FOREIGN TRADE UNIVERSITY

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QUALITY MANAGEMENT
Individual mid-term assignment

Topic:
University and business linkage in fostering lifelong learning of corporate employees.

Instructor: Prof., Dr. Le Thai Phong

Student: Ho Huy Hoang – 1810280009
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Abstract
In a rapidly changing world, the ability of lifelong learning determines the
existence and development of business organizations as well as individuals. Lifelong
learning in business organizations can be facilitated by cooperation with universities. The
study aims to explore the current role of business-university linkage in fostering
employees’ lifelong learning. Results show that employees recognize the value of such
linkage, however have not fully acknowledged the importance of lifelong learning as well
as sufficiently equipped with relevant fundamental abilities and skills. Business and
universities are responsible for improving their cooperation to further fostering lifelong
learning of employees.

I. Introduction
The world has been in a progress of continuous changes. With the blast of
technology advances, this progress even accelerates from day to day. New products,
ideas, processes, approaches, and massive ways for things to be done are introduced to
the world, changing the way that economy and society behaves compared to how it used
to be. Along with the innovation comes also new problems and issues that humans have
never been facing in the past. As the overall conditions get increasingly volatile, the
knowledge, abilities, and skills set of today may be merely something useful in the near
future. Individuals, in general, have to keep changing, transforming, improving, and
evolving, to adapt and catch up with the change of environment and conditions that we
are living in.

The major way that humans can get themselves changed, transformed and better
from time to time is through lifelong learning. In the context of business, new situations,
conditions and problems arises requires new alternatives and solutions, otherwise the
business is likely to be left out of operation. To keep the business a going concern
requires the organizations to encourage, facilitate, and bring action to foster the lifelong
learning of their human resources. Skills, abilities and capabilities for lifelong learning of
human resources now become a major competitive advantage for organizations, and this
is likely to stay true even for the future. However, not every business organization can
address such requirement by themselves. Instead, the linkage and cooperation with

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education organizations, for example university, is essential and vital to achieve the
objectives.

Recognizing the importance of business-university linkage, as well as of the

lifelong learning matter with employees, the research group conducts a study about this
relationship. The studies point out that although a large portion of employees recognize
the importance of linkage with university, they only recognize the importance of lifelong
learning at a certain level. Business and universities are recommended to maintain and
keep improving their cooperation, further educating about lifelong learning and
supporting the enhancement of relevant skills and capabilities of the employees.

II. Literature Review

In daily common conversations, learning is generally known as activities related

to seeking, receiving, and absorbing new knowledge. Under the perspectives of
psychology with recent related advances, (McCombs, 1991) discussed that, in principle,
learning is a process by an individual to construct meanings from information and
experience. This process is unique for each person with their own thoughts, feelings, and
perceptions, and at the same time under influence by external factors such as social
interaction and communication. Lifelong learning is simply described by (Healy, et al.,
2014) as “ongoing, voluntary and self-motivated learning”. The concept of lifelong
learning is usually used not only about learning propositional knowledge, but also skills
and competences ( (Steven & Fallows, 2000), (Raven, 2001) ).

Researching about the constitution of agency in developing lifelong learning

abilities, (Su, 2011) discussed three modes of learning: “having”, “doing”, and “being”.
In the “having” mode, knowledge is considered a thing to have, and the ultimate focus of
learning is the acquisition and internal constitution of knowledge and skills. With this
approach, the learner’s self and the learning context merely receives light weights. In the
“doing” mode, the learning process takes into account not only the learner’s knowledge
but also their corresponding action in a certain context. The focus of this approach shifts
to optimization of performativity, and learning now is an instrument to maximize market
power and economic wealth, however, not a force for its own ends. In the “being” mode,
the focus of learning is no longer its consequences to the world, instead the learner’s

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subjectivity. With this approach, the learner and the world are not separate from each
other, and the learner now not only experiences but also adheres to the dynamism of their
context.

In each mode of learning, there comes a corresponding approach for the concept
of lifelong learning, which is summarized in the below:

Learning mode Primacy Lifelong learning description

Having Knowledge A perpetual process of acquiring knowledge
(Content-based)

Doing Process A continuous social and processual phenomenon

(Action-based) beyond learning disciplines

Being Learner Ontological learning as a way of being in and

(Person-based) connected to the world

Among the three modes of learning, (Su, 2011) argued that lifelong learning
needs to be viewed in the “being” mode so that learner’s affect, thoughts, and action link
together to constitute a full sense of agency. The learners do not learn as a reaction to
problems, but rather a proactive desire to either adapt, avoid being left behind, be
challenged, or improve for their own sake.

(McCombs, 1991) reviewed past literature and summarized that individuals, in the
absence of insecurity, are naturally motivated to learn. This motivation is impacted by the
external environment with impacts on their feelings of being respected and cared. In
business context, for example, (Zimmermann, 2020) discussed that employees’ voice is a
contingent matter which is responsible for their access to lifelong education. Lifelong
learning also has been perceived as a model of career development, and learning
initiatives have been used to implement organizational change (Fulmer & Gibbs, 1998).
Businesses can bring to their employees the access to quality teaching and learning
opportunities through capable, flexible, and responsive universities (Healy, et al., 2014).

