Learning, Training and Development (Module of HRM)

Learning, Training and Development (Module of HRM)

The competition in the world and the swift rate of changes are emphasizing the need of effective human capital in organizations with the capability of handling diverse work environments. Learning, training and development is part of the human resource management encouraging employees in organizations in gaining knowledge and skills. Economies in the modern world are characterised with uncertainties. Organizations are engaging knowledge in building sustainable competitive advantage that is reliable. Knowledge in organizations has become part of the capital in organizations in triggering sustainable development.

Organizations have developed diverse mechanisms of delivering knowledge to the human capital, in the business context, earlier organizations; competition was based on low costs of operations and in organizations gaining specific skills or resources. In the modern context, competition is based on efficient knowledge management and possessing of knowledge (Sinclair, 2008 p. 66). Organizations in the modern era are directing resources at developing knowledge among the human capital. The resources identify with information, money, energy and time among others. Gaining knowledge in organizations has led to permanent systems of training and developing employees.

Competitive organizations are considering creating new knowledge constantly, extending the knowledge to the rest of the organization and adapting to the knowledge fast and efficiently in producing sustainable products and services relevant to the target market (Sloane & Witney, 2009 p. 355). In so doing, the organizations are considered to be learning organizations. Constant innovation is a critical tool in developing products and services that are differentiated in the target market (Taylor, 2011 p. 116). New knowledge and learning are shaping the success of organizations in the face of the competition in the business environment.

Changes in information technology have generated tremendous spread of knowledge in the world, and the same information is becoming obsolesced quickly as organizations and individuals become more and more innovative. Surveys conducted on information technology in 1900 to 1950 indicated that knowledge has doubled and the trend is generating diverse information in the contemporary world (Sloane & Witney, 2009 p. 381).

Twenty first century is characterised with turbulent, uncertain and complex business environment that require diverse sources of knowledge in managing the ever changing business environment. Educational institutions are instilling knowledge to students who are future generations, but the knowledge gaps still exist (Vemić, 2007 p. 213). The knowledge gaps have facilitated organizations in joining the educational institutions in offering advanced training and development among the human capital. The knowledge needed in the business environments is growing with each and every day. The world is full of gadgets collecting real time information that need to be analysed in coming up with useful applications (Sinclair, 2008 p. 81).

Mass production of information is a reality, and organizations are taking advantage of selecting the information that will build a competitive edge in that particular industry. Customers in the target markets are after selective purchase patterns; this has forced organizations to produce products and services in accordance with the target customers. Different customer base has different tastes and preferences. The customer demands and expectations in products and services offered by organisations have greatly changed (Taylor, 2011 p. 98). The changing consumer demands have called for new knowledge and solutions in building a competitive edge.

The increased competition in the target market is forcing organizations to keep on changing the service mix, product mix and managerial methods in increasing productivity and sales (Vemić, 2007 p. 213). The dynamic competitions are calling for sophisticated information technology, market globalization and knowledge economy; which has influenced human resources management within organizations. It has been realized that human capital is very critical in the running of organizations in developing a strategic management of the organizations.

There are differences in organizations, and this indicates that organizations are run differently; it has become complex running organizations with multicultural human capital. Different human resources in organizations have various ways of training and developing employees. The differences in running organisations do not matter, management of knowledge in organizations makes the difference, particularly in complex, globalised and turbulent business environment; knowledge in such organizations is critical in building a competitive edge (Cascio & Boudreau, 2010 p. 300).

In the traditional setup, factors of production were labour, soil and capital. The same factors of production are still relevant in the current business environment, but they are no longer considered as primary factors anymore. Acquisition of knowledge in the twenty first century is critical to thriving of organizations in ever changing global environment. Competitive edge is being developed through realising the available information in the industry of operations, and then converting the knowledge in meeting the goals and objectives of organizations.

Most of the knowledge in organizations is located within the minds of the employees, it all about motivating the employees in generating the much needed knowledge in building a competitive edge (Vemić, 2007 p. 211). Employees act as carriers of activities and knowledge in organizations; this is a proof that human resources are influential to the success or failure of organizations in the modern era. The development of organizations is limited or accelerated by the human skills and knowledge, this is the reason attached to contemporary organizations paying great attention to the human capital within the organizations (Cascio & Boudreau, 2010 p. 287). In this context, employee training, development and education are offering optimal solution to the business environment that is ever changing.

