Audit of a Workplace as a Learning Environment - Essay Example

 Introduction The organization in which audit is to be carried out is an apparel company involved with garment manufacturing. The manufacturing process begins with sampling department, cutting, and production, quality control, finishing and finally packing the garments for shipment. The production department uses assembly line style of manufacturing where a piece of garment moves from one tailor to the next until a finished product is acquired. There are four hundred employees; sampling 5, cutting 20, production 200, quality control 20, finishing 40, packing 75, maintenance 10 and the rest are administration staff. The sample makers are experts in garment technology entrusted with the job of making samples for the buyer and upon approval, they are used to set standards for the rest of manufacturing process. The production staff include tailors, tailors assistants whose work is to make garments with fabric from cutting department. The quality controllers ensure the garments are up to required standards hence they work in all departments. The finishing and parking departments deal with finished garments by trimming, ironing, sorting and packing ready for shipment. The maintenance department comprising mechanics and electricians ensures machines are running smoothly for effective production. Learning in this organization is a continuous process as many employees do not possess the required skills for effective work performance and those who are experienced need reinforcement. The assignment will be evaluate and discuss this learning in three ways. First the audit will evaluate the understandings, knowledge as well as dispositions required for employees to perform their tasks effectively. Secondly, the contribution of the workplace towards enhancing or hindering learning will be discussed after which the strengths and weaknesses of the workplace as a learning environment will be evaluated and summarized. Types of Learning Learning in workplace refers to the skills and knowledge gained through interactions and leads to change in behavior, attitudes and understandings. It increases employees’ innovative capacity and efficiency hence increasing company’s competitiveness. Workplace learning takes various forms which can be intentional or unintentional, formal or informal (Conner, 1997-2009). Formal learning occurs when programs are created to offer training to staff so that they can acquire skills such as a training department established to train tailors how to make garments. Informal learning occurs through daily experiences and through educational influences and environmental factors such as knowledge on how to cut, iron. Trim and pack garments. Intentional learning involves moving towards a set objective by the learner such as a tailor assistant willingness to become a tailor. He/she will do everything possible to achieve tailor skills. Unintentional learning is informal and accidental, it just occurs through interactions in daily activities may be by observing fellow workers performing tasks such as packing. Billet (2002) classifies learning into routine and non-routine tasks. According to him, routine tasks are those accomplished through participation in daily work activities and leads to discovering new things or acquiring personal mastery which is one of the disciplines indicated by Senge (1990) as constituting learning organization. It involves developing understanding of procedures and reinforcing already existing knowledge. In this workplace, routine tasks include; laying fabric and cutting, tailoring, quality checking, trimming, ironing, packing among others. Non-routine tasks are new tasks which are not familiar to workers and are not performed on daily basis. These new tasks offer opportunity for learning and increasing knowledge which is required for performance. In this workplace, non-routine practices include; handling new garment styles, new machine operations for tailors such as use of complicated machines like kansai, rivet machines among others. New employees also have to acquire knowledge on work procedures. Raizen (1994) acknowledges the difficulty of applying learnt knowledge into workplace as what is learnt in college differs from actual procedures in workplaces. It is therefore important for employees to develop skills that will enable them to accomplish tasks successfully. Garment manufacturing requires production of meeting strict deadlines and production of high quality garments hence other forms of knowledge are required besides the routine tasks. Billet (2001) establishes three types knowledge required for effective performance of tasks namely; declarative, procedural and dispositions that affect performance. Wigdor et al (1991) defines declarative or conceptual knowledge as being able to explain or tell how a task is performed. These are skills acquired through college studies and by observation or instructions. The knowledge is embedded in the mind of the employee hence it’s not observable thus making it difficult to learn. It involves factual knowledge obtained by reading and understanding instructions regarding a particular task. Guidance is required in order to develop the skills and enhance performance. In this workplace, declarative knowledge is required in performing complex tasks such as electrical, mechanical, first-aid services, quality control and tailoring. In repairing a machine, a mechanic needs to know how it operates and how it was assembled and the functions of each part. An electrician needs knowledge of establishing electrical faults and functioning of electrical items. A tailor needs to know the basics of machine operation such as threading, when machine is not functioning properly among other things. Procedural knowledge is defined by Wigdor et al (1991 p 85) as “individual’s mental representation of goals and subgoals of the task, procedures of task performance and rules followed in selecting and applying procedures to achieve goals and subgoals”. Procedural knowledge is gained though experience or by performing a task frequently. The worker knows how to apply learned skills into practice or apply declarative knowledge in performing actual tasks. The worker thus can perform the task without much thinking or becomes an expert (Billet, 2001). This knowledge is required in the workplace for smooth operation and efficiency and good performance of tasks. In this workplace, tailors use basic knowledge gained in college in operating machines and with time they gain experience and hence produce quality garments faster or with ease. Quality