Learning Systems
Dr. Steve
Training & Development
INP6325
Learning Organizations
Importance of learning to success of organizations
 Kapp (1999): the only sustainable advantage an
organization will have in the future is its ability to
learn faster than its competitors
 Rousseau (1997): To survive and thrive firms will
need to learn at an increasingly rapid rate
Learning Environment Survey
(Tannenbaum, 1997)
Is your organization a learning organization?
 My organization typically:
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Provides people with opportunities to learn new things
Assigns people to positions to stretch them
Tolerates mistakes when someone is first learning a new task or skill
Views new problems and work challenges as opportunities to develop
people’s skills
Monitors to see that people continue to develop and learn throughout
their career
Expects everyone, not just mgt, to solve problems and offer solutions
Provides paid release time for employee development purposes
Rewards employees for using what they have learned in training on
their job
Learning Environment Survey
(Tannenbaum, 1997)
What is the organizational climate conducive for training
 In my organization:
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Supervisors and co-workers help reschedule work so that employees
can attend training
Supervisors provide constructive feedback when someone tries
something new on the job
Supervisors offer people opportunities to use new skills they learned
in training
Training is considered an important part of career development
The successful people go to training
It is acceptable to question others about why things are done a
certain way
Learning Organizations
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Models for becoming a learning organization
1.
Building internal capability
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Focus on total quality
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3.
Training the trainer
Pay for knowledge work system
Providing a vision
Decentralized decision making
Continuous improvement
Corporate universities
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Train employees consistent with organizational values
Train technical and interpersonal skills
Corporate Universities
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Corporate Universities – promote continuous learning
in an organization by:
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2.
3.
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Building competency-based training curriculum
Providing employees with shared vision and values of company
Extending training to customers and suppliers
Serving as a learning laboratory for experimenting with new
approaches
McDonald’s Hamburger University
• Oak Brook, Illinois
• Founded in 1961
• Avg class of 200
• 65,000 mgrs graduated
• 30 professors
Training and Societal Concerns
How training impacts societal problems
 Increase readiness of individuals entering
workforce
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Enhance fair employment practices once individuals
enter the workforce
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Ex: training at-risk youth, literacy programs, WAGES
Ex: training to comply with ADA, provide minority
opportunities for advancement
Retrain individuals to maintain current employment
or prepare them for other jobs
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Ex: re-train displace factory workers, train computer skills
Workforce Readiness
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Problem
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27 million functionally illiterate Americans
21% of adult population has only rudimentary reading/writing skills
Disproportionately large number of minorities are illiterate
H.S. dropouts 28% unemployment rate, diploma still not enough
Training solutions
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Programs aimed at developing not only technical job-specific skills,
but also basic work skills (e.g., interpersonal skills, reliability,
punctuality)
Ex: Worker Training and Assistance Program (WTAP):
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Orientation
Workplace skills
Transition skills
Managerial skills
School-to-Work Transition
Secretary’s (of Labor) Commission on Achieving
Necessary Skills (SCANS) identified 5 sets of
competencies necessary to keep and hold a job
1. Resources: Identifies, organizes, plans, and
allocates resources
2. Interpersonal: Works with others
3. Information: Acquires and uses information
4. Systems: Understands complex interrelationships
5. Technology: Works with a variety of
technologies
Training and Equal Opportunity
Relevant Laws
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Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII – It is illegal for
employers to discriminate on the basis of race, color,
religion, sex, or national original.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 – It is
illegal to discriminate in employment against a qualified
individual with a disability. Those with a disability must
be provided a reasonable accommodation.
Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) –
Protects workers age 40 and over from discrimination in
employment.
Training and Equal Opportunity
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Equal Opportunity Legal Issues for Training
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Training as a job prerequisite
Training performance as criterion for another job
Receipt of training as basis for advancement or raise
Training and Equal Opportunity
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Glass ceiling – invisible barrier preventing women
and minorities from ascending to top managerial
positions
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Training must be equally available to women and minorities
so that they may succeed and advance
Training and Equal Opportunity
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Disabled Workers – disabled workers must
receive reasonable accommodations, which may
include additional training
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may need to provide training to those who work with the
disabled
Training and Equal Opportunity
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Retraining Older Workers – Older workers may
become unemployed due obsolescence of job skills
or layoffs.
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May need additional training to compete with younger
individuals who received recently updated training
Orgs may provide outplacement services including
training, counseling, and other services to aid job search.
Other Societal Issues and Training
Terrorism
 How will training be used to fight terrorism?
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Different type of military training
Training civilians how to recognize warning signs
Training for airline industry (e.g., baggage inspectors to
be more vigilant, flight attendants in self-defense)
Training cultural diversity and tolerance to prevent
backlash of bigotry, harassment, and discrimination
Training medical health specialists to identify symptoms
related to chemical/biological attacks
Emergency crowd egress training