The Diversity of the Business - Coursework Example

Work Based Learning ment of Authenti Learners Declaration: I certify that the work submitted for this unit is my own: Signed: Hand out Date: Submission Date: Task 1: Negotiate Industry Experience in the business 1.1 Research and Evaluation of Suitable Organisations Work based learning is an important part of learning as it gives students practical experience of business operations as well as gives them an opportunity to apply knowledge learnt in classes and lectures. In order for a student to benefit maximally from work based learning programmes they should do some considerations as well as prepare themselves for the industrial practice (Costley, Elliot & Gibbs, 2010). Students carried out research to find out organisations that would offer the best opportunities to acquire knowledge through work based learning. While carrying out this research students and professionals seeking experience considered their fields of study. Students in the computing filed were best suited working in software and hardware development companies such as Apple, Hewlett and Packard and IBM. Students who were in the business field considered institutions in the finance sector. These included banks, insurance firms and consulting firms. This report focuses on the needs of a student in the business computing field of study. Such a student was best suited when placed in the information technology department of a financial institution. An example was a student or young professional who was undertaking their work based learning program in the IT department of Standard Bank (Heyler, 2010). Once the student did their research on the possible organisations, the next step involved evaluation so as to finally settle on the best. Evaluation involved determining whether the organisation and the overall business environment supported work based learning programs. A student in business computing class would want to determine the level of technology used by Standard Bank. The diversity of the business was also crucial as the more diverse a business was, the more there was to learn during the period of work based learning. Standard Bank used the latest banking technology and it is an international bank. This meant that a business computing student in this bank would acquire a lot of experience that they can relate to their class work. 1.2 Proposal for Work Experience A proposal for work based learning, prepared by the student, was simply a document that showed the expected new learning to be acquired during the work experience period. The proposal basically gave the schedule for the entire work based learning program and the expectations at every stage. These expectations were in the form of learning objectives or learning outcomes. This proposal also described the learning sessions that were to be attended and the time allocated for each session or department and the tools and equipment to be used in each session. The students’ supervisors used this proposal to assess the relevance of the work experience as well as the skills that the student was expected to have acquired by the end of the program. This means that the proposal could be used for grading purposes. A business computing student working in Standard Bank prepared a working proposal that included their name and level of study. The student also indicated the organisation that they were or would be working for. The proposal also included the supervisors name and a summary of what the student expected to do in the IT department. Then the student broke down the working period into specific activities and the objectives for the student in each activity. At the end of every session, the student documented in the proposal the learning they had acquired form the session. A business computing student was expected to have learnt how the Standard Bank’s computer system works, how to perform different tasks as well as how to handle technical problems such as hardware or software failure. Finally the proposal also included courses learnt in class that covered the learning in the work place. In this section, the student was to go ahead and show a clear relationship between the two. 1.3 Business Constraints on the Work Experience There existed factors that did not favour work based learning programs. These factors could be considered as barriers that hindered the participation of businesses in industrial based learning. One of the barriers was lack of methods to quantify the returns gained from offering work based learning. Organisations were not able to make a comparison between the resources invested in work based learning and the benefits. Most businesses were reluctant to offer work based learning as they feared that their employees might be poached by their competitors. Another factor was the employees’ level of education. If most of the employees in an organisation had basic education qualifications, then the business would be reluctant to take them through a work based learning program. This was because their education levels were too low for the business to want to build more experience on them. In the case of small businesses, conducting such programs would put a strain on their resources thus they opted to train only when there was an urgent need. Standard Bank faced the problem of trained employee being poached by rival banks as they were highly trained using world class facilities. Another constraint at Standard Bank was the cost of work based training. Employees under this program would have to leave their usual duties so that they could attend training sessions in other departments of the bank. The bank was reluctant to have a business computing trainee in their IT department as they could not establish the actual value that the bank was getting from the trainee. Task 2: Understanding Specific Requirements 2.1 Prioritising Tasks and Responsibilities The tasks involved in the work based learning program in the IT department of Standard Bank included loading cash into the automated teller machines in the mornings and carrying out reconciliation of cash from these machines in the evenings. Database administration was another daily activity that involved processing cheques and online transactions by authorising and redirecting them to the bank’s central servers. Database administration