중소기업 영업직근로자들의 직무향상프로그램과업무환경이 개인성과에 미치는 영향관계에서의학습전이의 매개역할

Abstract

본 연구는 중소기업 직무수행자들이 학습한 내용에 대해얼마나 전이를 인식하고 있는지, 본인의 직무와 성과에는 얼마나 도움을 주는지에 대한관심에서 출발했다. 구체적으로 중소기업 직무능력향상 교육훈련과정과 업무환경이학습전이를 매개로 하여 개인성과에 미치는 영향을 측정하고자 하였다. 연구결과, 중소기업 직무능력향상과정 교육프로그램의 교육내용 타당성, 전이설계,강사능력 중에서 유일하게 전이설계만이 중소기업 영업직무자들의 개인성과에 미치는영향관계에서 학습전이는 직무역량과 개인매출에 매개역할을 하는 것으로 나타났다. 또한,기존 선행연구들과 달리 중소기업 업무환경이 중소기업 영업직무자들의 개인성과에미치는 영향관계에서 학습전이는 모두 매개역할을 하지 못하는 것으로 나타났다. 본 연구 결과는 중소기업 재직자들의 교육훈련의 효율성 증대와 개인성과에 긍정적영향을 주기 위해서는 중소기업이라는 특성을 감안할 때 사업주의 적극적인 지원 및관심이 필요하고 매출에 직접적으로 영향을 주는 현장 학습전이가 높은 직무교육훈련프로그램 설계와 이를 위한 설계자의 육성이 매우 필요하다는 것을 시사한다.

This study began from an interest about how much small and midium business employees are aware of transferring what they have learned and to what extent learning transfer contribute to their jobs and attainments. The purpose of this study was to have an overall understanding about the relationships among learning transfer, individual performance and other variables when a certain amount of time has past since receiving a small and medium business job performance improvement educational training, and thereby provide basic data that will help educational training designed for employees at small and midium businesses contribute to the advancement of learning transfer and individual performance. To this end, the present study utilized research models proposed by Baldwin and Ford(1998), Holton(2005),and Holton and Baldwin(2003). These studies were employed since the proposed models have been frequently cited as exemplary models explaining the learning transfer process of educational training within an organization, and also because they have been received well as preceding studies helpful for an overall understanding of learning transfer process of business education due to their specific selection of subfactors. In order to verify these models, this study measured the mediation effect of learning transfer in terms of the effects the validity, transfer design, and instructor's ability of small and medium business job performance improvement educational programs and work environment have on individual performance. The subjects of this study included 210 employees employed at a small and medium-sized business with less than 300 employees and who participated in a small and medium business job performance improvement course. Out of the 210 course participants, a total of 79 subjects responded to the research survey; survey respondents were composed of 93.7% male employees, 6.3% female employees, 67.1% of employees in administrative posts or higher class, and 32.9% of employees in worker level positions. For empirical verification, the present study conducted the survey related to the educational program immediately after the completion of the small and medium business job performance improvement program, and then, collected the questionnaires related to work environment, learning transfer, and individual performance six months later. Data from these two surveys were analyzed using SPSS 19.0. In order to raise the empirical validity of the study outcomes and to carry out feasibility assessment of questionnaire items, factor analysis was conducted using the principal component analysis(PCA). In doing so, nine questions that indicated factor loading of less than 0.6 were eliminated. Cronbach's α was confirmed to verify the reliability of measurement tools. As a result, Cronbach's α values on the research variables ranged between 0.834 and 0.984, indicating good reliability. In addition, the three-step regression analysis for mediation analysis proposed by Baron and Kenny(1986) was employed to verify the mediation effect of learning transfer in the effects small and medium job performance improvement program and work environment have on individual performance. According to the study results, it was found that learning transfer played some mediating role toward the effects small and medium job performance improvement program and work environment have on small and medium business sales workers'individual performance when demographic characteristics are held constant as control variables. Study results showed that learning transfer partially mediated the relationship between transfer design and job competency and that there is full mediation by learning transfer in the relationship between transfer design and individual sales. On the other hand, after regulating the demographic characteristics as control variables in the same manner, it was found that learning transfer played no mediating role in the effects small and medium business work environment have on small and medium business sales workers' individual performance. With respect to the study by Baldwin and Ford(1998) that suggests that learning transfer mediates the effects on performance by educational training design and work environment that serve as factors of educational input, the present study results support the part about educational training design. However, the present study differs from existing studies in that its results do not support the part about work environment such as organizational support, supervisor support, and restrictions by supervisors, which were identified as major influencing factors in most preceding international and domestic studies. Holton(1998) states that self-efficiency which affects learning transfer has to do with the learner's conviction that he/she has the ability to apply the contents learned from training to one's job. Kim Youngmin(2005) views that there is a greater need for advises from surrounding people and support from the organization and supervisors in order to have employees experience learning transfer in their jobs. Kim also shows that, in the case of employees with positions higher than managers, their experiences and awareness for their job performing abilities are more strongly related to learning transfer than the support from the organization and supervisors. With these points taken into consideration,it is surmised in this study that learning transfer has no mediating effect in how work environment influences job performance, since the subjects, with 67.1% of them having managerial positions or higher, were less influenced by factors such as organizational support, supervisor support, and restrictions by supervisors, but rather by the factor of personal volition. Considering that each learner is the person in charge of a given job at a small and medium business who can be the representative of that relevant job given the nature of small and medium business, this study has the following implications that will positively influence future learning transfer and job performance improvement at small and medium business. First, as shown in the present study, considering that learning transfer serves as a mediator in the transfer design of educational programs among the effects of small and medium business job performance improvement program have on individual performance, it is necessary to include practical training, case studies, and experience sharing that are appropriate for the small and medium business environment when designing small and medium business job performance improvement programs. This study suggests that for small and medium business employees who have to immediately apply what they have learned on the field, educational training programs should be designed in order to cultivate their abilities to apply the learned contents to on-site duties as quickly as possible. It also implies that, viewed from a long-term perspective,it is necessary to nurture internal design specialists who work within small and medium business and are well informed of the situations of small and medium business in order to provide designs that are customized for small and medium business. Second,since the duties of sales employees who represent the small and medium business can have a direct effect on the company's performance, the government and relevant agencies should pay more attention to developing programs that will transfer learning directly to performance improvement of sales workers at small and medium business in the future. Third, due to the nature of small and medium business, the business proprieter holds the rights and the keys to developing human resources of the company. Without the business owner's will, it is impossible to have the employees either actively participate in the educational training or apply what they have learned into practice after the training. Hence, studies covering various fields and ranges and efforts to verify the effectiveness of more educational programs should be carried out in the future in order to have business owners recognize that educational training have a positive effect on the performance of an organization and of each member of that organization.