St George Bank Corporate Performance Centre - Human Resources - Essay Example

?Running head: Adult Learning St George Bank Corporate Performance Centre - Human Resources Insert Insert Grade Insert March27, 2012 St George Bank Corporate Performance Centre - Human Resources Introduction Literacy was traditionally viewed as the ability of an individual to read, and communicate using symbols in a defined social context. In this context, a literate individual can ‘derive and convey meaning, and use their knowledge to achieve a desired purpose or goal that requires the use of language skills, be they spoken or written’ (Farrar, para.1). Such an individual can reorganize the meaning of a given language from one knowledge base to fit in another knowledge base. The concept of literacy has evolved over time with the changes that are observed in the society so that in the modern setting it has grown to include knowledge of the applications of information communication technologies and other critical literacy in the daily operations (Farrar, para.1). The use of modern technology such as computer and the internet is common in the current work place to facilitate various organizational functions. The organizations are showing increasing concern on customer satisfaction in order to attract and retain customers as one of the strategies for competition. Customer satisfaction will in turn be influenced by the quality of service provided (speed, accuracy, and convenience). The application of modern technology is appropriate in achieving this objective. The employees need to be conversant with these modern technologies to ensure that they are effectively applied at the workplace. However, this may not be achieved since some of the employees are illiterate and this hinders their ability to learn and understand the application of such modern technologies. There is thus a need for organizations to have programs that enable the adult employees to learn the modern/emerging skills applicable in workplaces. St George Bank, a financial institution operating in Australia, has developed an understanding of the need to equip its employees with the modern skills and technologies applicable in the industry. For a long period, the non-whites and other marginalized groups in Australia had poor access to good training for industrial applications. This led to the development of training reforms with the initiation of programs such as Towards a Skilled Australia (1994-1998), A Bridge to the Future (1998-2003), and Shaping Our Future (2004-2010) all emphasizing on the essence of adult literacy and numeracy skills (Smith, 273). This has set pace for adult learning in different organizations within Australia. This paper focuses on various aspects of adult learning and training employed at St George Bank, Australia. The use of adult learning principles to develop workforce at St George The level of literacy has been relatively high in the general population in Australia in the past few decades with low levels of literacy recorded for indigenous students (Department of Education Science and Technology, 2012). These individuals move on to become employees in organizations. However, significant developments are often recorded in the operations of organization necessitating training and development programs for the employees. Such employees will be trained at older ages applying the principles and processes in adult learning. Adult learning is necessary to enhance a change in the skills of the adults, their behaviors, their knowledge level, or attitudes and thoughts towards some concept (Russell, para.2). The learning process among adults may take a different dimension from that observed among the young learners, largely because the adults have had some experiences and expanded individual understanding of a given concept. Significant differences are observed in the ‘degree of motivation, the amount of previous experience, the level of engagement in the learning process, and how the learning is applied’ (Russell, para.2). Generally, an effective adult learning process will occur if there is an environment created for cooperative learning. St George Bank has made use of various principles of adult learning in the improvement of its workforce. A remarkable application of adult learning principle is the application of a blended learning solution that aims at providing high quality learning support (Case Study). An important principle of adult learning is motivation. Proper adult learning occurs when the learner is fully convinced of the need for the sought-after information (Russell, para.3). The trainers need to ensure that the adult learners understand the purpose for which some training intervention is organized (Adult learning principles.doc, para.20). This explains why the bank has blended the traditional classroom approaches with more proactive learning approaches that motivate the learners. Adults will be motivated to learn a concept when referred to some moment when they had undergone difficulties that could be solved with the expected knowledge. They are touched by internal motivators such as self-esteem as opposed too external motivators (Adult learning principles.doc, para.7). The adult educator should strive to show concern and share with the adult learner the positive learning experiences. Adult learners also get into the training when they have deeper and broader life experiences as compared to young learners, which will affect the learner’s perception of the entire learning process (Adult learning principles.doc, para.4; Russell, para.4). With proper guidance from the adult educator, the adult learner is capable of linking the past work and educational experiences to the current learning experiences. It enables the