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III. Research methods and Data collection

For the study of the role of university and business linkage in fostering lifelong
learning of corporate employees, the research group collects data in forms of responses to
a questionnaire. The questionnaire consists of two main parts. The first part contains
questions of the personal information of the respondent, from their demographic
characteristics to the categories and industry of the organization they are working for.
The second part is about the status of cooperation between their organizations with
universities or other kind of higher education institutes, including groups of question
focusing on respondents’ opinions about the business-university cooperation, about
aspects of lifelong learning, and about their experience, objectives, and capabilities
related to lifelong learning. In this part, respondents give their answer in form of a score
in a 5-Likert scale, reflecting their agreement to provided statements within the
questionnaire, with score of 1 is highly disagree and 5 is highly agree.

The collected data is a sample of 368 different employees coming from 368
organizations. This sample is made up of 149 male respondents and 219 female
respondents. They are categorized into five groups of work experience period, from less
than three years to more than fifteen years, and also 5 groups of age from less than
twenty-five to more than fifty-five. The organization of these employees are either in
private sector, public sector, or foreign invested, operating either in the industry of
agriculture, forestry and fishery, manufacturing, construction, or service.

IV. Results and Discussion

First, data is grouped together to identify whether the organizations of the

respondents had any history of cooperation or linkage with a university. Among 368
organizations, 360 (97.83%) of them had or currently having cooperation with university,
and only 8 reported never had cooperation history. The detailed results are as follows:

Business entity type History of cooperation with university

Past Present No history
Private 51.16% 39.53% 9.30%

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Limited Liability 39.02% 59.76% 1.22%

Joint Stocks 44.59% 54.05% 1.35%
Sole Trader 0.00% 100.00% 0.00%

Business sector History of cooperation with university

Past Present No history
Private 49.95% 51.38% 3.67%
State-owned 38.51% 60.14% 1.35%
Foreign Invested 42.24% 55.86% 1.80%

Business industry History of cooperation with university

Past Present No history
Agriculture/Forestry/Fishery 44.44% 53.09% 2.47%
Service 41.61% 56.93% 1.46%
Manufacturing/Industrial/ 41.38% 55.86% 2.76%
Construction
Others 0.00% 100.00% 0.00%

The tables further indicate that either when grouped by type, sector, or operating
industry, most business organizations had or are currently having cooperation with
university. The research group looks further into responses of employees in these
organizations to identify their opinions regarding the necessity and the perceived benefits
from the cooperation.

Perceived benefits from Score Had cooperation Currently cooperating

business-university cooperation
Response % Overall Response % Overall
mean mean
New knowledge 4 47.1% 47.3%
4.333 4.266
5 43.1% 39.6%
Affirmation of knowledge 4 51.6% 4.353 50.7% 4.290

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5 41.8% 39.1%
Skill improvement 4 50.3% 50.2%
4.235 4.227
5 37.3% 36.7%
New channel for 4 43.4% 46.9%
4.508 4.300
professional development 5 49.3% 41.5%
*Extracts from analysis. 4 = Agree. 5 = Highly agree.

Opinions regarding business-university cooperation Had Currently

cooperation cooperating
Mean Mean
Cooperation is necessary 4.425 4.464
Cooperation is beneficial for both parties 4.340 4.324
Cooperation is beneficial for community 4.431 4.391
Cooperation requires two-way efforts 4.294 4.333
Cooperation requires transparent mechanism 4.414 4.498
*From 1 = “Highly disagree”
to 5 = “Highly agree”
For each in the four proposed benefits from university-business cooperation, the
score of 4 and 5 make up nearly 90% or above of the total number of responses, and
mean is significantly high at more than 4. It can be indicated that employees highly
agreed that they actually perceived those benefits. This is consistent with the result of one
question asking the sources from which employees have been acquiring new knowledge
for the last 12 months and they reported a mean score of 4.326 for the answer of
university, a highest figure among total 10 proposed sources. With benefits actually
perceived, it is reasonable when employees showing positive agreement about the
necessity and benefits of business-university cooperation, and even for the community.
Additionally, they support the idea that two-way efforts and transparent mechanism are
required for such cooperation.

To identify the opinion of employees about the concept of lifelong learning, the
research group summarize relevant groups of responses.

Opinions about lifelong learning Mean score

Lifelong learning is necessary 3.790
Lifelong learning is for all ages 3.459

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Lifelong learning contributes to social and economic purposes 3.429

*From 1 = “Highly disagree”
to 5 = “Highly agree”

In general, employees showed a positive attitude towards the concept of lifelong

learning, that it is necessary, not subject to age-related restrictions, and contributes to
social and economic values. The results stay similar regardless of whether respondents
are grouped by work experience, age, gender, or their major when in higher education.
However, although the mean score in all situations is higher than the average scale (3),
there is still a significant gap to argue that employees highly acknowledge and
completely recognize the importance of lifelong learning.

