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Journal of Workplace LearningEmerald Article: Effective implementation of online learning: a case studyof the Queensland mining industry

Diane Newton, Stewart Hase, Allan Ellis

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Diane Newton, Stewart Hase, Allan Ellis, (2002),"Effective implementation of online learning: a case study of the Queenslandmining industry", Journal of Workplace Learning, Vol. 14 Iss: 4 pp. 156 - 165

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Effectiveimplementation ofonline learning: a casestudy of the Queenslandmining industry

Diane Newton

Stewart Hase and

Allan Ellis

Background to the study

Rapid technological changes and the

emergence of the global knowledge-based

economy have encouraged national

governments to develop policies encouraging

investment in Internet technologies and

infrastructure, for example, Scotland (The

Scottish Office, 1999), Canada (Advisory

Council on Science and Technology, 1999)

and Australia (Beazley, 2001). Upgrading theskill shortages in the workforce, particularly

information technology skills, are promoted

as the basis of this new economy. Owing to

the need for a rapid uptake of these new skills,

providing effective workplace learning has

become essential for many companies to gain

competitive advantage (Bassi et al., 1998).

In the face of the Internet and its related

technologies, retaining staff, remaining

competitive and ensuring long-term

profitability are seen as potential

organizational benefits of the emerging

knowledge-based economy. Implementation

of flexibility in training and user control of

learning, particularly through online delivery,

have in turn created pressures for changes in

the way people and organizations work

(Eccles, 1998; Stephenson and Yorke, 1998;

Bates, 2000). Accompanying these

expectations, ``training'' is also being

redefined, for example:

As we enter the next millennium . . . training as

something provided for employees will bereplaced by learning that employees initiate

themselves. Training for the masses will be

replaced by highly customized, just-for-me

learning (Garger, 1999).

Despite the International Data Corporation's

forecasts that online learning will become a

$US14 billion industry by 2004 in the USA

(Dobbs, 2000a) Dobbs provides a cautious

warning about online learning

implementation. The perceptions of the

advantages of Internet technologies for

training have motivated organizations to rushto go online ``regardless of whether they had a

clear reason to do so'' . . . ``Nobody deemed to

understand quite what was happening, but no

one dared get left behind''. Dobbs describes

the recent downfall of the dot-com companies

due to the unrealistic expectations of profit as

a warning about implementing online training

without understanding the issues involved.

The American Society for Training and

Development also found that, although there

The authors

Diane Newton is a Research Associate and Allan Ellis

an Associate Professor in the School of Social and

Workplace Development, and Stewart Hase is an

Associate Professor in the Graduate College of

Management, all at Southern Cross University,

Lismore, Australia.

Keywords

Internet, Learning, Case studies, Mining, Australia

Abstract

This study identified the factors that are important in the

effective implementation of online learning in the mining

industry in Queensland, Australia. Two sources of data

and a Grounded Theory approach were used to develop a

theoretical model that would inform managers, trainers

and educators considering online learning

implementation. The first source of data was key

stakeholders in the Queensland mining industry, which

had yet to implement online learning in any systematic

way. The second source was literature case studies of

other industries that had reported experiences of

implementing online learning that were compared with

the field case study. Six major factors were identified from

this analysis as important for effective online learning

implementation: external influences; organizational

culture; organizational structures; training environment;

learners' needs and the online learning environment.

Implications for further research and the implementationof online learning in other industries are also discussed.

Electronic access

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is

available at

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/1366-5626.htm

156

Journal of Workplace Learning

Volume 14 . Number 4 . 2002 . pp. 156165

# MCB UP Limited . ISSN 1366-5626

DOI 10.1108/13665620210427285


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were projections for growth in learning

technology use globally over the following

three years (2000-2003), these projections

``were more cautious'' than the previous year's

projections. They conclude that:

These findings suggest that most firms around

the world continued to believe that learning

technologies will play an increasingly important

role in the future, but have discovered the

difficulty of making their contribution a reality

(Van Buren and King, 2000).

