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EMPLOYEE TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT.
Term Paper ID:25774
Essay Subject:
Purpose, benefits to employee & company, improving performance, adult education, employee participation, leadership models.... More...
11 Pages / 2475 Words
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Paper Abstract:
Purpose, benefits to employee & company, improving performance, adult education, employee participation, leadership models.
Paper Introduction:
EMPLOYEE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
Introduction
Training and development has become a $30 billion profession. Annually 15 million employees participate in 17 million courses, and one out of every eight workers attends a formal training course (Chakiris & Rolander, as cited in Knowles, 1998, p. 227). The training of employees at all levels is important to companies, both in terms of increasing performance (and profits) and the costs incurred.
In Defense of Employee Training and Development
Management, generally speaking, is in agreement as to the goal: the focus should be on increasing the performance require-ments of the company through the development of its work force. However, some management professionals believe that a company should focus on
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1). However, the twosets of needs are not mutually exclusive: in time, most employees come tothe realization that surrendering a degree of control over theireducational activities (in effect, occasionally deferring to management'sjudgement about what constitutes appropriate training and educationalopportunities for employees of their specific company) can result inenabling them to perform their jobs better, which is another form ofcontrol not to be underappreciated. For example, building on the principles of adult education (amongthem, that adults learn better when the learning has personal relevance),surveying employees as to what training would be meaningful to them andthen providing the training opportunities that garner the most votes wouldmake sense. Management should seekto serve both the host organization and its employees by helping employeesto grow and flourish, trusting that, ultimately, they will succeed to theirutmost because they care about the outcome and because they care about thecompany that cares about them. An earlierconcept of management posited that one of its foci should be the"integrated use of training and development, organizational development andcareer development and improve individual, group, and organizationaleffectiveness" (McLagan, as cited in Knowles, 1998). Successful Leadership Models for the 21st Century Theories of ideal leadership styles and employee motivation come andgo with every decade. Consequently, determining thepurpose of training or development activities and clarifying theirrelationship to the company's goals are necessary. Developmentusually refers to those subjects labeled "soft": time management, valuesclarification, diversity training, and self-esteem. Lynch, R. . Rethinking the Function of Management One of management's most important functions may be to engage in the"process of developing and/or unleashing human expertise throughorganizational development and personnel training and development for thepurpose of improving performance at the organizational, work process, andindividual levels" (Swanson, as cited in Knowles, 1998). management is largely losing the art of caring for and motivatingpeople. Servant-Leadership does not require that management abolish demandsfor "competency, obedience, discipline, excellence, and hard work," yet it"adds an important dimension to effective management, linking corporatepragmatism and compassion" (Hind, 1999, p. EMPLOYEE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT Introduction Training and development has become a $3 billion profession.Annually 15 million employees participate in 17 million courses, and oneout of every eight workers attends a formal training course (Chakiris &Rolander, as cited in Knowles, 1998, p. They are notmanagers; they are facilitators. 1). (1999, February 9). concentrating solely on economic growth and survival,"much to its detriment (p. In Defense of Employee Training and Development Management, generally speaking, is in agreement as to the goal: thefocus should be on increasing the performance require-ments of the companythrough the development of its work force. Helping employees to developand learn the new norms, to examine their work processes and actualoutcomes, and to learn more efficient methods of performing the tasks athand also falls to management. They develop leadership skills in theirfollowers by helping them to grow and flourish and foster success throughtheir values, commitment, and empowerment of others. Training usually focuses on the development of technical skills or,if applied to management, is an attempt to assist managers in modifying theway they think about employees and the concept of change. Rather than coercing others into compliance, they use theirpersuasive skills to convince others and build consensus within groups.They understand that people have an inherent value beyond their role atwork and are committed to helping employees personally, professionally andspiritually. Servant-Leadership "encourages collaboration, trust, fore-sight,listening, and the ethical use of power and empowerment" (What is Servant-Leadership, 1991, p. The corporatesector is beginning to under-stand that financial success will be achievedby satisfied and motivated employees who feel a sense of ownership of thecompany for which they work (TDIndustries, 1999, pp. In light of this, management does not have to be entirelyfocused on the bottom line in order to justify the existence of employeeprograms. What is Servant-Leadership? More thanlikely, the best interest of the employee and the organization can be metsimultaneously. 