Human Resource Development

Students are required to submit a 1,300 word academic essay in Week 5 on the following:
Essay question In your opinion, which of the developments in thinking about learning in the workplace discussed in Weeks 1-4 has had the most significant impact on HRD practices?
In your answer make sure you:
§ Clearly identify one key development in the literature of adult learning and provide a concise outline of your understanding of the development (not more than 1/3 of your essay should be spent on this part of the question)
§ Argue your case for why you think its impact has been so significant (this part of your answer should form the bulk of your answer – at least 2/3 of your paper)
The following readings (available via vUWS) should serve as the starting point for your consideration of this question and can be included in the list of eight references (minimum) needed for the essay.
Readings Merriam, SB, Caffarella, RS & Baumgartner, L 2007, Learning in adulthood: a comprehensive guide, 3rd edn, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, Chapter 4, pp 83-105
Poell, RF 2005, ‘HRD beyond what HRD practitioners do: a framework for furthering multiple learning processes in work organisations’, in C Elliott & S Turnbull (eds), Critical thinking in human resource development, MacMillan, London, pp. 85-95
Rowden, R W 2007, Workplace learning: Principles and practice, Krieger Publishing Company, Florida. Chapter 4 Social and group dimensions of workplace learning pp57-76.
Wenger E 2014, Communities of practice: a brief introduction, http://wenger-trayner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/06-Brief-introduction-to-communities-of-practice.pdf

In the lectures and tutorials we will discuss features and characteristics of good essay writing particularly in the Week 4 essay workshop tutorial. However, to get you started in thinking about the requirements of the essay, the following guidelines will apply to this assessment:
§ Your essay should conform to standard essay structure – introduction, body and conclusion.
§ No headings, sub-headings, dot-points or numbered points are necessary. Write in organised, clearly delineated paragraphs.
§ In-text citation should be used throughout the essay.
§ Use of the Harvard UWS referencing system is required in the School of Business.
§ A minimum of eight academic references are required.
§ Use double line spacing for clear presentation.
Submission requirements
Submission is via Turnitin by midnight on the due date.

Uses an extensive range of current, relevant sources Research is significantly beyond minimum requirements and is used to create and support a sophisticated argument

Essay includes an introduction which thoroughly yet concisely develops the thesis of the essay, a flowing and coherent body structure and a conclusion which effectively synthesises the concepts within the essay and summarises the argument

Insightful coverage of both parts of the question with some extrapolation and excellent use of discussion and examples that support main argument/ arguments theoretically.

Relevant and convincing use of arguments to substantiate the points, integrating different perspectives

High levels of understanding are demonstrated throughout the essay. Key concepts and themes are clearly explored and questions are asked about underpinning assumptions

Excellent writing which demonstrates careful revision and editing.

Each paragraph covers one main idea and is supported by discussion, analysis and citations. Each paragraph links cohesively to the previous and following paragraphs with continuity

High level of comprehensive referencing throughout essay. Reference list is complete and highly accurate

week 1 lecture/ tutorial notes:

Poell analyses the HRD role and its relationship to learning in the workplace.
—
He proposes that there are 3 types of learning in the workplace which HRD practitioners must come to grips with:
—
Implicit learning;
—
Self-directed learning; and
—
Guided learning

Implicit learning
—
Definition:
‘The notion that employees learn a lot from doing their everyday job, without being aware of it necessarily…’ (Poell 2005, p.86)
—Also known as ‘learning-by-doing’, ‘experiential learning’ and ‘incidental learning’
—Occurs individually

Self-directed learning
—
Definition:
‘Managing one’s own learning process’ (p.88)
—Can occur individually or in groups

Guided learning
—
Definition:
Learning that is ‘structured by an outside agent for the learning employee’ (p.88)
—Also known as ‘structured learning’, ‘formal learning’
—Can occur individually or in groups

Implications?
—
1. “learning takes place within the individual as a mental and bodily acquisition process…” (Illeris 2011, p.154)
But…
—
2. “learning is fundamentally a social process, something that takes place between people and not only in people…” (p.8)
—
3. “the learning culture or environment is decisive for the learning” (p.8)
Therefore learning needs to be viewed as both an individual and a social process.

What does all of this mean for the field of Human Resource Development?
—
We no longer only think about training (ie planned, formalised learning opportunities) when we consider the development of employees
—
Learning – in all its forms – is now what we must consider when planning for HRD
—
We have also become more refined in our use of the terms such as training and learning

The process by which employees acquire skills and/or knowledge and/or attitudes (KSAs) that directly impact upon current job performance.

week 2 lecture notes:
Mayson (2006) gives a good overview of the early work on adult learning and the impetus behind it –

‘Theories of adult learning emerged out of the US and Europe in the 1950s. According to Knowles (1984:52), until scholars started a systematic study of adult learning (and in the absence of theory to support adult learning efforts), educators treated adult learners as child learners’ (p.80).

Malcolm Knowles was a US education practitioner and theorist who developed influential ideas about the needs of adult learners.

In The modern practice of adult education: Andragogy versus pedagogy, Knowles (1970) puts forward the notion of “andragogy” which he described as “the art and science of helping adults learn” (p. 38).

Knowles’ assumptions about adult learning:
1.Their self-concept moves from dependency to independency or self-directedness.

2.They accumulate a reservoir of experience, which is a rich resource and can be used as a basis on which to build future learning.

3.Their readiness to learn is closely associated with the developmental tasks of their social roles.
4.Their time perspective changes from postponed to immediacy of application of knowledge and from subject centredness to problem centredness (pp. 44-45)

5.Adults are motivated to learn by internal factors rather than external ones (Knowles and Associates, 1984, pp. 9-12, adapted from Merriam & Caffarella, 1999, p. 272).