There is no indication from this discussion of

what the nature of this ``difficulty'' in

implementation has been, although Griffiths

(2000) offers the warning that the ``Internet is

being overhyped but underestimated''. Thus,

the widespread rhetoric of promises for more

flexible access to training and the subsequent

rapid adoption of these goals by governments,

educational institutions and industries have

not been accompanied by an understanding

of the factors and processes that contribute to

effective implementation of online learning(Bassi et al., 1998; Dobbs, 2000a; Downey,

2000; Gladieux, 2000; Hase and Ellis, 2001).

Articles about online learning

implementation in industries are mostly

anecdotal accounts that are weak in

theoretical content. Surveys across industry

sectors including questions about online

learning implementation factors have also

been done, but these are often carried out by

commercial training organizations for their

customers with possible bias in the reporting

of the findings. Other relevant reports have

been done that are being sold over the

Internet at a fee (e.g. Hall and LeCavalier,

2000), reflecting the perceived commercial

value of understanding effective online

learning implementation. As there is a paucity

of research into how to effectively implement

online learning, it was evident that there was

little information that organizations could

confidently base the introduction of this

emerging approach to workplace learning.

One example of the opportunities thatonline learning implementation can offer is

the Australian mining industry. The National

Mining Industry Training Advisory Board's

(NMITAB) training priorities reflect the need

for flexibility and change:

. . . a flexible and relevant industry-driven

system; recognised credentials to optimise

recruitment and selection; improved minesite

skills through a more efficient training delivery

system; relevant, industry driven, flexible,

recognised credentials; more efficient training

delivery systems and highly productive

employees; developing for future technologies;

cost-effectiveness and portable skills (NMITAB,

1998).

The mining industry has additional challenges

influencing online learning implementation.

For example, ``Because of its geographical

characteristics, mining should be one of the

main target industries for development of new

remote technologies for training delivery''

(National Centre for Vocational Education

Research, 1998).

This study aimed to identify those factors

that are important for the effective

implementation of online learning in the

Queensland mining industry as a case study of

an industry planning for online learning

implementation. The factors that emerged as

important for implementation in this industry

that could be relevant to other industries

considering this move are discussed.

Methodology

An inductive Grounded Theory methodology

(Glaser and Strauss, 1967) was adopted for

this study as it is a well-established inductive

process for developing theoretical models

with a high level of rigour. The methodology

consisted of two stages:

(1) The first stage was to interview key

stakeholders in the Queensland mining

industry to identify factors that wouldimpact on the effective implementation of

online learning. This was predominately a

site planning for online learning

implementation.

(2) The second stage was to then compare

these factors with those emerging from

articles and surveys in the literature of

online learning implementation in

industries to verify and further develop

the theoretical framework developed from

stage one.

These stage two articles and surveys were

taken as an additional data set (or ` case'') in an

attempt to confirm or disconfirm the factors

emerging from the field study. The process

was not to ``test'' the model from the mining

industry in the classical sense of accepting or

rejecting. This comparative approach was to

add insights and understanding of the

important factors emerging from the field case

study (stage 1) and possibly also to extend or

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supplement others' work. That is, these factors

were relevant to the Queensland mining

industry and could possibly apply to online

learning implementation in other industries

and organizations.

Interview data (stage 1)

Mining personnel across a range of stakeholder

groups were invited to participate in the study

which adhered to the Southern Cross

University ethics approval conditions. Initial

interviews were used to identify other possible

stakeholders on the basis of the data obtained

with the guiding principle of seeking possible

disconfirmation. Theoretical saturation was

reached when no new concepts or categories

were being obtained from the data, despite

having sought out very different sources.

Interviews were undertaken in person and by

phone and comprehensive notes were taken by

hand. The process was data-driven in that

question probes were modified, becomingmore focused on the concepts emerging from

each interview. The interview data were coded

into theoretical categories and concepts with

associated memos as soon as possible after

interviewing in the computer program

NUD*IST (QSR International Pty Ltd,

2000). Thus, the process of data collection and

analysis was ongoing and iterative.

