Expand social learning opportunities with online learning communities.
Discussion 1
Expand social learning opportunities with online learning communities. Companies that figure out how to incorporate social learning will expand their training capabilities. Online learning communities are social networks that facilitate asynchronous learning, connecting people with expertise with those who want to learn (Speily & Kardan, 2018). Basically, learners post content and others learn and repost from there. From a business standpoint, these online learning communities can be private or public. Online learning communities provide a channel for people to express themselves and their ideas to gain a variety of perspectives, making it easier to innovate. Allowing participants to collaborate in a setting that includes shared interests and a genuine willingness to learn is a great way to convey a sense of interconnectedness (Altman, 2018). The learning styles that are most suited for this learning are visual, social, verbal, and auditory. One of the best things about using online learning communities is how quickly information can reach the masses.
2) Gamification. This is a creative approach that combines those who learn with rewards. Similar to a video game, each time a learner contributes, they earn a badge or points (Brosnihan, 2018). These points can add up to prizes and foster excitement about learning. According to Blanchard & Thacker (2013), “ good design also provides rewards for involvement in the training process, and creating competition between groups can also increase motivational levels, especially in Intuitives who might be getting a bit bored.” A game can be introduced at the end of a training program to ensure participants learned the required materials. It can also be revisited months later to confirm that the training has been retained. Gamification can appeal to all learning styles, especially when using virtual reality or highly interactive games.
3) Incorporate effective storytelling. In order to engage participants, trainers can emotionally connect with them by telling them a story. According to Ciborowski (2016), “The stronger the emotional reaction to information, the more likely the information will stick.” Especially when trainers are using training materials designed by someone else, it may be difficult to really connect with the audience. Adding a story helps engage the audience and tie the new concepts with concrete examples that people will remember. Storytelling appeals to almost all learning styles, and it can help bring abstract concepts to life.
Altman, I. (2018). Successfully apply social learning in your organization. Forbes. Successfully Apply Social Learning In Your Organization (forbes.com) (Links to an external site.)
Blanchard, P. N., & Thacker, J. W. (2013). Effective training: Systems, strategies, and practices (5th ed). Upper Saddle
Discussion 2
Engaging Participants
What is the significance of learning styles? Since everybody has a favorite method of learning. Some people learn better by listening, while others must watch every step, and there’s some that prefer a hands on approach to learn. People, in particular, need all three modalities to fully commit raw data to memory: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. The following are techniques that maintain a participant’s interest; that is not listed methods in (Blanchard & Thacker, 2013):
Giving participants autonomy in a classroom environment is referred to as participant control. Participants are showing the teacher what they fishbowl and other places where interaction is enjoyable and necessary to accomplish the mission (Nadeem, 2015). This method of delivery encourages brainstorming about how people prefer to read and how they want to learn.
Job Shadowing Training Delivery (JSTD) is an effective teaching approach that pairs a person with the necessary qualifications with another participant who wishes to learn similar abilities. This type of education is seen in internships or on-the-job instruction. This could be a bonding experience for the two people. The disadvantage of this method of preparation is that bad habits, or clouded bad habits, are passed on to the trainee, who will then do the job on their own (Sullivan & Howard, 2011).
Brown bag lunches are a form of preparation distribution. This approach is intended to create a relaxed environment. The instructor or advisor may come from anywhere; it may be from leadership or Human Resources. What effect would this have on the community or team? Brown Bag Lunches put people together to learn and educate (Sullivan, 2001). The disadvantage of this is that it can result in poor participation and dealing with staff who do not want to work through their lunch break. It has been observed that it is dependent on the food choice. The BBL approach can be likened to business games in which everybody suffers a consequence, because the choices taken by each team impact the organization they all occupy (Blanchard & Thacker, 2013).
References
Blanchard, P. N., & Thacker, J. W. (2013). Effective Training: Systems, strategies, and practices (5th Ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Discussion 3
Three and a half years ago, I became the supervisor over a team that consisted of my former peers. Being new to the management role, training was warranted and initiated by my director. “Training is said to be effective if the skills and behavior learned and practiced can be transferred to the workplace and can be applied in the context of the job” (Jaidev, & Chirayath, 2012, p54.). I was sent to an off-site 2 day Fred Pryor Seminar entitled Management and Leadership skills for women and assertive communication skills. In order to promote adult learning, the facilitated training allowed trainees to incorporate real-life experiences into the learning environment. This method allowed trainees to engage in the training and keep the attention of the group. The facilitator led discussions about their experience which fostered a guideline for trainees to bring their real-life work experiences into the conversation.
