Staff Learning and Development in Organizations - Essay Example

STAFF LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT IN ORGANIZATIONS INTRODUCTION Education is an on-going process as has always been d. It is a continuous development of ideas, continuous gathering of information for the betterment of an individual or an organization. We are in the information era nowadays, wherein, wealth and success is measured in the coverage of information one has. They say that if one has a wide array of sources and ideas, he is considered mighty. He can never be mislead or swindled. In an organization, the success of it is measured on the ideas that the members are contributing to the association. Information contributes a lot to the realization of an organization's goals and objectives. Thus, continuous staff learning and development is important to achieve such goals. Information is relevant in any type of work. This paper aims to evaluate the staff learning and development procedures of selected organizations gathered trough the use of the website or internet, magazine and newspaper. It aims to explain which learning theories underpin the case presented, the logic of using those theories, the rewards and motivation used and the impact of such learning and development program to the individual staff and to the organization as a whole. COMMENTARY A. SOURCE FROM WEBSITE The organization being analyzed is the University of Maryland Libraries, which is a group or a department in that particular university responsible of providing the needs of sources of information for the students researches, studies, assignments and so on. With the increase in the demand for sources of information of the students, faculty, staff and the university, they have transformed and developed their strategies in response to this increasing change to provide their users quality service, to achieve the organizations' goals and objectives and to improve the organization's performance through staff development. They had applied the Learning Theory of Learning as Understanding (RM Gagne, J Piaget, and BS Bloom) with which, they used the cognitive processing of information to internalize principles, integrate perceptions into existing models. They had conducted seminars, conferences and launched curriculum specifically for the purpose of upgrading the quality of services provided by their library staff. As a result of such staff learning and development, the employees of that department had received intrinsic rewards and motivation. The library personnel had become self-driven meaning, they had the initiative to perform actions necessary for the improvement of the whole organization, they developed personal ambitions and the desire to understand and solve problems with their own. As a whole, the organization had produced and maintained a diverse population of improved and skilled library staff contributing to the success of the organization. B. SOURCE FROM MAGAZINE The issue presented on the source from the magazine is about upgrading the proficiency of test questions given to students and the quality of teachers. The issue is to conduct statewide testing to ensure that students are performing well and to assess the quality of teachers with regards to the results of the statewide test. The Achieve, a group of governors and business leaders that pushes for high academic standards is the organization responsible for training and developing quality teachers in the said state. They had adopted the learning theories of BF Skinner which involves stimuli and consequences; reinforce responses through reward and praise. The output of the said statewide testing determines the promotion and salaries of the teachers. It is then with this reason that the teachers and different associations concerned had help each other to provide students quality materials which they can use to upgrade their academic capacities. They had provided the students books, journals, magazines, CD-ROMs, multimedia, web links and the like. In terms of motivation, teachers received greater rewards, higher pay and promotion qualifications. They had been driven towards independence and responsibility which suggests facilitation not teaching (Rogers). They had also applied Vroom's expectancy theory which is the choice of behavior depends on assessment of likelihood of achievement. The Goal Theory is also noticeable where in they have harder goals of achieving academic excellence and achieved it through smaller steps encouraging greater interest. C. SOURCE FROM NEWSPAPER Shangri-La Resort and Hotel, the Asia Pacific's leading luxury hotel had joined staff development program sponsored by e-Cornell. Management staff had been sent for courses necessary for the learning of new skills and knowledge for the continuous improvement and maintenance of the Hotels' quality service. Learning theory applied is learning as understanding, wherein cognitive processing of information to internalize principles, to integrate perceptions into existing mental models, alter models for new perceptions and cognitive dissonance and balance beliefs/experience had been applied. Active agent, personal, subjective, dependent on context, assign meaning to knowledge from experience is also present known as learning as knowledge construction. For staff development, they had been undergone through seminars, conferences and training courses. As a result, greater efficiency and improved service had been visible to the whole company. ARTICLES USED AS SOURCES A. SOURCE FROM THE WEBSITE E:The Learning Organization, UM Libraries.htm University Libraries, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-7011 (301)405-0800 Please send comments and suggestions to the Libraries' Webmaster. Content questions should be directed to Information Provider. Last modified: December 21, 2006 2006 University of Maryland Libraries Last Revised: April 2006 The Learning Organization The University of Maryland Libraries is committed to becoming a team-based learning organization. In response to the changing needs of the University and the changing information needs of faculty, students and staff, the Libraries have renewed and transformed their commitment to quality service. The Libraries have begun a systemic change process with the emphasis on the development of staff to improve the organization's performance. Emerging principles shaping the organization include: Valuing the importance of learning and education that will lead to improved service to customers, Assessing and improving work processes through process re-engineering, Fostering shared decision making and accountability among library staff, Forming self-managing teams, Developing shared leadership by strengthening the leadership skills of all library staff, and Changing the culture of the organization by creating and nurturing a shared vision and set of values by which all staff can live. The UM Libraries have adopted Peter Senge's definition of a Learning Organization in which he describes a learning organization as "a group of people continually enhancing their capacity