Browsing by Subject "ketterä oppiminen"

Learning agility is a concept that arose around the year 2000 as a reaction to changing challenges of work-life. Learning agility is usually defined as willingness and ability to learn from experiences in order to perform successfully in difficult situations. However, there has been criticism against this definition saying that it is rather imprecise and complex. The definition combines too many different elements of learning. This study aims to clarify the context of learning agility by defining learning agility as ability to learn quickly and flexibly. The study examines how learning agility is related to managers' attributions of their own managerial competences and goal orientations. Goal orientations are individual tendencies that affect how people set their goals under performance conditions. In addition, it is investigated if goal orientations act as mediator between learning agility and managerial competencies, which would mean that learning agility is related to managerial competencies through goal orientations. Research environment is Finland's Slot Machine Association (RAY), and the goal of this study is to provide new perspectives for RAY about how RAY can develop its leaders and supervisors. Sample consisted of RAY's supervisors and leaders. Data was collected with electronic survey during May and June of 2015. Total of 63 supervisors and leaders answered to survey and 32 of those were male and 31 were female. Data was analyzed by using statistical methods. Analyses that were primarily used were t-test, Pearson correlation and regression analysis. In order to test the mediation 12 regression analyses were performed. Results showed that learning agility was statistically significantly related to both learning orientation and the way managers feel about their own managerial capabilities. Learning orientation was more strongly related to managerial capabilities than learning agility. Performance orientations were negatively related to both learning agility and the way manager's feel about their managerial capabilities. Based on mediation analysis there were found three mediations of which two were partial mediations and one was full mediation. Mediators were learning orientation and performance-avoidance orientation. Results indicate that willingness to learn is at least as important as the ability to learn. Developing leadership competencies and learning should focus more on supporting learning orientation than enhancing the learning abilities. Moreover, results address a question if learning agility is in fact a combination of other learning-associated concepts such as cognitive capability and goal orientation rather than separate and independent concept.