Thirty-two mining personnel were

interviewed across two Queensland mining

sectors (coal and metalliferous) including:

mine workers, supervisory staff and managers,

industry based trainers, private training

providers, online material suppliers, technical

and further education teachers, Industry

Training Advisory Board staff and relevant

government staff. Most of the sites surveyed

have had limited past or current experience

with multimedia CD-ROM use and one is

using some Intranet training. Another

Australian mining company site that had been

using multimedia CD-ROMs extensively in

Indonesia was also included for comparison.The interviews also included

representatives from each of the Australian

Qualifications Framework (AQF) for the

Queensland mining industry:. AQF1: not used in this industry.. AQF2: operators.. AQF3: senior operators.. AQF4: deputies.. AQF5: managers.. AQF6-8: senior managers.

Literature data (stage 2)

The literature data was found from searches

of online databases and the World Wide Web

for articles describing the implementation of

online learning in industry (see Table I). The

aim was to find articles from a variety of

industries that could possibly offer confirming

or disconfirming evidence for the mining

industry case study. Despite searching for

refereed research papers, most of these

articles were anecdotal accounts by managers

or trainers from the organizations. Also, the

articles found were biased towards those

companies that were reporting the


public arena which were mostly from the

communications industry. They were also

mostly US companies that also suggested the

major source of the push for online learning

implementation. While acknowledging this

industry and cultural bias which needs further

exploration, these articles did provide data

about the factors that were important for

online learning implementation from the

point of view of those ``who are doing it'' that

could be compared with the Queensland

mining industry model.

The articles were approached using the

same opening question as the field data,

``What are the factors that are important for

effective online learning implementation?''

Again, data collection finished when, despite

analysing a range of articles that were

available, little extra insight was being added

to the theoretical concepts and categories.

This data was compared with the theoretical

model from the mining industry. In effect

these articles were taken as interviews and

were therefore obtained, approached and the

data treated consistently with the tenets of

grounded theory.

Results

Six main factors emerged as important to the


Queensland mining industry. They were:. external influences;. organizational culture;. organizational structures;. training environment;. learners' needs; and. online learning environment.

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Comparison of these main factors with those

emerging from the analysis of the literature

data confirmed their importance. Differences

in the details within these factors added

insight and depth to the theoretical concepts.

While these factors are relevant to the

Queensland mining industry, and could also

be important in other industries, this

relevance remains to be determined by further

research. The results presented are firmly

grounded in the data and factors emergingfrom the mining industry case study with

confirmation from the literature analysis.

Where there were differences in perspective

within these factors provided from the

literature data these added insights are

provided.

External influences

The decision to change to online learning was

more than an internal issue because its

implementation was influenced by factors

outside the organization. One factor was the

state of the economy: when robust it increases

training needs whereas economic slowdown

often means cutbacks, including training.

These pressures for changes in the training

system were a driver that encouraged the

consideration of the opportunities and the

adoption of online learning.

Online learning implementation also related

to training requirements for industry-widecompetency standards compliance. Training

needs and assessment increased with the need

to be compliant. There was consideration of

possible training efficiencies offered by online

learning implementation, particularly for

generic induction courses. However, there

were also concerns expressed through the

organizational culture that might emphasise

competencies, for example, that may not be

perceived as readily managed in an online

Table I Articles used as ``literature data'' (stage 2)

Organization Reference Industry/sector Country

Austin City Council (Couret, 1999) Local government US

Cisco (Adams, 2001) Computer equipment manufacturer US-internat ional

Dell Computer Corp. (Cone, 2000; Hartley, 2000) Computer equipment manufacturer US-international

GTE Telephone

Operations

(Rayl, 1998) Communications manufacturer and service US

IBM (Lewis and Orton, 2000) Computer equipment and software

manufacturer

US-international

Nordenia (Fister Gale, 2001) Packaging for consumer productsmanufacturer

US-international

Oracle Corp (Kiser, 2001) Computer software manufacturer US-international

Rockwell Collins (Fister, 2000;

