Practice-Based Learning - Essay Example

? Practice Based Learning Practice Based Learning A Reflective Account of Practice Based Learning Starbucks is a U.S. coffee retailer industry which is situated in around fifty different countries in the world which focuses on quality as being the main area of concern when selling it to other companies. All the coffee we drink nearly originates from the south of the globe, majorly East Africa. In East Africa, excluding the country Kenya, coffee is made by owners possessing a small area of land (an acre or two). Tasks Carried Out By Ethiopian Farmers: The initial tasks of all the functional activities that are involved in the making of coffee are carried out by the Ethiopian farmers. In Ethiopia, there is a coffee growing region called ‘Yirgacheffe’ where these farmers start their work from the early hours of the day. The raw coffee cherries that enclose the coffee bean grown by the hard work of the farmers are sold by them in a local farming cooperative market. The farmers are paid in accordance with the weight of the raw coffee beans they have brought in their sacks. If the farmer happens to be selling the coffee cherries many times to the local farming cooperative market, the cooperative then advances the farmer’s capital to invest before the harvest. Sometimes the farmer accepts advance cash from a middleman who is willing to buy his harvest below market price. The farmer does that in order to be able to invest on his farming activities and also be able to feed his family with that amount of cash. When the farmers have harvested the coffee cherries, the cherries are taken to his home and kept for drying outside. The pulp on the coffee cherries are removed in order to get the enclosed coffee beans out. This task is done by the female workers. The coffee bean is fermented in water and then scoured. After that it is kept outside for getting dried and become ready for further processing. The farmers’ main concern is to harvest and sell quality coffee to Starbucks so that their customers remain satisfied. They involve themselves in the careful picking out of coffee cherries from their farms which meet the criteria put forth by Starbucks in order to maintain the standard of quality coffee that Starbucks has always provided to their customers. When Starbucks purchases coffee beans from the farmers, they first critically evaluate the beans in order to make sure that they meet the quality benchmark. Starbucks work with farmers who are consistently providing them with quality coffee beans and secure their jobs. Community of Practice Concept in Business Functions A Community of Practice (coP) concept is a collection of people sharing a common interest or a profession. The group can have a variety of purpose. It can also include just the goal of gaining knowledge related to their area of interest or it can grow as time passes by and with experience. The main idea of this concept is that the members of the group help each other to grow and develop. A coP can exist online also. In case of the Starbucks farmers’ issue, a coP can be established in order to help the farmers learn more about quality standards. Kim, Park and Prescott (2003) in their book discuss about business functions. They discuss about the manner in which multi-national companies’ businesses are assimilated, how global industries synchronize and monitor research and development (R&D), marketing as well as manufacturing functions across the borders that have high potential for performance. According to their recommendation, global industries should use definite integrating modes as it will be more operative than other modes in comprehending and incorporating a business function globally. Each business function has a different combination of integrating modes. Taking example of global R&D, people based and information based modes are more operational than formalization based and centralization based modes. Such involves the coP concept as in R & D, people based and information based approach is more operative, the use of coP concept in this case would certainly be beneficial. Taking the Starbucks farmers’ issue, coP concept can be used to create an R & D group in which the Ethiopian farmers and company professionals can engage in research activities as in how can the quality of coffee be further improved or any other issue. In this way, people and information both are participating. Moreover, for the marketing business function, information based and centralization based are seen to be more efficient. In the end Kim et al. concluded that people based and information based modes are generally more operative as compared to other modes for the synchronization of business worldwide. Hence, we can conclude the coP concept can be used in business functions in order to make them operate in an efficient manner when business is a global business. CoP has many advantages and it is successful mainly because of the presence of three reasons: social presence, motivation and collaboration among people of the community. What I Have Learnt My knowledge regarding business functions has enhanced. Also I am able to understand how business functions are integrated in order to form the supply chain of an organization which is running globally. All business functions are necessary for each other in order to bring out a desirable outcome. Such as the processing and incoming order business processes, may require the inventory management system, the customer records, banking systems and the like to contribute to these business functions. The contribution would help these business functions to be carried out proficiently. According to my understanding, a business process allows the collaboration of information between people, communities, organizations and the government also in order to acquire a business cause. Business processes are legal in nature. In the Starbucks example, the flow of business processes is observed; starting from the farmers and their coffee beans and then being sold to Starbucks who are the roasters and then finally reaching the customers. (Williams, 1967). Description of Nortel Case The Nortel Company is an industry characterized by skills, knowledge and expertise of its workforce. The company focuses on career planning aspects of its employees. For effective