Contemporary management is after training and development of employees as a way of sustaining organizations. Human resources department are offering diverse employee training and development as a way of gathering knowledge information that is reliable and constant. Human resources in organizations are facilitating constant innovation of knowledge, creating a business environment encouraging mutual knowledge, encouraging exchange of experience and in sparking a proactive behaviour guiding to satisfaction of all the participants in fostering a competitive edge (Scarborough, 2013 p. 387).

Human Resources Management in organizations encourages a learning organization, training and developing of employees, processing wages and salaries, facilitating employee benefits, recruitment of employees and facilitating performance appraisals. Other benefits are attached to maintaining a positive work environment, motivating employees, employee satisfaction and employee productivity among others.

Contemporary learning organizations are promoting employee training and development as a way of transforming the organizations from the traditional setup to the modern setup. Individuals ignoring learning are placed at the inferior position as compared to organisations and individuals that have adapted to innovation of new knowledge (Kegan & Lahey, 2009 p. 222). Success of organizations is not only based to the educated employees but also to the learning employees. The concept of knowledge is constant, but everything else in organizations will change. Knowledge shapes the direction of the organizations in fostering a learning environment.

 

Employee Training and Development

Employee training and development in organizations is critical in generating a competitive position. A learning organization values the contributions of employees to the growth of the organization. Organizational management in the global context is valuing planned training and development of employees, which is carried out with the intention of benefitting both the employees and organizations (Dessler, 2012 p. 588). Competitive organizations in the contemporarily business environment are not only relying on existing information but also generating new information relevant to the industry. This is a proof that continuous training and development of employees is useful in improving the performance of organizations and also in developing the individual employees.

Strategic approach to employee training and development focus at encouraging creativity, shaping the organizational knowledge and in ensuring constant inventiveness within an organization. This is critical in providing an organization within differentiation and uniqueness of the products and services offered by the organisation. Education among the employees is no longer for the people in the top management teams, but to all the employees within an organization (Cascio, 2012 p. 299). Established organizations spend huge resources in fostering training and development among the employees, which results to a learning organization.

Training and development in organizations is worth the investment in building confidence of facing the changing business environment. Surveys have shown that most organisations spend roughly three percent to five percent of the revenues on adult education targeting at training and development of the employees. This has been influential in making sure that organizations are moving with the changing business environment (Cascio, 2012 p. 198). Adopting the model of a learning environment is a prerequisite in sustainability of the organizations. Education does not stop with schooling; it is continuous in every aspect of human life. Gaining knowledge in human beings has no end; it is continuous for the junior and senior employees in fostering a learning organization.

Modern organizations must innovate ways of doing work or perish. Innovation in organizations takes a logical sequence, it starts with the creation of knowledge, aligning the new knowledge with the goals and objectives of the organisations and finally, creating a competitive edge out of the new knowledge. Knowledge in organizations is considered as good, the more the knowledge, the better in running of the organizations. Not all knowledge adds value to the organization; it is only the knowledge that offers strategic importance to the organization that counts (Carrig & Wright, 2006 p. 137).

Generation of knowledge in organizations targets the needs of the organization, applicability of the knowledge to the organization, knowledge fostering innovation spirit and knowledge that counts in creating a competitive advantage. Education is critical in gaining knowledge and learning which contribute to the quality of labour the employee offers to the organization. Human resource management chooses the educational methods, educational contents, educational efficiency and the objectives of the organization to be met (Noe, 2009 p. 132). Knowledge in organisations is, therefore, critical in setting the strategies of the organization necessary for the survival of an organization in the contemporary business environment. The employees must have the necessary knowledge in addressing the problems and challenges in the business environment (Robbins & Judge, 2012 p. 600).

Training and development of employees is not only connected to gaining skills, knowledge and abilities but also promoting entrepreneurship. This is prominent in introducing change to the organization, encourage adaptation to change as part of the employee’s attitude, preparing the employees in handling business decisions and involving all the employees in the decision making processes depending on context. All employees in an organization have a set of expectations and aspirations. Leaders and managers in organizations must have the ability of managing a diverse workforce with different skills, knowledge and abilities.

