E-learning as a Tool for Human Resource Management - Essay Example

1 THE IMPORTANCE OF E-LEARNING AS A TOOL FOR HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Introduction Among all businesses in the world today, the banking business is one of those shaken by intense competition as more banks are incorporated to steal a major slice of the banking share pie. Indeed the banking environment is one of constant change. Each bank has to go with the flow, undergo modern automation such as ATM, electronic fund transfers etc. Each has to accept that high technology, innovations, new business systems and upgrading of information technology are essential things that it must swallow lest they'll end up folding down or be absorbed in some kind of mergers (Bratton 2001, p.174). To the HR manager pertains the task of recruiting, training and deploying qualified manpower to run these activities efficiently and must prepare them to be ready to absorb all knowledge required by changes in technology and business systems and by the forward leaps of innovations that complicate the banking system (Barltrop 1992, p.96). This trove of knowledge must come quick and be at their fingertips at moment's notice and must be dovetailed with all aspects so that the bank can run as one whole efficient machine. HRM must deal with this aspect in conjunction with its traditional roles of recruitment, training, performance appraisal and salary administration (Sims 2006, p.150). The hiring of management trainees, another phenomenon that finds popular practice in the banking sector, creates the need for equipping these fresh-business graduates with all 2 the banking knowledge within a short span of time. (Reskin 1990, p. 158). Often called OJT, they are often pressured to acquire "often idiosyncratic information linked to specific jobs, such as evolving technology systems, regulations or agency procedures" (Berman 2006, p.227). But it really is the HR manager himself, who needs all these knowledge vis--vis his role of retaining all these bright employees and stemming the tide of employee dissatisfaction in the sphere of compensation, job motivation and morale. He must be constantly updated with all the latest techniques. He needs retraining himself in interpersonal and leadership skills and must bone up on actual case studies in order to learn from the failings or success of others and must improve his communication skills and find the possible causes for high turnover rates, if such is presently bedeviling the corporation itself. The heaviest load thrown in his shoulders, however, is the maximisation of employee performance. And this can be done by a sound and efficient organisation that keeps "all programs and initiatives aligned to a framework of increased performance" (Stockley 2005, p.1). Literature Review Many authors of HRM literature point out to e-learning as the panacea to all the above problems . Human resource management, itself is defined as "a set of interdependent personnel policies to maximise 4 objectives: organisational integration, employee commitment, flexibility and quality" (Clark 1993, p.3). E-learning, meanwhile, is defined as "learning facilitated and supported through the use of information and communications technology" (Lingham 2008, p.1). It is also "the "use of the internet or an organizational intranet to conduct training on-line". By intranet, he is referring to a 3 "private organizational network behind firewall software that restricts access to authorised users, including employees participating in learning" Mathis 2006, p.281). This is more germane to my proposal of the setting up of e-learning in banks and making it an effective tool for HRM. Today's literature is replete with enthusiasm about this modern literacy that is permeating practically all facets of society. It is called a "technological revolution that is bringing democratic changes to our society" and describes how the US Education Department and independent research institutes and universities consider the urgency of the implementation to maximise the use of e-learning in their organisations (National Educational Technology Plan 2008, pp. 6-7). E-learning since the last decades has already gained foothold in homes and thus virtually everybody is acquainted with it as people communicate with friends or loved ones through the internet or by e-mail. So it is not beyond comprehension that this could have myriads of uses and could be useful as tool for human resource management, specifically in banks. Most of us have had experiences tinkering with e-mail, websites, C-D Roms, and video conferencing. Thus the excitement to push this project. The basic nature of e-learning is that it is "the delivery of learning, training or education program by electronic means" (Stockley 2003, p.1). It always involves the utilisation of a computer or some electronic device to give anyone an online education. This learning 4 programme knows no distance or boundary and requires merely broadband connection and delivers the sought-after knowledge via the internet, intranet, satellite, CD-Rom and even through audio and videotape. E-learning easily caught fire and gained momentum because one need