career planning outcomes, the company focuses on the aspects of learning, development and enhanced skills set. It uses web technology to promote self-learning through web tutorials and training modules. The occurrence of economic recessions is difficult phase for companies. Usually, companies tend to lay off some of their employees which create uproar on the part of the workforce and they tend to establish negative views about the company. However, the Nortel Company manages this aspect quite efficiently through the use of strategic human resource management techniques. Hence, the remaining employees working at the company after lay offs, work with the same spirit and motivation as they had been working. Instead of developing negative feelings, the remaining employees have positive feelings maintained and remain wiling to work for the company. The use of cross-functional teams and innovative exposure for its employees, the Nortel Company expands their creativity which cannot be expanded if the job descriptions were static in nature. For example, an operation manager does not just manage the operations but he also fulfills the supply chain objectives. This is also an example of career planning and development. Nortel Company also brings outsourced projects and this has helped further learning and training and thus an expansion of skills set and competency on the part of employees. Instead of hiring more people into the Company in order to compete with the market, Nortel focuses on the development of its employees present within the company which reduces extra labor costs. This strategy is an overlap of the HR strategy and business strategy of the Company which suggests that the HR is consistent with the organizational objectives of the Nortel Company which are cost effectiveness, innovation and sustained competitive advantage. Nortel Company is in the process of implementing an EPR system. The complete aspects of the EPR system have not yet been implemented. Critical Analysis and Recommendations: Nortel Company deals with transfer of goods and services; therefore, Supply Chain Management should be a part of the EPR system that is in the process of being implemented. Furthermore, information systems should be effectively utilized in the change of processes within an organization and this can be done only if all the stakeholders of the organization participate. The Company should develop an outline for all the stakeholders so that they know how to participate in the establishment of information systems for bringing changes. If the stakeholders are reluctant in the changing of the business processes of the Company, then the implementation of information systems could be hindered. Therefore, the stakeholders should be made fully aware of the changes that would take place and their advantages for the Company. Many times, the implementation of information systems consumes excessive money and time. The Company had previously tried to implement information systems; however had faced problems. Therefore, while implementation, the previous problems that had been encountered should not be ignored as it could lead to the high consumption of money and time. Furthermore, the Company’s environment should be supportive and compatible. This would allow smooth implementation of the information systems. A Retrospective Commentary According to my learning and understanding, practice based learning occurs when the people of the Company are learning from their previous mistakes, sharing information with each other, helping each other to develop and grow; and consequently changing or improving their business functions and practices through evaluation and performance measurement. Some business practices that tend to harm the company and do not allow the company to stay up with the competition in the market, the company needs to alter the business practice. Business practices that continue to help the company progress remain in the company and are not altered. In Starbucks case, the industry is a multi- national industry and it has a huge supply chain. The main mission of the company is to maintain the quality of coffee. And in order to do that they need the farmers to produce and sell quality coffee beans. Hence, use of community of practice concept which is a practice based learning approach, would allow the collaboration of knowledge to be shared among the farmers and the professionals in the company. The criteria established by the Starbucks for the farmers to maintain quality and sell quality is a good step. As Starbucks works worldwide, it thus has global functions. Therefore, it business functions should incorporate the coP in order to have a competitive advantage in the business world. In Nortel case, the Company focuses on HR strategy more as it focuses on the employees career planning and development as a means to gain competitive advantage in the business world. Instead of hiring more employees, it focuses on spending money on training activities and the like for existing employees. It also uses the coP concept as it uses cross functional teams. Such teams involve the sharing of information. Therefore, where there is sharing of information, there is growth and development as well. Some business functions include: marketing, manufacturing, human resource management, management of other resources and many others. I understood that the presence of practice based learning when these functions are being carried out could be very beneficial for any company who wants to maintain demand, quality and competition in the market. Companies can maintain their standards only if the members of the company all are energetically involved in information sharing and helping each other to grow. Each employee should have motivation and some inspiration to make the business functions work efficiently and effectively. This could mainly be done if companies establish the HR strategy such that it follows the business strategy and not vice versa as it would not be that beneficial. References Dufresne, T. & Martin, J. (2003) "Process Modelling for E-Business" INFS 770 Methods for Information Systems Engineering: Knowledge Management and E-Business. Spring 2003 Williams, S. (1967) "Business Process Modelling Improves Administrative Control" In: Automation. December, 1967, pp. 44 - 50 Read More