122). S., Holton, E. Co. Knowles, M. 1-2). If the individual's needs are consistent with the company'sneeds, then no tension exists. GreenleafCenter for Servant-Leadership. This is "especially true in organizations that linkemployee career advancement to performance so that employees' lives areenhanced as the organization's performance improves" (Knowles, 1998, p.122). (1999, February 9) Indianapolis, IN: TheRobert K. Accountability Is Key Advocates of employee programs maintain that, if they are to be"respected and useful in organizations, [they] must be seen as a strategicpartner and achieve the same level of importance as traditional coreorganizational processes such as finance, production, and marketing"(Torraco & Swanson, as cited in Knowles, 1998). People live in a highly individualistic time in a century that hasseen managers evolve from "taskmasters" to "team coaches", and employeesevolve from obedient "children" to em-powered "partners". In this light, how better to strengthen organizations than bydeveloping employees as individuals and as workers? Adult Education and Adult Learning Adult education and adult learning and their application to employeedevelopment are defensibly different. Casting light on the debate, Holton (1998) provides a taxonomy of"performance outcomes" and "performance drivers" that "accommodates the gapbetween those focused on the organization first and then the individualverses those focused on the individual first and then the organization. Conclusion Whether the company of tomorrow, and indeed the company of today,will grow, compete successfully, and achieve its goals will be determinednot by its full-color annual reports, glass and chrome offices, letterheadwith international addresses, or senior management retreats. Adult leaning, whether focusing on improving the organiza-tion orimproving the individual, is "critical in order to main-tain theperformance of an existing system and to improve upon the system.Increasingly, an organization's intellectual capital leads to sustainedcompetitive advantage" (Edvinsson & Malone, 1997; Stewart, 1997, as citedin Knowles, 1998). 122).Nonetheless, significant evidence exists that "learning or enhancing thecapacity to learn, is a valuable outcome in and of itself and thatsponsoring organizations logically benefit" (Robinson & Stern, as cited inKnowles, 1998). It's simple: People first. Inshort, they are exercising leadership. Available [Online]:http://greenleaf.org/home.html. F., & Swanson, R. On the positive side, this is a democratic process that feedsthe control/participation needs of employees; on the negative side, littleattention is actually being given to the needs of the organization.However, if employees are regularly provided with personally relevantactivities and a democratic process and work ambiance, objections willprobably not arise when unpopular alternatives (that benefit the companymore than the individual) are declared mandatory for attendance (Knowles,1998, p. Employee programs musthave "definable inputs, processes, outputs, parts and purposes" (Rummlerand Brache, as cited in Knowles, 1998), thereby rendering them moredefinable and, therefore, more respectable. Indianapolis, IN: The Robert K. Manco Inc.Available [Online]: http://www.ducktape.com/duck/ducktales/julaug98.htm. The company that implements value-centered,employee-oriented (one that emphasizes development) will be the companythat survives and thrives in the decades to come. Some experts argue that the purposeof management is not to engage in adult education, but rather to engage inadult learning for the sake of the company: "When adult learning outcomesand learning process decisions about individuals are bounded by rules andrequirements of the organization," then it constitutes adult learning. Heinforms [management] to pay attention to both" (Holton, as cited inKnowles, 1998). These efforts may be construed as fulfilling the"unleashing" aspect of the definition, or satisfying the needs many personshave to reach their human potential. Indianapolis, IN:The Robert K. Related to the aforementioned is the need for management todetermine where the company and its individual employees are, to determinewhere both need to be in regard to a particular set of competencies andgoals. Arguably, management cannot lose sight of the company's needseven while it meets the needs of its individual employees. Greenleaf was an essayist, AT & T manager,consultant, and university teacher (RKGBIO, 1999, p. Management can improve performance in numerous ways at theorganizational, process, and individual levels, and central to moststrategies is the role of adult learning. They must havesufficient firm-specific and industry-specific knowledge and expertise tocontribute intelligently to the process. 121). Houston, Texas: Gulf Pub. 2). Today'semployees do not hesitate to demand professional empowerment, relevance inworkplace training, job satisfaction, balance in their personal andprofessional lives, and individual liberties never imagined by previousgenerations of workers. RKGBIO. Bycontrast, "when the adult learning outcomes and learning process rules andrequirements are located in the individual, it is Adult Education"(Knowles, 1998, p. 2). . Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership. (1993) Lead! (1998, July/August). Employee Programs: A Strategic Partner Clearly, management must be able to articulate that "adult learningbecomes a powerful organizational improvement strategy when it is embeddedin a holistic performance improvement system framework" (Knowles, 1998, p.12 ). The model of the servant-Leader is not alone in itsappreciation of the individual and the individual's personal andprofessional development. Yet increases in job performance, productivity, andprofitability justify the very existence of training and developmentprograms. Nor can a host organization continually investin learning opportunities if the education does not result in higherproductivity or increased performance improvement (Knowles, 1998, p. And then management needs to create useful evaluation toolsdesigned to foster professional growth and development and its logicaloutcome, performance. 127). The best adult education practices (andragogy) cater to the fact thatadults learn best when the learning is meaningful to them (Knowles, 1998,p. Several characteristics ofServant-Leaders are appropriate for the corporate sector: Servant-Leaderslisten carefully to what is being said and what is not being said; theyseek to identify the will of the group through active and nonjudgementallistening; and they are committed to awareness of others and of themselves,which brings greater understanding, particularly to issues involving ethicsand values. If employee programs are to be aligned with the goals and strategies of the organization, and performance is the primary means by which the goals and strategies of organizations are realized, then it follows that [management] should be first and foremost concerned with maintaining and/or improving performance at the organizational, process, and individual levels. If [employee programs are] to be a value-added activity of the firm (instead of a line item of cost that is to be controlled and minimized), then [management] must be concerned about performance and how it enables organizations to achieve their goals (Knowles, 1998, p. Though based on religious examples, the model of the Servant-Leaderis transferable to modern, corporate America. 117). They strive to build community with their associates (It'sSimple, 1998, pp. 123). REFERENCES Hind, J. Total Quality Management (TQM) posits thatemployee empowerment and education is critical for an organization'ssuccess. Servant-Leaders understand the most basic tenetof human motivation: People want to know how much someone cares before theycare how much that person knows. 227). Available [Online]:http://greenleaf.org/fortune5.html. (An example of performance outcomes includes high qualityservices delivered to external customers; an example of performance driversincludes learning and process improvement). For example, if changing thecompany's culture will contribute to greater productivity, then employeesmight need to learn how to create a mission statement or have anopportunity to clarify their values and merge them with the company'svalues. (1998) The adultlearner. 1-2). Much has to be learned, andconducting the training falls to management. . Performanceimprovement is central to both definitions; and learning, defined as bothknowledge and expertise, is an equally essential part of the definition.Numerous "efforts" are more than training or learning activities, and,indeed, some have no measurable educational components at all (Knowles,1998, p. By definition, a degree of tension exists betweenthe two approaches. The theory of Servant-Leadermanagement was articulated in 197 when Robert K. The training of employees atall levels is important to companies, both in terms of increasingperformance (and profits) and the costs incurred. TDIndustries named number five on Fortune Magazine's List of '1 BestCompanies to Work for in America.' (1999, February 9). Regardless of whetherthe company offers training or development, or some humanistic and holisticcombination of the two, all such efforts are the result of managers makingdecisions on what is appropriate for the company and its employees. If a theory's credibility can be judged by itslongevity, then the theory of the Servant-Leader is still going strongalmost 3 years after its introduction. Hind (1999) writes, "Withpressures of competition. Personal freedom and the principles of adult education may be illsuited in some circumstances. A particularly important and strategic role for management is "tobuild the organization's strategic capability the knowledge and experiencerequired to figure out the present and to develop rational scenarios of thefuture and ways to connect them" (Torraco & Swanson, as cited in Knowles,1998). Available [Online]:http://greenleaf.org/rkbgio.html. The reality is that what employees may want is only sometimes relatedto what the company may want: performance improvement. 12 ). However, some managementprofessionals believe that a company should focus on the individual'sdevelopment and personal ful-fillment without regard to its direct value tothe company. How public and nonprofit Managers can bring outthe best in themselves and their organizations.San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. However, if the employee's needs and goalsare "not congruent with the organization's performance requirements, andthe organization is providing the required learning experience, a tensionexists and inevitably results in some degree of organizational control"(Knowles, 1998, p. For example, a company struggling to survivecan hardly afford to permit employees to chose if they want to learn a newway to operate the company. Because of this, management "must balancepractices that lead to the most effective adult learning with those thatwill lead to performance outcomes" (Knowles, 1998, p. A. It is . (1999) The heart and soul of effective management.Available [Online]: http://www.lifehelp.org/professional/blp 1.htm. Greenleaf wrote an essaytitled the Servant as Leader. Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership. F. . 122).
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