The Usefulness of Cognitive Theories of Learning for Human Resource Practitioner - Essay Example

The Usefulness of Cognitive Theories of Learning for Human Resource Practitioner The 21st century has seen developments in the workplace that are geared towards employee productivity. One major strategy that has been adopted is workplace learning. This has been a crucial contributor to improved employee work performance and sustainable competitive advantage in the organization. Nowadays, senior managers tend to invest more money, time, and thought in the learning of their employees, and consider learning and development a strategic HR function (Bratton and Gold, 2012). Thus, it would be important to comprehend how and why learning takes place. Theories of workplace learning are placed into three main categories; these are psychological, socio-cultural and postmodern theories. Each view has different focus and contribution to different contexts (Hager, 2011). Cognitive style, one of the psychological theories focus on the internal and on-going thought processes, will be examined in this paper. Various cognitive theories have been put forward including the Piaget developmental stage theory, the Bandura social cognitive theory, and Vysotsky and the Zone of proximal development. All these have a contribution to the development of employees and have been implemented at different levels. Cognitive theories of learning have enhanced employee productivity and effectiveness in most of the areas that they have been applied. Learning is a very important aspect for both individual as well as organizational development. Learning is a wide concept that has attracted several definitions from different individuals in different contexts (Mankin, 2009). According to Wilson (2012), learning is the process whereby knowledge, attitude or behaviour is changed as a result of formal training and development, or transformation of informal experiences. Regarding cognitive learning, it refers to an inner psychological process within the individual, which is controlled by the central nervous system to interpret and make sense of stimuli (Illeris, 2004). It focuses on how learners seek out information through “thinking and memory, organized into patterns or schema” (Bratton and Gold, 2012: 312) in order to gain a better understanding of the world around them (Wilson, 2012). Many assumptions have been proposed over the years to explain different cognitive approaches. The theories of three outstanding cognitive theorists including Piaget, Vygotsky and Bandura explain some of the cognitive aspects that are very important when it comes to influence over the workforce in an organization. The development of a person has been a subject of intensive research by psychologists all across the world. One of the outstanding theories in this area is the Piaget developmental stage theory that helps us to understand behavioural development especially at a young age (Siegler and Ellis, 1996). According to Piaget’s findings, there are four developmental stages that individuals go through, both of which are relative to cognitive development. The first is sensory-motor period in about the first two years when the child can only focus on physical interactions with their immediate environment. Next is the preoperational period from two to seven years old. During this stage, the child develops language skills and is able to think symbolically though still cannot think completely logical and empathetically. The period from seven to eleven years old is called concrete operational stage when the child becomes more rational to solve simple problem and develops logical thought. The formal operational stage from adolescence through adulthood was Piaget’s fourth stage of cognitive development in children. The child/ adult develop the ability to think theoretically and formulate hypotheses (Illeris, 2004; Bishop, 2013). This theory was immensely influential on education research and policy during the 20th century. However, there have been reservations and doubts about the application of this developmental stage theory to adult learning as it given its primary focus on children. Therefore, its usefulness in the employment setup has been nonexistent. Lev Vygotsky was an influential Russian psychologist who was also interested in the study of learning in childhood. Unlike Piaget, he placed more emphasis on the connections between people and the social environment or context of learning (Bishop, 2013). What is more, he is one of the psychologists who developed the cultural historical tradition in the field of psychology. It is supported by the tradition that human’s psychological development can only be understood in a historical perspective and cultural context (Illeris, 2004). According to Vygotsky (1978), all human learning has two essentially different forms of process, the first one is on the social level which refers to their interaction with other people and the later is on the individual level where internal reconstruction occurs based on learner’s prior learning. In addition to the emphasis on the role of social interaction Vygotky established a concept of ‘Zone of Proximal Development’. This is defined as the distance between the development a learner can achieve independently and the level of his potential to learn with help from peers or appropriate guidance of an adult (Malloch et al, 2011).This innovative development has generated the important role of educator or instructor in different kinds of sectors. Compared to Piaget, Vygotsky’s findings have been applied far more to adult and workplace learning (Bishop, 2013; Crawford, 