How the Concept of Workplace Learning can Improve the Performance of an Organisation - Literature review Example

How the Concept of Workplace Learning can Improve the Performance of an Organisation Name: Course: Tutor: Date: Introduction The term workplace learning generally refers to the process of acquiring, integrating, distributing and creating information and knowledge among members of an organisation. This process comprises of various components which support knowledge productivity process and involves searching of information, assimilation, development and creation of new knowledge on processes, products and services (Wang & Ellinger, 2011, p. 512). The essence of workplace learning in generating organisational knowledge helps in sustenance of competitive advantage and leads to creation of new markets and niches. Globally, the diverse workforce environment and the use of information technology have made organisations to increasingly become aware of the competitive environment in which they are thriving in and hence, pursue the competitive advantage that lies in learning and knowledge. Organisational knowledge is an asset which can be managed to contribute to a firm’s innovation performance. According to Wang and Ellinger (2011, p. 512), workplace training is a key process which contributes to successful innovation in an organisation and hence, it determines and supports an organisation’s performance. In view of this, this paper gives a detailed account of how the concept of ‘workplace learning’ can help in improving an organisation’s performance, drawing examples from Mad About Plants Company. To understand this better, it will be worthy to give a brief account of concept of workplace learning and its relationship with innovation performance. The Concept of Workplace Learning Panagiotakopoulos (2011, p. 351) notes that there are a variety of definitions of the ‘concept of workplace learning’, which are not always consistent with each other. In this context, the focus is on the acquisition of knowledge or skills by formal or informal means that occurs in the workplace. This includes both informal workplace learning and formal on-the-job training. As Panagiotakopoulos points out, workplace learning is a practical approach to developing relevant knowledge and skills for the benefit of individuals and organisations. It has a merit of being a corroborative model in which employers and employees can jointly address skills development through the process of social dialogue. Ideally, as Panagiotakopoulos notes, workplace learning links industry, employer and individual learning in ways which encourage and support lifelong learning. In its fully developed form, workplace learning implies carrying out training needs analysis and development of individual development plans from the training needs analysis. Then, the employee development can meaningfully be aligned with organisational development. This explains the reason for adopting Wang and Ellinger’s definition for the concept of workplace learning in this context. Wang and Ellinger note that the concept of workplace learning refers to the process of acquiring, integrating, distributing and creating information and knowledge among members of an organisation. This implies that workplace learning is ideally not the correction of short-term job-performance problems. Instead, as Malloch (2010, p. 348) asserts that the real benefits of workplace learning come from aligning workers’ skills development with organisational goals and this helps to achieve a sustainable learning organisation and a continuous improvement culture. This leads to a significant improvement in an organisation’s performance. Workplace learning and innovation performance According to Kuo (2011, p. 581), effective workplace learning requires efficient strategic human resource management (HRM) practices. This involves optimising learning, development and performance improvement at individual, group and organisational levels. As Kuo, explains, this enables an organisation to keep pace with the changing environment. Generally, for an organisation’s performance to improve, it requires competent people to learn and interpret new information and technology changes from the external environment so as to create new knowledge faster than competitors. In other words, workplace learning has to be coherent with the organisation’s design, strategy, strategic HRM practices, structures and context. According to Kuo, the most efficient way to improving organisational performance is through innovation. The term innovation has been broadly defined as “an idea, a product, or process, system or device that is perceived to be new to an individual, a group of people or firms, an individual sector or a society as a whole” (Kuo, 2011, p. 582). Innovation has also been understood as a method which leads to sustenance of competitive advantage through exploration of new products or services or through exploitation of the existing ones. Thus, innovation is generally focused on learning, acquisition of new knowledge and recognition. According to Kuo, an organisation’s innovation performance is rooted in human capital and cannot be replicated or transferred. Better put, an organisation that has the most advanced technology but which is lacking talented employees still cannot perform or conduct innovative projects. Thus, the concept of workplace learning maintains that for organisations to be successful, they should have systems which support learning and improvement in performance at all levels. With individual focus towards innovative information new opportunities, it becomes easier for an organisation to initiate and achieve entrepreneurial opportunities. Though individuals’ sum of innovative behaviour might not be equal to organisational-level innovation performance, organisational-level performance is usually based on its members’ innovative behaviours (Kuo, 2011, p. 582). This means that organisational performance takes place under conditions in which organisational members’ innovation can be transferred to organisational level. How workplace learning can help to improve organisational performance There are various human resource issues related to workplace learning, which help in improving organisational performance. First, workplace learning helps to improve the quality of skills of the workforce (Eraut, 2010, p. 8). This further leads to improvement in service delivery performance. According to Eraut, learning leads to increased feeling of