Knowledge and Talent Development - Essay Example

? Knowledge and Talent Development By Insert Presented to Location Due Introduction Human Resources departments are regarded as strategic partners in an organization besides the traditional administration roles. HR managers work with the senior management in establishing the strategic direction of the organization. The effectiveness of employees, as designed in the HR strategies, is a crucial component in achieving positive business outcomes. Every company has a comprehensive and structured set of techniques that an organization adopts in order to improve quality, efficiency, and reliability of their goods and services. These strategies are all geared towards making the organization globally competitive and adhere to the established standards and best business practices. This approach cuts across all departments, employees, suppliers and the clients of the organization. Talent development and knowledge management are geared towards improving the performance of both the employees and organization. According to Garavan Et al (2012), talent developments are activities that ensure the rightful management of the human resources. Talent development in organizations has progressed in line with changes experienced in the world such as globalization, technology, and culture. Talent development leads to efficient systems that result in job satisfaction, effective career growth, increased motivation, and organizational commitment of the employees. As a result, this leads to the creation of a favorable working environment build on trust and relationship where employees are able to make proper and informed judgments. Knowledge and Talent Development According Herzberg’s Hygiene theory on employee motivation, employees experience job contentment when they fulfill career growth and needs (Lunenburg & Ornstein, 2012, p. 16). When employees exhibit a strong desire to be part of a particular organization, they are willing to exert high levels of their efforts on behalf of their organization. Employee satisfaction plays a pivotal function in increasing the productivity of employees. Motivation commits the employees to work passionately in order to gain promotion, new skills, more remuneration, and benefits. The employees of an organization need to be provided with the necessary information, training, mentoring, and coaching is necessary to improve their competencies. A company should nurture talented individuals that will help the company in adapting to ever-changing market conditions. The performance of the company is dependent on the staffs available coupled with their skills to handle the tasks assigned. It is important to note that employees are one of the biggest assets in a company as involved in the daily operations within the company (Betts & Holden, 2003, p. 284). Their responsibilities are critical for the success of the business objectives and implementing the policies set by the management team. In their research study on human resource practices, Somerville, Et al (2004) assessed the link between the HRM practices, strategic goals and financial performance in an organization. They argue that HRM practices should incorporate talent development and on-job training. It is important for a firm to ensure that their employees are adequately satisfied with their job assignments. The needs and interests of an employee are dictated by the policies and environment of an organization. Such needs include; proper remuneration, respect and training that lead to a decent standard of living. According to Maslow’s Needs Hierarchy theory, satisfying the needs of an employee boosts his/her work esteem and attentiveness at work (Lauby, 2005, p. 2). It is important to note that financial satisfaction does not guarantee full satisfaction; therefore, a company should identify other employee needs. The initial process of hiring employees to the organization involves providing them with the necessary information, training, mentoring, and coaching. The programs are intended to make new employees familiar with the overall goals of a company and support them as they get on with their duties. This is done all in an effort to achieve the perception of productivity faster. Every employee has unique dreams and goals to pursue, which require practical actions and strategies along with different knowledge and skills to realize the full potential. Similarly, the sustainability of an organization’s long-term and short-term success need practical steps to adopt and implement changes in accordance with the changing trends, technologies, clients’ preferences and future concerns (Somerville & McConnell-Imbriotis, 2004, p. 240). As most businesses adapt to the globalization pressure, the administration of the human resources is vital to permit new and innovative ways to conduct business through deliberate strategic changes. Under such circumstances, organizations will comfortably match the volatility needs of the environment through collaborative arrangements, workforce diversification and faster penetration throughout the development process. Training is a key component in the performance of workers; therefore, investment in vocational training and education is paramount (Betts & Holden, 2003, p. 284). First-hand experience helps a learner to meet the required results and demands of the workplace as opposed to uninformed performance set of training from the formal institutions (Smith & Taylor, 2000, p. 200). Practical learning plays a big role in allowing the special needs’ students come up with new beliefs, knowledge, assumptions and values. This ensures that they are independent in thinking critically and have a capacity to make judgments on their own in managing the contemporary fast changing environment. Competency based learning involves specific, measurable outcomes based on the descriptions of the actual job performance