The Continuous Learning as a Key to Improvement - Assignment Example

The continuous learning and development of individuals is of crucial strategic importance not only to the individual butto the organization and society. Critically discuss.  Learning is a continuous process and the continuity of this process is necessary not only for the improvement of the individual but also to the organization he or she belongs but ultimately, also to the greater society of which the individual belongs. After all, each is connected with the other as an individual is an organic component of both organization and society at large that what happens to the individual also affects the organization and society he or she belongs. Learning is necessary not only for its own sake but also for the improvement of an individual. Continuous learning meant that the individual will become better tomorrow and in the future compared today and yesterday. The individual becomes better because the collected information and experience that was accumulated through deliberate study/learning adds up to the already mounting knowledge and experience of the individual. As a result, old notions that are considered to be true are debunked and are replaced by ideas that are validated by experience making the individual smarter, better and wiser. Life also improves because the discoveries and improvement made things easier. The improvement wrought by continuous learning transcends to other endeavors as well. New things are discovered, new processes are invented and this brings the advantage of not only doing things better but also doing them at lesser cost not to mention easier. As individual gets ahead in his learning curve, he or she inadvertently add the wealth of knowledge, skills and experience that improves his lot be it in his or her job, profession or business. In turn, the company or organization that the individual belongs to benefited from his or her continuous learning as the individual becomes better, effective and efficient in doing the job. The society at large benefits from a learned citizen because it meant that its citizens are productive and contributes to the greater good of society either by the tax it pays to the government or the social contribution of their profession of which they become better due to continuous learning. Continuous learning also leads to improvement and invention that makes everybody’s lives better be it the organization or the society at large. We can cite for example the invention of computer which is really just a natural consequence of man’s collective knowledge and experience in processing information that begun in the 17th century. It begun when Charles Babbage first laid the groundwork of the mathematical model that ultimately led to the invention of computer. This invention which is a product of our continuous learning made work easier and life better both in the individual, organizational and societal level. As we used this product of continuous learning, the process of learning itself is not only continued but expedited as well because information technology provided us the tools to learn things better and faster and the process of making us better continues that we do not know what something better might come out of this new expedited learning process. Thus, the key to improvement is continuous learning. Continuous learning is strategically important because it is an enabling exercise that leads us to new frontiers, new discoveries that makes us better as individuals, organization and society. 2. Dawson (2003) describes change as; a complex on going dynamic in which the politics, substance and context of change all interlock and overlap, and in which our understanding of the present and expectations of the future can influence our interpretation of past events. Evaluate this statement and suggest ways in which companies can overcome resistance to change? There is a cliché that goes that the past is better interpreted from a distance so that it can be assessed objectively. This cliché makes sense because the interpreter of the past can see the whole figurative forest thereby making the assessment not only objective, but also more informed. For example, our interpretation of our present may be different when this present is interpreted in the future that takes into consideration the whole context of the experience. The values assigned to it can also differ depending on our expectations of the future. For example, a mistake or a negative experience may be taken as a learning experience when an individual looks forward to be better in the future. To highlight this statement, we can cite our situation as students in the universities. There are many instances that we make mistakes not only during exams or quizzes, but also on our personal lives as well that we might assign a negative value to it if we are not keen on considering our future. If we do not take those mistakes as part of the learning process, we may pass judgment on ourselves as non-performer, clumsy or any negative attribute every time we make mistakes. But because we understand that learning involves a heuristic process, we accept that making mistakes is part of it and that we do not become hard on ourselves every time we make mistakes. In an organization, the understanding that change is a complex on going dynamic process makes us expect positively of our future that makes us eager to look forward to it. The promise that we may become better as an organization by our ability to adapt with change makes us look favourably with our past because we could look at it as part of the journey that lead us to where we are today. Thus, companies should not be hard on those who resist change. Resistance to change is a natural instinct of individuals who are already accustomed and comfortable with their past and present that the uncertainty of the future threatens them. They may perceive the future as “risky” and may opt to stay with the familiar that they can control and predict. To overcome this natural tendency of individuals who resist change in organizations, a better approach is to explain to them the objectives or the vision that the company is trying to achieve - it may be to become a market leader, innovator, increase profit, decrease cost or whatever objective that company may have. Once the people who are resistant to change understood and embraced these objectives, they will be more receptive to any changes that need to be implemented for these objectives to be realized. Thus, the company as an organization becomes adaptive to change rather than being conservative to it. There are also instances where companies themselves as an organization are resistant to change because they are already comfortable with where they are now as a company. The realization however that the failure to accept change can spell the difference between success and failure could induce companies to embrace change rather than resist it. The case of Nokia brings to mind as a company because the main culprit of its shrinking competitiveness in the market was caused by its resistance to change. Years ago, it was the market leader in mobile phone industry where Samsung was not even a player yet. It was offered then to become part of the Android Operating System in mobile phone but it refused to join the alliance because it was already comfortable with its market leadership. When the Android was adopted by Samsung, it was only a matter of time that Nokia fell off from its position as the market leader and now became a struggling company. The reason that people fear change is because they are anxious of the uncertainty it brings. Change could bring bad fate as what happened to Nokia or it could also favor us as what happened to Samsung. But change does not necessarily have to be for the worst but in fact should be for the better. The interlocking and overlap of its politics, substance and context does not have to lead to perdition but rather towards improvement. Because when change leads to improvement, the past will be viewed more favourably because the mistakes and errors that were done and committed will not be taken as shortcomings but rather as part of the learning process of change towards improvement. Experience tells us that those who cope favourably with change and succeeded are those who embraced it and are ready. Those who are victims of change whose fate suffered are those who are not prepared of its inevitability because they resisted it until change fell upon them and caught them unprepared. This should serve as a caveat to those who refuse its inevitability with a promise that change could also lead to become better so that there will be an incentive to make people, organization, companies and even societies enthusiastic to it. The need to overcome the resistance towards change is more pressing in companies than on a personal or societal level. The failure to adapt to change in an individual level may just result to personal stagnation or in society’s case, its inability to cope with change may result to its backwardness. The need to overcome change in companies is more pressing because there is an economic value attached to it that could either serve as a penalty or incentive. When a company is successful in coping with change, it will be remunerated with revenues and increased market share. In the same vein, it will also be penalized with losses and even bankruptcy if it failed to cope or adapt with change. Read More