Nada Trunk Sirca

The mission statement: organisational culture perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of mission statement contents and its function in guiding employees behaviour from the organisational culture (OC) perspective. Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on a mixed method approach. The quantitative content analysis of mission statements was performed on a sample of 222 Slovenian companies. Mission statements keywords were analysed with exploratory factor analysis. Advanced network analytic approaches such as PathFinder algorithm were utilised to obtain better understanding of interrelatedness of underlying mission components. Three interviews with the top managers were performed as well. Findings – The mission statement content analysis identified five associated organisations’ orientations: concern for stakeholders, orientation towards stability, orientation towards cooperation and innovation, and development and growth. The interviews confirm missions’ role in communicating the espoused or declared OC,...

The support of employers in the system of workplace learning recognition

The EU objective - to become a knowledge-based society, can be realised only through an educational system that respects the principles of Life-Long Learning (LLL). The system of recognition and validation of all kinds of knowledge, without regard to how it has been acquired, is congruent with these principles. To be effective, the system for validation must be developed and performed with the cooperation of all interested parties: government, educational institutions, employers and employees. There are at least three parties that should be particularly interested in cooperating to perform the system of validation of non-formal and informal learning in the higher education (HE) area, i.e., employers, HE education institutions and individuals. This article focuses on the part of employers.

Knowledge creation, transfer and retention: the case of intergenerational cooperation

Intergenerational cooperation is an important source of individual learning, and a vehicle for creation, transfer and retention of organisational knowledge. This paper presents and describes a theoretical model of intergenerational cooperation in organisations that emphasises the cultural and institutional determinants of such age management practices. On the societal level it identifies four determinants: national legislation, prevalence of intergenerational cooperation programs in different areas of social life, higher educational system and institutions, and societal culture. All the aforementioned variables have an interrelated impact on organisational leadership and management, HRM systems and organisational culture that promote intergenerational activities.

Lifelong learning as an answer to sociodemographic change: the case of Slovenia

Population ageing has important implications for demand in the field of education in Slovenia. We analyse the basic implications of an ageing society for the demand for the formal education of youth and for lifelong learning. Next, we research the system of recognition of nonformal and experiential learning, especially in higher education, and the potential role of Europass in such a system when trying to restore balance in the higher-education market. In the last section of the paper, we draw main conclusions about the developments in the field of education and the role of lifelong learning and Europass in it.

Academic workload management towards learning, components of academic work: a case study

This paper deals with attributing time value to academic workload from the point of view of an HEI, management of teaching and an individual. We have conducted a qualitative study aimed at analysing documents on academic workload in terms of its definition, and at analysing the attribution of time value to components of academic work in relation to the proportion of workload devoted to teaching in the sense of ensuring quality and effectiveness of learning, and in relation to financial implications for the HEI. The analysis of documents has shown that the attribution of time value to these categories, generally left to HEIs, can significantly affect an individuals workload and has financial implications on the level of HEIs. It has also shown that human resource management is becoming increasingly important for the success of HEIs, as well as the organisation of teaching towards learning, e.g., type of didactic organisation of study programme.

Culture and wisdom: tacit knowledge as a way of learning in higher education

When we talk about Higher Education (HE), we usually think of standardisation and structure, which are encompassed in the term accreditation of programmes and ways of educating and being educated. Contemporary developments in HE are taking place in the wider context of globalisation. Globalisation is not only a term that addresses unity and homogeneity, but more precisely, different patterns of culture, cultural transmission, generational ambiguities, and multicultural expressions. Since management in HE is not solely management of understanding the process of teaching and learning, but mostly understanding the ability to learn from diversities, we focus on the question of culture, cultural transition and patterns of culture, and gaps in meaning.

The Validation of Different Kinds of Knowledge at the Higher Education Level.

The creation of a flexible education system, including procedures for the validation of previous education and other forms of knowledge should be one of the objectives of higher education institutions as well as other institutions that are engaged in adult education. To be effective, the system must be developed and implemented in partnership with employers, individuals and educational institutions. This article describes the situation with respect to the recognition of prior learning in EU countries and the Slovenian reactions to them. Moreover, it presents the results of empirical research which investigated the motivation of educational institutions to co‐operate in the system established to validate non‐formal and informal learning.

Education and training for financial literacy: the role of banks - case study Slovenia

Today European banking is in a great financial as well as a moral and ethical crisis. The purpose of this paper is to examine the strategies and best practices in the field of education and training for financial literacy in EU, emphasising the development of this field in Slovenia. Within the existing content, we studied general financial literacy of Slovenians; we investigated what the perception of activities of Slovenian banking institutions is in order to increase financial literacy clients and what is their financial knowledge. Based on customer survey, we determined the role of banking institutions as educators of users of banking services. The research confirmed that the activities carried out by banking institutions in order to improve the financial situation of their customers are effectively raising financial literacy.