Organizational learning and development report - Essay Example

? Organizational Learning and Development Report Electrocom Limited is faced by the market pressure and a need to allow for organizational learning and development instead of employees learning and development. For Electrocom Limited to change its current tactics of employee learning and development to organizational learning and development it needs to apply several methodologies. This report analyses how the company could change from employee learning and development to organizational learning and development. The ability of an organization to integrate employee’s learning and development with organizational learning and development determines its survival and productivity in accordance with the customer’s demands and preferences. Organization learning and development has been viewed in different perspective by different individuals and organizations. Organizational development is concerned with improve a business’s performance and personal development of its workers. Each business should be perceived as a coherent system made up of different parts. Organizational development as a procedure comprises of methodologies and gains in tactical arrangement, organizational plan, headship development, training, variety and balance between employment and life (Kozlowski & Salas 2009, p. 48). Learning is gained either from the individual level or team level. Organization learning and development can be summarized by figure one and two. In reference to Kozlowski and Salas (2009, p. 28) work, an organization may learn formally or informally: Informal Learning is the learning that the organization sets its targets, goals, and objectives to be achieved by itself while in formal learning, the organizations departments sets their targets, goals, and objectives and how to achieve them within the given time frame. However, both formal and informal learning is not involved with the learning but rather the person who directs the organization towards the achievement of the set goals and objectives. Informal learning relies on four main organization’s principles, which include context, cognizance, experimental, and relationship. Relationship learning occurs from interaction of individual or organization during their production. Cognizance learning occurs when an organization intents to learn about an aspect or a situation occurrence has forced the organization to learn. Context learning occurs outside the formal learning setting that is from either observing how differently thing are done by other organizations. Lastly experimental learning happen when an organization experiments a procedure/process then draws conclusion from the results achieved (Kozlowski & Salas, 2009, p. 30). Figure one below summarizes formal and informal learning activities. Figure 1 Factors Facilitating Learning in Organizations Learning can be described and expressed in different ways, individuals and organization can use different approaches in learning. Learning is a combination of cognitive and a behavioral procedure whereby new ideas end up to new behaviors and/or new actions lead to new ideas. Cognitive and behavioral change may happen simultaneously to improve concepts or may be separated by a time lag. The difference between a mere undirected action and learning is that cognitive development is either a pre-action incident or a result of innovated actions or capabilities. Learning is progressively seen as an active, public, and dynamic procedure, passed through individuals reflecting and acting together. The quality of learning socialization between people and societies is a major resource that needs to be grown and sustained. Learning has a close connection with knowledge; it is the procedure that brings on a change in cognition and/or behavioral actions. Know how is dynamic; it happens to be useful, and picks on significance as an employee applies it to the organizational challenges. The concept of knowing refers to employees’ capability to advance, combine, and exchange their thoughts and expertise through job related practice. Learning is gained using a cognitive process of reflecting or an active behavioral process. Through applying, embedding, and spreading of knowledge learning is maximized. For firms to remain viable, it must manage employees training and make sure that the employees use their know how to boost the company’s production. This knowledge in an organization helps the employers manage their employees training and development. For example, a company may invest so much in employees training and development yet it is not offering the employees a chance of being productive. Learning in companies is a procedural pursuit, happening through employees, between groups, teams, and societies and implanted through programs, standards and other organizational elements explained as follows: At the personal level, know how is acquired and accrued in the learner’s mind and actions. At the team or community level, social relations and combined initiatives allow members to gain, surface, merge and apply knowledge. Community knowledge is kept in cognitive mechanisms like group schemas, mindsets, and norms, and by the use of behavioral techniques such as protocols, routines, and practicing standards (Kozlowski & Salas 2009, p. 105). At the organizational stage, as know how is captured and embedded in employees’ minds as schemas or in company’s features like norms, structures, systems, strategies, and processes, the organization grows its context. As a result, the organizational background manipulates the upcoming learning of individuals and teams/groups, combining the focus of their knowledge and how the learning processes are spread, leveraged and applied. The users of this tradition propose that embedded know how means that the organization has undergone a learning process and has learned