Assessing organisational learning practices in Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (Smes) in Ghana: A case study of selected Smes at Adum-Kumasi

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2013-07-02
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Continuous innovation and strategic motivation play critical roles on the ability of firms of all sizes to effectively compete and sustain a competitive strategy. Organizational learning is a concept that provides an efficient platform for continuousimprovement in businesses in order to cope with the dynamics of the economic world. The study adopted a case study approach. Data for the study was collected with semi-structured questionnaires from 248 selected small and medium-scale enterprise operators. Data collected were analyzed using SATA 11 to examine the organizational learning practices among the small and medium scale enterprises selected for the study. Respondents were predominantly males and the age distribution for all respondents was concentrated between twenty-six (26) and forty-five (45) years. Results indicated that the very slow growth experienced by the SMEs may have significant negative impact on their ability to engage in learning practices. The results further suggest a rather passive behavior of employees in seeking learning opportunities. Three challenges that significantly influenced the ability of SME operators to engage in organizational learning practices were the cost of providing such opportunities, the change in attitude of employees when they returned and the attrition rate among employees who were provided learning opportunities. Interestingly, a significant proportion of SME operators were fully satisfied with the value derived from such learning practices, and this satisfaction gets better with time. As recommendations to this study, SMEs need to invest more into learning in order to be competitive in the market and to continue their survival since the value of organizational learning is evident.SME operators are particularly encouraged to further their formal education since their willingness to expose employees to learning opportunities, either consciously or unconsciously, is largely influenced by the level attained by these operators.
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A thesis submitted to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology; School of BusinessDepartment of Managerial Science,in fulfillment of the requirement for the award of MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (HRM OPTION)
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