Lachnit, 2001)

Communication and aviation electronics

manufacturer

US

UniGroup (Hoekstra, 2001) Transport service US

United Airlines (Kiser, 1999) Transport service US

Summarya (Dobbs, 2000b) Computer manufacturer, Health care

products manufacturer, Finance, Training,

Car manufacturer

US-international

Summary (Jurich, 2001) Finance, Wholesale, Computer manufacturer France, Brazil, US

Summary (Roberts, 2001) Defence, Health care service, Computer

manufacturer

US

Summary (Wetzel, 2001) Training, Finance, Power supply US, Canada

Summary (Zimmerman, 2001) Transport service, Training US

Provider-surveyb (Hall and LeCavalier, 2000) Transport, Computer equipment,

Communications manufacturer, Petroleum

refining, Defence, Finance

US, Canada,

Netherlands, UK

Provider-survey (Training Online

International, 2000)

Not provided Australia

Provider-survey (Xebec McGraw-Hill, 2000) Education, Public Sector, Finance,

Manufacturing, Retail, Transport

UK

Notes: aDiscusses factors in more than one company, bResults and discussion of multi-company surveys aboutonline learning

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environment. As one manager in the mining

industry quipped, ``How can you learn to

drive a dozer online?''

Although there was a general consensus

that online learning can play a role in

providing the underlying knowledge for

practical skill competencies, there was still a

need for practical experience and assessment

in the workplace, ``They need the practical

experience to know if they can do it, even if

they do learn it online'' (Mining industrytrainer). Alternatively, the ``soft skills'' of

management and supervision were seen as a

potentially useful application for online

learning. These are seen as requiring more

knowledge based (cognitive) skills that could

be learnt online, although some workplace

learning and assessment would still be

required.

Despite these concerns it was also thought

that providing learning online from a

centralized server could standardize

procedures and practices improving

competency standards compliance by

maintaining quality and reducing the

communication of unsafe or inconsistent

procedures. This concept was particularly

important for mobile staff, shift workers or

staff across a large number of sites.

Organizational culture

There was evidence that different priorities

expressed by staff in an organization need to

be aligned for effective online learningimplementation. As there was confirmation

that the key issue for management was the

``bottom line'', online learning

implementation would be measured by its

cost effectiveness, increased return on

investment and whether it met training

requirements. Reflecting the larger problem

of evaluating the costs and returns of

training in general, planning for and

measuring returns on online learning

investment was an issue. Managements'

valuations of the real costs of currenttraining methods were questioned by mining

employees, in particular, the ``hidden costs''

of reducing training, taking experienced

workers off the job to do workplace training

and assessments and flying staff to main

centres for training.

Also, support from management was

confirmed as an important factor for

implementation both as decision makers and

potential learners. Awareness amongst

managers of online learning benefits and costs

and an interest in its implementation were

important. The literature data confirmed that

involving managers in a pilot study of online

learning that was evaluated against

organizational goals promoted faster and

more informed implementation.

There was a process evident in the

literature where management had

strategically aligned online learning with a

corporate goal or problem. For example, arequirement for increased flexibility in

training times that could be provided by

online just-in-time training. It was evident in

the mining industry that this process could be

affected by the willingness and flexibility of

the organization to identify and respond to

changes in training needs by changing the

training system.

The organization's training culture also

influenced the implementation of online

learning in terms of how learning in general is

viewed and valued in the company. Viewing

training as a legislative requirement in the

mining industry was seen to conflict with

other values in terms of providing ``good''

training in terms of learners' needs or ``life-

long learning'' goals. This was not an issue in

the literature, possibly reflecting the

predominantly managers' viewpoint

expressed in most of these articles. However,

there were indications in the literature that

this divergence of values was important for

learner motivation. For example, theintroduction of just-in-time training was

perceived as enabling workers' control over

training, but organizational incentives (or lack

of them) for accessing online learning

influenced workers' participation.

