The Concept of Learning Theories - Essay Example

?Answer: No Learning is a process of obtaining knowledge through different kinds of experiences. Aul (2008) s, “Learning is the acquisition ofknowledge or skill through education and experience”. One can never deny the importance of learning in bringing change in an individual’s behavior. Learning means to acquire knowledge through different experiences and incidents, which an individual comes across during the span of life. Without learning different forms of behaviors, an individual cannot know how to express emotions and how to behave in any specific environment in an appropriate manner. Learning theories also stress that behaviors are based on conditioning, and without experiences, it is not possible for an individual to shape his or her behavior in a positive way. Learning is a process, which makes a person perfect in all fields of life. We can take an example of a country’s laws, which are made by the government of that country to make the citizens live their lives accordingly. Laws are very important for the whole nation’s progress because they are solutions to all sorts of political and social problems. All citizens are supposed to respect the laws in order to live a peaceful and systematic life. If a person breaks a law, the law-enforcing department of that country punishes that person for breaking that specific law. Now that punishment will act as a process of learning for that person based on his personal experience, as he will never try to break that law again in life. Learning plays its part in all aspects of an individual’s life, such as, education, social interactions, decision-making, and professional life. In education, learning is an ongoing process. A child starts learning from a very early age in school and keeps on learning different behaviors and emotions, which he observes. Learning those behaviors and emotions are very important for a child in order to survive in society in a proper way. Education is another word for learning because it makes us aware of different things, which we do not know. Teachers make us view the life from different angles strengthening our process of learning. We get awareness about different subjects in schools and express the acquired knowledge in different social and professional environments. Learning also improves our social interactions in an effective manner. We learn different behaviors and expressions from the people around us and make use of those behaviors while interacting with other people. Effective social interactions need a good knowledge of all requirements of effective communication. When a person has required knowledge of how to communicate effectively with other people, he does not find any kind of difficulty in improving his social interactions. Without having knowledge of effective communication skills, a person can never interact properly with other people. Learning is a process, which improves our social interaction skills by making us acquire required knowledge related to effective communication essentials. Learning also helps us progress in our professional lives. A person interacts with other people, such as, colleagues and managers, and acquires knowledge, which helps that person progress in professional career. Effective workplace communication skills are essential for the success of an employee. Without learning effective communication skills, an employee can never achieve desired success in his professional life. An employee needs to learn how to interact effectively with colleagues and other officials in order to open the chances for professional success. Learning also helps us improve our decision-making abilities. Without good and sufficient knowledge, we cannot take correct decisions because decision-making needs knowledge of all aspects of a situation. Learning injects that knowledge in our minds based on our own experiences, which helps us take correct and the most suitable decision regarding any specific matter. Learning is an intangible process. “Our ability to learn and our intellectual capacity are intangibles” (Aul, 2008). Although learning is an intangible process but it is one of the greatest assets for any individual because it not only updates knowledge about different aspects of life but also helps an individual grow and progress in life. Proper growth and development of an individual requires proper knowledge of all positive and negative aspects of life. Learning shapes our behavior in a sense that when we observe and analyze different behaviors of people around us; we shape our own behavior accordingly to move in the society confidently. Aul (2008) asserts, “Learning is vitally important because it helps us make informed choices about our own lives and the societies that we live in”. Learning is a normal and ongoing activity just like eating, sleeping, or any other daily activity. The difference is that other activities do not require any sort of experience whereas learning is based totally on experiences. Whatever we experience in our daily life makes a positive or negative impact on our minds and that impact invokes the process of learning. Our minds continue to learn different behaviors and attitudes whole day. When we experience something good or inspiring, it makes us shape a positive behavior and when we experience something hazardous, it creates a negative impact on our minds and shape a negative behavior based on that specific experience. Learning is a process, which makes us improve our personal and professional lives in a perfect manner. We learn precious knowledge from different experiences and apply that knowledge in carrying out different daily life activities. Therefore, we can say that learning is truly the acquisition of precious knowledge, skills, and abilities through different levels of education and daily life experiences. Answer: No: 2 Employees’ attitude plays a critical role not only in the success of the employees but also in making the companies achieve their desired goals and objectives effectively. Lo (n.d.) states, “Employee attitudes can make or break business profitability and sustainability efforts”. The attitude of employees towards their job responsibilities should be positive and productive in order to make their companies achieve competitive advantage in the market. If the attitude of employees of a company is not positive, it not only affects the professional progress of employees but also adversely affects productivity of the company. This is the reason why managers want to monitor the attitudes of their employees in order to change their negative attitudes and make the employees productive for their companies. It is the attitude of an employee, which reflects whether that employee will turn into an