The Impact of Workplace Learning on Organizational Commitment and Career Satisfaction in Chinese Firms
Authors:   Asia-Europe Perspective Association, Bi Chen Rui , Lee Ki-Eun 
Published: June 2018

Under the turbulent enviornments, the companies tries to attain competitive advantage and to improve the performance and pay much attention to develop the abilities of employees. The traditional educational programs used in many companies have shortcomings. It is difficult for traditional educational program to be given to employees at the point they want education and to consider the individual difference of employees. Therefore, many companies come to get interests in workplace learning in which work and education is not separated.
Marsick & Watkins(1990) have divided workplace learning into three types. First, formal learning is given to employees usually in classroom and very structured. Second, informal learning usually happens outside classroom and the level of structured learning is very low. Finally, incidental learning is by-product out of unintended activities like personal interaction or trial and error.
There are many studies to review conceptually and to use qualitative methods among the previous studies which have been conducted about workplace learning. Some studies which have used quantitative approaches have been dealt in aspect of education. Until now, there are few studies to be performed in China.
Even though Chinese firms have made rapid growth, most of Chinese firms have not provided sufficient training opportunities to their employees. The purpose of this study is to analyze the influences of three types of workplace learning on organizational commitment and career satisfaction and the moderating effects of supervisory support on their relationships in Chinese companies. The reason that supervisor support is selected as moderating variable in the relationship between workplace learning and organizational commitment and career satisfaction is that supervisor is the representative person to make enormous influences on employees in most of orgnaizations.
The total 381 questionnaires collected from Chinese employees who were working in Dalian, China were finally analyzed.
In order to test hypotheses, hierarchical regression wes used and the demographic variables such as gender, marital status, age, education, tenure, position, and type of companies were controlled in regression analysis.
The results obtained in this study are as below.
First, workplace learning partially makes positive affects on organizational commitment. Formal learning and incidental learning in the workplace learning are positively related with organizational commitment.
Second, workplace learning partially makes positive affects on career satisfaction. Informal learning and incidental learning in the workplace learning are positively related with career satisfaction.
Finally, the moderating effects of supervisory support in the relationships between workplace learning and organizational commitment and career satisfaction.
In conclusion part, the results of this study were summarized, implications of those results were discussed in academic and practical aspects. Limitation of this study in terms of methodology and the difficulty in questionnaire collection were checked. And finally, future directions of study on LMX among Chinese employees were suggested.