to create what they want to create" (The Fifth Discipline, 1990). All library staff is key participants in becoming a learning organization. This requires a commitment to the ongoing process of learning, growth and development. TheLearning Curriculum, launched in May 2001, is a comprehensive learning and education plan of over 150 content hours that focuses on individual and organizational development. It is a plan for all library staff to develop the skills needed to become members of teams and to improve the way we operate as an organization. For details visit theLearning Curriculum Website. Three programmatic areas support the Libraries' individual and organizational advancement and work closely together to provide resources and tools for library staff. Organizational Development The Organizational Development Office supports the efforts of the team-based learning organization through the planning and design of systems and processes, and training and facilitation for teams, units and workgroups. Staff Learning and Development The Staff Learning and Development Office provide educational programs and resources for 300+ staff in the Libraries, under the umbrella of the Learning Curriculum. The staff of the office collaborates with the Assistant Dean for Organizational Development, the Personnel Programs Coordinator, and other individuals and groups in the Libraries. Personnel Programs The Libraries Human Resources Office (LHRO) provides human resource management programs and services to Library faculty, staff, graduate assistants and student employees. By doing so, the LHRO helps the Libraries maintain a diverse population of motivated and skilled staff. B. SOURCE FROM THE MAGAZINE Schools Search for the Best Test Friday, Jun. 15, 2001 By JODIE MORSE printed in the TIME Magazine A teacher at Vail Middle School goes over a proficiency test with his students AL BEHRMAN/AP On the same day the Senate passed its version of President Bush's education proposal containing strict new provisions for statewide testing, Education Secretary Rod Paige lunched on rubbery chicken and chatted about urban education at an event hosted by the conservative Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. Asked the inevitable question about the growing backlash against high-stakes state exams, Paige paused for a moment and gave a curiously honest answer: "We know there are some bad tests out there." Then he launched into his spiel about the importance of assessments to ensure that no child is left behind. With the legislation requiring annual reading and math testing for every child in grades three through eight, the issue of test quality has never been more crucial. Already students and teachers across the country are protesting dumbed-down school lessons and walking out of exams amid swirling headlines of massive scoring blunders by the testing firms that dominate the burgeoning K-12 testing market. While nearly every state already conducts standardized tests in one form or another, just 15 give annual exams that determine everything from grade promotion to teachers' salaries. The race is now on for the rest to roll out an estimated 260 new exams and snap up the $320 million in federal funds allotted by the Senate for assessment design. "We ought to be very concerned that we get tests of high quality and not just an increase in the quantity of exams," cautions Matthew Gandal, the vice president of Achieve, a group of governors and business leaders that pushes for high academic standards. "There are many ways to do this on the cheap." Test-prep companies aren't waiting around to see that final product. Kaplan and Princeton Review - seasoned by years of providing SAT and ACT Prep - and upstart TestU are doing brisk business in the K-12 market producing everything from CD- ROMs and guidebooks meant to help students as young as third graders prepare for state exams to staff development seminars for teachers. This month Kaplan even published a book, "Crusade in the Classroom," which promises to tell parents exactly how President Bush's reforms will impact their children's lives. TestU has gone a step further, charging individual schools over $20,000 to give students access to individually tailored online test prep regimens. Scads of other new products are set to debut this fall. For many education advocates, this boom in coaching services is the most worrisome ripple effect of the Congressional legislation. "Schools are already getting test prep materials instead of library books," says Monty Neill, the executive director of the National Center for Fair & Open Testing. "There are some quality controls for state testing, but almost none for coaching." And nothing to say that, despite new federal funds reserved for private tutoring services for kids in failing schools, those coaching services will be available to rich and poor students alike. It's hardly a surprise that folks would rush to cash in on the first significant education reform in decades. One can only hope that it will be parents and kids who profit the most - as opposed to the many firms now pledging to leave no child behind. C. SOURCE FROM THE NEWSPAPER Shangri-La launches employee online courses thru e-Cornell The Manila Bulletin, April 1 2005 Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, Asia Pacific's' leading luxury hotel group, is joining with e-Cornell training program for the first time to launch e-learning courses for the company's management staff from 1 April 2005. Three thousand spaces will be offered over the next five years for online professional development in hospitality. An e-Cornell certificate will be awarded to those completing any of the 57 online courses in five areas: human resources management; management essentials; hospitality and foodservice management; strategic management and financial management. A Cornell university certificate will be awarded to an individual after completion of a series related courses. "This e-learning program will provide a platform for our employees to expand their knowledge base with a degree of time flexibility," said Giovannni Angelini, chief executive officer and managing director. "Such a commitment to staff development is critical, given our rapid worldwide expansion plans." The group has over 20 projects under development in Canada, mainland China, India, Malaysia, Maldives, Oman, Philippines, Qatar, Thailand and the United Kingdom. Hong Kong based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts currently manages 46 hotels under the Shangri-La and Traders Hotel brands, in Australia, mainland China, Fiji, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates with a rooms inventory of over 21,000. REFERENCES 1. The Learning Organizations, University Libraries, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-7011 (301)405-0800, April 2006 from the web http: www. the learning organization, UM Libraries.com 2. Jodie Morse, TIME Magazine, Schools Search for the Best test, June 15, 2001 3. The Manila Bulletin, Shangri-la launches employee online courses thru e-Cornell, April 2005 Read More