Essay On Effecting Change In T&d Through Training

Organizations face various management challenges on a daily basis. Most common problems in an organization include lack of motivation miscommunication and change in the organization's management. It is important for the organization to learn the various ways to deal with challenges and help propel the organization to its maximum potential. In the wake of competition and need to deliver the best services to the clients, the organizations are also tasked with employing various techniques of training and improving organization performance. There are various theories that the organization needs to be aware of. These theories explain the way that an organization acquires knowledge the effectiveness of using particular strategies to train the employees and how to better the performance of the organization. Training is an important aspect of an organization, but it is until the organization knows the various ways through which its employees learn that they are able to deal with them. T&D faces various challenges that it needs to handle, and the best way to handle them is to train its employees. But an important factor that the organizations need to understand is that there are various ways of training and various ways to deal with employee training.
The first step to organizational change is to induce learning in the organization. Ideally, there are various ways of learning in the organization. The effectiveness of the learning strategy depends on it outcomes. It is then important for T&D to analyze the effective of the various learning strategies and identify one that can fit the needs of the organization and as such enhance the process of change. Ideally, there is a need to focus first on the outcomes of the learning outcomes. The organization needs to set it clear the importance of the learning process and the things that they need to achieve through the learning process. It is with this perspective that the organization will be able to identify the various strategies to use in achieving change.

The outcomes of learning

As mentioned the outcomes of the learning process determines the strategy the organization has to use in training the organization. There are five categories of outcomes that the organization needs to learn. These are verbal information, intellectual skills, cognitive outcomes, motor skills and outcomes. These models of outcomes are according to Gagne's model of learning outcomes. As well, Blooms presents three models of learning outcomes. These are the cognitive affective and psychomotor outcomes. From learning to be achieved in an effective way then there should be the dissemination of knowledge that one should recall, this knowledge should be stated in words (comprehension). The knowledge acquired should be put into application and even analyzed. The analysis involves the distinction between the fact and the inferences. It is also important for the knowledge to be synthesized. In this synthesis of the information, it is important to check for and build patterns of diverse elements then eventually do an evaluation of the information. The organization then has to choose the exact model to use basing on the two learning outcomes that they expect from the learning process. T&D managers have an important role in analyzing the various method and their outcomes before they eventually choose the method to use.

The implication of training and development

For training to be effective, then it is up to the organization to choose a specific outcome of the learning. As it has occurred, there are two outcomes of any learning, and this is what the organization needs to consider in the learning program. It is important that the organization realizes that the effectiveness of the training program depends on the learning objectives it sets for the training. It is then important that the organization sets clear objectives for the training programs. It is through these objectives that the organizations will steer clear on the training program and eventually achieve its target of training. The most important aspect that the organization needs to look at is not even the training strategy they use. There might be various training strategies that the organization might decide to use, but this will not do any good if the organization does not have any clear target and outcomes for the training. The organization also needs to know that there are deferent instructional events or conditions that affect the outcome of learning. The fact that learning outcomes are interrelated necessitates the organization to be keen on the exact model it chooses to use.

The need to understand the stage of learning

As the organization prepares to train its staff, it is import for it to understand that learning occurs in various stages. These processes do not occur at once but occur through a series of patterns. At each particular interval, there is something the employees need to learn, and the general outcome will be at the end of the whole training process. A psychologist Anderson developed the following theory that describes the various process of learning that employees pass through. The first stage is what is called the declarative stage. At this level, the employees learn the facts, the knowledge, and the information about a particular issue. It is at this level that the learners are introduced to various principles involved in a particular field. They get the opportunity to learn these principles and be ready to apply them. After the learners getting the principles that guide various issues they then move to the second stage (Duggan, 2015). This stage according to Anderson is referred to as the knowledge complication stage. In this case, the learners are supposed to use the knowledge that they have acquired to integrate tasks. At this level, one’s performance is fragmented and piecemeal. The third and the final level is the one that is referred to as the procedural knowledge. It is at this level that the learner is supposed to master the art and the skills of doing a particular job. The employee's performance at this level is habitual and automatic. As such a manager has the responsibility of understanding these levels of learning in the preparation of the formal learning process in the organization. The managers at T&D have the responsibility of preparing enough resources and setting apart enough time that can make it easy for its employees to go successfully through this learning process. They need also to set aside measures that can be used as indicators to show the level at which the employees have advanced their knowledge.
Basing on this theory the management needs to learn that learning takes place in various stages. These stages are important and helpful in helping the employee to sharpen their skills. At each particular stage, there is always something different that is learned. The cognitive ability and motivational interventions vary at various levels of learning. This theory thus provides the good case study for T&D Company as they can understand the challenges that they may encounter at various level of training their employees. They also get the opportunity to develop measures of dealing with each challenge at each level.

Learning methods and theories

As the organization sets up and prepares to get its employees through the learning process, it is important to note that there are various learning methods that the learners can use to acquire information. The effective of using a particular method depends mostly on the choice of the learner and the strategies that the organization has developed. The four styles of learning are converging, diverging, assimilation and accommodating. The converging method is when the learners are talking while doing something. In this case, they use an abstract conceptualization of the things they know to perform a task. That is they try to put the knowledge that they have already learned into practice. It is also an active experimentation of the learned skills. The diverging method is when the learners take the time to observe. In this case, they are not actively engaging in the particular activity. Assimilation is where the learners are thinking and at the same time observing what is happening. Finally, the accommodating method is where the learners are feeling and doing something. This method employs the skills of abstract experiment and active experiment. Now using these strategies at the same time could be the best option for the learners but other might opt to use one strategy at a time.
As mentioned earlier the choice to use a learning method heavily depends on the objective of learning. So the T&D managers have a responsibility of setting clear objectives of the learning that can guide the employees through the learning process. The management should prepare its objective in a way that it can allow a circle learning strategy. Through the circulation of learning strategies, the techniques of learning are used sequentially. To make the learning more effective it is important for the management to make sure that the strategies of learning are part of the learning experience.
There are key factors that the management of T&T needs to take keen interest in. First it should realize that people differ in the ways that they prefer to learn. As such they need to identify the diversity in people’s learning and factor them when designing their learning techniques. Secondly the organization should be alive to the fact that the success of any training depends on the approach that is used in the dissemination of skills and knowledge. As such, there is a need for the training and the learning style to match for there to be any effectiveness in the learning process. Finally, the management should make sure that each training mode comes with learning styles, but most importantly there should be some sequence in the whole process.
In a nutshell, the organization has a great responsibility of designing learning techniques that can reflect the needs of the people in the organization. It is through effective planning that the organization will be able to train the people successfully in the organization and as well improve their performance. The fact there are various techniques of learning necessitates the organization to design various techniques of handling the employees learning needs. Most importantly the T&D management should align its training programs with the variations in the learning styles of its employees. The process of teaching the employees can be a tedious one but with proper planning and using the right method it can be possible to achieve change in the organization.

References

Duggan, T. (2015). Theories of Learning Human Resource Development.Small Business - Chron.com. Retrieved 14 April 2015, from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/theories- learning-human-resource-development-64655.html