Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 PhD in Public Administration, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran.Corresponding Author: nkavand@yahoo.com
2 Professor, Judicial Management Department, University of Judicial Sciences and Administrative Services, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
In today's fast-paced and changing world, all the evidence points to the centrality of the human role in overcoming problems, opening bottlenecks, creating advanced technology and producing various technologies. In this field, managers are the foundation stone of any organization, and the organization can achieve capability and development if it is properly managed and has skilled managers. Therefore, in this article, an attempt has been made to examine the unlearning of managers in skill enhancement in the digital age. The present study is a mixed-method research, in which data were collected through semi-structured interviews with elites of the Tax Affairs Organization who were selected through a purposeful method. The validity of the interview was assessed through a formal and content judgment approach based on the opinions of 7 experts (who had experience working or collaborating with the Tax Affairs Organization and were familiar with academic and organizational issues in the field of tax affairs). And the reliability was calculated and confirmed by the percentage of agreement method between the two coders as 85 and 88 percent, respectively. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Ultimately, 60 basic themes, 10 organizing themes, and 3 super themes were obtained. The validity of the results of the qualitative section was verified by using the Kendall correlation test and referring to experts in the field of qualitative studies, who were evaluated and approved in a targeted manner. The results showed that managers' skills, including technical, human, and perceptual skills, are significant at three levels: senior, middle, and operational managers. Also, three key factors in understanding digitalization (having a digital vision, critical thinking, and cognitive flexibility), Digital platforming (redefinition of tasks and responsibilities, adaptability and adaptability, digital literacy, digital mindset) And leading changes (social-emotional intelligence, networking, reflective thinking) are essential skills for managers to succeed in the digital journey of organizations.
Keywords: Unlearning, skill-building, transformational, digital age, managers..
Introduction
Organizations investing in digital transformation, They will prepare for the future scenarios and will be ready to overcome the challenges of the market(Li et al.,2023).There are many factors in the way of keeping up with the developments of the present age, among the main obstacles is the lack of required skills and experience(Jones et al.,2021).Therefore, organizations and its members must abandon beliefs, norms, values, procedures and routines and outdated knowledge to gain new knowledge in order to achieve success and survive in this changing and extremely chaotic environment, the lack of ability of organizations and their members in this matter,or in other words, unlearning, is the fundamental weakness of many organizations and their members. Organizational ability to unlearning allows organizations to adapt better and faster to new situations(Vătămănescu et al.,2020). Unlearning is an important step to strengthen learning and innovation for organizations and their members, but it is doubly important for managers. Because they influence organizational performance through the values, personalities, behaviors and strategic choices they make. Regarding the influence of managers in organizations, they must fundamentally change their skills along with the changes of the current era, which is referred to as the digital era. Managers have a central role in overcoming crises and effectively exploiting the opportunities facing organizations in the digital age.They identify opportunities and allocate resources, and evaluating the competitive landscape, creating a digital transformation roadmap and setting and developing digital transformation strategies will be the foundation and facilitator of the digital journey of organizations.In this regard, the specific needs of the organization's digital journey require abandoning outdated skills and new skills specific to managers.Therefore, the aim of the present study is to analyze the unlearning of managers in skill enhancement in the digital age.
Literature Review
Unlearning is the abandonment of a particular set of knowledge, values or behaviors stored in memory, which are no longer relevant or valuable.This process occurs when individuals and organizations become aware that they need to acquire new knowledge, values, or behaviors. Since organizations do not have mental activities and cannot learn on their own, it is the people within the organization who must carry out this process(Kmieciak,2020). Therefore, unlearning is a process that first occurs at the individual level and then spreads to the entire organization(Itacaramby Pardi metal,2023). Unlearning in the organization is the reorientation of organizational values, norms and behaviors by changing cognitive structures, mental models, dominant logic and central assumptions, which guide the behavior. It can improve skills, as it helps change old skills. Skill is the ability to effectively apply personal knowledge and experience and the continuous ability of a person to perform a task quickly and accurately. Management skills are of particular importance due to the key role of managers in ensuring the success and efficiency of an organization or team(Suryakant Chandekar,2023). Management skills are the tools through which managers put their favorite style, strategy and techniques into practice.Efficient managers have many skills, which allows them to effectively lead and direct their team towards achieving the set goals.
Methodology
The present study is a mixed-method study, and data was collected using semi-structured interviews with 15 managers of the Tax Affairs Organization who were selected using a purposive and snowball method. The interview questions were reviewed with a formal and content judgment approach based on the opinions of seven experts who had experience working or collaborating with the Tax Affairs Organization and were familiar with academic and organizational issues in the field of tax affairs, and were calculated to be 85 percent, which according to Chin (1998), is a very desirable value. Therefore, the validity of the instrument is supported (Moghadam, 2016). In order to examine the reliability of the interview protocol, the percentage of agreement method between the two coders was used. The reliability coefficient of the interview protocol in this study was 88 percent, which was approved by the researchers as a desirable reliability percentage. The collected data was then analyzed using thematic analysis. After conducting the qualitative stage and identifying the factors of unlearning in improving the skills of managers in the digital age, a research model was designed. Then, in the quantitative phase, the validity of the results of the qualitative section was evaluated using the Kendall correlation test. Therefore, a questionnaire was designed based on the results of the qualitative section and the Likert scale. In order to assess the validity of the questionnaire, the opinions of 7 experts were used, and after making the necessary corrections, its validity was confirmed. The reliability of the questionnaire was also examined based on Cronbach's alpha, and all questions obtained values above 0.7, confirming the reliability of the questionnaire. Next, a panel of experts in the qualitative field, who were selected through purposive sampling to conduct interviews, was formed and the designed questionnaire was provided to them. Then, the data obtained from collecting questionnaires were analyzed in three rounds using the Kendall correlation test.
Discussion and Conclusion
The purpose of this study is to analyze managers' unlearning in skill enhancement in the digital era.For this purpose, a semi-structured interview was conducted with experts. And the data were analyzed using the theme analysis method,which obtained 60 basic themes,10organizing themes and3advanced themes.The results showed that according to Katz's(1955) classification, managers' skills include technical, human and perceptive skills, which are significant in response to digital transformation at the three levels of senior, middle and operational managers. Based on the results, all three types of management skills are necessary for managers at every level, but the depth and need of managers for some skills is more than other managers at other levels. The traditional skills of managers in environments that are changing rapidly, It can add complexity and be misleading. Path dependence mechanisms should be challenged by unlearning managers' skills, because they inhibit managers' innovative and creative abilities. Therefore, based on the data, basic measures are taken to unlearn the skills of managers with the aim of increasing their skills in the digital era, which is a response to the changes and instabilities of this era, can be categorized into three key actions:"Understanding digitalization","Digitalization platform"and"Leading change".Digital infrastructure refers to formal organizational structures, processes and resources, which are created to enable digital transformation. The data shows, managers provide a formal basis for digitalization by creating a digital mindset, acquiring digital literacy and re-engineering tasks and processes.Based on the data, critical thinking, cognitive flexibility and having a digital perspective are skills, which provides the possibility for managers to develop targeted actions and responses and prepare the organization for the challenges created by digital transformation.
Knowledgeable and successful managers must overcome challenges by adopting strategic and general solutions.This requires progressive changes in management skills so that managers can facilitate the organization's digital journey.Based on the data, the leading changes include skills such as reflective thinking, social-emotional intelligence, and networking.
Keywords
)