also involved monitoring data on transactions between the bank’s different branches. Any branch that experienced problems with their data processes queried the control room. This meant that part of database administration duties involved attending to queries from customers through the bank’s different branches. Other responsibilities in that department involved attending to software failures and hardware malfunctions. These included servicing automated teller machines and computer systems used by the bank’s staff. Maintenance of the bank’s computer systems also involved developing maintenance schedules and ensuring that they were strictly followed by the rest of the IT department staff. Most of these duties were carried out with the assistance of the work place supervisor who gave a monthly report on the student’s progress to the academic supervisor. Technical duties also included development of bank’s software systems and new business system procedures. These new procedures were designed to ensure that the bank offered prompt and efficient services to its customers. 2.2 Plan for Work Experience A work based learning plan had names of the learner, the name of the learning institution, name of work organisation and the period for the learning program. The plan had a section for verification of the plan by the supervisor. The plan for the student at Standard Bank contained the bank’s name and the student’s level of education. The plan also captured the goals and objectives for the work based learning program. The plan included the type of work based program being undertaken by the student and whether it was accredited. The plan had an aspect of time. This involved the activities that were to be carried out during the learning period as well the time allocated for each activity. Alongside each activity, there was a space to indicate whether the task had been completed and whether it had been completed within the allocated time. The plan acted as a guidance tool for the student and also assisted them to keep track of completed and pending activities. There was a section for supervisor’s remarks on the student’s progress. The business computing student attached to the Standard Bank included all the duties and responsibilities mentioned earlier in this report and also included a section for the learning acquired during each session. 2.3 Benefits of Proposed Activities to Business and Learner Businesses that allowed work based learning programs to be conducted in their premise got some benefits. Such benefits usually had extra staff working for them and thus business processes were carried out faster and efficiently. Work based employees were usually fresh with new ideas. These ideas are important as they assist businesses to develop new procedures and processes that increase a business’ capacity and efficiency. In this regard, work based learning programs assisted businesses to cut costs and increase on their savings. This happened by generation of new ideas that could assist in bringing in more revenue as well as cut on operational costs. Work based learning assisted the business to improve on their responses to business emergencies. A student in Standard Bank’s IT department gave support to the previously existing staff when responding to mechanical breakdowns and customer queries. Businesses which had employees that had gone through work based learning operated efficiently as the employees were competent and motivated to perform their duties. Learners who went through work based training acquired in depth knowledge on the business operations. This helped them to internalise the concepts that had been learnt in class. During the course of such programs, these employees and students were exposed to positive work values such as teamwork. They also got to understand what team work was all about and its importance in a work place. At Standard Bank, employees held morning sessions together where they shared work place challenges and discussed their welfare. Most importantly, learners were presented with an opportunity to learn more business techniques and acquire more ideas which they could advance further. At Standard Bank, the learner acquired skills on software programming as well as trouble shooting skills for the bank’s computer system. Work based learning programs were important because they assist in developing a holistic individual as they enabled the learners to acquire other life skills such as interpersonal skills, communication skills, time management skills and leadership skills (Raelin, 2008). Task 3: Undertaking Work Experience 3.1 Fulfilment of Placement Requirements Related to Code of Ethics Work based learning programs were regulated by government legislation and code of ethics that guided staff at the work place. Government regulated these programs through use of accreditation. Accreditation assisted in promoting the acceptability of work based learning among employers and learners. Some of the legislation meant to encourage employers to accept work based learning was that those that accepted these programs were favoured by the government. Such employers easily received grants from the government. Employees were also attracted to work based programs that were accredited as they know that they were regulated thus would provide better platforms for learning. The set code of ethics and learning requirements ensured that both the employer and employee got mutual benefits from the programs. They also aimed at streamlining the operations of the business as well as had a focus on the organisational goals. Such arrangements ensured growth of both parties and creation of proper working relations. A business computing student at Standard Bank was expected to abide by the bank’s set code of ethics. This involved providing a facilitative role towards achievement of the bank’s objectives. The program plan respected the company’s code of ethics and met the requirement set in government legislation. The student was also expected to develop new procedures that would ensure that the learning objectives, the bank’s objectives and the government’s interests in the program were achieved at minimum cost. 3.2 Producing Systematic Challenges of Work Experience During the training period at Standard Bank, the learner gave the constraints involved in different tasks and