expertness among the workforce and greater likelihood of employees’ career development. This increases efficiency in service delivery which leads to more effective use of resources. On top of this, learning enhances workplace relationships which lead to improved team cooperation, coordination and performance. This can well be illustrated by the performance of the Mad About Plants Company, based in Australia. Mad About Plants is a 15-person horticultural company which supplies a variety of materials and plants such as palms, trees, indoor plants, shrubs and ground cover to local councils,, landscapers retail nurseries and large department stores . When the company started in 1998, a lack of skills made it impossible for the company to grow quality plants and to run profitable business. The two leaders of the company, Darryl and Katherine Madder, recognised the critical shortfall in skills and took the responsibility to introduce the relevant training (The Conference Board of Canada, 2009). As a result, this company has performed tremendously in improvement of sales, increasing customer satisfaction and in lowering of operational costs. In fact, According to The Conference Board of Canada (2009), Mad About Plants was crowned the Prime Minister’s Small Business of the Year at the Australian Training Awards in 2004. A study conducted by the Conference Board of Canada in 2009 found that since training of workers of Mad About Plants had been put in place, incident reporting had increased, providing greater safety for both employees and clients. Further, there was considerable improvement in the quality assurance system in the company as well as more attention on the root causes in incident investigations because of the increased amount of data at hand. Additionally, training contributed much to employees’ confidence, resulting in them being accorded greater respect and contributing to an improved level of morale in both workers and clients (The Conference Board of Canada, 2009). Generally, employees gain a more detailed comprehension of their role as well as an increased level of responsiveness to client needs and what they should do or should not do as regards these needs. For instance, in Mad About Plants, managers reported that employees who had undergone training were more likely to recognize issues that needed attention such as deterioration in client’s ability to sustain independence as well as environmental conditions that may endanger the client or the worker. In addition, it was reported that service delivery of employees who had undergone training was higher and they had a greater feeling of professionalism, which increased the prospects of their own conduct (The Conference Board of Canada, 2009). Ryan (2009, p. 34) further asserts that workplace training leads to better matching of employee’s skills to client needs. This is due to the fact that employees gain a wider array of skills which enhance their capability to collaborate with clients with more demanding or intricate service needs. Further, learning results in a better comprehension of clients’ rights as consumers and thus, guarantees an advanced level of security for them. Additionally, training helps to reduce the gap between expectations of the workers and the reality of the job. This leads to the workers having a better approval of their duties and being better prepared to perform the required tasks. At Mad About Plants Company, an eagerness to partake in training is now an essential requirement for new employees, leading to a discernment of the job as one’s career development is possible (The Conference Board of Canada, 2009). Cavaleri (2004, p. 159) adds that workplace training helps to improve the indirect service delivery of an organisation. For instance, workplace training leads to enhanced community sustainability, as it gives individuals a chance to work and achieve qualification in communities that lack formal training institutions. Another benefit of workplace learning is that it helps to increase the number of skilled workers in an organisation (Rothwell et al, 1999, p. 215). According to The Conference Board of Canada (2009), the need for a positive working environment for the workers was the driving force for Mad About Plants’ interest and investment in workplace training. During the establishment of the company, communication and problem-solving among employees was limited and absenteeism was a concern in this company. As a result, there was general lack of self-esteem throughout the organisation, which impacted negatively on productivity and performance of the organisation. To address this problem, Mad About Plants came up with training programmes to improve employee numeracy, language, literacy, information technology and communication skills. Majority of the employees of this company received private tutoring, which was customised to meet their specific needs in relation to service delivery to the company. The benefits of the training have been significant for both Mad About Plants Company and its employees. Currently, the organisation has a much greater capacity to achieve its business objectives of safety, improved compliance outcomes, improvement in quality and productivity gains. Significantly, there is a drop in absenteeism and workplace accidents (The Conference Board of Canada, 2009). Further, there is greater understanding and more positive attitudes towards the current working environment of the company. Remarkably, there has been a considerable improvement in staff retention in the company. Generally, the training helped Mad About Plants to solve various associated problems such shortage of skilled workers, staff turnover and issues related to ageing of workforce. Burrow and Berardinelli, (2003, p. 7), discuss this issue by noting that workplace learning also increases the capability to attract higher capacity candidates for advertised job positions. According to Burrow and Berardinelli, (2003, p. 7), workplace learning helps to improve management and leadership skills. Specifically, it enhances leadership competencies and delegation of duties at management level. At Mad About Plants Company the introduced training mainly focussed on management of people, addressing recruitment and staff retention issues and increasing productivity (The Conference Board of Canada, 2009). Specifically the company focused on building its leadership and management capacity, improving the extent to which people corroborate, communicate and network with one another, increasing