Management and Educational Perspective

Abstract The present study was conducted with the aim of designing a personnel training model for Maskan Bank with a learning organization approach. This research was applicable-developmental in terms of its purpose, and was conducted with a qualitative approach of content analysis. The target population consists of academic experts in the field of educational management and banking. The research participants were 16 executive experts (subject-specific experts, managers and vice-presidents of Maskan Bank) as key informants, selected by purposive sampling and snowball method considering theoretical saturation. The data collection tool included semi-structured interviews with participants and document study. For data analysis, Atride-Sterling's (2001) three-stage coding was used utilizing MaxQDA software. After analyzing the data, the network of the themes of the staff training of Maskan Bank with the learning organization approach was formulated with 36 concepts (basic themes), 9 organizing themes, and 2 comprehensive themes. The research findings showed that the characteristics of the learning organization included personal capabilities and abilities, systemic thinking, shared vision, mental patterns and models, and team learning; and the staff training process included needs assessment and goal setting, training planning, training implementation, and evaluation. In general, it can be said that considering the learning organization in training employees in the form of a comprehensive and inclusive model, the improvement of the quality of staff training and the acquisition of competitive advantage could be anticipated.
Introduction
Training is included as one of the sub-categories of staff development and promotion in the human resource development model in an organization. Therefore, one of the basic measures that make organizations efficient is the continuous development of human capital through training. In fact, training and development are the main conditions for the progress and success of any organization and contribute to competitiveness in a competitive environment (Noe, 2019). Therefore, the strategic position and importance of education in the survival and development of the organization is undeniable (Islampanah & Alvani, 2017); because through education, are the job needs of employees met and the need of employees to acquire new skills and knowledge is possible (Nazari Daulatabad & Gholami Chenaristan, 2023); and in this regard, Nzimakwe & Utete (2024) have considered the education and learning of employees in a learning organization the reason of employee performance increasing.
However, in the banking system as one of the parts of the competitive business environment, its successful growth depends on the learning organization; and commercial banks need trained and efficient employees (Lameck, 2022) to deal with the challenges of modern business. Nonetheless, it must be said that the quality of banking depends on the level of education and learning of its employees (Alavi Sang Cheshme, 2018). Undoubtedly, the most specialized and main prerequisites for training are, first of all, the development of a suitable training model, which, if not properly developed and implemented, will have undesirable effects on other training processes. Therefore, one of the leading issues for training managers is the issue of achieving a suitable training model for employees, which, according to research history, has not been researched as much in this area as in other banks such as; National Bank, Tejarat, Sepah and other banks. This issue therefore poses the most important question for the leading study, which is: what is the training model for Maskan Bank personnel with a learning organization approach?
Theoretical Framework
Human Resource Training with a Learning Organization Approach
Today, training is recognized as a tool through which organizations strengthen and improve their human assets as sustainable capital (Mohsen, 2020). Whenever the issue of poor employee performance is raised, the issue of providing employee training has been in the spotlight (Nzimakwe & Utete, 2024). Therefore, employee training is a pre-planned study of an organization with the aim of learning and developing the competencies, skills, knowledge and behavior of employees in their daily operations at the level required by the organization (Parent-Lamarche et al, 2023). With these theoretical considerations, learning organizations are a phenomenon whose pioneer founders are Schon and Argiris who proposed this issue in 1950. Following this, another expert named Senge in 1990, adapting the theories of Schon and Argiris to make it clearer and more practical, presented new principles about learning in organizations. His theory, entitled “The Fifth Discipline”, which introduced the learning organization as an organizational format relevant to the growing economic environment, was welcomed. He believed that the learning organization is actually a transition from a “mechanical” view of organizations to an organic, fluid view, requiring rapid and adaptive change in order to survive (Gronhaug & Stone, 2012). In Senge’s 1990 model, the learning organization has five general principles or components, which are: personal mastery, mental models, shared vision, team learning, and a systematic approach. Each of these components provides a vital direction to the organizational structure that is able to truly learn; to continuously expand its capacity to realize the highest aspirations and desires (Senge, 2009). In the present study, an attempt has been made to consider the main and fundamental model of the learning organization in developing the employee training model and to examine the relationships between its dimensions and components with employee training in order to discuss a system of integration of the dimensions of the learning organization and employee training and to clarify the systematic view that Senge referred to as the fifth discipline.
Research Methodology
The present study was a fundamental and exploratory study and; in terms of data collection, a qualitative study of the type of content analysis. The target population consists of academic experts in the field of educational management and banking. The research participants were 16 executive experts (subject-specific managers and vice-presidents of Maskan Bank) as key informants, selected through the purposive sampling method and the snowball method, taking into account the theoretical saturation issue. The data collection tool included semi-structured interviews with participants and document study.
