Managers Better Learn through Experience - Essay Example

?Managers Better Learn Through Experience Introduction There has been a vivid change in the management scene as organisations have changed in terms of purpose, structure, management philosophy and how they relate with the external environment. In addition to, there have been huge changes in the world of technology that has speeded up the pace of operations. There has been increasing competition forcing companies to improve their service provision, quality of goods produced and the cost of goods and services. Mangers must respond to the day-to-day changes in the corporate world by making use of the knowledge they have gained in their practice rather than making use of the theoretical knowledge that has been researched and practiced over the years (Chapman, 2008:67). Owing to the dynamic nature of the current business environment, learning through experience has been widely used as the mode of leaning in the field of management (Rigolosi, 2013:1). Learning through experience has become an important has become an important aspect in management to enable them to meet the challenges posed by the business conditions in the 21st century. The statement ‘Managers learn better through experience. Theory has nothing to offer.’ is true in the modern times in the business world. This is owing to the fact that managing an entity in the modern times poses unique challenges to mangers globally. Managers have to experience some challenges resulting from globalisation and other forces in the market such as changing consumer needs and increased competitiveness. On the other hand, it has been observed that theory has a lot to offer in the management field, as there are some management theories that can be applied to solve problems facing managers in the modern world. This means that theory cannot be fully left out in the field of management. Instead, it should be complemented with the experience learnt by managers in their line of work. In order to study the reasons as to as to why learning through experience is the best form of learning for managers this paper gives a discussion of the experiential learning theory and its practical application. To start with, experiential learning is defined as learning through experience. The theory of experiential learning is refers to the process of learning through experience and theorists such as Kurt Lewin and Dewey made important contributions to the theory (Border, 2007:7). The theory refers to learning as the process where knowledge is generated through experience. In other words, knowledge comes from the events experienced on a daily basis. Learning through Experience Mangers can learn a lot from observing the trends and activities in the business world. According to the theory, individuals learn so much from observing and listening to the opinions of other people. This sparks their interest and enables them to discover and learn new concepts. David Kolb’s learning theory identified stated different learning styles that are founded on a four stage learning process. The four stages are important in the process of mangers learning through experience. There is the concrete experience that is gained through feeling and putting in practice what is leant (Janet, 2006:45). If managers feel that making a certain move will benefit the company, they learn through taking such decisions. The second step is reflective observation where the managers can learn through observation and critically analyse the outcome. The third step is abstract conceptualisation that entails assessment of the conceptual understanding. The last step is active experimentation and finding solutions to problems. This theory states that learning is based on immediate experience that acts as the basis of our reflections and observations. These observations help managers to plan and come up with new implications and are assessed to learn new concepts and experiences. All the stages discussed above are highly important to the learning process by managers. The entire process of experience, planning, reflection and reinforces the learning process by management. This was changed in 1992 by Honey and Mumford (Janet, 2006:45). This change stated that the best style is one that suits the situation the situation best. Learning through experience is highly effective and this explains why it is highly preferred over learning theory in the field of management in the current times. It is considered to be one of the most effective learning tools the mind and senses. There are numerous advantages of learning through experience in management. Learning through experience creates a sense of equality in a team hence improving management in a team (Reynolds and Vince, 2007:101). Experience learning unites participants that have equal knowledge and responsibilities enabling them to learn important team management skills. The team members work together with their managers and this develops equality in a given entity. Learning through experience helps develops working relationships between the management and employees (Reynolds and Vince, 2007:97). Managers work in collaboration with the employees to work on the challenges facing the entity. By working together, proper working relationships are developed within an entity. Learning through experience motivates managers to take risks. This is owing to the fact that managers can experiment new concepts and ideas. Some of the risks taken by mangers in experience learning have led to immense success in organisations. It encourages management of crisis in a safe environment. Mangers can take challenges as they happen and come up with strategies that can effectively manage the issues facing entities in the modern world. Finally, it improves the strengths in the organisations. This is done through the creation of an exciting way to learn important aspects about the team and better management skills. Forms of Learning through Experience There are various forms of experience learning that can be employed by managers in the modern world. The first form of learning is apprenticeship whereby managers are given a chance to learn and observe how management operations are conducted. This gives them the desired exposure to enable them manage the current issues facing companies in the modern world. The second form of learning through experience is mentoring where future managers are placed in a position under a practicing manager (Gould, et al., 2006:27). This gives them the chance to observe the way an entity is managed and they get the necessary skills to deal with the challenges facing management in the current times. Mangers also learn through on the job training programs that where they learn to deal with management challenges while on the job. This is considered to be one of the best learning methods in management. The other form of learning is through team building whereby the managers learn on how to manage a team and the challenges facing the team. Finally, managers can learn through project and problem based learning. This gives managers the opportunity to learn how to deal with real issues that face the company. Case Study: Thomson Reuters Thomson Reuters is one of the key players in report writing and the research and information industry. The company integrates innovative technology and industry expertise to give information to those making important decisions in the business world. The major issue identified in the case study was the need b y the entity to improve sales awareness. This is because it was established that the company was missing numerous sales opportunities because they were not fully aware of the advantages the product could offer to the buyers. It was clear that the account managers were not entirely aware of the capabilities of the product. Furthermore, there was a decline in sales owing to the fact that the mangers were not satisfied with the performance management activities and reward programs adopted by the entity. Finally, there was need to improve awareness and specific skills (Zhan, et al., 2006:299). The company was in need of account managers who are experienced in inputting data, handling infrastructure and its application. This underscores the need to train account managers and support them. The major challenge was designing a program that supports the sharing of knowledge and skills within an organisation. From the case study, it is clear that most of the learning takes place while on the job. In spite of the numerous advantages associated with the process of management learning through experience is faced by a couple of challenges (Chapman, 2008:67). To begin with, not all management skills are learnt from experience, some basic management skills are learnt from studying existing theories in the field of management. Secondly, learning through experience cannot be easily monitored or evaluated as there are no clearly defined rules and regulations. Conversely, learning through theory in management is effective as it leads to efficient management of companies through well-proven theories. However, the major disadvantage associated with learn through theory is that this mode of learning is limited and fails to take into account some of the management issues affecting companies in the contemporary world (Rigolosi, 2013:89). Conclusion From the above discussion, it is clear that learning through experience in the management field has gained increasing popularity in the management field. It is widely accepted and practiced as the most appropriate form of learning. Most of experiential learning comes from observing the daily operations in a company and the impact of the external factors such as increasing competition and increasing globalisation. This proves that experience learning is preferred to learning through theory. Companies are thereby encouraged to come up with opportunities that provide managers with learning from experience. References Armstrong, S.J. & Fukami, C.V. (2009) The SAGE handbook of management learning, education and development, SAGE. Border, L.L. (2007) ‘Understanding learning styles: The key to unlocking deep learning and in-depth teaching.’ NEA Higher Education Advocate, vol. 24, no. 5, pp. 5-8. Chapman, T.W. (2008) Management learning experiences of CEOs, Xlibris Corporation. Gould, L J., Stapley, L.F. & Stein, M. (2006) Experiential learning in organisations: applications of the Tavistock group relations approach, Karnac Books. Janet, M. (2006) Effective leadership and management in the early years, McGraw-Hill International. Reynolds, M. & Vince, R. (2007) Handbook of experiential learning and management education, Oxford University Press. Rigolosi, E.L. (2013) Management and leadership in nursing and health care: An experiential approach, Springer Publishing Company. Zhang, M., Macpherson, A. & Jones, O. (2006) ‘Conceptualising the learning process in SME’s: Improving innovation through external orientation.’ International Small Business Journal, vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 299-323. Read More