| Pub. Date | : Jan, 2021 |
|---|---|
| Product Name | : The IUP Journal of Knowledge Management |
| Product Type | : Article |
| Product Code | : IJKM10121 |
| Author Name | : Everest Turyahikayo, Pillay Venitha, Mary B Muhenda |
| Availability | : YES |
| Subject/Domain | : Management |
| Download Format | : PDF Format |
| No. of Pages | : 29 |
The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of organizational learning on knowledge generation and dissemination in the public sector of Uganda. The study uses convergent parallel mixed design based on a sample size of 220 respondents obtained from the population of 500 people, of which the response rate for the quantitative study was 86%, including 19 key informants for the qualitative study. Parametric tests are applied on the quantitative part, while in-depth qualitative interviews are conducted for the qualitative aspect. Key findings indicate that organizational learning has a positive and significant influence on knowledge generation. Qualitative interviews reveal that workers in the three public sector ministries have several learning practices such as through training, induction, weekly and monthly meetings. However, some challenges affected organizational learning such as the wrong belief that senior workers possessed more knowledge than junior workers. Knowledge generation did not have the backing of clear policies and procedures. All cases studied did not have a conducive environment for learning and knowledge dissemination. This is one of the few studies to investigate the influence of organizational learning on knowledge generation and dissemination in the public sector of a developing country using mixed methods design. It contributes to the theoretical and empirical understanding of the study phenomenon. The study recommends that such policies should be put in place to provide for generation and dissemination environment, especially enhancing informal interactions, provision of incentives, as well as bridging the superior-subordinate social gaps.
Organizational learning has been perceived as critical in enhancing competitiveness in the public sector (Greiling and Halachm, 2013; and Smith, 2016). Most scholars indicate that organizational learning enhances detection and correction of error (Visser and Togt, 2016), promotes adaptability to both internal and external situations (Barros and Avila, 2018), increases efficiency and effectiveness (Rashid and Mansor, 2018), enhances organizational transformation (Chen et al., 2018) and promotes job-related competences (Kim and Yang, 2018), all of which lead to increased competitiveness. While the revelation made by scholars about the value of organizational learning is true, little is known about the influence of organizational learning on knowledge generation and dissemination in the public sector. There is insufficient knowledge relating to how organizational learning facilitates generation of ideas during formal and informal socialization, workshops, daily briefings (Dewah and Mutula, 2014; and Ibidunni et al., 2018), informal conversations (Kuabara and Takahashi, 2017) as well as knowledge dissemination and sharing through storytelling (Jamshidi et al., 2018) and brainstorming (Turyahikayo, 2018). Failure to link organizational learning to knowledge generation and dissemination may hinder public sector competitiveness. This is based on the notion that generation and dissemination of organizational knowledge is critical in fostering innovation and productivity. The aim of this study is to examine the influence of organizational learning on knowledge generation and dissemination in the public sector of Uganda with a view to addressing the gap.