Research findings
MAXQDA2018 software was used to analyze the data. The findings indicate that the Maskan Bank personnel training model with a learning organization approach has 36 concepts (basic themes), 9 organizing themes, and 2 comprehensive themes of understanding formulation. The research findings showed that the characteristics of the learning organization included personal capabilities and abilities, systemic thinking, shared vision, mental patterns and models, and team learning; and the employee training process included needs assessment and goal setting, educational planning, training implementation, and evaluation. In summary, it can be said that considering the learning organization in employee training in the form of a comprehensive and inclusive model, the improvement of the quality of staff training and the acquisition of competitive advantage could be anticipated.
Conclusion
The present study was conducted with the aim of presenting a model for training personnel at Maskan Bank with a learning organization approach. The results of this study are consistent with the findings of Gharib Navaz (2019), Hamidi et al, (2023), Atiku et al., (2022), Najafpour et al, (2020), Damirchi et al, (2020), and Sembera (2016).
In line with these findings, Nzimakwe & Utete (2024) have acknowledged that employee training is considered as the main and central driving force for effective and efficient job performance. In their opinion, today, in the human resource development model of every organization, training is considered as one of the sub-categories of employee development and promotion. Also, it should be said that employee training and development is a strategic action at the individual level that makes the individual valuable, at the organizational level improves and develops the organization, and at the national level leads to increased productivity and subsequent results (Noe, 2019). With this theoretical perspective, and in accordance with the findings, Gharib Navaz (2019) has acknowledged that the learning organization approach is effective in employee training by referring to the main categories of effective training with the learning organization approach and the interactive role of this approach to the core of training in the organization. Also Hamidi et al, (2023) has acknowledged that employee training with the knowledge and learning management approach is considered a major part of every job, and meanwhile, employees learn from each other and teach others, and the knowledge needs of employees and the organization can be successfully met. In this regard, in another study, Sembera (2016) has acknowledged in a study in the banking industry in Uganda that knowledge management and organizational learning work better than organizational training in gaining competitive advantage (cited in Hamidi et al, 2023). With these interpretations, from the participants' point of view, if the employee training process is integrated with the characteristics of a learning organization, it will help Maskan Bank in its development goals; therefore, the professional development of employees with their personal capabilities and abilities should be integrated in the form of team learning, and individual learning may be effective for an individual, but team learning with a shared perspective and systemic thinking is more effective and leads to individual and team productivity. It is suggested that, considering the importance of teachers' influence on students and considering that knowledge and skills can be acquired, learned, and transferred, it is necessary to seriously discuss and examine the characteristics and methods of training teachers in order to develop and improve their competence, so that more justified principles and programs can be developed for training competent teachers who are up-to-date and compatible with rapid developments.
Based on the explanation of the results obtained, the following suggestions are presented:
1- Banks, especially Maskan Bank, need to train their employees with a learning organization approach in order to overcome complex environmental conditions due to their environmental and local conditions.
2- One of the ways for banks to excel over other competitive and commercial organizations is to pay attention to continuous and comprehensive learning, and the learning organization approach with its dimensions can help create a competitive advantage.
3- Paying attention to the dimensions of the learning organization in training Maskan Bank personnel, including; common ideals, attention to individual capabilities, consideration of systemic thinking and mental models in employee learning with a view to team learning can motivate employees. Acknowledgments The authors gratefully acknowledge all individuals, institutions, and organizations that provided scientific, technical, administrative, or advisory support throughout this research and the preparation of this manuscript. Conflicts of Interest The authors declare that they have no financial or non-financial, personal, professional, or institutional conflicts of interest relevant to this work. Data Availability Statement The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. AI Use Statement The authors declare that no generative artificial intelligence (AI) or AI-assisted technologies were used in the preparation, writing, or editing of this manuscript. Funding The authors declare that no funds, grants, or other financial support were received during the conduct of this research or the preparation of this manuscript. Ethics Approval All procedures performed in this study were conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible institutional and national research committee.