Figure 2 Organizational Learning and Development Model Figure 3 Organizational Development Organizational development is described as a technique or methodology used to bring change in a section of an organization or the whole organization with a vision of advancing the organization’s effectiveness. Organizational development possesses features such as it is a planned procedure of change, it applies behavioural science know how. It targets changing the organization culture, it targets at strengthening of organization processes, structures, and strategies for upgrading organization’s efficiency and health, it applies to whole system of a group, department, or organization as contrary to the aspect of a system, it aims at long-term institutionalization of emerging activities such as functioning of self controlled or autonomous work groups/teams and other trouble shooting capabilities, and lastly it surrounds process changes, structure, and strategy. Learning is a process controlled from the top (Kozlowski & Salas 2009, p. 68). Organizational development possesses the following characteristics: values of organizational development, these are the organization’s engine because all the human values are cantered and fully focused. Organizational development values include common trust and self-assurance, sincerity and open communication, shared goals, sensitivity to the senses, and emotions of others, and a pledge to addressing, and determine conflict (Kozlowski & Salas 2009, p. 94). These values can be expressed more concisely as; the individuals should be taken with dignity and respect, the organization internal environment should be portrayed by support, openness, and trust, hierarchy, authority, and power are not considered as effective mechanism, conflicts and problems should be wisely and fairly tackled, and not concealed or avoided. Individuals affected by adjustments should be integrated in its implementation (Reyes 2011, p. 89). Organizational development approaches are applied to determine how an organization handles issue affecting them. Factors Influencing Organizational Learning and Development The factors for collecting and managing know how are numerous and different in a learning organization. There are three general problems or influencing elements in learning organizations; they include, survival, history, and context. The opinion of context is internally tied to publicly constructed factors. Reyes (2011, p. 18), discusses this factors arguing that, supposition of majority of the organizational learning hypothesis is that learning is publicly build, that is, what is gained and how learning/gaining occurs are elementarily linked to the context in which learning happens. The way the culture, or context, of a company/organization operates is part of a persuading factor on the nature of teaching group it will be. One major feature of organizational learning is that, an association should not drop out on its knowledge abilities when a portion of the organization’s members leave. The notion of organizational reminiscence means that successful learning associations should not only persuade the existing members, but also forth coming members due to the norms, beliefs, and experiences that are build up along the way (Kozlowski & Salas 2009, p. 89). When a learning organization is created, the members have only solved the problem half way; it needs more efforts to make sure that the problem is solved. Unlearning several important past incidences is important to understand what has made the company exhibit unhealthy growth characters. Creating a work culture that upholds creativity and calls for innovation is essential to an organization that wishes to learn and generate new ideas/opinions or products. Leaders have a role to play in creating a favourable environment for generation of new ideas. Leader’s role in creativity training is creating a non-judgemental climate where individuals can help each other discover their unique potential and the uniqueness of their member groups. The managers to be effective in growing creative innovative thinking, they must specialise in the areas like production, learning, and planning (Kozlowski & Salas, 2009, p. 104). There are six general strategies of efficient and effective leadership practice in developing a learning culture inside an organization, they include providing with challenging working environment, providing innovation freedom between the employees and giving the needed resources for creating new products/ideas in the company. Additionally, providing variety of perspectives and culture within groups/organizations, giving supervisor support/back up, and providing groups support (Kozlowski & Salas 2009, p. 106). The second problem is the factor of history; the inference of past encounters and trials at learning or growth will influence the long-term perception of overall learning within the organization. According to Overfield (1998, p. 98), an associated feature of the learning process is a perception of the association as an embodiment of precedent learning. The notion of reminiscence as the store of either a person or organizational know how is further explicated by indication to the mental mod. This guides the organization in the acquisition and arrangement of the new knowledge. The power of an association to adopt and diffuse both old and new information will decide the permanence of growing a learning organization by the use of healthy processes. Lastly, the problem of endurance is the basic principle for developing into a learning organization. According to Reynes (2011, p. 120), the significant learning in most or all of the organizations shows that the longevity is an important aspect for learning. This is a basic concept to humans, which is survival for the fittest. For an organization to survive to the future/ perpetual succession, it must make use of the