Annika Lantz

Learning in the workplace – an instrument for competence assessment

The presented instrument for competence assessment is used in an attempt to make a systematic assessment of what and how much has been learned by an individual employee at a certain point of time in his/her career within an enterprise. Competencies in different work areas are treated: handling functional work tasks, managing disturbances, prioritising, co‐operating, organising, and achieving quality and environmental targets. All competencies are assessed on a scale measuring level of competence as cognitive complexity. Application of the instrument involves conducting a structured interview where the means‐goal relationship in different work activities is investigated in detail. A quantitative analysis of level of competence in each work area, ranging from behavioural routines to the extent to which an individual contributes to developing and changing his/her task, is then performed. The results of two different tests of inter‐rater reliability and six tests of validity (content, face and criterion validity) are presented. It is concluded that the instrument is adequately valid and reliable.

Participative Work Design in Lean Production: A Strategy for Dissolving the Paradox between Standardized Work and Team Proactivity by Stimulating Team Learning?.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore job design mechanisms that enhance team proactivity within a lean production system where autonomy is uttermost restricted. We propose and test a model where the team learning process of building shared meaning of work mediates the relationship between team participative decision-making, inter team relations and team proactive behaviour. Design/methodology/approach – The results are based on questionnaires to 417 employees within manufacturing industry (response rate 86 per cent) and managers’ ratings of team proactivity. The research model was tested by mediation analysis on aggregated data (56 teams). Findings – Team learning mediates the relationship between participative decision-making and inter team collaboration on team proactive behaviour. Input from stakeholders in the work flow and partaking in decisions about work, rather than autonomy in carrying out the work, enhance the teams’ proactivity through learning processes. Research limitations/impli...

Erfolgreiche Arbeit in Gruppen

Die Effekte von Gruppenarbeit wurden in einer schriftliche Umfragestudie mit dem Produktionspersonal (n = 754) in acht schwedischen Industrieunternehmen untersucht. Unterschiede in der Gruppengrose, der alters- und geschlechtermassigen Zusammensetzung der Gruppen als auch dem Motivationsbild der einzelnen Gruppenmitglieder wurden untersucht, um deren Bedeutung fur Effekte von Gruppenarbeit auf Unternehmens-, Gruppen- und Individualebene zu zeigen. Gruppenmitglieder mit einem aktiven Motivationsbild gaben mehr positive Effekte an als solche, die uber weniger solcher Moglichkeiten verfugten. Bei der Implementierung von Gruppenarbeit ist es wichtiger, solche beeinflussbaren Aspekte, wie der Moglichkeit zum Lernen in der Arbeit und zur Nutzung eigener Kompetenz, Autonomie und Arbeits(un)zufriedenheit der Gruppenmitglieder zu ermitteln, als sich auf einfache Daumenregeln zur Gruppengrose und Geschlechter- und Alterszusammensetzung zu stutzen.