Exploring a Learning Organization Philosophy to Foster Intellectual Capital Development in a Selected University

Abstract

The Higher Education landscape is characterized by rapid change, complexity, competition and stakeholder demands. Hence, pertinent strategies are critical for universities to remain relevant and competitive. Universities play a role in contributing to socio-economic development. Therefore, these institutions are continuously exploring effective strategic approaches to remaining competitive. The Learning Organization philosophy is a concept that has been adopted predominantly by organizations in the private sector to foster and institutionalise intellectual capital development   to remain competitive. The aim of this study was to explore the Learning Organisation philosophy as a strategic option to foster and institutionalise intellectual capital development in the university. The problem is the prevalence of a silo mentality and the lack of an institutionalised overarching philosophy to foster intellectual capital development in the university. A survey design was used to conduct this study. Moreover, the study was underpinned by a post-positivism philosophical worldview. Hence, a cross-sectional design was adopted. Stratified simple random sampling was used to select 291 participants from a population of employees at a selected public University of Technology. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire and the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyse the quantitative data. Overall, the findings of the study revealed that the adoption of a Learning Organization philosophy would foster intellectual capital development across the University. Participants indicated that a Learning Organization philosophy would eradicate the silo mentality and create a conducive environment for cross-functional collaboration in the university. In addition, the results showed that intellectual capital development was critical for the university to gain competitiveness and remaining relevant. A Learning Organization philosophy is regarded as an overarching philosophy that fosters continuous improvement through continuous learning in an organization. Therefore, this study provides organizations, especially Universities of Technology, with necessary insights into the adoption of a Learning Organization philosophy as a strategic option to promote and institutionalise intellectual capital development across the institution.