as well as rapidly developing technologies These pressures

comprise external factors ?n order to survive under the conditions of dynamic market, constantprofessional development and learning of employees should be promoted $t this point, the

significance of developing core competencies is emphasized as the way to cope with external

pressures $ccording to $ .emorandum on %ife#%ong %earning, the core competencies are defined

as the main competencies without which individuals would be incapable of participating in both

knowledge society and modern economy as well as social sphere

4awe ('


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learning organization is possible while identifying members attitude to their own core competence

and the need to develop them) a case study was carried out in '8 # '9 The case study constituted

of the following parts: analysis of internal documentation and a "uantitative study comprised of

"uestionnaires for clients and front office employees

The attitude of the clients on services and employees core competencies of a state non#commercial organization (Curther # organization 7, library) situated in one of the largest cities in

%ithuania was studied in spring of '8 The respondents were selected by approaching every client

during one week The main selection criterion was that a respondent had to be a client of services

provided by the organization 7 8 "uestionnaires were distributed, and J of those were returned and

filled in properly

$ study of front#office employees attitudes was carried out in the spring of '9 The front

office personnel of the relevant organization were approached The main aim of the survey was to

identify what core competencies are the most significant for the "uality of the activities, and what is

the level of necessity for developing the identified core competencies, what encourages to develop

them and what possibilities are provided for this (that is, are members of organization aware of the

need and prere"uisites for the development of a learning organization) ?n both cases anonymous

"uestionnaires were used for data collection The research data was processed by searching for

correlations between the variables and selecting non#parameter based criterion (') for calculations

The selected level of the statistical significance e"uals to p P (0200#/-, software was applied)

The respondents were presented with a partially structural written "uestionnaire made of nine closed#type "uestions evaluated by ranking and nominal scales The respondents constitute 9< Q of all

organizations employees dealing with clients6 therefore the re"uirements for case study method are

met (0hamoo, &esnik, '9) $ total of // "uestionnaires were distributed, / of which were

returned /< were filled in fully

$ccording to the data obtained from the analysis of employees survey, the ma@ority of them

are women with a dominating age of / to years old The minority of the respondents is over sixty

(J< Q)6 the ma@ority of the respondents have university level education (8J8 Q)

Case (td+: Towards a Learning Organization) Perception of Core Competencies

4ocment 5nal+sis) $s it has been mentioned before, a non#commercial service#oriented

organization (library) was selected for the case study Cirstly an in#depth review of documentation was

completed Eaving thoroughly analyzed its overall activities, dominating professional provisions,

strategic plan for the period of '#'8 and reports, we may draw a conclusion that the "uality of

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?t was revealed that the clients evaluate most of core competencies (and their elements) either

well or perfectly (0ee Cig/) The highest ranked "uality was helpfulness (over - Q)


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?t should be stated that the evaluation of significance of core competencies does not depend on

respondents, except for one item, and namely: the ability to learn $ statistically significant nonlinear

link exists between the age of respondents and the way they evaluate core competence ability to learn

('S


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?n addition to other desired to be developed competencies, ability to develop inner potential,

concentrate and adapt to changing environment and ability to learn at work in teams were enlisted

These findings seem to indicate that members of non#commercial organization are aware of the need

to develop core competencies, and, therefore, there is a potential for authentic transformation towardsa learning organization in the organization 7

?t should be also noted that there is a statistically significant non#linear link between the

significance and the development of most of the core competencies: ability to get into contact with

and sustain it with customers and colleagues (' S


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The study revealed the methods by which front#office personnel develop their core

competencies (Cig )

Fig. 5. 3ethods for de$eloping core competencies

The data obtained matches with theoretical insights the development of these competencies

within an organization may take place in the dimensions of formal, non#formal and self#based

learning Eowever, only non#formal and self#based learning dominates in professional activities

Conclsions and 4iscssions

/ !ore competencies are widely applicable in different daily life and professional areas Theyplay a significant role in constant economical, social and other changes, and are ac"uired by continual

development and learning $ number of similarities may be distinguished in different classifications

?n the ma@ority of classifications, the same social (communicational, conflict solving and etc),

mathematical, entrepreneurial, managerial, educational, related to foreign languages, informational

literacy, personal, wide scope and etc abilities are enlisted The only differences occur in their

subdivision into elements

' ?n the area of service management and marketing client is one of the central agents and the

main evaluator of the "uality of services $ccordingly, the significance of foreseeing his=her needs,

satisfaction, and management of perceived "uality and interaction with front#office personnel is highly

emphasized This influences the significance of the competencies and abilities of front#office

personnel, such as recognition of needs, communicational, conflict managing, decision making,

educational, general culture, personal, wide#scoped and etc, in pursuance of the "uality of services

!ertainly, other e"uivalent factors exist such as technical "uality, internal relations, working

conditions, re"uirements, regulations and etc ?n order to achieve general "uality of activities, all the/


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factors should be evaluated and all parts should be balanced (functional, technical, internal, external

and etc)


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DeresneviVien3, 4 (') 0uaugusiW@W Uvietimo psichologiniai aspektai == 0uaugusiW@WUvietimas dabarViai ir ateiViai Baunas, K4A- !ullen, L (/999) 0ocially constructed learning: a commentary on the concept of the learningorganisation, The %earning >rganization, Kol - 5o/, pp#'J4awe, 0 ('


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ldroyd, 4, ;edvilien3, ; (') 0uaugusiW@W mokymasis Baunas:K4A

paper lithuania seoul 2009

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