The Importance of Motivation in E-Learning in Taiwanese Organizations - Literature review Example

Managing people Name: Institution: Introduction Due to the ever-changing economic and technological environments, organizations need to position themselves in a way they can easily adapt to change. As indicated by Barney (1991, pp. 99-120) employee training is a strategic tool towards this achievement. Many organizations have sought the use of technology in employee training through the use of e-learning systems which are known for their just-in-time delivery and flexibility in access hence becoming a popular method for learning in organizations. Empirical studies reveal that e-learning has a positive impact on learning effectiveness as well as Job performance. Through e-learning the effectiveness of organization learning can be enhanced. This is as echoed by an article from the Australian Journal of Educational technology titled; Empirical validation of the importance of employees’ learning motivation for workplace e-learning in Taiwanese organizations, written by Hsiu-Ju Chen and Chia-Hung KaoI-Shou in 2012. This analysis expounds on the importance of Motivation in e-learning in Taiwanese Organizations, and brings out some new understanding of managerial phenomena as brought out in the journal article. It also looks into the relevance and the administration of the methods of research used to gather evidence as well as the relevance of the article on better managerial practice. How The Paper Summarizes The Importance Of Motivation in E-Learning In Taiwanese Organizations. Apart from acquiring the intended lessons, e-learning enable employees to learn independently by themselves. It also enhances flexibility in that an individual chooses when they want to study, the amount of time to spend while studying and at their own space. To achieve all these though the employees need to have the willingness to learn hence they must be motivated as it’s only through motivation that they will adopt the system and continue using it while at the same time applying what they learn in their jobs. However, the individual employee needs must be put into consideration and properly aligned with the organization’s goals and objectives for the exercise to run as smoothly as intended, employees therefore need to be highly motivated to learn by all means possible so as to make the exercise fruitful. According to Hsiu-ju & Chia-Hung (2012, pp.580-589), he points out that despite employees acquiring knowledge and new skills for their respective jobs through e-learning, they need to be guided on how to use the newly attained skills and knowledge so as to apply it appropriately in their jobs. Otherwise the learning would be pointless were they to be left with no direction on how to move about their jobs with the newly acquired skills. The paper therefore points out that to motivate the use of the system, both satisfaction of the user and usefulness of the system are important aspects that need to be addressed and attained by the employees (Hsiu-ju & Chia-Hung 2012, pp. 580-598). However, as noted by Chou (2003, pp. 273-280), despite the adoption of e-learning in most organizations, the systems are not applied in the right way so as to motivate the employees to learn. This is attributed to the lack of the systems to put into consideration the needs of the individual learners first and align them with those of the organization hence leading to conflict between the employee’s individual needs and those of the organization with respect to employee training. The existence of gaps between the interest of the organization and that of employees is a major concern for effective application of e-learning systems in organizations. (Cukusik et al 2010, pp.554-565). Another problem that has not been clearly addressed in the article is the tendency to base these programmes in the form of a course such as in a learning institution whereas corporations are completely different from schools. Organizational learning is based on practical work experiences aimed at achieving the goals of an organization and tends to be more interactive as employees share and exchange knowledge as part of the learning process (Czerniewicz & Brown 2009, pp. 121-131). The e-learning system should thereby be more corporate oriented in their adaption of e-learning processes so that the system does not resemble the training conducted in schools and other learning institutions. It is of utmost importance for organizations to consider incorporating learning procedures that pay attention to corporate interests, individual employee needs and the work environment. There should also be a connection between learning, work performance and communication among individuals (Admiraal & Lockhorst, 2009, pp 743-767). The article (Hsiu-ju & Chia-Hung 2012, pp 580-598) does not also bring out clearly how organizational factors affect the e-learning systems success. According to Altarawaneh (2011, pp. 9-17), 70% of e-learning implementation difficulties are attributed to organizational issues. These issues include; lack of sufficient funding to develop the e-learning system, lack of e-learning strategies and politics, lack of clear communication channels, lack of interest regarding e-learning education and a human resource strategy. It is important to note that all these factors are key to a successful implementation of the e-learning system hence the success of these systems