1996). Although his work has become the foundation of later research and theory in cognitive development over the years, weakness did exist. For example, the assumption has not considered the application to different cultures in which different types of learning might occur. Albert Bandura is another well-known cognitive theorist who built the social cognitive theory. The theory is described as a theoretical perspective in which model learning and learning through imitation is the focus of study. It identifies learning as dynamic interplay between behaviour, environment events and cognitive and other personal factors (Gibson, 2004; Illeris, 2004; Bandura, 1988). Social cognitive theory consists of several basic assumptions. The first one is that people learn from observing behaviours of others. The person who demonstrates behavior for someone else is a ‘model’ and the process of these learning behaviors and moral patterns are called ‘modeling’ (Bishop, 2013). Assumption two is that learning is an internal process which is not necessarily leads to a behaviour. That is, learner’s process of new behavior and their learning may not occur in the same time, or sometimes they might choose not to internalize and demonstrate what they have observed. The third one is that people are goal-directed when they are learning. Observers who are motivated and directed by goals are learning more effectively. What is more, social cognitivists believe that learner’s behavior and expectations is affected by the punishment and reinforcement resulting from other models’ behaviors (Hurst, 2013). According to Gibson (2004), Bandura’s social cognitive theory has been widely applied to adult education and HRD literature as it is regarded as the most relevant theory to adult learning. Various adoptions of the ‘Zone of Proximal Development’ theory have been applied to the employees. Managers have been on the forefront in getting to understand what the employees are capable of doing and helping them out in what they are not. This has facilitated effective delegation of duties since roles are shared according to the level of competence. Such an aspect gives the employees confidence and motivates them to be more productive. In addition, it brings about constructive time management because the employees are capable of handling the tasks given to them within a short period. This theory also requires that assistance be accorded when handling a new task, such assistance boosts the confidence of the employee while imparting to them a new skill. Vygotskian approach involves the use of prompts, cues and hints that are then removed as the learner advances. In the workplace, the strategy has been to grow the employee in stages, helping them to understand some aspect while giving them a leeway to explore other aspects on their own. Supporting the employees in the discharge of their duties while fostering their creativity and helping them develop confidence in what they are doing has been seen to foster productivity. (Galloway, 2001). In order to foster the employee’s potential development, organizations have fostered the social interactions in the work place that facilitates the learning process such as narrowing the gap between the senior staff and the junior staff. Bandura’s social cognitive learning theory is recognized as being highly applicable to HRD. This theory has an impact on the self-efficacy of the employees. . It identifies learning as dynamic interplay between behaviour, environmental events and cognitive and other personal factors. New employees have been assigned to mentors or individuals that train them on the operations of the organization. This theory has a lot of success given that one learns from an experienced person. The aspect of apprenticeship adopted by many organizations helps train individuals to become employees by having time to observe what is being done and do it themselves (Bandura, 1977). In addition, attachments and internships given to students helps them learn how to execute the specific roles in an organization through a supervisor in the organization. The management should be part of the learning process by creating a positive mentality among the employees. The internal mental state of a learner is very important when one is learning. Most of the jobs today are based on the on-job learning that involves attaching inexperienced employee to an experienced one instead of giving them a handbook that has guidelines. Another aspect is that employees employ self-control and do things under their own drive not under the influence of the managers or other forces. This fosters a sense of self-drive and willingness to act despite the prevailing circumstances. The human resource should focus on rewarding self-driven excellence in order to promote employer productivity further. Again, the self-fulfilling prophesy entrenched in this theory is very helpful for the employees. It helps them to be aware of their strengths and have a positive mentality as they discharge their duties. The theory helps the management to understand the psychological needs of the employees such as motivation, factors that promotes productivity and effectiveness. The results of self-efficacy among the employees include persistence in handling new challenges, effort is doubled for new tasks, and the choices of the activities that they involve with are influenced (ASTD, 2012). Learning is a cumulative process of knowledge acquisition by the employees. Because of the nature of the job, the employees have a leeway of doing what pleases them most and what they are capable of handling as they are introduced to new