The training consisted of topics such as motivating staff members to give their best. Learning to identify the strength and weaknesses of staff and working with them to build on their strengths and improve their weaknesses. We also learned how to handle the management of friends, former peers, and employees that are older. The training also included ways of developing my individual leadership style and enhancing personal power. Group discussions were led by the facilitator which was based on communication skills. Topics discussed included how to ask for exactly what you want without being pushy or aggressive, saying no without being negative or offensive, and preventing others from manipulating you, and stopping the stress aggressive people can cause. This training is one of many that I would like to emulate as a training, as it provided me with the tools to be a better manager.
The training methods used were able to incorporate the different learning styles of the audience which included visual, written, auditory and tactile learning. According to Blanchard, “Most training requires a combination of methods because no single method can do everything well” (2013). The training provided effective training using group discussions, demonstrations, role-play, and lectures. Using these methods provided an opportunity for trainees to get involved and provide a better understanding of what was being taught in order to transfer the training back to the workplace. This training allowed me to improve the skills needed to effectively communicate with my new staff. I was able to instill trust with the staff to build relationships that create a positive work environment.
Blanchard, P. N., & Thacker, J. W. (2013) Effective training: Systems, strategies, and practices (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Discussion 4
I attended a training that for me felt like a failure, and affected me in a negative way. The main reason for the perceived failure was the classroom setup was not conducive to the training that was being presented. The information was similar to a shortened crucial conversations course, and so potential role-playing would be used. The classroom may have been a last-minute request so there were no other available options, however, we were not informed of this. Blanchard and Thacker (2013, 5.5) share that if there is a reason the training space is less than optimal, to inform the participants of the potential for a few bumps in the road, or distractions.
The room was a huge conference room with a podium at the front, and the seating was broken up with 10-12 large tables with about 6 people at each one. Leaders grouped at a few tables together, and general staff huddled at the others. The training started with all the right things, an ice breaker, ground rules, and introductions, and the reason we were at the training. The issue started when the leaders thought they knew all the information and tuned out having small conversations at the divided tables. It was distracting and was not supportive of the presenter. In an article from Psychology Today (Barth, 2012) they discuss a few options that could have helped was to interrupt their conversations, and take what they are talking about and turn it into part of the training conversation. My own personal thought would be to call on one of them to participate in a role-play. I think that would call out all others talking and let them know that chatter is not part of the ground rules for the training.
Overall I don’t even remember the training other than the situation and I know there were role-playing exercises, but I don’t recall anything other than that; just goes to show how vital the sitting and layout of the session are
References:
Barth, F.D. (2012, Apr 22). 5 Steps for Dealing with people who talk too much. Psychology today. Retrieved from: https://www.
Discussion 5
| Right People | Right Way | Right Things | Right Development | |
| High-Level Maturity (5) | Holding quarterly meetings with senior leadership to discuss employee retention, open positions, and how fast positions are being filled. | Senior leadership will analyze data on employee performance to align with the overall business objective and productivity. | Every quarter, meetings will be held with senior leadership to discuss the employees who perform well and who may need more development. | Developing a talent pipeline with well-defined job descriptions helps ensure the right people are selected for the positions. |
| Middle-level Maturity (3) | Generating a talent pipeline for current and future needs. Discussing with senior management on the status. | Managers will meet two times a year to evaluate employees based on performance and offer a performance improvement plan. | Every month managers will sit down with all direct reports and discuss goals, challenges, and ideas to overcome the challenges and provide feedback. | Offering training to all employees to further develop the individual within the position or prep the employee for future positions. These trainings can enhance the individual development plan. |
| Lower-Level Maturity (1) | Filling opening positions. Having the managers open up needed reqs and recruit accordingly. | Defining expectations for all employees and communicating them for different job roles. | Setting goals, all employees should be working towards achieving a goal. | Providing training and development plans to ensure each employee creates their development plan. |
Organizations can focus on different business elements; however, most of the cases focus on driving the business forward, whether with more sales and production or innovation. HR can utilize a strategic focus to ensure that it is benefiting the company. For example, employees are usually the most significant asset for any organization. It is essential that the right people are in the correct position and that those employees are developed to grow within that position or developed for future positions. However, with each element, there is a different level of maturity; the higher the level, the more HR is integrated into the process. The lower the level, the less integrated HR is (Hunt, 2014). This is to empower front-line supervisors to take responsibilities for functions that may have fallen on HR in the past but should be conducted by the supervisor, such as setting goals for the employees or providing feedback based on performance. “In order to the successful, HR professionals and business together much grapple with the many variables that affect the organizations’ ability to attain its strategic objective” (Aligning Workforce Strategies With Business Objectives, 2018). HR professionals and senior leaders must work together and understand the different elements of the business.