Abstract Abstract The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of leadership behaviors of school principals in the team learning of teachers. The research population consisted of all primary school teachers of Qorve city, numbering 548 people, and a sample size of 225 people was selected from this population by simple random sampling based on Morgan's table. The research method was correlative and through structural equation modeling. To collect data, Strang.'s leadership behavior questionnaire (2005) and Bresó et al.'s team learning questionnaire (2008) were used. To determine the reliability and validity of the tool, Cronbach's alpha and confirmatory factor analysis techniques were used; the desired reliability and validity of the tool were indicated by the results. To analyze the data, structural equation modeling was used by Lisrel 10.20 software. The results indicated that: task-oriented leadership behavior of school principals had a positive, direct and significant effect (0.27) at the 0.05 level on teachers' team learning with a t value (4.98). Also, the Person -oriented leadership behavior of school principals had a positive, direct and significant effect (0.50) at the 0.05 level on teachers' team learning with a t value (9.34). The dual leadership behaviors of school principals are able to explain 38% of the variance of teachers' team learning, which has a t (8.41) and indicates the significance of the explained variance of teachers' team learning by the dual leadership behaviors of school principals. Extended abstract Introduction Although team learning is one of the most effective and important processes in teams, through which teams are able to improve and develop their knowledge and skills (Shoukat et al., 2023), leadership plays a crucial role in the formulation, implementation, and development of team members' rules during teamwork to ensure successful team work (Hariharan & Anand, 2023). This is because team learning involves exchange, discussion, and development of knowledge, ideas, and structures, receiving feedback, and reflecting on teamwork, analyzing and learning from mistakes, and how to avoid them in the future (Lehmann-Willenbrock, 2017). Therefore, leadership behavior is considered as a necessary facilitator for creating conducive conditions for participation in team learning behaviors, such as creating a safe environment, and is considered a significant and fundamental enabler (Koeslag-Kreunen et al., 2018a). Leaders can indirectly facilitate workplace learning at these levels through their leadership behaviors (Wallo et al., 2022). However, team members do not automatically engage in team learning behaviors; as this can lead to problems. For example, differences in levels can result in non-constructive dominance by members with more authority, and members may experience excessive cognitive load when faced with unstructured tasks. Therefore, it is argued that participation in team learning behavior should be encouraged through leadership behavior (Van der Haar et al, 2017); as leadership behavior involves formulating a clear set of expectations for achieving organizational-individual goals through influencing and accompanying others, utilizing organizational resources, and facilitating individual and collective activities, in a structured guidance (Zhang et al, 2022). Or it is defined as "the process of influencing others to understand and agree on what needs to be done and how to do it, and facilitating individual and collective efforts to achieve common goals" (Yukl, 2010: 8). School organizations, like other organizations, consist of various issues and goals, so they have the ability to adopt a team-oriented approach to the school workforce, mainly teachers, and explore team-related issues in schools with an emphasis on teachers in the form of work teams and school managers as team leaders for research. Various research has been conducted in diverse organizations, including the school organization, on how leadership behavior can support team learning behavior, for example.Hariharan & Anand(2023); Lundqvist et al(2023); Shoukat et al(2023); Abdolmalek & Ghanbari (2022); Koeslag-Kreunen et al(2020,2018a,2018b); Ghanbari et al (2017); Chatalalsingh & Reeves(2014); Imants et al(2013) & Nouwen et al (2012). In analyzing the duties of teachers, it can be said that school teachers have two types of adaptive and developmental duties, which team learning facilitates these duties implicitly and explicitly. Therefore, team learning of teachers is influenced by the leadership behaviors of school administrators, in a way that the leadership behaviors of school administrators can be an effective factor in team learning of teachers and facilitate it. Therefore, by correctly recognizing leadership behaviors and employing them by school administrators, we can go beyond adaptive duties in teachers, especially innovative duties, in the context of team learning. As can be seen, studies and theories only indicate the relationship between leadership behavior and team learning, and it cannot be accurately said which type of leadership behavior has a greater impact on team learning. Therefore, in order to clarify this research gap, the researchers of this study considered the faculty of primary schools as a team and examined the effects of various leadership behaviors of school administrators on team learning of school teachers in order to clarify the exact role and effects of various leadership behaviors of school administrators on team learning of teachers. The information obtained from this research can assist school administrators in selecting and employing effective and useful leadership behavior in order to create, strengthen, and develop team learning of teachers. Therefore, our question is whether the various leadership behaviors of primary school administrators have a significant effect on the team learning of their teachers, and which type of leadership behavior has the greatest impact on the team learning of teachers? Therefore, the main question of this research is whether the dual task-focused and individual-focused leadership behaviors of school administrators have a significant impact on the team learning of teachers. Theoretical framework: Team learning behaviors are crucial, especially for team performance and effectiveness; therefore, it is essential for teams to strengthen team learning behaviors (Gerbeth et al, 2022). Team learning behaviors are defined as team activities in which team members engage to perform tasks effectively; therefore, teams that share and exchange knowledge among their members, create shared understanding and new knowledge, engage in constructive blending and discussion of opinions, and reflect on their teamwork are recognized as exhibiting