Learning and development is a subset of HR, aims to improve group and individual performance by increasing and honing skills and knowledge. Procurement is an important part of the training and development process because training providers must be cost-effective and appropriate for the organization’s needs.
Theories of Learning and development
According to Niazi , Learning and development refer to the obtaining or transferring knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA) process needed to carry out a specific activity or functions; so, the benefits of training and development both for organization and individual are strategic in nature and hence much wider. To meet the current and future challenges of organizations’, training and development assume a wide range of learning actions, ranging from training of the individual for their present tasks and moreover, knowledge sharing to improve the organization horizon and customers service. Which focus on their career development and enrichment, thus expanding individual, group and organizational effectiveness (Niazi, 2011)
NEED FOR (OBJECTIVES OF) TRAINING
Training and development are necessary for the following reasons:
- To prepare employees for the right jobs by imparting the required knowledge and skills.
- To build a second line of competent officers by preparing employees to occupy higher positions.
- To enable the employees to work more effectively and efficiently.
- To expose them to the updated and latest concepts and techniques in the concerned discipline.
- To match the employees specifications with the job requirements and organizational needs.
- To pace with technological advances and latest researched and developed managerial theories.
NEED FOR (OBJECTIVES OF) DEVELOPMENT
The management development programmes are organized with a view to achieving specific objectives which may be cited as follows :
- To overhaul the management machinery
- To improve the performance of the managers
- To give the specialists an overall view of the functions of an organization and equip them to co-ordinate each other’s efforts effectively
- To stimulate creative thinking
- To understand the problems of human relations and improve human relation skills
- To understand the conceptual issues relating to economic, social and technical areas
- To broaden the outlook of the executive regarding his role , position and responsibilities
- To improve thought process and analytical ability
CAREER DEVELOPMENT
Career development is the series of activities or the on-going/lifelong process of developing one’s career. Career development usually refers to managing one’s career in an intra-organizational or inter-organizational scenario. It involves training on new skills, moving to higher job responsibilities, making a career change within the same organization, moving to a different organization or starting one’s own business.
CHALLENGES FACING CAREER DEVELOPMENT
Emphasis on Career Development
Too great an emphasis on career development and enhancement can be detrimental to organizational effectiveness. Employees with an extreme careerist orientation can become more concerned about their image than their performance. There are certain warning signs managers should watch for:
- Is the employee more interested in capitalizing on opportunities for advancement than in maintaining adequate performance?
- Does the employee devote more attention to managing the impressions he or she makes on others than to reality?
- Does the employee emphasize networking, flattery, and being seen at social gatherings over job performance? In the short run, people who engage in these tactics often enjoy advancement. However, sooner or later they run into workplace duties or issues they are not equipped to deal with.
Diverse Work Force and Career Development
Because the barriers to advancement of women and minorities tend not to be obvious, they are difficult to identify and remove. The accounting firm Deloitte and Touche launched a long term initiative to lower the rate of turnover among female managers and to encourage the promotion of more women to partnership ranks. The initiative, prompted by the company’s Task Force on the Retention and Recruitment of Women, features company-wide training in workplace gender dynamics along with structured career planning and career development for women, succession planning, networking opportunities, and family-friendly work options.
Importance of Career Anchors
Often times companies claim they have the best interest of their employees at heart yet the reverse is often the case where companies tend to create systems that benefits the organization rather the employees.
Career Anchors help an individual in conceptualizing his own perceived career. It encompasses one’s core areas of competence, motives, and career values. Very often, this perceived career anchor goes against organizational career plans and employees develop a sense of dissonance or certain incongruity about their career plans. Therefore, many organizations seek to identify perceived career anchors of their employees to develop matching career development programmes.
CASES OF LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
DEVELOPMENT IN IKEA
IKEA has its own system of learning and trainings designed for a specific job position. You will get an introduction training as a new co-worker where you will learn how the company operates, what are the safety and security rules, customer friendly principles and our environmental approach. You will also get a mentor – a colleague who answers all your questions, shows you your department and introduces you to your colleagues. You will pass more trainings according to your training plan then.
Development talk
Development talk is a friendly meeting with your manager at least once a year where you agree together where you would like to go and develop in a coming year. It can also be completely different from your current specialization. If you have a desire and prerequisites to move further, your manager will help you to choose appropriate procedures and trainings to reach your goal.
PFIZER DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM
Pfizer leaders and managers take an active role in developing colleagues and helping them fulfill their career goals:
- Individual Development Plans: Colleagues work with their managers to create detailed career “roadmaps” that take into account colleague interests and aspirations as well as Pfizer’s business needs.
- Mentoring: Pfizer actively promotes mentoring through its Mentor Match online tool – a quick and easy way to volunteer to be a mentor or to find a mentor that meets specific criteria.
- Internal Advancement: Colleagues may freely explore and apply for positions within Pfizer.
- Coaching-Focused Performance Management Process: Pfizer encourages managers to hold frequent, robust performance coaching discussions, rather than assigning labels to sum up an entire year’s performance.
- Short- and Medium-Term Experiential Opportunities: Through activities like job-rotation assignments, experiential action projects, and short-term project roles, Pfizer offers colleagues a variety of short- and medium-term career development opportunities.
- Learning & Development Opportunities: Colleagues can take advantage of learning and development opportunities focused on hundreds of topics, including leadership and management skills, industry- and job-specific learning, and general business, manufacturing, finance, and technology skills.
References
In-text reference: ( Abushamsieh 2014 ). List of rerences: Abushamsieh Khalil. Training strategies,theories and types. URL : https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269165999_Training_strategies_theories_and_types Accessed 11.02.2020
In-text reference : Essays, UK. (November 2018). List of references : Major concepts of training development and learning.URL: https://www.ukessays.com/essays/management/major-concepts-of-training-development-and-learning-management-essay.php?vref=1 Accessed 11.02.2020
In-text reference: ( Ikea ). List of references: Ikea. Developement in Ikea. URL: https://ikea.jobs.cz/en/development-in-ikea/ Accessed 11.02.2020
In-text reference: ( Kelly2008) List of references : Kelly, Tim. 2008.Rio de Japano. URL : http://assignment4student.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-toyota-way-of-recruitment.html Accessed 11.02.2020
In-text reference : ( Niazi 2011). List of references : Niazi Abdus Sattar.Training and Development Strategy and Its Role in Organizational Performance.URL : https://doi.org/10.5296/jpag.v1i2.862 Accessed 11.02.2020
In-text reference :(Pfizer ). List of references : Our focus on employee growth and development.URL: https://careers.pfizer.com/en/our-focus-employee-growth-and-development Accessed 11.02.2020
johnenigma 