opportunity for the company or he will create problems for the company through his unprofessional attitude towards his job responsibilities. Monitoring of employees’ attitudes is a different act as compared to changing the attitude of employees. Monitoring employees’ attitudes means observing the good and bad qualities of the employees and comparing those qualities or attitudes with organizational needs and requirements. Changing employees’ attitudes comes after monitoring. Once the managers are done with monitoring, they analyze the positive and negative effects of those attitudes on the company. If the managers do not find any specific attitude appropriate for the company, they take steps to alter that attitude of the employees. Change plays a vital role in the success of a company. Managers need to change their organizational structure, policies, and employees’ attitudes in order to make them profitable and productive for the company. Those companies, which do not put any effort on analyzing the need for change and implementing a positive change, face difficulties in moving along with the pace of competition. Apart from changes in organizational structure and policies, managers need to concentrate properly towards positive changes in the employees’ attitudes. Managers do not just need to hire and train employees; they also need to develop the attitudes of their employees in order to make them a beneficial part of the company. A company hires an employee based on qualification, experience, and skills, which make that employee suitable for the company. After hiring, the managers provide him with different kinds of training lessons in order to get various benefits from the employee, such as, increase in productivity, increase in efficiency, and improvement in the quality of products and services. Achievement of these tasks depends on an employee’s approach towards the job responsibilities. If an employee works with full dedication and commitment, he can play his part in achieving those tasks for the company but if an employee is not sincere with the company, he can never become productive for the company. In such cases, managers need to change the attitude of such employees in order to turn the problems into opportunities for their companies. Managers need to go beyond typical training lessons for creating a positive change in the employees’ attitudes. They need to focus on how to make their employees become productive for the company and how to make them utilize their skills and abilities in a more effective manner. Managers need to make employees use their abilities; they do not need to train them because when a company hires some employees, the managers of the company analyze the potential and abilities of those employees before selecting them for the company. Therefore, a company does not need to train such employees, rather the managers of a company need to motivate those employees for the benefits of the company. Managers of a company need to listen to the employees in order to know their concerns. Employees never make their attitude negative if the company takes care of their basic needs and demands. Managers need to encourage the employees in order to make them fulfill their job responsibilities in an efficient manner. Employees also require positive feedbacks and appreciation by the managers in return of their hard work. Employees look towards their managers if they have any concerns or complaints and if the managers resolve their issues effectively, then employees’ attitude never become negative towards their jobs. “Listening to employee complaints and offering constructive feedback and resolutions encourages positive thinking” (Lo, n.d.). Employers can use a number of ways to change employees’ attitude. Some of the most effective ways to change employees’ attitude include: 1. Engaging the employees in open dialogues in order to monitor and analyze their attitudes. 2. Encouraging employees to share ideas regarding workplace relations and organizational performance. 3. Keeping employees informed of all workplace strategies and holding regular meetings with the employees to inform them about changes in policies. 4. Allowing employees to share their ideas in implementing policies. 5. Arranging team-building activities to promote harmony and unity among the employees. 6. Appreciating employees for their hard work by implementing rewards and bonuses system in the company. 7. Maintaining friendly relationships with the employees and motivating them to become productive for the company. 8. Recognizing employee efforts and productivity by providing employees with bonuses, certificates, and promotions. 9. Encouraging positive attitudes and motivating employees towards hard work. 10. Providing employees with required workplace safety, job security, and incentives for their hard work. These were some of the most influencing ways, which the managers can use to change negative behaviors of the employees into positive ones and to make the employees productive for their companies. Answer: No: 3 Before going into the discussion regarding barriers to communication, let us get a better understanding of what communication actually is. Communication is the transfer of information that takes place between two or more people. It is the exchange of words, symbols, or expressions between people. If we talk from organizational perspective, communication is a process that takes place between the employees, managers, and customers of a company. Workplace communication is somewhat different and more formal as compared to normal communication. The difference between normal communication and workplace communication is that normal communication can be of any nature and can take place anywhere between two or more people, whereas workplace communication is related to job related tasks and takes place at the workplace. Effective workplace communication is a key to success for any company in today’s competitive market. Employees need to communicate effectively with each other and with the managers because ineffective communication, expression of bad attitudes and behaviors, and communication misunderstandings can lead a company’s way towards many problems. Therefore, it is very important for the employees and the managers of a company to possess excellent communication skills in order to strengthen their working relationships because negative attitudes and poor communication skills put adverse effects not only on the professional progress of employees but also on the company. Apart from the need of effective communication skills, there exist different kinds of barriers to effective communication, which managers need to overcome in order to ensure effective communication at the workplace. Barriers to interpersonal