Discussion 6
| Right People | Right Way | Right Things | Right Development | |
| Top/Level 3 Management | Talent Pool Maintenance. Walmart’s executive team has to balance the firm’s/ retail industry’s current high turnover through continuous recruitment and managing the annual numbers of the same. | Establishing decisions and effective plans based on employee engagement and organizational efficiency. This team puts both the employee and the consumer in the first place and integrates the same with Walmart’s mission. | Strategic goals implementation. This team will generally reflect Walmart’s efficiency and capability to boost every other store’s efficiency through guidance to merchandising (Thompson, 2019). Strategic decision-making and other aspects linked to the corporate mission. | Recruitment and product sales analysis. This will examine the reasons behind the high turnover rate as well as the selectiveness behind various products’’ sales’ volumes. |
| Level 2/Middle Management | Creating the ideal talent. Tasked with outsourcing the ideal talent internally and from external sources. They will record these applicants based on where each was sourced. | Basing compensation strategy decisions and other processes on employee performance. Each employee is rewarded based on performance and the same applies to work promotions. | Establish tactical goals and plans. Walmart’s heads of functional units and other divisions have to fulfill every strategic plan set by the top executives (Morillo McNally & Block, 2015, p. 388). | Conduct continuous and productivity-oriented employee development. Tasked with generally conducting on-the-job training and off-job-training to establish perfectly equipped and motivated personnel. |
| Lower Level Management | Conduct ongoing feedback. Manage the hourly store workers and manage particular departments towards filling vacant positions through various methods including issuing growth opportunities. | Annual individual employee performance evaluation. This assessment is to be used to optimize the compensation strategy and employee motivation in various ways. | Establishing tangible workplace goals that meet the mentioned strategic and tactical goals. The same necessitates the setting of ideal operational plans and specific processes linked to the core corporate strategy/mission in various ways. | Linking corporate and individual goals/interests. This team sets a timeline and strategy towards achieving the same as well as strategic annual objectives. |
References
Morillo, J., McNally, C., & Block, W. E. (2015). The Real Walmart. Business and Society Review, 120(3), 385-408. Accessed
https://doi.org/10.1111/basr.
Discussion 7
There are so many HRM responsibilities and practices that are in an organization. HRM is imperative part of an organization. Leading and high skilled, motivates employees is key to a successful company and with HRM the company can be competitive in the markets. This has been known as a backbone of an organization. Some HR might believe that they have the ability solely to decide on employees’ future. One more conflicting practice among companies are that they hire inexperienced HR manager. Inexperienced HR Manager can recruit candidates for the company but cannot analyze and evaluate their capability and eligibility at the work center. If Firms cannot recruit qualified workers, then they can take services of the consultancies who will do all HR related work for them and effectively also. For a real evaluation this should also include managers that oversee the day-to-day operations to have a better rating for each employee and more fairness. The other day my rater and I sat down for a performance feedback session. This was a midterm feedback and rated me accordingly. This was fair, he also took the time to ask the actual section boss how I was day by day. This was at lease a good courtesy to do. I can find that a lot of people do not often perform that. The feedbacks are a great way to know how to rate a person and make adjustments for organizational goals.
Hunt, S.T. (2014). Common Sense Talent Management: using strategic human resources to improve company performance. Ebook Central
Discussion 8
In Human Resource Management, there are two ways to manage talent. The
first is finding the best fit, and the second is best practices (Vulpen, 2019).
Seven practices involve HRM and those are providing security to employees,
selective hiring: hiring the right people, self-managed and effective teams,
fair and performance-based compensation, training in relevant skills,
creating a flat and egalitarian organization, and making information easily
accessible to those who need it. The area of focus will be the first concept of
providing security to employees.
The current times have security for information security through technology.
is increasing. Information about the customer is critical to the organization to
protect internally and externally (HRPS, 2020). The cost to the organization
can be significant depending on the breach of information lost. The approach
that HRM can reduce the loss is through proper use of HRIS. The security can
involve making sure vendors take precautions to keep company data safe,
information is limited and controlled, becoming more cyber secure,
instruction on Phishing schemes, software updates, and even frequent
password changes. When the Human Resource Management practice is
implemented, the organization reduces the loss of information and exposure.
to costly litigation.
References
HRPS. (2020). Keeping Information Secure Throughout HRIS Implementation.
Retrieved from https://www.
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