heavily depends on the contribution offered by other parties within an organization such as Human resource, finance and the information technology departments. According to Barney (1991, pp. 99-120), e-learning systems have a positive impact in an organization’s profitability and productivity. New understanding of managerial phenomena that has not been put forward by other authors In reference to the study, organizations need to realize that even though knowledge is acquired through the e-learning programs, most employees do not consider the process as helpful as it is expected or intended of them if they cannot apply the acquired knowledge to improve their specific duties. Organizations should therefore design their e-learning programs in line with the organization’s vision and mission and the individual needs of the employees. Cenfetelli & Basselier (2009, pp. 689-707) notes that, it is as a result of many current e-learning development processes paying too much attention to technical issues and design, thereby ignoring the significant organization issues that the e-learning programs are supposed to address hence becoming less effective and being perceived as poor in quality and design. As indicated by Bharadwaj (2000, pp. 169-197), Learning is incorporated at work by most organizations so as to develop and improve the employee’s skills for the purpose of enhancing their individual performance and productivity and hence that of the organization as well. There are three theories that relate to workplace learning which are adult learning, Organizational leaning, and knowledge management. Adult learning theories are key in scheming of e-learning practices in a work setting. According to this theory, learner’s mostly those in their adult age are more likely to be motivated where the learning objectives are set out and tend to meet their needs (Chou 2003, pp. 273-280). Organizational learning involves the learning by individual employees of an organization and the organization it self. This theory therefore implies that, learning should be looked at beyond the individual level. Knowledge management on the other hand refers to a variety of methods and practices used by corporations to identify, create, represent and distribute knowledge for reuse, general awareness and learning. As a result of carrying out different job tasks that require varying expertise and skills, employees therefore have distinct learning requirements mainly attributed to different educational backgrounds, where they have worked in the past and their performance in the learning process (Cukusic et al 2010, pp.554-565). Case Evidence, Relevance and the Administration of the Research Method Used The case study gathered information by conducting a survey to establish the impact of motivation on learning by employees. The case conducted was significant for this research as the data collected was from employees who had actually undergone training through the course of their work and job performance. The survey was well administered in itself as the basis of making/assessing the measurements made was relevant to the case in question. This included; the motivation gotten through the learning process, quality of the information acquired, the perception of the employees on the usefulness of learning, how satisfied the user was and how the performance of the specific tasks improved or was influenced by the learning process (Hsiu-ju & Chia-Hung 2012, pp. 580-598). Data was gathered from institutions that had an interest or had invested in e-learning systems in Taiwan. The information was also gathered from diverse institutions including banks, government, Hi-tech manufacturers, among others for a period of two months. This shows that the information gathered was not a representation of a specified field or respondents from a particular sector hence it reflected the opinion of employees in a general context. According to Hsiu-ju & Chia-Hung (2012, pp. 580-598), the study also targeted only those organizations whose employees had actually used e-learning in their work so as to have accurate feedback from these respondents. The final respondents were only those individuals who had specifically used e-learning in their job task/job performance but not for other purposes such as teaching or training. Through the use of a partial least square (PLS), a well renowned method for analyzing data, the results showed that the use of e-learning by employees had a positive influence on their self evaluation and performance of tasks. The study also indicates that some employees are influenced to use the system by their colleagues and peers and not for their own advancement in Jobs. The impact of employees motivation on the e-learning process cannot however be reached satisfactory by a single study, this is because despite gathering information from diverse working environments, there are other particular factors that affect the employee’s motivation and influence it either positively or negatively. This includes factors such as rewards, what the organizational culture stands for among others. Performance measurement by organizations allow them to put in place clear objectives that they would wish to achieve, assess performance, collect and analyze performance outcome and use this information for developing and improving performance (Cenfetelli & Bassellier, 2009, pp. 689-707). This can be achieved through the application of key performance indicators (KPI’s). They come in handy in assessing any aspect of work performance depending on an individual organization’s design and they are closely attached to an organization’s overall approach. In a KPI system, the mission and vision of an organization are clearly defined as key performance targets for the organization and its business based on the organization’s goals and objectives. With a KPI framework in place each and every individual in the organization has a clear understanding of what is regarded as important and what is expected of them. KPI’s tend to establish a connection between an organization’s mission and vision by making the organizational goals achievable. Importance and Relevance of the paper on better managerial practice Due to the independence the e-learning system affords the employees, they tend to take responsibility for their learning experience hence what they make out about the e-learning system usefulness and satisfaction of the user increase and motivate their use of the system. The more they perceive the system more useful the more they get motivated to use it. The paper also notes that when there’s motivation to learn more and more adults are driven to voluntarily participate in training activities. According to the paper, e-learning affords employees control over their learning as the system is more focused on the learners. This enables them to learn by themselves and independently by using the systems. Through being involved independently and putting in consideration the employee’s opinion about the relevance of the system with respect to their individual goals and needs influences them to perceive the system as satisfactory and useful hence motivating them to continue using the systems in their training. It is with no doubt as shown in the study that well trained employees are most likely to perform better on their tasks. This can be measured through the user’s perception of the benefits acquired from the training/learning experience. It is therefore possible for organizations to assess the impact of the e-learning systems through an employee’s performance of the tasks issued which should also be the aim of the organization, to achieve certain goals from the e-learning system. It is important as indicated in the case for organizations to know that learning motivation for employees in their e-learning systems is important for the purpose of improving the employee’s productivity and hence that of the organization at large. This is also underlined by the fact that the systems would be of no use if the employees were not motivated to use them. The study clearly outlines that it is important for organizations through their managers to ensure that there is an acceptance of the e-learning systems by the employees. This is because their perception as to the use of e-learning is important in motivating them and it all starts with them accepting the adaption of the system. According to the study, the use of e-learning systems improves the performance of employees on their tasks which is beneficial to them and the organization in the long run as they apply the skills and knowledge acquired in performing their tasks. Through motivation of employees, their perception on the suitability and user satisfaction for e-learning is increased which then encourages them to continue using the system Employee motivation is therefore an integral part in the application and effective adoption of e-learning by organizations. It also enhances the employee’s willingness to take responsibility of their learning process so as to meet their goals and objectives. References Admiraal, W., & Lockhorst, D. 2009. E-learning in small and medium-sized enterprises across Europe-Attitudes towards technology, learning and training. International Small Business Journal, vol. 27, no.6, pp 743-767. Altarawneh, H. 2011. A survey of e-learning implementation best practices in Jordanian Government universities. International Journal of Advanced Corporate Learning, Vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 9-17. Barney, J. B. 1991. Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, vol. 77 no. 1, pp. 99-120. Bharadwaj, A. 2000. A resource-based perspective on information technology capability and firm performance: An empirical investigation. MIS Quarterly, Vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 169-197. Cenfetelli, R. T., & Bassellier, G. 2009. Interpretation of formative measurement in information systems research. MIS Quarterly, vol. 33 no.4, pp. 689-707. Cukusic, M., Alfirevic, N., Granic, A., & Garaca, Z. 2010. E-learning process management and the e-learning performance: Results of a European empirical study. Computers & Education journal, Vol. 55 no. 2, pp.554-565. Hsiu-ju & Chia-Hung, C. 2012. Empirical validation of the importance of employees’ learning motivation for workplace e-learning in Taiwanese organizations, Australasian Journal of Educational Technology.vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 580-598). Chou, S.W. 2003, Computer systems to facilitating organizational learning: IT and organizational context. Expert Systems with Applications Journal , vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 273-280. Czerniewicz, L., & Brown, C. 2009, A study of the relationship between institutional policy, organisational culture and e-learning use in four South African universities. Computers & Education Journal, vol. 53, no. 3, pp. 121-131. Read More