learner to develop some meaning out of the learning process. To show an understanding of this principle, the Corporate Performance Centre at the bank has shifted focus from the traditional learning style and development function to focusing on skill development and improvement of workplace performance (Case Study). This considers that the learners have had some experience of the concept under investigation and they differ quite significantly from first time learners. The centre has designed its programs to go beyond the provision of basic technical skills to providing technical skills that match the changing business needs and demands (Case Study). Adult learning principles and development of corporate learning systems Different aspects of the adult leaning can contribute to the development of corporate learning systems. A significant aspect of adult learning is that it becomes successful when the learner determines the timing, nature, and direction of the learning process (Russell, para.5). The adults will be comfortable when they are allowed to make decisions on what they want to learn. The adult learning principles require that the adults be allowed to plan for their training and develop a self-assessment and evaluation program for their instruction. The educators need to understand this but impose some minimal control to ensure that the learning process stays on course. The learners should be allowed and encouraged to participate actively in the learning process with the assessment performed through self-evaluation (Russell, para.5). This helps in cultivating a spirit of teamwork in them. Both the educator and the adult learner need to be patient with each other to achieve this. This has also been applied at St George. The Corporate Performance Centre uses a flexible mode of delivery that makes learning ad development stand out as key business partner to the bank (Case Study). The learning at the CPC is collaborative with appropriate performance tools used to assess the learning outcomes. Besides, adult learning is also characterized by an immediate application of the learned concepts through demonstrations, application exercises, and discussions (Russell, para.7). This often motivates the learner to seek more about a concept. The adults are concerned with learning concepts that are closely connected to their jobs. They do not consider the wider content of a given subject but rather the application of a given concept to solve specific problems that arise at work. In a similar perspective, adults learn when they have gained a wealth of life experiences that can be appropriate in designing the learning objectives. The learners will be seeking to develop solutions to problems they have encountered and the mistakes they have made before. Learning as a team will bring in various experiences and schools of thoughts and opinions that promote the understanding of a concept. The bank has shown concern on the effectiveness of its learning programs through its pre- and post-coursework programs. Such programs require the learners to relate the experiences that they have obtained in the learning process to the real life experiences (Case Study). Contribution of learning programs to continuous organizational improvement The learning programs in an organization are concerned with training and development of the employees. Training and development (T&D) programs in an organization are necessary to ensure effective performance of the workforce of the organization. The programs, which apply to nearly all categories of employees in an organization, enable new employees of an organization to adjust to workplace (Encyclopedia of Business, para.1). The programs may include provision of specific job skills as well as long-term professional development of the employees. While training focuses on specific objectives such as learning a concept, procedure, or operation of machinery, development focuses on a wider scope covering concepts such as decision-making or goal setting (Encyclopedia of Business, para.2). Computers became an important component of business and industry as from the 1980s and 1990s and this necessitated the training of employees of an organization on the relevant computer applications (Encyclopedia of Business, para.11). This became the root of most computer training and development programs adopted by organizations in the contemporary world. Through the training and development programs, the employees get to learn application of modern technology in business operations. The integration of computer training in the operations of an organization help in improving the productivity of the business firms (Ingram, para.3). The traditional on-the-job training of the employees was often characterized by huge losses in productivity. Training an employee while providing services to the clients may lead to customer dissatisfaction, as the customers may not be served promptly (Ingram, para.3). Thus, computer training on a controlled setting improves customer satisfaction of the services of the business organization thereby improving productivity. The training programs also benefit the employees. With the current level of technology, computer skills are a necessity for almost all jobs (Ingram, para.2). Most potential employers consider individuals with skills and experience that match the current trends. Majority of the available office jobs will require the applicants to computer skills such as typing skills or data entry skills, alongside the knowledge of office productivity software such as word processors and spreadsheets (Ingram para.2). Training on technology application that covers these concepts will enable the employees to engage with these employers easily. In other words, it improves the