overall challenges faced by the organisation while co-ordinating and managing work based learning programs. The learner identified challenges and gave a description using practical cases and examples. The description involved giving clear relationships and outlining the effects of such challenges on the quality of learning for the program. In the program proposal the learner should gave proposed solutions for every challenge identified. The IT department at Standard Bank presented several challenges to the learner. Proper introductions to colleague staff and familiarisation should have been done at the beginning of the program and it should have been done in an elaborate way. This was to ensure that the learner set of on the right track and also ensured that they do not encounter challenges that could have been prevented by a proper introduction to the work place. Another challenge the learner might face was a disparity between the knowledge acquired in class and the knowledge in the work place. In some areas, class content was more advanced than the existing technology in in the bank or the technology in the bank was different from the content learnt in computer classes. This posed a great challenge as the learner had to strain and learn so much in a short time so that they would be able to keep pace with the rest of the staff. If such a challenge was not addressed adequately and on time the learner would find the learning from some departments to be irrelevant or the employer might miss out on some valuable input from the learner. 3.3 Revision of Initial Plan As a result of different reasons, the initial work based learning was to be revised depending on the time and the results at different stages of the program. Revision of the plan was important as it ensured that the original intended outcomes of the program were met. Plan revision involved adjusting the timing and schedules for the remaining activities by adding or reducing time as it would be necessary. This ensured adequate coverage of each section and that the learner had adequate time to acquire the intended learning from each section. A learner at Standard Bank divided their plan into four stages and scheduled a revision at the end of each stage. This was to be done in consultation with the supervisor so as to ensure congruency and consistency. Revision would be used to focus more on the finance and IT departments for a business computing learner (Heyler, 2010). 3.4 Suggestions for Improvement Once revision was done, the learner and their supervisor would add the suggestions made during the revision to the learning plan. This served to ensure that both the business and the learner benefited maximally from the learning program. The learner then considered suggestions such as provision of more equipment and fine tuning the program so that it included every aspect of the business. However, such inclusions were done with caution so as not to lose focus on the main fields of study. The learner at Standard Bank should included suggestions to overcome challenges already experienced during the learning program. Task 4: Monitoring and Evaluating Performance 4.1Monitor Progress against Original Proposal The learner at Standard Bank was able to successfully work in both the finance and IT departments though the learning period. The skills acquired were software programming skills, transaction authorisation and processing knowledge and system maintenance skills. The student was lucky to participate in a major upgrade of the bank’s system. During this activity, the student acquired technical skills on system maintenance and improvement. These were successfully covered as they had been outlined in the learning proposal. Most of the tasks were accomplished successfully and signed by the supervisor as complete. 4.2 Evaluation of Quality for Own Performance The work based learning at Standard Bank was comprehensive and it aimed at creating a well-rounded employee. The student was able to complete tasks to the required standards and within the allocated time. The academic supervisor supported this in their statement upon successful completion of the program. The learner was also able to engage the business at a tactical level and under the supervision of the industrial supervisor, they were able implement their ideas towards improvement of operations at the bank. 4.3 Analysis of the Learning The work based learning program was relevant as it enabled the student to have to acquire practical skills and to exercise the knowledge learnt in class. In the case of a computing student, work based learning provide a platform to apply programming skills. The student was able to program and develop software for business purposes. The program also diversified the student’s knowledge as they were exposed to banking operations as that was the core business for the organisation. 4.4 Recommendations There are some measures that should be taken to improve work based learning programs. The government should create a fund that will be used to support students while on the program. This fund will be used to provide remuneration to students. This will go a long way in giving students motivation to work diligently. There should also be a fund created for that will cater for employers. This fund will be used to provide compensation for the costs of training learners. This would be handy as currently the employers do not have a visible way of realizing benefits of having learners in the organisation. Finally the trainers and supervisors should be adequately trained so as to effectively and efficiently guide the learners while on work based training. Bibliography Costley, C. (2010). Doing Work Based Research: Approaches to Enquiry for Insider-Researchers. New York: Sage Publisher. Heyler, R. (2010). The Work-Based Learning Student Handbook. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Raelin, J. (2008). Work-Based Learning: Bridging Knowledge and Action in the Workplace. Chicago: John Wiley & Sons. Stephenson, J., Stephenson, J., Yorke, M., & Yorke, M. (Eds.). (2013). Capability and quality in higher education. Routledge. Kolb, D. A. (2014). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. FT Press. Gruenewald, D. A., & Smith, G. A. (Eds.). (2014). Place-based education in the global age: Local diversity. Routledge. Read More