Learning and Employee Development - Research Paper Example

?Employee Learning and Development in an Organization Executive Summary This paper explores theories and application of learning and development of employees in an organization. It will discuss some concepts related to how employees can improve themselves professionally and personally by availing of various opportunities offered in the workplace. Specifically, it will discuss the employee development strategies of McDonald’s Food Corporation, as gathered from research. The case of McDonald’s will support the principle that employee development impacts organizational efficiency and performance. Introduction The global financial crisis has turned some companies to scrimp on their budgets just keep them afloat in these difficult times. Many people have lost their jobs as a result of the budget cuts. For employees left to work to help their companies rise above the economic crunch, training and development are ensured in the expectation that it will contribute towards the betterment of not only the individual employee but of the whole organization as well. Employee development has been identified as key to improving overall organizational effectiveness. Jacobs and Washington (2003) have defined it as: “Employee development refers to an integrated set of planned programs, provided over a period of time, to help assure that all individuals have the competence necessary to perform to their fullest potential in support of the organization’s goals” ( 344). One organization that continues to reap success in spite of the economic crisis is McDonald’s Food Corporation. This company has gained a reputation for excellent standards in food and service. Recently, it is also being known as a supportive employer offering a remarkable employee development program. Background of the Organisation McDonald’s was first developed by brothers Dick and Mac McDonald in 1940. They concentrated on just a few products with their juicy hamburgers as their main seller. In 1954, Ray Kroc was appointed by the brothers to be the first franchisee in San Bernardino, California. He opened his first restaurant the following year in Des Plaines, Illinois and the McDonald’s Corporation was created (McSpotlight.org, 2010). The company upheld the highest quality in food, service, cleanliness and value that Quality, Service, Cleanliness and Value (Q.S.C. & V.) became the company motto since 1957. In 1961, Ray Kroc bought all rights to the McDonald’s concept from the McDonald brothers (mcspotlight.org). He also opened the Hamburger University in Elk Grove, near Chicago where people intending to be in the business were given high quality training and development. Since then, McDonald’s kept growing in terms of business and innovative products and concepts that attracted the international market to acquire franchise stores in their countries. The awards reaped by the company throughout the years prove that McDonald’s is one company committed not only to the highest standards of excellence in the food service industry but also to being a great employer that motivates its employees to strive for their best performance. Literature Review on Learning and Employee Development Nowadays, people have more access to learning. More and more training courses are developed and offered in schools and online for people who want to go further in what they know to gain skills and knowledge in their own areas of interest. The term learning may be defined in a myriad of ways. “Learning is the act or process by which behavioral change, knowledge, skills and attitudes are acquired” (Boyd, Apps, et al., 1980:100-101). Learning is not limited to schooling, especially for adult learners who seek knowledge from many sources other than schools. Knowles et al. (2007) theorizes that adult learning is organized around the notion that adults learn best in informal, comfortable, flexible and nonthreatening settings. Employees who engage in further learning have their own motivations that urge them to carry on. The motivation to learn is affected by the reinforcements to learning namely intrinsic motivation or the inner drive to learn which leads to personal fulfillment; extrinsic motivation, which consists of rewards such as high grades or a prize for performing well; social reinforcement, an example of which is praise and approval from significant persons in an individual's life; and achievement, or the attaining of the learning goal. Having an interplay of the four kinds of reinforcement is the most effective way to motivate a learner to pursue more knowledge and acquire more skills (Stoll, L., Fink, D. & Earl, L., 2003). In the humanistic view, adult learners are assumed to be motivated to learn as they are more conscious of its benefits. They experience needs and interests that learning satisfies. Their orientation to learning is practical and centered on their own lives. Adults value experience as the richest resource of learning, that is why they have no hesitations learning something while they are engaged in a new experience. “Nearly all adult education is voluntary. Educational activities must meet the needs of as adult learners in order to survive”( Ellias & Merriam, 1980: 135). Adult learners have a deep need to direct their own learning, possessing a pride and learning style that suits their own personalities. As people mature, individual differences increase with age. Accepting these assumptions of how adults learn, Carl Rogers (1969) claims that the learner is personally involved in a holistic way. His or her feelings and cognitive aspects are deep into the learning experience. Even when the learning stimulus comes from an external source, the sense of discovery, of reaching out, of grasping and comprehending comes from within. Rogers also emphasizes that learning makes a difference in the behavior, attitudes, even the personality of the learner. This is consistent with the definition of learning presented earlier. The learner is aware whether his learning meets his personal need, whether it leads toward what he wants to know and whether “it illuminates the dark area of ignorance the individual is experiencing. The locus of evaluation resides definitely in the learner.” Wright (2007) came up with a personal knowledge management plan for adult learners consisting of four interrelated dimensions - analytical, information, social and learning. The competencies under the Analytical dimension of Knowledge management are the abilities to interpret and make sense of problems encountered, envision solutions, apply techniques and models to understand and address problems, create new options to redefine issues and contextualize system elements and complexity of problems. The competencies listed under the information dimension include sourcing high quality information and assessing the value of such information as useful or not. It also includes organizing information and making it accessible for future use, synthesizing information gathered and