PHWP: Abstract Detail: Learning to perform? A comparison of learning practices and organizational performance in profit- and non-profit-making sectors in the UK

Resources for Employers

Articles & Research Abstracts

Complete Reference

Title

Learning to perform? A comparison of learning practices and organizational performance in profit- and non-profit-making sectors in the UK

Available Online http://www.blackwell-synergy.com.ezp.slu.edu/do...
Author Kamal S. Birdi, Malcom G. Patterson, and Stephen J. Wood
Source International Journal of Training and Development
Source Type Journal Article
Summary

This article compares different employee learning practices that are implemented in for-profit organizations as compared to non-profit organizations, and then demonstrates relationships to multiple organizational performance outcomes. The study relies on data collected in the UK from 368 organizations using telephone interviews of senior training staff. The results suggest that non-profit organizations rely more on individual-learning practices, though the two groups did not differ in terms of the reliance on team learning, strategic needs analysis, or evaluation practices. The results also indicated that individual-learning practices demonstrated a stronger relationship to organizational performance in non-profit organizations, whereas team-learning practices demonstrated a stronger relationship with performance in for-profit organizations. Furthermore, overall, learning practices accounted for more variance in performance in the non-profit organizations than in the for-profit organizations.

Keywords nonprofit organizations, organizational behavior, personnel training, private sector, professional development, organizational development, organizational effectiveness, personnel
Reference

Birdi, K. S., Patterson, M. G., Wood, S. J. (2007). Learning to perform? A comparison of learning practices and organizational performance in profit- and non-profit-making sectors in the UK. International Journal of Training and Development, 11, 265-281.

"We have always known that the key to our success is the way we care about our fellow workers. Winning this award is a welcome confirmation that we are on the right track."

Ken Golder
Holiday Inn River Centre