Next, the research group considers the objectives that can be served by lifelong
learning from the perspectives of the employees:

Purpose of lifelong learning Mean score

To maintain and enhance current professional career 3.535
To improve personal living 3.270
To get promotion 3.375
To learn a new language 3.679
To establish a company/business 3.810
To acquire new knowledge as personal interest 4.008
To extend opportunities to other careers 3.973
To achieve a recognized certificate 4.054
To get a pay raise 3.810
To prepare for retirement 3.837
To acquire new knowledge in a particular area 3.764
To come back joining labor forces 3.813
*From 1 = “Highly disagree”
to 5 = “Highly agree”

Of 10 surveyed objectives, all received a score which is higher than average scale
of 3. Employees seem to agree that lifelong learning is useful in many contexts and

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situations, and may help as an instrument for many different objectives of different
individuals.

Moving to the next section, the research group conduct some summary about the
employees’ skills and abilities that are fundamental and essential for lifelong learning.

Skills Opinion of Demand for

importance improvement
Mean score Mean score
(1) General knowledge 3.519 3.777
(2) Self-presentation 3.666 4.676
(3) Interpersonal cooperation 3.785 2.414
(4) Learning and studying 4.242 2.158
(5) Evaluation and problem-solving 3.981 3.368
(6) Produce innovative ideas 2.929 2.128
(7) Work organization and administration 4.149 2.845
(8) Interpersonal administration 4.063 2.139
(9) Computer-based skills 3.822 1.839
(10) Internet-based skills 4.627 3.804
(11) Using technical instrument 4.270 3.673
(12) Using non-native languages 2.782 4.082
*From 1 = “Highly disagree”
to 5 = “Highly agree”

In the summary table above, the skill of producing innovative ideas is evaluated
with importance below the average scale of 3, and at the same time employees reported
having little demand for improvement of this skill. Skills number 3, 4, 7, 8, 9 are rated
with significant importance by employees, however, their demand for improvement is
insignificant. The skill of using non-native languages is rated below average scale, but
subject to a significant of demand for improvement. Finally, general knowledge, self-
presentation, using technical instrument, and internet-based skills are those that are both
rated at significant importance and being in a significant demand for improvement.

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Regarding the lifelong learning abilities of employees, the research group collect
data about 13 relevant sub-elements. There is no significant variance between the mean
score of these elements, with all in a range around 3 and 4. The overall mean of abilities
is measured at 3.835, indicating that employees already have a quite high score of
lifelong learning abilities, but there is still room for improvement.

V. Recommendation & Conclusion

The result shows that cooperation by business organizations with university is
already a common practice. Such cooperation is also rated and evaluated favorably by
their employees. Therefore, it is recommended that business and university may should
not spend more effort in encouraging and educating employees about the necessity,
importance, and value of the cooperation between business and university since the
matter is already aware of. Rather, the efforts should be spent on building two-way
coordination as well as developing transparent cooperation mechanism. More
importantly, business should focus on optimizing the benefits from cooperation with
university, treating this as a huge opportunity for their employees to advance their
lifelong learning practices.

Results also show that employees spend a certain attention and give certain credits
for the importance of lifelong learning, which is a positive signal. However, lifelong
learning is a matter that should be viewed of much more importance than current. This
can be considered a space for university and business to play their role of further
fostering lifelong leaning by their employees, through the improvement and development
from established cooperation. Cooperation programs should shift more focus on helping
employees improving skills that are important and being significantly demanded for
lifelong learning, which may include general knowledge, self-presentation, problem-
evaluating and solving, internet-based skills, technical instrument usage, and non-native
languages. The enhancement in important set of skills and abilities would play a vital role
in supporting employees to pursue their lifelong learning path. Ultimately, although it is
true that lifelong learning can serve for many different purposes of different individuals,
they should be educated that lifelong learning actually should be treated as a force for its

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own ends, similar to the “being” mode of learning, not as a tool or an instrument to other
targets. Only that approach would result in true and pure process, meaning, and value of
lifelong learning.

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References

Fulmer, R. M. & Gibbs, P. A., 1998. Lifelong learning at the corporate university. Career
Development International, 3(5), pp. 177-184.
Healy, A., Perkmann, M., Goddard, J. & Kempton, L., 2014. Measuring the Impact of University
Business Cooperation, Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
McCombs, B. L., 1991. Motivation and Lifelong Learning. Educational Psychologist, 26(2), pp.
117-127.
Raven, J. C., 2001. Competence in the Learning Society. New York: Peter Lang.
Steven, C. & Fallows, S., 2000. ntegrating Key Skills in Higher Education: Employability,
Transferable Skills and Learning for Life. London: Routledge.
Su, Y.-H., 2011. The constitution of agency in developing lifelong learning ability: the ‘being’
mode. High Educ, Issue 62, p. 399–412.
Zimmermann, B., 2020. Employee voice and lifelong education capabilities in France and
Germany. International Journal of Training and Development, 2(24).

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