communicating it to others effectively (Wright, 2007). In sum, it comprises how one finds information and makes it useful in his life. Social dimension of knowledge management include finding people who can help an individual address problems and collaborate with him in searching for information and/or solutions. Developing and maintaining trust within certain networks formed in the pursuit of knowledge is essential. To do so, one needs to develop skills in asking the right questions as well as sharing knowledge with others (Wright, 2007). Knowledge management is always linked to a learning dimension. This includes having the ability to sense patterns in things and situations, reflect on information and decisions, develop new knowledge, improve oneself and extend support to others by sharing knowledge (Wright, 2007). Merriam (2008) concludes that adult learning is not constrained to just cognitive processing but takes on a multidimensional phenomenon covering various contexts. This new information enhances the understanding of how adults learn as well as instructional strategies to further encourage adult learning (Heimlich & Horr, 2010). This includes encouraging reflection and dialogue, which are in themselves processes that need to be learned. Such linkage of the learning process to one’s learning context has made understanding of adult learning richer and more holistic. In the work environment, more and more employees yearn for learning and development and actually initiate its pursuit within the company. One example is the BT Group in the UK. Scott (2010) reports that the BT Group has taken the approach of providing generic training content online which is free at For employees who can access the company's learning management server and book a program in whatever training they need. BT then conducts an impact and learning study on the use by employees, which considers how they used the site, and how their performance improved as a result. BT’s director of learning, Peter Butler believes that adults need to be given freedom and opportunity to choose their learning paths and do not need to be controlled. This is consistent with humanistic learning theories. It addition, he reports that BT is experimenting with “social learning” by creating an environment that enables people to learn from each other and apply it to their jobs. Such professional communities within companies allow employees to network, share knowledge and experience, collaborate and learn for their own benefit and that of the company (Scott, 2010). This becomes a powerful and cost-effective way of improving the skills and experiences of employees. Arguments for a Proposed Employees Development plan Employers must be cognizant of and responsive to their employees’ perception of their psychological contracts with the company (Lester, Clair & Kickul, 2001). Non-material elements such as meaningful work, recognition, creative freedom and opportunities for personal growth, are desired by all employees. Management must maintain open and honest communication with employees, bearing in mind their socio-emotional needs and concerns, and being encouraging enough to boost their self-esteem. Lack of communication is ultimately problematic because it suggests to employees that management may be susceptible to perceived psychological contract breaches across a variety of areas because the basic issue of communication is not met. Employers must be able to invest more time developing and strengthening healthy relationships with their employees in various districts so they are kept abreast of their progress in both personal and professional areas. In line with understanding employees’ needs and concerns, employers should be ready to invest in their professional and personal development. Regular trainings and participation in seminars or enrollment in courses shouldered by the company (whether partial or full) may be perceived as part of the job, but it should be communicated to the employees that although application of their learning will highly profit the company, ultimately it will redound to their own benefit. This knowledge from trainings is bound to increase their as well as the company’s market value. Jeffrey (1995) surveyed organizations such as McDonald’s, that are recognized for their outstanding customer service and product quality. It was found that such organizations shared two strategies that were consistently identified. One is developing employees into professionals and the other one is motivating them to stay in the company and excel. An employee stays on with the company he works for if he finds satisfaction and fulfilment in it. The company, in turn, should do its part in developing the employee by tapping his potentials so he could put it into good use. Brown & Hunning (2010) have attempted to relate a worker’s goal orientation with job satisfaction. They claim that an individual’s job satisfaction depends on the kind of goal orientation they uphold. Goal orientation describes the individual’s disposition and current state, and this is influenced by outside factors. Three kinds of goal orientation include: a learning goal orientation wherein the individual focuses on improving his or her abilities; a performance prove orientation wherein he or she proves possessed skills and abilities in order to gain a reward; and lastly, a performance avoid orientation wherein the person seeks to avoid punishment by doing his tasks successfully. In relation to job satisfaction, when the individual has a learning goal orientation, he is likely to have job satisfaction even if he is not intrinsically motivated. This is because of his intrinsic desire for the job due to the learning it brings him. On the other hand, when the individual has a performance avoid goal orientation, he constantly worries about not making mistakes that it significantly reduces the job satisfaction he should feel even if he has a strong intrinsic motivation for the job. In this case, his goal orientation becomes a hindrance in achieving job satisfaction. Brown and Hunning (2010) recommend that organizations should encourage their employees to assume learning goal orientation strategies, however, they must do their part in creating the psychological climate necessary for learning balanced with the psychological climate for avoiding failure. In the case of McDonald’s learning is highly encouraged. From the setting up of Hamburger University to educate people in the food business, to welcoming students to work part time while offering them a suitable schedule to still accommodate their studies, the company has established its value for learning. Within each store, much learning and development ensue. Employees’ skills and potentials are maximized with effective motivational strategies. Aside from contributing to the improvement of employees, it also redounds to beneficial outcomes for the company. To management, their human resources are the company’s greatest wealth and are worth investing on. They see