controllers can detect a defective garment with ease and the packing employees are conversant with packaging requirements. All the tasks in garment factory require this kind of knowledge so as to achieve set targets and meet deadlines as well as produce high quality garments. Even new employees without prior knowledge especially in cutting, finishing and packing departments use this kind of knowledge. Dispositions refer to values, attitudes, interests and practices that influence what or how employees learn (Billett, 1996). The culture of workplace plays a vital role in learning. Managers may want workers to learn certain tasks but the workers are unwilling or have negative attitude towards that kind of learning hence they can’t learn. There are those who like to explore and learn new things while others are conservatists. He argues that dispositions can be socially influenced as workers want to learn what is valued in certain situations. The historical and cultural background of workers also influences their reaction or need for learning. Examples from this workplace of situations where dispositions affect job performance include; culture dictates gender roles and tailoring is viewed as woman’s job hence most men lack interest in learning tailoring tasks, tailoring is tedious and lowly paid hence workers develop negative attitude towards learning the skill and would rather be involved in finishing tasks like trimming, learned people are also not interested as they aspire to get office work and highly paid jobs. The success of achieving the knowledge required to perform tasks depends on the support offered by the workplace. Failure to give guidance and support could hinder realization of any knowledge acquisition hence workplace support for learning is vital. Workplace Support for Learning The administrative and sampling staffs are learned and experienced hence are experts in their job. On the other hand, most of the other staffs except maintenance who are semi-skilled are trained on the job except those who have experience before recruitment. The garment manufacturing industry deals with dynamic styles and hence tasks change with time prompting the need for more knowledge. This workplace supports learning through mentoring programs, coaching, training, peers, and teamwork among others. Mentoring is a learning relationship between an expert mentor and a protégé which involves giving guidance, advice, acts as role model and a networker (Caldwell & Carter, 1993). It is carried out especially by expatriates. Each expatriate has a junior staff under him/her whom to give advice and guidance about performance of tasks. These expatriates are knowledgeable in all aspects of the firm from cutting to packing and their work is to supervise and impart knowledge to junior supervisors who in turn pass the knowledge to subordinates. The junior supervisors are selected by managers although the expatriates are free to choose a protégé. It is also the duty of experienced staff to mentor new employees by guiding them on the procedures of performing tasks such as how to make samples, cutting procedures from laying fabric to cutting and numbering, and electrical work. These mentors act as role models for the new employees and the relationship between them and the mentees determine the success of learning or learning outcomes. Coaching involves teaching and directing another person by encouraging and advising him/her (Lamb-white, 2008). Coaching is a form of training given to employees. The knowledge imparted to the learner is goal oriented and performance related. The coach therefore makes sure that the learner improves and acquires new skills as well as improved performance. In this case, a new tailor is shown how to operate a machine by a supervisor. The supervisor then gives the tailor a task to perform and assesses how the tailor is proceeding. Based on the basic knowledge given and motivation, a tailor develops the need to learn about different operations and different machines and with the guidance of the coach he/she is able to learn. The coach gives room to the tailor to practice, make mistakes and correct them and in the process experience is gained and new skills learnt. The same case applies to quality controllers who require knowledge of how to detect a damaged garment. The coach directs on the areas to check and with time, the quality controller is able to do it by himself and on various garment styles. The success depends on individual’s motivation and interest to learn and achieve objectives. Pedler (1997) emphasizes the need to use action learning in solving organizational internal problems that are not complex. He defines action planning as process of organizational reforms and liberation of human vision within organization. A group of workers is selected to collect and analyze views of problems facing the company as perceived by other workers. This is done by workers committee which is mandated to collect workers grievances and find solutions and implement them. The results obtained and solutions given are used in future problem solving. This enhances workers commitment and is a form of learning to those involved in such a process and as Argyris & schon (1996) state, learning increases confidence and empowers people to act and learn further. Listening to peers and sharing views and knowledge enhances learning. Training is another source of learning support by workplaces. Courses can be offered in-house or outside the premises and are for strengthening existing knowledge (Clifford & Thorpe, 2007). In this garment manufacturing company, there is a training department where new employees without knowledge in clothing and textile are taught how to make garments. They are trained for two weeks to one month depending on their performance and are given small allowances. After training, they are incorporated in normal work setting and observed to evaluate whether they are achieving set targets. Good performers are given bonus to boost their morale. The existing employees are also given chance to train using complicated machines rather than the normal single needle machines. In other courses such as first-aid skills, occupational health and safety and computer skills, training is done outside the premises or in training centers. Workers who opt to engage in further studies related to work have their fees reimbursed through the directorate of industrial training though payments made monthly by employer to that account. This encourages workers to engage in learning activities. The workplace has some limitations that hinder effective task performance. The