focus and commitment on investments on people and skills and creating a workplace culture that recognised and valued good work. Training for the staff of Mad About Plants Company was provided for a couple of hours per week. Training involved informal learning and skill development activities such as having the management and staff review all projects that exceeded budget so as to learn from them and hence identify areas where future improvements can be made. Within one and half years, Mad about Plants had doubled the sise of its workforce, doubled its staff retention rate and most significantly, doubled its profits. Further, the company enhanced its reputation for delivering cost effective, effective and high quality work. Also, the company reduced the extent of material wastage and improved the quality of workmanship (The Conference Board of Canada, 2009). Another point is that workplace learning improves efficiency in an organisation’s operational performance. In particular, it helps to improve competitiveness and develop capacity for growth, improve culture and attitudes, manage global competition, address shifting market preferences, control costs and use new technology and machinery and adapt to new legislation. At Mad about Plants Company, training is used to improve skills of the staff so as to achieve high level of efficiencies and to have safer working environments. The Conference Board of Canada (2009) learnt that the training helps the staff of this company to understand and apply fatigue management strategies, apply basic first aid, coordinate breakdown and emergencies, shift the products safely using manual handling methods, and work effectively with others. The managers ensure that the quality of training delivered meets the needs of the company and that proper delivery and assessment mechanisms are used. As a result of the training, employees are able to put the new skills into practice very quickly as the learning is designed around the daily activities of the workers. By 2004, Mad about Plants Company had recorded a 25% decrease in damaged freight due to better loading practices used by the employees. This was due to the fact that employees had become more aware of their responsibility to follow safe working practices. Consequently, accidents in the company have declined by approximately 30%. The number of customer complaints has also declined significantly. Workplace learning also enhances a team-based culture in an organisation (Bratton et al, 2003, p. 35). This brings a number of benefits to an organisation, which include the flexibility to maintain quality delivery of service even in the face of unplanned absences. It also leads to better and quicker response to customers when service requires change. In addition, team working that incorporates a high level of trust within the team and between the team and management reduces the feeling of segregation and increases the sense of harmony within the organisation. It also results in a change in the service organisation role away from attention to fire fighting and roistering to focusing on quality assurance against individual service designs. As Ryan (2009, p. 34) notes, workplace learning enhances the sense of self-worth and leads to greater job contentment among the staff. Also, employees gain confidence in recognising the skills that they already have. Ryan (2009, p. 34) notes that workplace learning is associated with efficiency gains and promotes better utilisation of limited resources. Employees with improved skills are able to carry out some tasks that they could not afford before, especially those around service coordination and mentoring of subordinate staff. All these benefits resulting from workplace training contribute to organisational performance through enhanced service delivery. Generally, they enhance the capacity of an organisation to compete effectively in competitive tendering processes and delivery of services in accordance with contractual commitments (Biech, 2008, p. 117). However, Cavaleri (2004, p. 159) argues that, offering greater job responsibilities is vital in protecting organisational training outlay by reducing the probability that employees may look for other job openings to exploit their new skills. Conclusion In conclusion, the concept of workplace learning generally refers to the process of acquiring, integrating, distributing and creating information and knowledge among members of an organisation. As noted, the essence of workplace learning in an organisational helps in generating knowledge, which in turn helps in sustenance of competitive advantage and leads to creation of new markets and niches. Further, workplace learning is crucial in supporting innovation among the staff, which enhances the performance of an organisation in general. As demonstrated using Mad about Plants Company, the essence of workplace learning in an organisation helps to improve the quality of skills of the workforce. It also helps to increase the quantity of skilled workers in an organisation. Third, workplace learning helps to improve management and leadership skills. Further, it helps to improve efficiency in an organisation’s operational performance. Finally, it enhances the feeling of self-worth and leads to better job satisfaction among the staff. Generally, all these benefits contribute to organisational performance through enhanced service delivery. References Biech, E. (2008). 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(2011). “Workplace learning and its organisational benefits for small enterprises: Evidence from Greek industrial firms” Learning Organisation. 18 (5): 350 – 360. Rothwell, W. J., Sanders, E. S. & Soper, J. G. (1999). ASTD models for workplace learning and performance: Roles, competencies, and outputs. Washington DC: American Society for Training and Development. Ryan, R. (2009). “Improving Workforce Development and Organisational Performance”. Retrieved from 10 October 2011, from http://www.angoa.org.ns/angoa_docs/Lis-Stephenson-Careerforce-Report.pdf The Conference Board of Canada (2009). “Workplace learning in small and medium-sized enterprises: Effective practice for improving productivity and competitiveness.” Retrieved from 10 October 2011, from http://www.ccl-cca.ca/pdfs/OtherReports/CBofC-WorkplaceLearning-SME-OverviewReport.pdf Wang, Y. & Ellinger, A. D. (2011). “Organisational learning perception of external environment and innovation performance.” International Journal of Manpower. 32 (5/6): 512-536. Read More