The importance of transferring

organizational values to new employees

through online course content and design was

important in the literature data. This

contrasted with the mining industry workers

who indicated that they did not like corporate

policy information on screen (e.g. ininduction videos) and wanted quick access to

relevant information. This suggests that

learner motivation within the context of

corporate priorities needs to be balanced.

Organizational structures

Strategic planning that incorporated online

learning as part of the training plan rather

than as an addition was important. Previous

implementation of CD-ROM based training

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programs in the mining industry was usually

dependent on the motivation of an individual,

and most were discontinued when this

``driver'' left or the content became out-of-

date and management considered it too

expensive to update. In the literature, the

need to plan for implementation was

confirmed, with many companies forming

groups to plan, develop and monitor

implementation, particularly to monitor costs,

for example the upgrading of computers. Byidentifying the people who were drivers for

implementation within the organization and

including them in planning groups,

implementation was more likely to be

effective.

As a main requirement for online learning,

particularly for just-in-time learning, access

to computers at work was important.

Physical work conditions created problems

for accessing computers and the Internet for

some of these industries, for example,

underground workers in the mining industry,

mobile workers in the transport industry and

office workers who found that being

disrupted while they are learning at their

desks was an issue. Organizational priorities

to provide access to technology at

workplaces in less than ideal situations (e.g.

provision of computers in offices

underground or laptops to mobile workers)

were important.

It was also evident in the mining industry

that there were wide discrepancies in thepolicies for the provision and upgrading of

computers and for staff to access the Internet

even within the same company site. Thus,

organizational policies relating to the

technical infrastructure supply and costs of

development need to be understood before

implementation. Also policies relating to

workers' access to self-directed online

learning in relation to production needs have

to be considered.

The mining industry did not discuss

possible technical problems (except physicalaccess issues) that reflected the evidence in

the literature, indicating that problems with

slow Internet connections and other technical

problems often became evident after online

learning was implemented. Being aware of

these limitations at the planning stage also

enabled the planning and design of

appropriate online courses or the planning for

``blended'' learning, combining different

learning modes or mediums (Rayl, 1998).

Training environment

Reducing costs and providing relevant

content that could be quickly updated were

particularly important. It was recognized that

there was a need to develop good

relationships with online learning providers.

Organizations in the literature found it useful

to form partnerships with educational

providers with a track record in online

learning to develop or deliver training. At the

same time involving company trainers wasconsidered essential given that they

understand the learners' needs and the

organizational culture. Moving trainers' skills

towards the development of Web skills to

develop customised content and to deliver

relevant online learning was also important.

Trainers in the mining industry were

motivated to learn these Web skills but

required support for time to develop their

skills.

Related to the change towards more

independent learning was the recognition of

the change in the role of trainers from ``hands

on'' training to facilitator or moderator. The

trainers in the mining industry indicated a

need for some supervision or incentive for the

learners' participation in online learning but

they needed information on how to undertake

this role effectively. The relationship between

trainers as drivers and implementers and the

organization's power structure that influences

their contribution to the decision making

process was important.Providing a ``safe'' or supportive learning

environment was confirmed as important. In

the mining industry this was defined in terms

of the ``high cost of failure'' for people and

equipment while learning. This was

supported from the literature where learners

could practise and make mistakes in a pre-test

situation and obtain feedback online before

they go into the field, ``training with the

trainer wheels on'' (Rayl, 1998). The

organizational culture in the mining industry

also influenced workers' willingness to admitthat ``they don't know'' in front of their

workmates. It was thought that by providing a

``safe'' environment to learn and be

formatively assessed ``in private'' could

encourage them to become more independent

learners. This was also confirmed as

important in the literature. For example,

supervisors tracking learners' progress within

courses (e.g. How many mistakes were made

in attempting formative quizzes) placed

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undue pressures on learners. Thus, trainers

need to consider the provision of a safe

learning environment in terms of learner

motivation and the cost of failure while

learning when planning for online learning

implementation.