communication mean those hurdles or difficulties that affect the process of effective communication. These barriers affect communication process by preventing the messages from reaching the desired end. Some of those barriers include language barrier, interruptions, perceptual barrier, physical barrier, poor listening skills, and lack of feedback. Let us discuss these barriers in some detail in order to get a better understanding of how they affect the process of communication at the workplace. Language Barrier Pillai (2010) states, “Inability to converse in a language that is known by both the sender and receiver is the greatest barrier to effective communication”. This barrier arises when a language of communication is not understandable by any one of the parties involved in the process of communication. Language barrier also arises due to semantic gap, which arises when a person makes use of such words or expressions, which have different meanings in different cultures. As the manager of a company, I will ensure use of such language at the workplace, which should be understandable by everyone working for the company. I will eradicate use of any such language, which can make the communication between the employees and the managers ineffective. Poor Communication Skills Problems in communication arise when some employees have poor communication skills and they cannot communicate with each other effectively. Barriers to communication arise when some of the employees are not ready to listen and the presenter starts presenting his ideas. In such situations, people do not understand the idea properly resulting in making the communication process unproductive. As a manager, I will train my employees to improve their listening and communication skills. I will ensure a friendly workplace environment where employees do not feel any difficulty in presenting their ideas confidently to the managers. Perceptual Barrier This form of barrier arises when we perceive individuals incorrectly and think that all individuals involved in the process of communication think the same way. The chances of perceptual barriers increase when a large number of people belonging to different cultures and societies communicate with each other. As a manager, I will ensure clear and meaningful communication at the workplace in order to overcome perception difficulties. Physical Barrier Physical barrier arises when employees have no physical access to each other and they communicate using telephones and emails. Some of the common types of physical barriers include uncomfortable locations, physical appearance of the communicators, closed office doors, and noise. As a manager, I will take steps to overcome physical barriers by ensuring communication processes to take place at suitable locations and by implementing rules to do formal dressing during meetings and presentations. I will also ensure no noise at the workplace so that employees do not face any difficulty in interacting with each other. Lack of Feedback Another barrier to effective workplace communication lack of feedback that the people involved in communication process should receive. Feedback makes a presenter aware of credibility of his ideas. The process of communication is one-way without proper feedback because if a presenter does not get a feedback from the audience, he will never know how the audience perceives his ideas. Feedback plays an active role in the process of communication as it helps people do a meaningful communication, which should be understandable by everyone. Feedback makes the process of communication continuous and productive. As the manager of a company, I will teach my employees the outcomes and benefits of feedback in making the communication process effective and productive. I will take steps to make communication effective by encouraging my employees to give proper feedback to every idea presented by anyone at the workplace. Answer: No: 4 24 April 2011 The Human Resource Manager PO Box 123 Address of the Company Dear Sir/Madam Re: Assistant manager position I am applying for the post of Assistant Manager, which was advertised in ‘name of the newspaper’ on Sunday 10 April 2011. I have over 5 years of experience working as Assistant Manager Information Department for a couple of civil engineering firm based in New York. I have also completed a 6 months course in using different software products to gather and analyze data related to different projects. I have worked unsupervised in all of my previous employment positions, and that is the proof of my ability to handle all of sorts of tasks related to my job independently. I possess excellent communication and decision-making skills. I also possess the ability to lead my employees in an appropriate and effective manner. Moreover, I am also skilled in maintaining productive relationships with the clients. In the companies where I have worked before, I maintained excellent relationships with all of my employees and the upper level managers. I am a very friendly and disciplined person and never compromise on my principles. I have always worked in high profile companies and have served them my level best. I would like to take the challenge of working in this top ranked company as assistant manager information department. My qualification and professional experience in the field of business management and knowledge of all matters related to the post of assistant manager make me a very suitable candidate for this post. I have enclosed my resume with the letter. You can contact me anytime for the interview. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Yours faithfully, Your name Resume YOUR NAME Address Email address Contact number PROFILE: I am a business graduate, who is keen to find a position as an Assistant Manager. I have worked for a couple of civil engineering firms and gained a good understanding of what is required of an assistant manager information department. EDUCATION: Bachelor of Business Administration: Please include details EXPERIENCE: Your experience 1 Add details here Your experience 2 Add details here COMPUTER SKILLS: Microsoft Windows XP / Vista, Microsoft Office 2003 / 2007 (MS Office). INTERESTS: Playing soccer, using internet, and reading informative books REFERENCES: Will be furnished on Demand References Aul, K. (2008). The Importance of Learning. Retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Importance-of-Learning&id=1671654 Lo, R. (n.d.). How to Change Employees Attitudes. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/how_5071143_change-employee-attitudes.html Pillai, M. (2010). Barriers to Effective Communication. Retrieved from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/barriers-to-effective-communication.html Read More