relationship between a mentor and protégé may severe hence affecting learning especially expatriate mentors who may feel that the mentees are gaining more expertise hence jealousy that hinder learning (Caldwell & Carter, 1993). Formal mentorship may fail as relationship is determined by managers and not the concerned parties. Sexual harassment by mentor or coach can hinder learning. The workplace punishes errors by penalizing work where target is not met. This discourages those under coaching from trial and error learning. The learning needs of employees are not always considered. For example a cutting department employee may want to learn tailoring but the work is structured and demanding hence no room for learning. A tailor may want to learn new machines and at the same time target is required and this hinders skill improvement. Training courses are not accessible to all due to lack of time and funds. Workplace as a Learning Organization This is to ascertain whether the workplace meets the requirements of a learning organization as stipulated by Pedler et al (1991) in his eleven characteristics of learning organizations. The first characteristic is adoption of a learning approach to strategy. This involves policy formulation directed towards enhancing learning. Every activity is incorporated in planning process. Training in this workplace is continuous as most employees don’t possess skills and there is availability of training department hence policies are learning oriented. Secondly decision making is participatory for all stakeholders. Members air differences and act to resolve them for consensus building. Members also participate in setting targets and determining overtime hours to be worked in a day. Information systems help in dissemination of information to stakeholders for better understanding of content and value of data. Information in this case is disseminated through line supervisors and memos to inform workers of what is expected and feedback is given to workers by management on performance. Budgeting in the organization is used to assist learning. Funds are allocated for training purposes although it is a requirement by the government. Another characteristic is the internal exchange (Client-Server Relationships) whereby departments in an organization work towards a common objective of customer satisfaction. Sharing is encouraged through information exchange, negotiations and dialogues. The garment manufacturing process from sampling to packing is geared towards producing high quality garments for the customer hence every activity is towards achieving this goal. Rewards are given to those who accomplish this goal. The organization takes care of individual preferences and attitudes in distributing rewards. For example some workers are promoted; others are given monetary rewards such as bonus while others are recognized for their work. Pedler et al (1991) also emphasizes the need for organizations to create room for personal and group development. Jobs should be flexible and roles development oriented. Unfortunately, group work is not possible as work involves assembly line process where every individual performs a specific task but the whole line contributes to completion of the garment. On the other hand, jobs are flexible and an employee can work in any department. A learning organization has boundary workers who serve as intelligence agents and carry out environmental scanning to determine strengths and weaknesses of the organization. There are no boundary workers as standards are set by buyer thus hindering benchmarking. Company-Company learning enables companies to share certain things for cost efficiency and to overdo a dominant competitor. They pool resources together for efficiency. They can share benchmarking information provided they trust each other and can also carry out joint training activities to reduce costs but this is not enabled in this workplace. The learning climate should be conducive. It is enhanced by the senior managers through various avenues. Action learning is preferred where learning is through problem-solving techniques. There is continuous improvement of skills for personal and organizational learning but mistakes can lead to order cancellation hence they are not tolerated. Finally, a learning organization offers self-development opportunities for all. An effective learning organization offers learning without discrimination and ensures resources are available for training. Coaching is prevalent in the company and time –off to study is allowed for senior managers but is difficult for production staff. If one person is missing, then the continuous flow of work is disturbed because of assembly type of production hence they are denied access to training. Conclusion The evaluation of the workplace against the characteristics of a learning environment indicates that the workplace has some strengths and weaknesses in enhancing learning. The strengths of the workplace as a learning environment are reflected in the way the company aligns learning goals with corporate policies and procedures to ensure learning occurs. The management also involves workers in decision making hence they can appreciate the tasks assigned and be motivated to learn more. Information is well distributed through memos hence workers are aware of what is expected. Offering resources for training and development through budgeting is strength of the workplace. Workers can learn without worrying about funds. The reward system is well structured and every activity is directed towards a goal accomplishment. There is also room for self development and job enrichment. On the other hand, the workplace has a weakness in enhancing team work activities for effective skill transfer. There are no boundary workers to assist in environmental scanning to ascertain strengths, weaknesses and opportunities. Company-company learning is minimal if it exists hence exchanges do not occur. Although training facilities are offered, experimentation to develop skills is limited as there is no room for mistakes. There is also bias in provision of learning as production staff are not given time to train. All in all, the workplace has demonstrated that it is an effective learning environment as the strengths outweigh the weaknesses although there is still room for improvement much more can be achieved. References Argyris, C., Schon, D. 1996. Organizational Learning Is: Theory, Method and Practice. Addison-Wesley. Billett, S. (1996) “Towards a Model of Workplace Learning: The Learning Curriculum”. 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