and the required competencies in the workplace. This is the approach of coming up with instructional experiences that make the attainment of knowledge and expertise more efficient, valuable, and interesting. Various approaches can be used in the development of talent that may involve practical demonstrations, instructions, delegations, and through formal facilitation. This allows for active participation through sensing, visual, verbal communication, and the auditory approach. Further, knowledge and competence management require continuous training to provide relevant and focused skills acquired for better performance and matches the standards in the industry and the globe at large. This will envision the continuation of social and economic factors, promotion of employee training to move towards globalized markets and technology that will heavily influence the learners’ skills. The practice comprises generally of the determination of the present situation and needs of the employee as well as the definition of the ending aim of instruction. The training is more practical and less theoretic, defined for specific occupational tasks. It has helped learners to understand the world practically by engaging in it and seeking to understand processes by applying theoretical concepts (Smith & Taylor, 2000, p. 200). The main aim for this training is to provide skills and expertise required in the corporate field. According to the Kolb’s Learning Cycle, it is advisable to use practical solutions in solving the challenges that are in existent in a certain organization. This is achievable through providing the necessary information, knowledge, and methods to realize that objective and coordinate the disagreeing interests (Raiden & Dainty, 2006, p. 67). HR managers should adopt certain principles in the implementation of a learning culture and effectiveness of learning theories within an organization. These are team learning, shared vision, psychological learning, individual, and systems thinking. Potential of team learning is much greater than individual learning (Lee-Kelley, Blackman, & Hurst, 2007, p. 206). Thus, learning should be shared within the team and build a shared vision the organization. This ensures that all individuals contribute towards the vision to enable its materialization. Individual learning requires clarifying and deepening an individual’s personal vision using continual assessment. This enables the internalization of vision, thus the individual can take up new challenges confidently. The Systems enable individuals to look beyond the immediate circumstances and realize the impact of their actions on others and the organization. Talent development requires a committed leadership to guide the process, adoption of effective communication tools, continuous training of the employees on team skills and an open organization where work teams are empowered. Raiden & Dainty (2006) observe that the management team should use a directional strategy that inspires the successful course of an organization. Being clear and articulate to the vision, this ensures that the employees and the company’s leadership are in concurrence. This ability to differentiate the significant strategies, to form objective opinions and to estimate the effect that different variables will have on performance is the essence of good judgment. Flourishing learning and knowledge management requires internal processes to support them and a vision that values learning and knowledge. This requires training in the correct knowledge. This should be done appropriately and timely. The experiential learning theory explains how the HR manager can assess individual development of the preferred learning style chosen, often indicated by the positive or negative responses of motivation demonstrated (Easterby-Smith, Araujo, & Burgoyne, 1999, p. 18). For instance, Kolb believed that individuals would automatically choose different styles of learning. This learning theory is especially important for an HR manager to understand as the promotion of different styles of learning and tailoring them to specific individuals (Bechtold, 1997, p. 197). Research shows that organizations are moving ever closer to this objective of increasing the variety of training options on offer, which employees can access in different forms. One such organization does this by offering computer application training programs that employees can work through during quiet periods and feedback suggests that this strategy has been successful. Learning leads to the attainment of a culture in an organization that guides the long-term goals and future employees (Gannon & Maher, 2012, p. 445). The potency of the organizational culture is an important factor in determining the organizational performance but of greater significance is the extent to which the pattern of behavior supported by its integrated into the requirements of an organization (Piansoongnern & Anurit, 2010, p. 291). Therefore, an extremely strong organization culture may be appropriate for organizations working in a vibrant setting. For instance, Wal-Mart Company in the United States has a focused policy for human resources management and development. The owners believe in the philosophy of investing time and money in training people and retaining developing employees. The motivation theory elaborates the factors that make people behave in a certain way as individuals and as a group. Motivation is the processes that account for a person’s intensity, direction, and persistence in attaining a goal. Motivation sets a direction that shows utilization of individuals’ efforts in the right way in order to achieve goals as well as developing determination (Antal, Child, Dierkes, & Nonaka, 2003, p. 13). Determination shows how appropriate and extensively does an individual makes an effort in order to achieve the set objectives. Motivation development helps in