team learning behaviors (Widmann & Mulder, 2020).To understand when leadership is effective in teams, research typically observes leadership from a behavioral perspective (Koeslag-Kreunen et al, 2018a). Burke et al (2006) distinguished two main behavioral styles: individual-oriented and task-oriented team leadership behaviors. Clearly, these behaviors can stem from vertical and shared team leadership resources. Individual-oriented leadership behaviors: are behaviors that encourage communication, support self-governance, and motivate team members to move beyond their individual interests. Attention, empowerment, and transformational leadership have been recognized as specific accepted leadership behaviors with a focus on the individual (Burke et al, 2006). Since attention refers to creating a positive space for cooperation and open communication and emphasizing relationships and team members' well-being, it is supportive of team learning behavior (Carmeli, Tishler & Edmondson, 2012). Empowerment leadership means actively developing self-governance skills in team members (Burke et al, 2006). Transformational leadership attempts to assist team members in surpassing their individual interests and taking action towards problem-solving by creating challenges and fostering creativity (Bass & Avolio, 1994). Overall, it is argued that individual-focused leadership behaviors strengthen team learning behaviors through encouraging communication, supporting self-governance, and going beyond individual interests.- Task-oriented leadership behaviors: These behaviors emphasize the task of team members by providing information on tasks, task structure, and monitoring team performance, and include 1) boundary-spanning, 2) structural facilitation, and 3) transactional leadership (Burke et al, 2006). Boundary-spanning involves examining the environment for new information, networking, and negotiating for team resources (Ancona & Caldwell, 1992). Additionally, Burke et al. (2006) argue that boundary-spanning activities guide teams towards task accomplishment based on available material resources and organizational strategies. Structural facilitation refers to defining team tasks, work methods, goals, and outcomes (Dong et al, 2017). Finally, Ashauer & Macan (2013) suggested that task-oriented leadership with a focus on team tasks and performance can encourage members to demonstrate their competence for the task, thus encouraging them to participate in team learning behaviors. Methodology: The research population consisted of all primary school teachers of Qorve city, numbering 548 people, and a sample size of 225 people was selected from this population by simple random sampling based on Morgan's table. The research method was correlative and through structural equation modeling. To collect data, Strang.'s leadership behavior questionnaire (2005) and Bresó et al.'s team learning questionnaire (2008) were used. To determine the reliability and validity of the tool, Cronbach's alpha and confirmatory factor analysis techniques were used; the results indicated the desired reliability and validity of the tool. To analyze the data, structural equation modeling was used by Lisrel 10.20 software. Discussion and Results: According to the results of structural equation modeling analysis, task-oriented leadership behavior of school managers has a significant, positive direct effect(0.27) on teacher team learning (p=0.05) with a t-value of 4.98. Similarly, individual-oriented leadership behavior of school managers has a significant, positive direct effect (0.50) on teacher team learning (p=0.05) with a t-value of 9.34. Dual leadership behaviors of school managers can explain 38% of the variance in teacher team learning, which is significant with a t-value of 8.41, indicating the significant variance explained in teacher team learning by dual leadership behaviors of school managers. The fit indices of the model are as follows: the ratio of chi-square to degrees of freedom (1.47), RMSEA (0.045), CFI (0.97), GFI (0.95), and AGFI (0.93). Based on the fit indices in the path analysis model, it can be concluded that the ratio of chi-square to degrees of freedom indicates a good fit between the conceptual model and the empirical model. The value of RMSEA is within an acceptable range. The values of CFI, GFI, and AGFI also indicate a good fit for the structural model. Therefore, it can be said that the structural model of the study has a good and acceptable fit. Conclusion: In explaining the results of the research, it can be said that Hoch (2014) argued that the distribution of leader behaviors among team members can help resolve their non-constructive conflicts and support members in providing unique information. Therefore, individual-centered leadership with encouragement, modeling, empowerment, and power control in teams that have adaptive and developmental tasks enhances learning. Bucic et al (2010) showed that for performing adaptive tasks, transformational leadership behaviors encourage participation and urge team members to maintain their boundaries. As a result, teams are able to collectively create new ideas. Additionally, Nouwen et al (2012) highlighted that integrating considerations and strengthening leadership behaviors enhances team learning for performing adaptive tasks, as these leaders maintain close social relationships, respect, trust, and group cohesion. They encourage speaking up through modeling and requesting feedback, and demonstrate how to provide feedback. Their actions encourage self-leadership and leadership skills. However, task-centered leadership has limitations for learning in teams with adaptive tasks. Bucic et al (2010) showed that for teams with adaptive tasks, transactional leadership supports team learning behaviors as it provides structures and processes and subsequently reinforces structured routines. Nevertheless, McKeown (2012) and Nouwen et al (2012) discovered that in teams with adaptive tasks, team leaders can excessively control work processes, which hinders team learning. Moreover, they demonstrated that if team leaders do not involve team members in decision-making or share goals and actions with the team, team confidence (in each other and in the leader) decreases and team learning motivation decreases. Therefore, it can be said that individual-centered leadership behavior is essential for supporting team learning, and our findings contribute to understanding the timing and application of this behavior. Leadership behaviors strengthen team learning through individual and task-centered behaviors displayed by a unified leader and team members, including leadership behaviors such as building trust and relationships, empowering and challenging team members, and structuring tasks and goals.