Learners' needs

An adequate level of computer literacy was an

important attribute for workers to at least be

sufficiently confident to attempt the onlinecourses. Computer literacy varied within the

mining industry depending largely on

workers' job skills requirements or other

experiences with computers and the Internet

at home. Wider work efficiency issues were

also related to computer literacy in the mining

industry, particularly for workers accessing

online organizational information and

administration systems. Compared with the

literature data this suggested that computer

literacy skills cannot be assumed to be

uniform within organizations and there is a

need for awareness of equity of access issues

to online learning for some staff.

There was support for using computer

systems and programs that workers are

already familiar with and to develop simple,

relevant design to encourage confidence in

developing and accessing online learning.

Online learning, then, needs to be considered

in terms of existing computer systems to make

the transition easier for learners.

The reported low reading literacy levels inthe mining industry could have an important

impact on the design of learning materials.

This issue was not mentioned in the literature

data which could again indicate assumptions

being made about the learners. The

importance of this factor in the mining

industry suggests that reading literacy levels

need to be considered for planning the design

of the online courses and the level of text and

visuals used to allow equality of access to

online learning.

In the mining industry there were alsoconcerns that workers at the lower levels may

not have the motivation to learn unsupervised

online. Explicit motivations to learn were

confirmed as important in the literature at all

levels to overcome this reluctance, for

example: promotions, pay advancements,

structured individualized training plans or

directions and reminders from supervisors for

just-in-time learning. Providing structured

times to do online learning or access to a

supervisor as a mentor if required was also

utilized. Thus, the organizational culture with

respect to the importance of training was

relevant.

Online learning environment

The importance of the strategic business case

for management in terms of convenience and

efficiency rather than the advantages of the

learning environment was more evident in the

literature. In the mining industry, concernabout encouraging learner awareness and

motivation to participate in online learning

was more evident. These concerns were

important ad hoc issues in the literature,

demonstrated by the lack of learner awareness

of the provision of online courses (``build it

and they will come'') and the lack of learner

motivation and drop-out rates after

implementation (Wetzel, 2001; Zimmerman,

2001).

Understanding learning preferences that

can assist with implementing appropriate

instructional design was confirmed as

important. However, doubts were raised in

the literature about learners' awareness or

understanding of available options (Lewis and

Orton, 2000). They found that when workers

were asked their preferred learning mode

before online learning implementation,

``classroom based learning'' was selected

based on their previous experience of

learning. However, the mining industry

interviews revealed that, given theopportunity, workers were able to apply their

experiences to inform their proposals for an

online learning environment.

For example, they were able to relate

previous experiences of CD-ROM

multimedia training to the need for

interaction, the use of visuals and editing

capabilities within an online learning

environment. Their experiences of hands-on

training also encouraged them to consider the

advantages of using online learning as a

complementary pre-test learningenvironment. Online learning was also seen to

challenge classroom-based delivery

experiences by offering more self-paced

learning alternatives and providing a richer

interactive learning environment than

learning from text. A supervisor in the mining

industry was keen to explore the learning

opportunities, ``Online learning encourages

you to think of other ways to learn skills. It

encourages you to think of other ways to

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deliver learning. It offers challenges that can

improve learning''. Thus, involving trainers

and workers in the planning of the online

learning environment is important.

It was interesting that the perceived needs

of an effective learning environment in the

mining industry were confirmed in the

literature by those who ``are doing it''. Online

training programs need to be easy to access

and navigate, with minimal potential for user

frustration: it needs to work. Validity,relevance, ease of editing and updating, use of

visuals and minimal text and the potential for

interaction both with the content and with

peers or facilitator were all seen as important

attributes of online training packages. In

particular, providing a structured, relevant

course structure that workers could easily

navigate was important, for example using

competency standards to structure the

framework of a course. It was also important

to provide the opportunity for self-paced

learning, where learners can select the content

on a needs basis; more experienced workers

could select relevant content, less experienced

could use a more structured step-step

approach.