skills gradually. The management is required to assign responsibilities with a view that a certain employee is capable of handling it or they can be induced to complete it within a given period. This helps the employees develop a sense of belonging to the organization. The learners are given a window of opportunity to explore the most suitable method that can result to higher productivity, this becomes a long term benefit to the organization. In such a scenario, the employees understand their position in the organization as well as developing their long term and short-term goals in the organization. The freedom to express their talents and areas of strength makes the employees develop a free mindset that is a catalyst to new discoveries and innovations. Influence over employees’ thoughts, and beliefs affect the way they behave. These are the propositions of the cognitive development theories that have been seen to affect the productivity of employees when they are treated in a way that they feel is special and regarded (Werner and DeSimone, 2011). The cognitive theories have limitations when being applied in the workplace setup. Firstly, they are very time intensive since a lot of time is required to cultivate behaviour. The educator allows a lot of time to the learner in order to develop to the expected behaviour. Again, the level of progress among the individual workers varies hence presenting inconsistencies and lack of uniformity in training the employees. This has cost implications especially if the trainers are outsourced. It is therefore very difficult to conduct this process for a large organization that has a big number of staff. The theories are also limited in the modes of learning, being through verbal and visual forms. Regular checking of behaviour and observation based learning is tricky because of the regular assessment that is involved. Another limitation is that the theory assumes that environmental change results to a change in the person, which is not necessarily true. The theory has a deep focus on the process of learning hence disregarding the hormonal and biological aspects that are very influential to the humans (Boston University, n.d). In addition, the cognitive theories gives more focus on the formal learning and disregards informal learning completely. In conclusion, this paper has introduced cognitive theories of learning by discussing and evaluating the ideas and findings of the three influential writers. Individual development cannot be understood without reference to the social and cultural context within which it is embedded.  Higher mental processes in the individual have their origin in social processes. The influence of the theories is evident and there is potential for the human resource practitioners to utilize the theories more in the workplace despite their few limitations. References ASTD. (2012). Social Cognitive Theory and Workplace Learning. Retrieved December 18, 2013 from  http://www.astd.org/Publications/Blogs/ASTD-Blog/2012/07/Social-Cognitive-Theory-and-Workplace-Learning Bandura, A. (1988) “Organizational application of social cognitive Theory”, Australian Journal of Management, vol.12, no. 2, pp. 275-320. Bandura, A. (1993). "Perceived Self Efficacy in Cognitive Development and Functioning". Educational Psychologist 28 (2): 117–148. Bishop, D. (2013) Lecture 4, Employee Development and Workplace Learning, MN7368, University of Leicester: School of Management. Bratton, J. and Gold, J. (2012) Human resource management: theory and practice, 5th edition, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Boston University.(n.d). The Social Cognitive Theory. Retrieved December 18, 2013 from http://sphweb.bumc.bu.edu/otlt/MPH-Modules/SB/SB721-Models/SB721-Models5.html Galloway, C. M. (2001). Vygotsky's Constructionism. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, amd technology. Retrieved December 18, 2013 from  http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/ Gibson, S.K. (2004) “Social Learning (Cognitive) Theory and Implications for Human Resource Development”, Advances in Development Human Resources, vol.6, pp. 193-210. Hurst, M. Social-Cognitive Learning Theory: Definition and Examples,[Online], Available:http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/social-cognitive-learning-theory-definition-and-examples.html#lesson [12 Dec 2013]. Illeris, K. (2004) The three dimensions of learning: contemporary learning theory in the tension field between the cognitive, the emotional and the social, 2nd edition, Roskilde University Press. Illeris, K. The fundamentals of workplace learning : understanding how people learn in working life. Malloch, M., Cairns, L., Evans, K. and O’Connor, B. N. (2011) The SAGE Handbook of Workplace Learning. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Mankin, D. (2009) Human resource development, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Werner, J. M and DeSimone, R.L.(2011). Human Resources Development, 6th ed. Cengage Learning. Retrieved December 18, 2013 from  http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=yEZuHl6KGP8C&pg=PA49&lpg=PA49&dq=importance+of+cognitive+theories+in+human+resources+development&source=bl&ots=arNMORhEXj&sig=OegyzKqq_mXdfvZbGNeXltG7rO0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=so2xUvb1E-mosQSY3YHQCw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=importance%20of%20cognitive%20theories%20in%20human%20resources%20development&f=false Wilson, J.P. (2012) International human resource management: learning, education and training for individuals and organizations, 3rd edition, London: Kogan Page Ltd. Read More