not travel to seek out knowledge. It can be done in the privacy of one's room and at one's own pace. Thus, paraplegics and the physically disadvantaged can absorb so much information like the rest of humanity. It not only boasts advantages of convenience, flexibility and adaptibility but also its provision of a variety of learning experience. The use of multimedia and "streamed video, recorded lectures and MP3 files provide visual and audio learning that can be reviewed as often as needed" (Lingham 2008, p.1). E-learning has also been designed to enable people to communicate with each other and the tutor inside the confines of classroom. Today, e-mail, chat groups and computer-mediated conferencing make interaction between people possible. This is the basis for the development of teaching and learning via e-learning (Salmon 2002, p.4). Rosenberg identified 3 criteria of e-learning which are important because they point out the glaring reality that it is indeed very useful as tool for HRM. First, e-learning is "networked, which makes it capable of instant updating, storage, retrieval, distribution and sharing of instruction or information". Second, it is "delivered to the end-user via a computer using standard internet technology". Third, e-learning "focuses on the broadest view of learning- 5 learning solutions that go beyond the traditional paradigms of training" (Rosenberg 2000, pp.28-29). From said criteria, we can safely state that e-learning is useful in all kinds of business and all kinds of endeavour. Because there are so many benefits that can be gained from use of e-learning, it might be easy to convince banks to accept e-learning as tool for their HRM (Rosenberg 2000, p. 30). Banks might be persuaded that in the long run, e-learning cuts down training on information expenses. It is true that banks must shoulder an initial outlay for the acquisition of machines for e-learning implementation but the "cost of training per user goes down exponentially as more learners use e-learning course material" (Lingham 2008, p.1) which is constant and the same for everybody. Thus, there is consistency of knowledge for all knowledge takers and yet the programs can be altered according to individual specifications, depending on the learning needs of particular bank employees. Because in banks, business practices diversify so fast, it is important that innovations reach everybody simultaneously. Concomitant to this is the nature of e-learning to be easily updated and upgraded instantaneously. Thus, its content is always current and dependable. The bank's learning operations may also be considered global because employees may access all learning information anywhere they happen to be and at any time that's most convenient for them. It also has universality where it shares with the whole world the same material in the same way. The banks may also allow any number of learners to participate, presuming the machines had been put in place, with the least incremental cost. E-learning also 6 fosters bank unity, as each learner, whether employee or manager feels he is part of that community which is a partaker of one effort for one purpose. As customers ask solutions for their problems, for example , delay in the arrival of their money sent via electronic fund transfer, e-learning provides the answer. In the above case, the money can be traced and persuasion can be used to speed up the transfer process. As a result, a closer customer-bank relationship can be fostered. Finally, e-learning is one mode used by bank magnates to leverage their gargantuan investments in the Web or the intranets (Rosenberg 2000,p.31). Another form of e-learning which presently finds acceptance in the military and the government is Web-based education or distributed learning. Like e-learning, it is also used in employee training. But it is a rung more complex because the technique involves information dissemination involving sharing and communication between employees and their managers via the internet. Both parties work through "content modules with links to other sources and Web sites, often with video clips and downloadable documents. This may include online chat sessions with the instructor or other students, asynchrous postings to bulletin boards and replies and private e-mail to individual students and instructors" (Berman 2006, p.232). This might be effective to people in the military and government because it affords higher-ups the chance to motivate and encourage their subordinates to do their jobs to the utmost efficiency. But not in banks because of the presumption that managers are infallible and close to perfection with 7 respect to posession of knowledge. However, its one big disadvantage is that employees are trained to extemporise and express themselves orally. This really is a sort of blended learning, a combination of traditional and e-learning practices. (Berman 2006, p.232). Other than e-learning, there are also web meetings and web seminars(Spielman 2003, p.204). "Web seminars or webinars are free sponsored educational seminars that are accessed over the internet" (Light Reading). However, it's not entirely for free as no such webinar can materialise