knowledge moments, and the learning must be consistent. A perfect example was provided by Kozlowski and Salas (2009, p. 134), where they claimed in their account for caterpillars convert from an over managed organization to a resilient organization. Human Resources Factors Influencing Organizational Learning and Development Different organizations have a different aspect that is they vary greatly. To understand and build what influences associations learning and development for the huge number of organizations. This would give an opportunity to many individuals and managers to learn the key factors that increase organizational learning and development in their settings. According to Reyes (2011, p. 78), the aspects of optimistic personality characters, obligation to specialized development, self-efficacy, and curiosity in the field of specialization, initiative, and devotion to learning improved the enthusiasm for non-formal organizational learning. On the contrary, an uncooperative association culture, lack of time, participation between members, and long distances between colleagues who have negatively influenced this organizational learning. Approach to human resources control and quality orientation determines the contact of employees in the organizational culture. Structure, environmental uncertainty, and profitability are not related to human resources management. The participation/ involvement of the top management boost the organization growth and management. In an organization, perception of role, extra work, and lack of motivation, confidence, unclear roles, inadequate learning culture, and lack of innovation, time, and resources negatively affect organizational learning. On the other hand, involvement, job redesign, positive perspective, enthusiasm, motivation, transparency and proper interpretation of roles, view as a strategic associate, increased accountability, a grown learning culture, top management back up, organization re-formation, and investment in personnel, and the learning culture made a notable difference in managerial culture (Reyes 2011, p. 86). Organizational learning is can be measured using the following time measures; this time measures persuade learning and development in the organization and they include simultaneity, association’s time view and course to time, synchronization and windows of chances, learning and life cycles, time pressure, and history. Time perspective: To facilitate learning, individual and groups in an organization may have different views of time management and the effect of time horizon. It is therefore very important for the top management of a company to allocate time and duties to different groups and individuals to facilitate learning and decision making in a way that is friendly with the company perspective and orientation Time Pressure: Organizations are greatly endangered by the time pressure because it affects organizations from all dimensions. For example, Organizations are influenced by time pressure from bottom-up to top-down. External and internal sources such as, suppliers, communities, and customers are also affected by time pressure since it slows down leaning process. External and internal forces are likely to paralyze learning processes and procedures due to the fear that unwanted consequences could emerge after taking an action. Simultaneity: This is the rate at which both opportunities and external events take place at the same time. The two activities could happen very fast such that learning organization could not take advantage of any. This is a very high to a learning organization because they cannot have time for those activities they value. Windows of opportunity and Synchronization: This refers to the order of events and time horizons when organizations maximize learning opportunities. Therefore learning organizations should put the best learning moments and activities at the right time period according to the priority of activities. There are times when organizations are positioned to start learning and therefore windows of opportunities are very important because they allow different activities to be carried at different times. For examples, when the risk is very high most organization are likely to survive such threats. An organization’s learning and development cycle also incorporate learning cycles and lifecycle into their activities to facilitate better understanding just like individuals learn through reflection and experiments. Organization’s learning effectiveness depends on the efficiency of the cycles. In reference to Reyes (2011, p. 120), a better formulated cycle creates a faster learning and development environment for both the employees and the organization than poorly formulated ones. For example, old organization will rarely welcome learning and development because they are mostly built on legends which are hard to change or formulate. Learning and development (adopting new practises) in those organization will be a struggle since they do not want to change their culture and tradition of doing things. New formed organizations rarely they do have a legend to keep, they change their learning and development demands to meet the demands of the market they are in (Kozlowski & Salas, 2009, p. 68). Competition and innovations will force an organization to leave its legend if at some point it is pushed into obsolete stage by the company’s competitors. List of References Reyes, M 2011, Organizational learning and development during a recession How eBay, Apple and Google foster organizational learning and development, GRIN Verlag, Mu?nchen. Overfield, K 1998, Developing and managing organizational learning: a guide to effective training project management, American Society for Training & Development, Alexandria. Kozlowski, W & Salas, E 2009, Learning, Training, and Development in Organizations, Taylor & Francis, London. Read More