Author(s)

J. I. Ogolo

Abstract

The paper has as its main objective to contribute to an understanding of effects of management in employee workplace learning for sustainable development in small manufacturing enterprises in South East Nigeria. The research design was a survey method while the sampling procedure used for the study was a combination of systematic and judgmental sampling. Using the Taro Yameni formula the sample of 375 was obtained from a population of 6,000 small manufacturing enterprises, in five states in South East Nigeria. The data used for the study were gathered from both primary and secondary sources. A questionnaire was developed to capture the employees’ perception of human resources management practice policies with regard to the suitability of their development. The questionnaire comprised of questions in line with the objectives. Some managers were also interviewed to corroborate and strengthen results obtained from the questionnaire. Using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS), a range of statistical methods was employed to analyze the survey data. Correlation analysis was used to analyze associative relationship between the measures of work environment characteristics, as provided by the human resource department and source of learning on the one hand, and the measure of satisfaction with reference to outcome of workplace learning experiences on the other. The results relating to sources of learning suggested that managers were an important part of the employees’ learning network and did make useful contributions through developmental interventions such as delegation and coaching. However, workmates were perceived by employees to be more useful sources of work related learning than the managers. Finally, specific managerial actions and behaviors that had the potential to increase

Keywords

employee workplace learning, human resource management, small manufacturing enterprises, sustainable development, effect of management, economic growth, coaching, mentoring, human resource development, environmental condition of workplace learning