without a webinar provider first installing some software on the computer that makes possible all attendees to connect to the webinar company's server (Siskind 2003, p.122).This happens to be not useful to banks. To ensure that the e-learning program will succeed, the designer of the e-learning program must work closely with the HR manager in order to develop an adequate e-learning program that answers precisely the needs of the bank. Thus, the integrated development team must focus not on establishing a good-looking, high-tech training program but in achieving the business goals of the bank and addressing the bank's problems. It must adopt the bank's business perspective and make it competitive and must make the employees undergoing e-learning "to do the right thing at the right time" (Allen 2003, p.3). The program can only succeed when there is management participation and support and when the learners sense that "the performance environment is supportive and conducive to the behaviours being trained" (Allen 2003, p.29). 8 E-learning is also bound for failure when the aims and reasons for undergoing e-learning are not exactly "defined, are not relayed, get lost or become misinterpreted" (Allen 2003,p.9). Sometimes e-learning projects are undertaken because it is the thing to do, others are doing it and it is imperative that the firm must not be left out in the race for modernity and innovation. Sometimes, the learners immerse themselves into the project without truly knowing why they are undergoing the project, in the first place. They may fail to make a connection between the activity and the goals. But if they do, sometimes they are not properly motivated by the HR manager, who most likely is "not attuned to the criteria against which their e-learning solutions should be evaluated, the focus of development teams turns to what will be assessed: mastering the technology, overcoming production hurdles and just getting something that looks good up and running-within budget and schedule, which become more the focus than the original goals" (Allen 2003, p.9). If the e-learning project is a failure, most often the culprit is the HR manager, barring failure to properly fund the project. When the manager fails to utilise e-learning as a tool for HRM, the whole thing crumbles and all efforts are for naught. The crux of the failure seems to be the managerial neglect to formulate an effective strategy (Hendry 1995, p.95) and his failure to "put targeted control systems in place to ensure that the plans have high quality human resource components" (Fombrun 1984, p.25). Worse thing is when the manager is too conservative and insists on age-old human resource methods. Because the banking 9 environment is steeped with winds of change, he fails to deliver an extensive, updated discharge of training and education to the employees (World Bank 2002) and the firm is left out in the march to innovation and is likely condemned to perish. When the manager loses sight of his role as proactive agent of change and as innovator who has to be an "expert in change management" (Armstrong 2006, p.74), and when he fails to take advantage of the rapid growth of e-learning, "which makes the internet or intranet a viable means for delivering training content"(Mathis 2006, p.282), he is doomed to fail. He will likewise reap failure if he doesn't exert careful planning and execution of the project . He must also ensure that the learners are computer literate and there is urgency for the partaking of e-learning, which must be the means to an end. "To be successful, e-learning must have the right fit with the organisation. It should not be chosen because it is fashionable but is the most efficient and effective way to meet the identified learning need" (Stockley 2006, p.1). Methodology Various literature is pregnant with different research methods to be used for diverse proposals. There is scientific method, wherein a scientist or pseudo-scientist investigates and develops and thus "adds blocks of knowledge to the scientific stockpile" (Emory 1980, p.21). Our research proposal which involves the introduction of e-learning as a tool for HRM in banks cannot consider this for obvious reasons. There is also bibliometrics which utilises statistics and quantitative analysis . We must also reject this. The survey method, which is useful when the 10 researcher needs to work on a phenomenon that "cannot be directly observed" (Ischool p.2) must suffer the same fate. Historical approach is also irrelevant to the study because we are not interested in the historical background and growth of banks. Structural analysis is also not our cup of tea as the systematic structure wherein any change in one produces changes in others cannot find relevance to our study. Ditto with content analysis and discourse analysis. But qualitative analysis specifically case study research is relevant to this paper and must be employed. a. Research Design- We choose the case study research design because it is germane to our project proposal. Here, the "researcher explores in depth a program, event, activity, a process, or one or more individuals. The cases are bounded by time and activity and researchers