Discussion and conclusions

This study identified a number of factors that

were important for implementing online

learning in the Queensland mining industry.These factors also provide a useful framework

that can be tested in further investigations of

effective online learning implementation in

other workplaces in different industries and

cultures. There were individual differences

within and between organizations and there

are areas of convergence and divergence of

expectations about the opportunities and

barriers involved in online learning

implementation.

The study revealed that implementing

online learning is not a simple process ofintroducing an online package; it involves an

understanding of external influences, existing

corporate goals, organizational culture and

structures, training goals and practices,

learners' needs, different learning

opportunities and the support processes

required. Although the main factors for

implementation could be generalized, there

were indications that the process of

implementation depends on the specific

idiosyncrasies of each organization within

these main factors. It needs to be purpose

built rather than formula driven, and

responsive to needs.

Most importantly it indicated the

complexity of views and issues that relate to

online learning by researching the views of a

wide variety of stakeholders. It is evident that

there is a need to consider the views of a range

of stakeholders' priorities for effective online

learning. The process used in this study ofinterviewing stakeholders, including the

potential learners, to determine the factors

that are important for effective

implementation across the organization, was

not evident in the literature cited.

It would also be useful to further explore

these findings in a wider context of

organizational behaviour and training. For

example:. These findings supported the concept

that organizational culture, how training

is perceived, can be a major force in

changing well-established training

approaches, including the

implementation of online learning

(Rosenberg, 2001).. Online learning was viewed as a change

process for organizations. It is well known

throughout most of the literature on

organizational behaviour that any change

process needs to be carefully and

strategically planned (Cobb et al., 1998;

Semler, 1997).. The implementation process needs to

involve all stakeholder groups to develop

a relevant online learning strategy and

ensure alignment of needs prior to

implementation (Semler, 1997; Hase and

Ellis, 2001).. A major change issue is the shift away

from classroom instruction towards

workplace learning, which is more likely

to have individual and corporate benefits

(Hase and Davis, 1999). Given the

different assessment requirements ofindustry it may be important to design a

training environment that can integrate

online learning with workplace learning.. Peoples' learning styles are different

(Kolb, 1984) and awareness of this is

important in online learning processes. In

particular, the need for self-directed

learning with experience of being only

passive learners in traditional formal

learning environments needs

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investigation in the workplace (Smith,

2000).. Without learning support and the

provision of relevant content and learning

activities, learners dropped out. Effective

support for online learning in workplaces

needs establishing (Downey, 2000;

Gladieux, 2000; Newton and

Ledgerwood, 2001; Singh, 2001). The trend of simply transforming

workbooks into online courseware is

ineffective. The effective use of the

inherent interactive advantages of online

learning needs to be investigated in

workplaces (Sparrow et al., 2000;

O'Reilly and Newton, 2001).

In order to understand better the process of

implementation it could be useful to view

online learning as an `ìnnovation'' and

compare this process with the proposals of

Rogers (1995). He argues that ``the diffusion

of innovations is a social process, as well as atechnical matter'' (Rogers, 1995, p. 4)

depending on communication channels,

perceptions of uncertainty about the

alternatives and the information available to

make a decision.

In particular it is apparent from this study

that the introduction of a major innovation

such as this needs to be strategic. There also

needs to be an openness to change by both

individuals and the organization. The process

of recognizing expectations and encouraging

communication with stakeholders during the

planning and implementation stages seems

crucial if online learning is to become

established as part of an organization's overall

learning strategy.

Many of the barriers described for

implementing online were part of a larger

problem described in terms of whether or not

the organization values learning or its being

flexible enough to include online learning in

corporate planning or training strategies.

Others (Argyris and Schon, 1996) havepointed out the importance of, and the

difficulties associated with developing a

learning culture.

Thus, there is a broader practical and

theoretical issue raised by this study that

warrants further investigation. This is the

need to examine the possible role of online

learning implementation in changing

industry's goals towards a ``learning culture'',

as discussed by Rosenberg (2001). It seems

important to ask: Do organizations and

workers need to be prepared for online

learning (Smith, 2000), or can effective online

learning be implemented that encourages new

learning contexts for organizations?

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