Abstract
Web-based learning (WBL) of the asynchronous type provides great potential for today’s managers and professionals to upgrade their knowledge and skills. Managers and professional staff, unlike full-time students, have to balance work, family and learning commitments. However, most research focuses on full-time students, with less concern for managers and professional staff. In this study, we adopt the ethnographic method to conduct a case study of the learning behavior and experience of managers and professional staff in an asynchronous Web-based Strategic Management course. Taking an interpretive stance, we reach several important findings: contingencies exist and influence learning behavior; deadlines play a significant but different role for different learners; learners spend more time and effort on an asynchronous Web-based course; learners adopt different strategies and build for themselves different combinations from the same set of teaching materials; and learners struggle to create for themselves a “classroom” where none in fact exists. These findings are substantial and contribute greatly to our understanding of how managers and professional staff learn in the asynchronous WBL environment.
Recommended Citation
Ong, Chorng-Shyong and Wang, Shang-Wei, "Learning behavior in an asynchronous Web-based executive program" (2005). ACIS 2005 Proceedings. 56.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/acis2005/56