Organizations must have the ability of motivating employees as a way of retaining the workforce. The performance of workers should be attached to compensation and reward systems. Employees to be retained are workers of knowledge, skilled workforce and performing workers. Human resources must make sure that the organization is not only receiving information, but also generating own information. This is important in developing a learning organization (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, 2011 p. 771). Employees in the contemporary world are not only working for money, but for other reasons depending on the expectations of the employees. Financial packages are no longer the only motivating factors in employees; employees are motivated by different things.

A learning organization

A learning organization facilitates training and development of the employees, which is part of enhancing the performance of the employees by disseminating knowledge to the employees. Training and development of the employees is designed to develop the employees in individuals and in teams, the employees realise individual potential that collectively build a competitive edge for the organization. Learning organisations encourage lifelong learning attitude (Berger, 2013 p. 183).

Contemporarily organisations in the strategic goals describe themselves as learning organizations. An example of organizations terming themselves as learning organizations are the Cisco and Coca-Cola that have set aside some top management teams to address issues of learning, knowledge generation and intellectual capital (Fitz-enz, 2010 p. 200). This has been influential in generating and adapting to the knowledge as part of the development tendencies. The knowledge then trickles down to the distributors, suppliers and customers in building a competitive advantage over competitors.

The employees create the knowledge and information, which is later used by the organization. In a learning organization, information and knowledge are allowed to flow freely at all levels. Contemporary organizations are using knowledge through encouraging engagement and facilitating a learning potential in all the employees within an organization. All the levels of organizations are involved in fostering a learning environment (Bridges, 2004 p. 89). Organizations are no longer after the instructions of the big brother, human capital in organizations are working in togetherness in teams in building a competitive edge. Organizations are doing away with barriers connected to hierarchies through free flow of information.

Threading the information in the contemporary world is calling for participation of all the stakeholders (Noe, 2001 p. 402). The future of the organizations will be defined by the capability of organizations to motivate its employees to become learning organizations. Different levels of the organizations must be willing to learn in facilitating a learning organization in the overhaul. Employees in the learning organization influence the direction of the sectors and functions of the organization in the creation of procedures and knowledge within the system. New values are created for the employees and for the target customers in building a competitive edge (Carrig & Wright, 2006 p. 99).

Learning organizations teach the employees how to learn, in so doing both the employees and the organization benefit from the experience. Resolving the employee’s conflicts is the first step of facilitating a learning organization. The continuous learning shapes success in the contemporarily business environments within an organization. Employees within an organization must be willing to learn for the organization to attain the position of a learning organization (Robbins & Judge, 2010 p. 676). All the stakeholders in the organization have an individual responsibility of learning in order for the same learning experience to be felt by the organization. Learning is encouraged among the well educated, the casual employees, professionals, highly powered and among the lowly powered. The only way for organizations to learn is through individuals embracing training and development; without individual learning, it automatically applies that there will be no organisational learning. It is worth noting that individual learning will not always lead to organizational learning (Bassi et al., 2012 p. 45).

Human resources have the capability identifying individuals with the capability of spearheading organizational learning. It is important for organizations to learn faster than the rate at which the competitors are learning; this is critical in offering sustainable competitive edge. A learning organization encourages employees to learn (Fitz-enz, 2009 p. 286). Learning organizations encourages human capital to exchange information freely in distributing the knowledge. Individual learning is then converted into organisational knowledge.

Power is generated by exchanging information, which is regulated by knowledge management in organisations by the human resource management. The synergic effect is realized by combining individual knowledge and exchanging knowledge among the employees. Individual knowledge becomes qualitative knowledge by combining knowledge for different employees. Sharing of obtained information is the driving force of a learning organization. A learning organization benefits by training and developing employees, such employees, are motivated to work, more creative, flexible at the workplaces and offer advanced social interactions (Berger, 2013 p. 142). A learning organization also benefit from better work teams due to mutual dependence and sharing of knowledge. A learning organization also benefit from greater work productivity among the employees, more qualitative services, data, procedures, profit and competitive advantage (Jackson, 2006 p. 97).