Case Study – applying ideas about adult learning
(extract from Tovey and Lawler 2004, pp.90-1)
Shirley thought seriously about offering Peter an assistant manager’s position which was coming up in the near future at the cinema complex where they worked. However she felt that he would have to agree to do some part-time study in order for him to gain a general business understanding and some specific skills. When she discussed the opportunity with Peter he jumped at the chance and was very eager to study part-time and to take on the position…
…Peter’s eagerness surprised Shirley because she was expecting some negativity due to his poor education and the fact that he has said so many times how he hated school.
How does an understanding of Knowles’ ideas help answer the following:
Why Peter might be so eager to do some part-time study?
Why Peter might have learned so quickly on the job?
What do you think the difference is between his learning at school and the learning he has accomplished around the cinema?

Criticisms of Knowles’ ideas:
Knowles’ ideas have been subject to wide-ranging critique
‘More recent critiques of andragogy have pointed out that in its slavish focus on the individual learner, the sociohistorical context in which learning takes place is virtually ignored…. … Knowles’s reliance on humanistic psychology results in a picture of the individual learner as one who is autonomous, free, and growth oriented…
…There is little or no awareness that the person is socially situated, and to some extent, the product of the sociohistorial and cultural context of the times; nor is there any awareness that the social institutions and structures may be defining the learning transaction irrespective of the individual participant’ (Merriam, Caffarella & Baumgartner 2007, pp. 87-88)

‘To this day, while the theory and practice of adult learning has moved on and despite many contemporary criticisms of the model, Knowles’ andragogical model provided the basis for training and learning models commonly found in HRD, HRM and management texts’ (Mayson 2006, p.80).

The limits of Knowles’ theorising:

Knowles was mostly referring to overt learning opportunities – he didn’t really consider the full range of learning opportunities adults might take up
Also, his theory was largely directed towards understanding adult learners so we could better teach or facilitate learning. It was largely aimed at educators who would be planning learning for adults
However, focusing only on this aspect of formal training/teaching is now seen by some as outmoded…(see next slide)

‘…scholars in the field argue that traditional education that emphasises explicit knowledge imparted through formal classroom learning is no longer relevant. The learning challenges for educationalists and managers in the 21st century is to develop ways to understand informal learning and the mobilisation of tacit knowledge gleaned from ongoing experience and social interaction (Fenwick 2001, 2004; Foley, 2004; Gonczi, 2004 cited in Mayson 2006, p. 83).

Newer contributions are more clearly aimed at understanding more about learning processes which are not necessarily planned. The following terms are often used to describe such learning:
Informal
Incidental
Experiential
Implicit
Workplace learning / learning in work

‘The main similarity among these concepts is that they do not require any pedagogical structuring or intention to learn, or even an awareness of learning on the part of the learning employee’ (Poell 2005, p. 88)
Informal learning – learning resulting from daily work-related, family or leisure activities
(Halliday-Wynes, S & Beddie, F (2009) Informal Learning: NCVER At a Glance. Leabrook, S.A: NCVER. p.2)

Who benefits?
Older workers and learners
Small business
Disengaged learners
Migrant groups and refugees
Halliday-Wynes, S & Beddie, F (2009) Informal Learning: NCVER At a Glance. Leabrook, S.A: NCVER.

‘The concepts of communities of practice is central to viewing learning as a socially situated practice… A community of practice is:
any group of individuals who work together for a period (such as a sports team, a workplace department or project group, a class or a club) developing particular ways of doing things and talking about things that their members come to learn (Fenwick & Tennant, 2004:63)’ (Mayson 2006, p.84).

What have we covered and how does it relate to the essay question?
Today we have looked at:
the origins of thinking about adult learning;
how ideas have moved on since the 70s; and
the impacts of newer ideas about adults learning in the workplace through the contribution of theories about informal learning and social learning

week 3 lecture and tutorial notes:
Teams vs CoPs
“Teams are created by managers to complete specific projects. Managers select team members on the basis of their ability to contribute to the team’s goals, and the group disbands once the project has been finished…
Communities of practice, on the other hand, are informal — they organize themselves, meaning they set their own agendas and establish their own leadership. And membership in a community of practice is self-selected. …And members of an existing community, when they invite someone to join, also operate on a gut sense of the prospective member’s appropriateness for the group.”
Extract from Snyder & Wenger, 2000, Communities of Practice: The Organizational Frontier Harvard Business Review. 78.1 (Jan. 2000): p139

How do communities of practice develop workers’ skills?
Key concepts for discussion in your essay:
Situated learning

Tacit and explicit knowledge

Legitimate peripheral participation

“the very characteristics that make communities of practice a good fit for stewarding knowledge —
autonomy, practitioner-orientation, informality,
crossing boundaries —are also characteristics that make them a challenge for traditional hierarchical organizations”
Wenger 2014, Communities of practice: A brief introduction

Top-down processes designed to institutionalize new ideas can have a chilling effect on creativity”

Brown & Duguid 2000, “Balancing Act: How to Capture Knowledge Without Killing It.” Harvard Business Review 78.3 (2000): 73.

managers cannot mandate communities of practice. Instead, successful managers bring the right people together, provide an infrastructure in which communities can thrive, and measure the communities’ value in non-traditional ways”
Wenger & Snyder 2000, Communities of Practice: The Organizational Frontier, Harvard Business Review, Jan 2000 http://hbr.org/2000/01/communities-of-practice-the-organizational-frontier/ar/1
What about patterns and procedures that are unjust or dysfunctional…What about inequitable opportunities to participate in a community – how do people who are excluded or marginalised become more fully involved, and what does it mean to be on the periphery’?
(Fenwick & Tennant 2004, p.65)

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