E-Learning and the Changing Face of Corporate Training and Development

Internet technologies and the advent of e-learning applications inmany organisations have made a fundamental difference to the way organisations deliver training and development content, activities and experiences to their employees. Some of the organisations at the forefront of deploying e-learning technologies have been global corporations and/or transaction processing intensive organisations, who typically have difficulties assembling their staff for traditional classroom based training activities, either due to logistical difficulties or because of the impact this would have on work flows and business continuity. Such organisations have developed approaches to e-learning and competency development that overcome the logistical problems of conventional training by making innovative use of e-learning. This paper examines the approaches used by several leading global, Australian and Asian organisations, including Cisco Systems, Motorola, Qantas and several others by drawing on a field study conducted by the writer during 2003–2004. It attempts to identify some key emerging trends and practices in the field, and lessons that can be learnt from the experiences of organisations reviewed, for the successful deployment of e-learning strategies.e-learning, learning and content management systems, Australia and Asia Pacific

Building a progression culture: exploring learning organisations’ use of the Progression Matrix

This research paper explores the implementation of The Progression Matrix in schools, colleges and other learning organisations such as training providers. The project builds on existing research on The Progression Matrix and finds evidence which suggests that the approach provides a useful conceptual model around which learning organisations can re-orientate their practice and deliver enhanced progression for learners.Aimhighe

A diagrammatical representation of organisational learning using socio-cultural theory

Traditional psychology conceptualises learning in organisations in a non-contextual way which means that the theories, due to their over-structured rigidity, cannot account for the complexities of learning. This paper re-conceptualises learning through consideration of socio-cultural theories which position learning as something created as a result of the interaction of a person with their task and context. Through re-conceptualising an understanding of knowledge as something that is distributed through participation within communities of practice this paper will provide justification for the adoption of socio-cultural methods to enable the distribution of knowledge within an organisation. The paper argues for a more complex model of organisational learning which will have the explanatory power to understand learning and how this impacts and informs learning outcomes within and across organisations

The practice of HRD in the voluntary sector: towards an understanding of impact

This paper addresses the role of learning in assisting voluntary sector organisations achieve their organisational objectives. Specifically it seeks to develop a platform from which to position necessary research in order to understand the link between how learning is organised, managed and delivered within voluntary sector organisations and its impact upon performance. The paper is thus a step towards a more robust theoretical and evidential understanding of a relatively under-researched domain of HRD practice

What do networks do to work: the agential role of network

The article draws on an ongoing study of interorganisational learning in project based organisations and how organisations learn through network settings. The article aimed at drawing theoretical explanations of network learning especially after learning moved from interorganisational learning to inter-networked learning. The article employs the structure agency relationship by Dave Elder-Vass as theoretical lens to draw conclusions that provides fresh explanations of how network are helpful in fostering learning activities. The research method included interviews, observation and archives. Data were analysed using thematic analysis which generated codes and then conclusion were drawn. The main contributions of this article are (1) to portray agency as another face of structure, (2) stress the agential role of networks, and (3) looking at networks as agents provides fresh understanding of benefits of networks

Collaborative Leadership Learning; Developing Facilitation Skills for Collaborative Learning in Leadership Learning Groups.

many organisations working for example, with less hierarchical structures, with cross- organisational partners, or in professional environments. Leadership at all levels must be supported by leaders in top executive positions who develop their own capabilities both as leaders and in their role of leading the learning of leadership throughout their organisations. Their ideas of their role in leading learning will be shaped by their own leadership development experiences. Collaborative learning for leadership may be a model of learning that reflects the new leadership required; it may enable leaders to develop their own leadership capability in such a way that they feel enabled to work with others on their leadership development

The effect of knowledge management and organisational learning on individual competencies

Knowledge management (KM) is known for its positive impact on the strategy of organisations, but little is known and understood about the significance of competency and learning and its important effects on knowledge management in public and private organisations in different sectors of the economy in Kuwait. The problem is that many organisations deal with KM or new information or emerging information as a challenge of KM itself rather than a way of incorporating new knowledge into the organisation through the development of individual competencies, and hence developing both KM and individual competency. Based on interview data from Kuwaiti organisations, this paper argues that it is better to implement KM and maximize organizational learning in order to create more competent individuals based on the spiral of knowledge creation model or the theory of knowledge creation. The significant contribution this paper makes is that individual competencies have a reciprocal relationship with KM; the determining factors of individual competencies training, education, personal characteristics and culture affect KM success and are themselves affected by KM strategies. Some implications for managing organisational knowledge, organisational learning and development of individual competency are considered

Workforce Development in the South West Voluntary and Community Sectors:Skill Shortages Study

The Voluntary Sector National Training Organisation, now the National  Workforce Development Hub, describes the Voluntary and Community  Sector  as  diverse  and  covering  a  variety  of  different  organisations.  Organisations range from traditional charities, to companies that trade to  support their social aims, through to informal community organisations.  The sector also includes federations, or networks of local groups working  under national umbrellas.  Voluntary and community sector organisations  provide  a  wide  range  of  services  and  activities  and  many  of  the  organisations are involved in the delivery of learning, whether through  accredited training or informal learning.  The Government has increasingly recognised the importance of Voluntary  and  community  sector  organisations  and  the  key  role  that  they  play  nationally,  regionally  and  locally.    Initiatives  to  support  the  sector,  underpinned by funding, have been undertaken and the Government has  been  active  in  encouraging  and  commissioning  research  and  strategic  planning  in  the  sector,  in  particular  emphasising  the  importance  of  developing the skills, capacities and potential of the workforce.  Sector organisations generally display a strong commitment to training  and workforce development.  However, in spite of this commitment and  the presence of a high proportion of well‐qualified workers, skills gaps,  that is skills lacking in the current workforce, and skills shortages caused  by recruitment difficulties, are present in the sector.  There are also skills  gaps and shortages in the volunteer workforce

The Learning Organisation Meme: Emergence of a Management Replicator (or Parrots, Patterns and Performance)

Organisations and organisms are self-maintaining systems which spontaneously seek to preserve an evolved order. Both are enabled by replicators: memes or genes respectively. Whereas genes are the units of transmission of our biological inheritance memes are the units of transmission of our cultural inheritance. They cause organisations to settle into patterns, routines and habits of behaviour: manifestations of a particular memetic inheritance. These patterns enable the organisation but simultaneously limit its performance. Both systems share the evolutionary dynamic of adaptive radiation followed by stabilisation. Memetic examples include new markets, new technologies and new business ideas. Business theories and their derivative, managerial fads, are a class of memes. This paper illustrates the increasing returns dynamic in the evolution of management recipes by contrasting Business Process Re-engineering and the Learning Organisation. It ends with a plea for the Learning Organisations to retain memetic diversity rather than be trapped in sterile competitions to define an LO. The power of the Learning Organisation movement may, paradoxically, be that we are not stuck with what it is

The Effectiveness of Customer Education: evaluating synchronous and asynchronous e-learning technologies

This paper considers the role played by customer education in enhancing their engagement by enriching the customer experience. Enrichment may be seen in terms of enhanced customer communication or service co-creation. This is often mediated by the effectiveness of customer education. Consequently, organisations are evolving new ways of educating their customers to carry out their roles as co-producers. Increasingly this process depends on the latest synchronous and asynchronous e-learning technologies, requiring significant resource investments. Whilst it is easy for organisations to become absorbed with the latest technological trends, we suggest a refocussing on how customers actually engage in learning and skills acquisition. A conceptual framework is developed that combines key concepts from IT service delivery with well-established models of learning acquisitio