employees as the primary source of progress in terms of quality and productivity. Employee development takes on a learning orientation throughout the McDonald’s system. This shows the company’s commitment to empowering their people towards better performance in their work, thereby impacting organizational efficiency. In terms of professional development, promotion at work is given to deserving employees who have shown brilliance in their performance. One great example is Donald Thompson, who is an engineer by profession, but has risen from the ranks as president of McDonald’s. Thompson has proven his commitment to excellence as he implemented innovative strategies to increase profits for the company under his leadership. He has been open to learning a new field which is unfamiliar to him, and have come out of training with novel ideas to keep the company going (Hughes, 2007). Promotion to a higher position entails an increase in salary automatically. For example, staff who do apprenticeship work to become the crew trainer gives them higher wages. Apprenticeship involves studying further to improve oneself in the business. This is sponsored by the McDonald’s Education Company. Those who excel in apprenticeship are given the appropriate rewards. Employee recognition is one thing McDonald’s believe in. Their recognition programs are designed to reward and recognize worthy employees who exhibit above average performance. The President’s Award is given to the top 1% of individual performers worldwide in the corporate division and region offices. The Circle of Excellence award is bestowed upon top teams who contribute their efforts in advancing the company’s vision (McDonald’s.com) With the purpose of retaining their high-performing employees, McDonald’s has also devised ways to keep them such as helping them invest in their futures. Employees have access to financial management services, profit shares in the company as well as long-term incentives. These benefits are granted to key employees who have exhibited sustained quality performance and have impacted long-term value creation in the company (McDonald’s.com). An employee of the month is voted each month and then, each quarter. This motivates the employees to strive hard to be a candidate. The winner gets vouchers as rewards and becomes eligible as candidates towards Employee of the quarter, and rewards are increased as the employee goes up the hierarchy of the award. Another motivational scheme for employee development is rewarding employees for their loyalty to the company in the longevity of their employment. Employees who stay at McDonalds from 5 years are given monetary rewards every 5 years, and this increases in value every time. Personal development of employees is not to be neglected. McDonald’s company values include helping their employees be more aware and be engaged in helping not-for-profit organizations. They have a “Matching Gift Program” wherein the company matches employee gifts to qualified educational, civic, cultural, health and youth organizations with one dollar for every dollar the employee contributes, up to $5,000 a year (McDonald’s.com). This program is evidence that McDonald’s is a company with heart not only for their employees but for the betterment of all mankind. Being so blessed as a company, McDonald’s intend to share their blessings by motivating others to live quality lives. Basis for its critical success factors Many prestigious awards have been bestowed on McDonald’s. Among these are recognition of McDonald’s being a great place to work and being a great employer. A prominent distinction is the company’s commitment to developing its employees. the Business in the Community organization, recognizes employers who show responsibility in developing the potential of their employees. McDonald’s was recognized for its “Total Talent Commitment” in the years 2008 and 2009. For the year 2010, a Big Tick award for the “Skills in the Workplace Category” has been received by McDonald’s. In addition, it has been shortlisted to be a finalist in the National Awards for Excellence. This award recognizes efforts in developing employees’ potential, bridging the perception gap and being a responsible and active member of the community. In relation to the previous award in unlocking employee potential, McDonald’s has also been given the Investors in People ‘Gold’ award in 2009. This award is an upgrade from previously received awards for being investors in People profile status. McDonald’s is the first big organization in the UK to receive the profile status in Investors in People, and now, it has been recognized even more with a Gold status. It demonstrates continuous improvement especially by the people management section, who received top scores in the awards. The awards reaped throughout the years prove that McDonald’s is one company committed not only to the highest standards of excellence in the food service industry but also to being a great employer that motivates its employees to strive for their best performance. Such success of the organization is based on the alignment of values of employees to the company’s. Differing values create conflict and will impede goal achievement. According to Mishra and Morrissey (1990), the following factors propagate trust: open communication; giving workers a greater share in decision making; sharing of critical information and true sharing of perceptions and feelings. The shared goals for learning and development is communicated to the whole organisation and is translated into action through its meticulous planning and implementation system. Each member of the staff is aware of the employment development strategies and collaborate on achieving the success of the plans. Being a recipient of numerous rewards, it has become part of the McDonald’s culture to strive for excellence. Hence, a detailed agenda to improve their performance in all areas is also documented, with a side purpose of reaping more awards in the future. Conclusion McDonald’s is one organization that invests much in its employee development program by way of training and reward system. It embraces a learning goal orientation which encourages its employees to focus on improving themselves by fulfilling their learning goals. Success in this translates to success for the organisation. Lifelong learning is a right everyone has a claim to if only individuals know where to find learning. The current times offer endless possibilities for learning and it is not restricted to the four walls of the classroom. People have innate drives to improve themselves not only personally, but also professionally. Organizations and workplaces are settings that such learning and development should take place. Employee development is an essential motivational strategy that results in positive outcomes not only for the employees but collectively, benefits also redound to the organization providing the employee development program. 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