potential of an employee in the job market. The employee can readily take on another employment when the previous engagement is halted. The role of technology in facilitating employee learning Technology is an important component of the contemporary work place and this necessitates technology training (Ingram, para.1). Technology plays an important role in improving the quality of learning in a normal classroom environment. The concepts that were traditionally taught by teachers in a classroom environment can equally be delivered using modern technologies such as computers. Technologies are seed as knowledge construction tools that enable the learners to provide their thoughts and develop some knowledge base (Kidd & Chen, 200). The employees of a given organization can engage in ‘ethics courses, jobs skills training courses, leadership training courses, safety courses and anything else on a computer’ (Ingram, para.5). The use of technology in continual training programs for the employees improves their competencies resulting to an overall comprehensive employee development. At St George, technology is first used in the management of the hundreds of courses that are provided to meet the needs of the bank (Case Study). The institution has various e-learning programs customized to meet its needs. Similarly, technologies provide a social media platform for communication and proper collaboration among different partners involved in the learning process (Kidd & Chen, 200). Technology improves communication between the educator and the learners thereby enabling an effective learning environment. The Online Performance Support Tools used at St George enable the managers to manage different real life situations encountered in their continual training and other operations. These tools can be used in the scheduling of meetings, proper organizational management, the selection, and recruitment of employees through appropriate interviews, and in performance evaluation among many other applications (Case Study). Technology is applied in assessing the progress of the learning process, which is an important part of adult learning. The integration of an employee self-service portal (HRXpress) and e-laminate at St George enables an assessment of the completion of training courses of thousands of employees in the organization (Case Study). However, the above benefits may not be realized easily. One of the factors that may limit the use of technology in the learning program is poor planning by a given institution in relation to the use of technology. In fact, poor plan will reflect on most of the other barriers to effective use of technology in learning. Technology will be used effectively in an organization if it is contained in the vision of the organization (El Semary, 23). There is need for institutional support for the use of technology to be effective in facilitating learning (Butler and Sellbom, 26). The other factor that limits the use of technology in the learning process is inadequate professional development. Some researches have indicated that educators are often passionate about integrating technology into the learning process, and yet they still feel they are not very ready to apply these tools in the learning process (El Semary 23). One of the reasons for such reluctance could be poor professional development on the side of the educator. Similarly, the technology will only aid the learning process if the learners are computer literate. High levels of computer illiteracy among the employees will require that they be first trained on the use of these modern technologies before they technologies can be applied to facilitate the learning process. The reliability of modern technology is also a limiting factor in its application in learning. The unreliability is connected with factors such as software incompatibility, short-lived bulb, outdated software, or slow internet connection (Butler and Sellbom, 23). Such factors lower learner motivation. The use of technology is affected by the availability of resources for learning including time. Some organizations have reported that it takes a long time to learn new technologies and their applications in a learning environment (Butler and Sellbom, 25). The educators could also find it difficult to apply technology in the learning process due to shortage of the modern facilities (El Semary 23). Few computers in a learning environment will not allow every individual to have proper access to the learning medium. This eventually affects their adoption of technology in the learning process. Conclusion Programs aimed at promoting adult literacy are necessary in countries like Australia where there inequitable access to education in the early times. Organizations have shown concern on training and development of their employees in order to enable the employees to acquire the modern skills and techniques that are applicable at work. This is achieved through technology training programs. St George Bank has realized the need to promote training and development of its employees, an initiative that has seen increased customer satisfaction by the bank’s services. This has translated into rapid growth that has been recorded in the organization in the recent years. St George applies some principles of adult learning such as freedom to choose what to learn and how to learn in designing its training programs. The organization applies technology on promoting learning among its employees and the use of technology in training has certain benefits. However, some difficulties are encountered in learning or applying the technologies. Works cited Adult learning principles.doc. Helping adults learn in the classroom, n.d. 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