E-LEARNING LIMITATIONS AND POSSIBILITIES ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF MANAGERIAL COMPETENCES

Abstract

The increasing in the use of new information and communication technologies, especially internet, in the formative processes of organizations has not generally been followed by critical thinking. Research on online distance learning, or e-learning, conducted by organizational institutions are recent, especially in Brazil. This article intends therefore to contribute to this discussion, proposing a study on the use of e-learning in the development of managerial competence. To do so, a case study of a hybrid managerial formation program at a financial institution based in São Paulo, focused on the development of competences, was undertaken. The technique of in-depth semi-structured interviews has been adopted, both with the staff responsible for the programs implementation, and the managerial participants. In addition, the virtual environment and its structure have been analyzed, as well as the human resource documents that contain the guidelines of the program. The analysis of the program formation proposition was based upon e-learning studies by Rosenberg (2002), Moore and Kearsley (2007), among others; for the discussion of the competence development, the holistic model of Cheetham and Chivers (1996, 1998) was considered, as well as the competence concepts by European authors Sandberg (2000), Le Boterf (2003) and Zarifian (2001). The results of this study have revealed the limits and possibilities of managerial competence development when assisted by technological tools.