Management

Designing, Delivering & Evaluating Learning & Development Provision

Designing, Delivering & Evaluating Learning & Development Provision

Introduction

As the Learning and Development Manager for ABC Company, this paper discusses the importance of organisational learning and training and the subsequent implementation of four stages of training in the above mentioned organisation.

Before discussing the proposal which comprises of the implementation of training modules in ABC Company, it is imperative to understand the importance of organisational learning and development in general.

As an essential component of any learning organisation, it is important for the management of any corporation, particularly ABC Company, to achieve the full potential of Strategic Learning and Development by integrating the experience of its employees which have been accumulated over time. Moreover, organisations should also strive at bringing the knowledge which is appropriated outside the borders of the company and vice versa.

The special theme of organisational learning as a condition for organisational development garnered international recognition in the early nineties. In essence, strategic learning and development constitutes a competitive advantage for organisations that seek to respond to the challenges put forth by globalization and other dilemmas of uncertainty and constant change. Therefore, by implementing the recommendations, including training needs, design, delivery, and evaluation, ABC Company is surely set to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

The Importance of Human Resources in an Organisation - Theoretical Framework

Kurt Lewin, a sociologist explains in his "three-phase model" that an organisation can embrace change only when the human resource capital of the organisation - employees and managers change. Therefore, ABC Company can only grow when it puts adequate emphasis on its Human Capital and this can only be achieved by Training.

This is where the two concepts of evolutionary change pertaining to Organisations, namely Organisational Development and Learning Organisation is founded (Youndt et al., 2006, pp. 836-866). It should be noted that unlike the Business Process Reengineering which corresponds to radical changes in a short time of period; evolutionary changes rely on a soft approach which is gradual yet profound in manner.

Organisational Development

Organisational development refers to a planned, long-term, organisation - wide development and change process. Organisational development corresponds to a set of enterprise - wide learning processes which proactively involves all employees. Through Organisational Development, ABC Company can achieve two goals: an increase in productivity and an increase in the ability of employees to improve problem-solving within the organisation (Wright & Snell 2008, pp.756-772).

Organisational development is not a uniform approach, but rather a term for various different methods and techniques. Changes in the organisational structure and/or hierarchy and the initiation of learning processes that involves employees are at the forefront of the change process (Wright & McMahan 1995, pp. 1052-1074). Management at ABC Company should strategically restructure the hierarchy of the company into a lean and flat structure and only then can realize the full potential of Organisational Development.

Some of the key measures and methods that will be implemented in ABC Company particular are:

Measures for the improvement of organisational processes and structures, such as the ...