According to psychologists, there are two different underlying goals that people pursue
in achievement situations (Sujan et al., 1994). They are—learning goal and
performance goal. The former orients people in improving their abilities and mastering the tasks they perform, and the latter orients people in positively evaluating their current abilities and performance. Organizations can survive and maintain competitive advantage in the market through exhibiting continuous performance in all respects of business. Employees should be properly trained and oriented towards supporting their creativity, innovativeness and knowledge in performing their tasks more effectively. Learning orientation enables people to focus on mastery of skills required for growth in their profession. Employees should inculcate the habit of continuous learning and upgrading skills in performing their job to the best. Such tendency among employees leads to improvements in the performance of the whole organization. Hence, organizations need to create an environment for strong learning orientation. Knowledge management plays an important role in the form of identifying and sharing the sources of learning. The help of information technology and systems is also important in this regard.
Sandeep Vij and Rayees Farooq, in their paper, “The Relationship Between Learning Orientation and Business Performance: Do Smaller Firms Gain More from Learning Orientation?”, have attempted to test the relationship between learning orientation of firms and their business performance. They have also attempted to study the moderating effect of firm size on this relationship. They conducted the study on some manufacturing and service sector firms of Punjab state, India, and collected responses to their questionnaire from senior level managers. With the help of Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling, they checked the scales of learning orientation and business performance and the relationship between them. They concluded that firm size, in terms of investment, moderates the relationship between learning orientation and business performance.
In the paper, “Performance Management and Innovative Human Resource Training Through Flexible Production Systems Aimed at Enhancing the Competitiveness of SMEs”, the authors, Nunzio Casalino, Maurizio Cavallari, Marco De Marco, Maria Ferrara, Mauro Gatti and Cecilia Rossignoli, have discussed the benefits of online training in automation and innovation fields and attempted to explain their impact on Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs). They have described a project that provides training contents to enhance participants’ background and some innovative simulations to improve the specialized knowledge of employees effectively in industrial automation systems. In the light of the general resistance of SMEs to training, wider participation, management development activities, formal appraisals or discussions on training needs, the project develops approaches and learning materials directed specifically toward SMEs to qualify staff in terms of industrial automation systems.
In order to present a detailed overview of several Knowledge Management (KM) related issues like KM concepts and technologies, knowledge-based performance outcomes, organization culture, KM practices, and KM performance index, Sanghamitra Brahma and Sumita Mishra, in the paper, “Understanding Researchable Issues in Knowledge Management: A Literature Review”, have reviewed relevant research publications in the last 15 years. They identified seven broad categories of research done and reported that each category is a well-defined avenue for research in KM field.
The issue ends with a review of the book, Knowledge Creation and Management: New Challenges for Managers, edited by Kazuo Ichijo and Ikujiro Nonaka. The reviewer, Jyoti Verma, has briefed the way the concepts of knowledge creation and management are presented in the book. The reviewer has highlighted the key issues addressed by the book and discussed its relevance to managers.
-- Nasina Jigeesh
Consulting Editor