making the team in an organization satisfied with the roles they are assigned and the behavior at work. This satisfaction can be influenced by attitude, emotions, values, and personality of the other members. Behaviors acquired by team members are also dependent on the structure of the organization. In teams, no one member performs duties or thinks identically where each member has his contribution to make based on his judgment. It is apparent that some of the members’ attitudes and personality may be similar though not entirely (Merx-Chermin & Nijhof, 2005, p. 139). With proper recruitment and policy, a company is able to have a culture that will ensure commitment to employee satisfaction, through continuous improvement and training in all departments of the business. With the development of a plan of action, the human resources manager needs to organize the company’s team and resources. For any company to succeed there is need to have a structure that defines clearly the objectives of a company, the company policies, roles, and responsibilities of staffs (Ursic, Nikl, Mulej, & Cestar, 2006, p. 83). Leadership is a relationship that is jointly developed by both the followers and leaders. Leadership is crucial and tentatively steady with the existing setting on the significance of efficient health performance. The followers in an organizational setting include employees, clients, and owners. The attitudes, decisions, and behaviors of the followers influence the delivery of services in an institution. Elaborate management strategies are crucial in leadership, which should cut across the followers to the eventual business outcomes. A healthy nursing environment demands for strong and transformational leadership in order to enhance positive patient outcomes and satisfaction (Dixon, 2000, p. 8). The key roles of the leaders include vibrant practice, irrefutable leadership, and professional competence. All institutions are subtle, thus the decisions made by the leaders and junior staffs are crucial in the achievement of the required objectives. The role of followers in supporting the creation and maintenance of a healthy work environment by the leaders cannot be underestimated. It is the objective of the management team to provide an enabling environment for the stakeholders. Good leadership results in an efficient system that leads to job satisfaction, effective career growth, increased motivation, and organizational commitment among the followers. Kelly (2012) notes that effective leadership leads to the creation of a favorable working environment build on trust and relationship where followers are able to make proper and informed judgments. Moreover, the institutions afford greater autonomy to pursue different activities of which the management should strategically coordinate to provide synergy and achieve competencies (Kelly, 2012). With proper management, there is improved efficiency since the inputs of all stakeholders are recognized while elaborate strategies put in place to help in generating positive outcomes. Currently, the management style in organizations is largely task-oriented leaving slight independence on essential matters such as staff recruitment and workforce turnover. According to Forest and Kleiner (2011), the transitional style in nursing has unplanned consequences such as minimizing morale and improving the workforce turnover on the followers. Conversely, they propose the transformational style since it aids in reducing turnover, increasing morale among the employees and help in the recruitment of the staffs. The transactional and transformational leadership styles, according to Forest and Kleiner (2011), have differing impacts on the retention and employment of employees in an institution. Depending on the style taken by the leaders, the results generated from either style are different. The transactional style, largely seen as bureaucratic, generates positive results but does not give the staffs a chance to build an enabling environment. In fact, the style discounts the input and creativity of the followers thereby affecting the long-term effects on matters such as devotion, morale, and commitment. Researches indicate that inadequate training and poor support systems are some of the reasons given by the nurses for leaving their places of work (Nuria & Rafael, 2010, p. 201). Conclusion Organisations exist since they form a means in which the human economic activity can be strategically controlled and coordinated. HR practices demand the execution of the best approaches by aligning human resources with a company’s strategic goals. Talent development and knowledge management are fundamental social progression informed by social interactions and takes various forms. As the world becomes more interconnected, policies should be geared towards providing the necessary standards and solutions in organizations. The challenges are different in different areas; therefore, the mode of approach should put into consideration all the underlying factors in the acquisition of knowledge and education. Strategies on effective operations include collective decision-making, improved organizational culture, better accountability, and logical policy formulation through interactions with different stakeholders. Continuous improvement of employees is important for the long term and sustainable goals of an organization. This ensures a collective sharing of knowledge, decision-making, information and the alignment of the teams’ work goals with that of the organization. References Antal, A. B., Child, J., Dierkes, M., & Nonaka, I. (2003). Handbook of organisational learning and knowledge. Oxford : Oxford Univ. Press. Betts, J., & Holden, R. (2003). Organisationallearning in a public sector organisation: A case study in muddled thinking. Journal of Workplace Learning , 280-287. Bechtold, B.L. 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