Recommendations

Organizations need to experience transformations through learning, training and development. In the contemporarily business environment, there is no shortcut, organizations must be willing to train and develop employees in becoming learning organizations. In many organizations, procedures for training and developing employees are at the infancy stages. Training and developing of the employees must be connected to the organizational strategies in creating a learning organization.

It is worth changing the attitudes of employees towards training and development; it is not an imposed obligation, but rather a potential for the employees to grow and help in building a learning organization. The knowledge will encourage innovation in the places of work, which contributes to better business practices (Bridges, 2004 p. 100). Top management teams must encourage the open relationship and communication channels with the employees. Training and development of the employees is worth investing since it contributes to a learning organization, which is attached to the organizational culture due to open sharing of knowledge.

Training and developing employees in the contemporary business environment is part of the responsibilities with the top management teams. Managers are encouraged to monitor training and development in maintaining a strategic perspective; this helps in discovering and encouraging new possibilities (Bassi et al., 2012 p. 19). Managers and leaders in contemporary organizations are not all-knowing, but they are in the leadership positions to foster inspirations and moderation, this is influential in overseeing the knowledge transfer in organizations (Robbins & Judge, 2010 p. 568).

In conclusion, human resources and the management of knowledge in organizations is gaining significance in the contemporary business environment. Organizational survival and conduct in the modern business environment has experienced diverse changes. Organizations are relying on organizational knowledge as a model for offering appropriate and timely solutions in building a competitive edge. An organization is termed as a learning organization through spearheading training and development among the employees of an organization, the same knowledge is transferred from the employees to the organizations in building a competitive edge. Organizations are encouraged to retain prominent employees as part of facilitating lifelong learning in the organization. The success of employees is the success of organizations and vice versa.

 

 

List of References

Bassi, L., Carpenter, R. & McMurrer, D (2012). HR Analytics Handbook. New York: McBassi & Company. 12-61.

Bennett-Alexander, D. & Hartman, L (2011). Employment Law for Business. 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. 762-779.

Berger, G. J (2013). Changing on the Job: Developing Leaders for a Complex World. Palo Alto, California: Stanford University Press. 122-189.

Bridges, W (2004). Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes. 2nd ed. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Da Capo Press. 12-165.

Carrig, K. & Wright, P (2006). Building Profit Through Building People: Making Your Workforce the Strongest Link in the Value-Profit Chain. Alexandria, Virginia: Society For Human Resource Management. 77-176.

Cascio, W (2012). Managing Human Resources. 9th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. 123-327.

Cascio, W. & Boudreau, J (2010). Investing in People: Financial Impact of Human Resource Initiatives. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey (US): FT Press. 201-300.

Dessler, G (2012). Human Resource Management. 13th ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. 344-654.

Fitz-enz, J (2009). The ROI of Human Capital: Measuring the Economic Value of Employee Performance. 2nd ed. New York: AMACOM. 123-319.

Fitz-enz, J (2010). The New HR Analytics: Predicting the Economic Value of Your Company’s Human Capital Investments. New York: AMACOM. 19-256.

Jackson, C. J (2006). Organization Development: The Human and Social Dynamics of Organizational Change. Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America. 23-125.

Kegan, R. & Lahey, L (2009). Immunity to Change: How to Overcome It and Unlock the Potential in Yourself and Your Organization. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press. 201-309.

Noe, A. N (2001). Employee Training & Development. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. 299-443.

Noe, R (2009). Employee Training & Development. 5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. 111-286.

Robbins, S. & Judge, T (2010). Organizational Behaviour. 12th ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. 432-700.

Robbins, S. & Judge, T (2012). Organizational Behaviour. 15th ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. 564-675.

Scarborough, N (2013). Essentials of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management. 7th ed. London: Pearson. 122-453.

Sinclair, A (2008). Leadership for the Disillusioned: Moving Beyond Myths and Heroes to Leading That Liberates. Crows Nest, New South Wales: Allen & Unwin. 34-87.

Sloane, A. & Witney, F (2009). Labour Relations. 13th ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. 322-387.

Taylor, S (2011). Leadership Craft, Leadership Art. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. 45-123.

Vemić, J. (2007). Employee Training And Development And The Learning Organization. Economics and Organization. 4 (2), 209 – 216.

 

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