ISSUES AND CHALLENGES: EDUCATION AND LEARNING

Issues and Challenges: Education and Learning

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION3

ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN EDUCATION INDUSTRY3

CHANGE4

GLOBAL AND ECONOMIC CHANGE IN EDUCATION INDUSTRY6

POLITICAL, LEGAL AND SOCIAL CHANGE AT EDUCATION INDUSTRY8

TECHNOLOGY AT EDUCATION INDUSTRY10

HUMAN RESOURCES CRITICAL ISSUE AT EDUCATION INDUSTRY12

CONCLUSION14

Issues and Challenges: Education and Learning

Introduction

People seem to be resistant to change, however, they are willing to change if they understand why change is needed, and they are able to have input in the changes. Human resources responsibility is to help associates and management understand the reasons for change and help them buy into the change. The paper will explain the critical issues of change to human resource management at education industry. Issues will include planned and unplanned change, global and economic changes, virtual organizations and e-business with focus on technology. The paper will also demonstrate through the writing of this paper, the learning experience they have gained and what future critical issues will need to be addressed by human resource professionals. Solutions will also be given as to how human resources should forecast, react, manage and adapt to critical issues (Bartlett, 1990).

Issues and Challenges in Education Industry

Agility, the ability to change and adapt, is critical to any business ability to achieve strategic goals. The human resources professional at education industry, who is in the unique position of ensuring the agility of education industry' s human capital, faces a variety of critical issues which must be addressed in order to ensure the strategic goals of the organization. Critical issues, which must be addressed, include planned and unplanned change, global and economic change; political, legal, and social change, the role of human resources in education industry, and the role of technology on the function of human resources at education industry. By far, the most critical issue facing human resources professionals is the ability to gain strategic partnership. Gaining strategic partnership requires adding value to the organization through forecasting, planning, and adapting to the above changes and taking a proactive stance in managing change (Reith, 1998).

Change

Human resource is part of an education's strategic plan. Incorporated in this plan is both planned and unplanned change. Strategic leadership requires an understanding of when change is needed in education industry. A strategic leader should be proactive instead of reactive. Consequently, human resources must create a strategically managed vision for current and future conditions (Reith, 1998).

Change is a necessity in organizations that want to succeed in a global, complex, and vague environment. Powerful forces in the environment are pressuring public and private organizations to alter permanently existing structures, policies, and practices (Bolman & Deal, 1991). Globalization and ecommerce has created a large amount of competition, which in turn creates diversity and a variety of skills and mind-sets. Communication has also become a major challenge of building consistency and common goals in a world of cultural differences, which requires planned change (Schneider, 1988).

Due to demographic changes, human resources are under pressure to accommodate change. Training programs are developed to accommodate changes such as conflict ...