collect detailed information using a variety of data collection procedures over a sustained period of time" (Creswell 2003, p.15). Only case studies, which focus on changes and evolution of an organisation over a period of time, are pertinent to our research proposal (McNeill 2005, p.127). It is ideal for this paper because it is widely considered as "the main vehicle for writing naturalistic research" and "are useful in that they can provide the thick descriptions that are useful in ethnographic research, and can catch and portray to the reader what it is like to be involved in the situation" (Cohen 2000, p. 152). Moreover, it perfectly shows the interaction between researcher and the participants. Prior to immersing in the research, we note down its guidelines. First, the writing style should be informal and should chronicle only facts and the report should favor over-inclusion rather than under-inclusion. Such must honour some ethical considerations, such as preference 11 for anonymity and the report must allow readers to check its validity and reliability by including references. Lastly, a fixed completion date should be specified (Cohen 2000, p.153). It must be stressed that a case study asks how and why questions and stresses contemporary situations (Yin 2003, p.7). "The focus is also on labour-management attitudes from a variety of perspectives" (Emory 1980, p.85). To prepare, the literature on e-learning was reviewed so as to be able to pose more incisive and relevant questions. I made sure not to lose sight of the goal which is "to expand and generalise theories (analytic generalization) and not to enumerate frequencies (statistical generalization) (Yin 2003, p.10). The case study methodology is simple and requires one to follow 6 simple steps i.e. determining and defining the research questions;selection of the cases and determination of data gathering and analysis techniques; preparing for the collection of the data; collecting the data by field work; the evaluation and analysis of the data and the preparation of the report (Soy 1996, p.1). In e-learning, there are 3 users who may be participants in my case study research i.e. the bank who is targeted as user; the present users of e-learning and the bank employees and managers. After studying the literature review and after determining the findings of these authors on the issue of whether it is advantageous for the bank HRM to assimilate e-learning into the banking system, I fashioned the following queries i.e. why do people use e-learning and how do they resolve what to put in the e-learning module and lastly do the bank managers and employees really believe they can gain immeasurable advantage from e-learning. I then contacted one e-learning company and asked for their cooperation for the study as well as the access to some computer-generated log data. Using the latter and taking a look at 3 12 organisations, who made use of e-learning i.e. the local government, a top university and a hospital, I inquired whether e-learning is feasible for them. I also asked access to documents such as letters, reports, minutes of meetings and newspaper articles which contain comments on their use of e-learning. I then conducted interviews with actual users of e-learning- employees, managers and even vice-presidents of these 3 companies and posed queries asking for insights, opinions and comments on such use. I even asked that I be allowed to observe while they go through e-learning knowledge assimilation process. After all the questionnaires are answered, I then asked for the company mission and objectives as written in their company profiles and brochures. I also added 2 more queries related to company mission i.e. How does e-learning complete the mission of the company and how does the company discern that e-learning gives invaluable benefits to the company. With all the data in hand, I tried to identify patterns within those data and inspected and noted down intra-group similarities and differences, after which I inspected cases in pairs and each according to their similarities and differences. When patterns emerge from such close scrutiny, I noted down any conflict in the patterns. Where such conflict arises, I reiterate the interviews to emend the original data. When the evidences are harmonised with the findings, then I got ready for the report, which starts with acknowledgments for all those whose lives I harassed for a few hours. This is followed by the statement of the problem; the research queries; the methodologies used; an elucidation of the analysis techniques utilised and finally conclusion. The report also comments whether the results are in affirmation or in conflict with the literature review. b. Participants, materials and procedures are contained within the methodology. Possible outcome- Acceptance by the bank of e-learning as tool for HR management. Time Plan- within one year. Dissemination: Report is disseminated to all companies involved. REFERENCES Allen, M 2003, Michael Allen's guide to e-learning, John Wiley and Sons. Armstrong, M 2006, A handbook of human resource management practice, Kogan Page Publishers. 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