Essay on Personal and Professional Development

Question: Write an essay on Personal and Professional Development. Answer: Four Possible Consequences of Inadequate Training Unhappy Employees- If there is no training or inadequate training, the employees would not understand the importance of organizational objectives. This would lead to low motivation as the employees would be unaware of the achievable goals. This may further lead to employee turnover (Balakrishnan and Srividhya 2015). Low Productivity- When there is inadequate or no training, the employees are not confident to perform their jobs. The amount taken by the employees to complete a particular work shall be greater if there is inadequate training thereby affecting overall productivity (Tims, Bakker and Derks 2013). Increased Expenses- If the organization does not provide adequate training to its employees, it can result in injuries due to unskilled use of equipments. The customers or clients might have to be compensated for defending against lawsuits thereby increasing expenditure (Balakrishnan and Srividhya 2015). Loss of Customers- The employees who are not trained properly cannot produce high quality product. The untrained employees do not possess adequate knowledge or skills to provide customer satisfaction (Sallis 2014). If the employees are not involved or consulted in the design, development and targeting of the training, they might not feel happy. Additionally, they might be resistant to training and not involve or participate in the learning opportunity. This would eventually lead to incorrect execution as there would not be proper development. The employees may also be absent or sabotage the training program. The training will not necessarily be correctly targeted. If the employees are consulted, they are more likely to be dedicated and entrusted to the training (Nadler and Nadler 2012). The standards for workplace competency are set by organizations, industries and accrediting bodies. It is important to clearly define standards because the trainers and business must know the achievable objectives in the organization. The training programs can be structured in a manner that would educate the employees for performing their job to standard (McDaniel, Ngala and Leonard 2015). The organizations can offer formal and informal training in the organization. Formal training can help in learning the objectives of the organization. There are a few methods such as courses, workshops, e-learning programs and seminars that can be used for formal training. Informal training can be used for informal discussions among employees. A few methods such as mentoring, coaching and using reference materials (Dabbagh and Kitsantas 2012). Action learning sets can be defined as a structured method enabling small groups that work and meet collectively to address complicated issues. The tool can be used for issues concerning the ways in which the people work. For example, employees who wish to develop their presentation skills can actually learn be delivering a presentation. An action learning set is a group of four to eight people who meet to gather and learn from one another from experiences. The advisor or facilitators help to focus on learning. The issues being faced shall be described in the action learning set. Action learning sets enable the participants to take actions that would not be necessary otherwise if the individual works in isolation (Pedler 2012). Training is a critical component as it helps in meeting the relevant and timely needs of an organization. Training shall benefit both the participant and organization if it is well perceived by the participants. Learning shall be more complete and effective if the resources, materials and appropriate methodologies are used according to the preferred learning style of participants. My learning goal is to develop core skills such as listening, reading, writing and technological fluency. Another learning goal is to use specialized knowledge into the practical or real-life. A few learning methodologies that can be used to achieve my learning goals are mentoring, peer learning, induction, coaching, buddy systems, and distance learning (Wisker 2013). Training must be evaluated for three principle reasons- Identification of improvements- Training can be evaluated so that further improvements can be made. The training assessment data can be kept in one place as every individual has a drive to make continuous improvements. Effective training evaluation shall enable in gathering data upon which one can base decisions for change (Grohmann and Kauffeld 2013). Alignment with business objectives- The training evaluation helps in determining if the right evaluation is delivered. The personnel can check of the training is rightly delivered. To check if the training is aligned with the business objectives, the training output must be measured (Brinkerhoff 2012). Measurement of value- Training can add value to the organizations as it would help in reducing budgets. The training would maximize productivity and reduce potential negative impacts (Brinkerhoff 2012). The two ways in which the training can be evaluated are- Gathering feedback from participants- The training effectiveness can be gathered from the participants who were a part of the training. The participants can fill the evaluation form to know the effectiveness of the training. The satisfaction level in terms of location and accommodation shall also measured (Brinkerhoff 2012). Assessing workplace performance- The workplace effectiveness can be assessed post-training when the participants are working in real life scenarios. The post-training activities must be assessed to check if the participants have improved and are performing better in the areas where they lagged (Brinkerhoff 2012). Specific and generic competencies are different from each other as specific competencies are applicable to tasks that require technicality such as writing reports, using computer applications, or operating machinery. However, generic competencies are the ones related to unspecialized or non-technical skills such as problem solving, communication and conflict management (Thistlethwaite et al. 2014). The industries in Australia work collaboratively with each other for performing a wide array of tasks. The training programmes or packages are created by the industries based on the learning and development standards. The individuals are then rewarded with qualifications after the training session is completed. I am interested to work in Australian Hospitality Sector. A few competencies required in the organizations in this industry are: Behavioural competencies- The behavioural competencies can be measured as a behavioural measure such as development of talent. These competencies require softer skills involved in employees effective performance (Thistlethwaite et al. 2014). Technical competencies- The technical competencies should be outweighed carefully such as hiring decisions made on the basis of technical skills such as writing reports. Functional competencies- It is a type of competency that drives high performance and quality results. These competencies are operational or technical in nature such as backing up a database. Management competencies- These competencies recognize the soft skills and attributes such as leadership and management characteristics. A few examples are problem solving skills, conflict management and many more (Thistlethwaite et al. 2014). From the above list of competencies, I possess behavioural, functional and management competencies. However, I need to develop technical competencies and improve my skills. Henry favours the auditory style. An auditory learning style is one in which the person learns through listening. Hearing and speaking is a significant way of learning in this style. One of the clues that make him an auditory style is that he prefers to talk over call rather than reading reports and meeting minutes (Rogowsky, Calhoun and Tallal 2015). Mary favours the visual style of learning. A visual style is one in which the ideas and concepts are associated with techniques or ideas. According to the case study, Mary develops charts and maps, but overlooks the tasks and directions given to her verbally. This is evident to say that Mary follows visual style of learning (Ganesh 2014). Robert favours the kinaesthetic style of learning. This style of learning involves carrying out physical activities rather than watching demonstrations or listening to a lecture. Robert gets bored easily and takes copious notes when he learns something new (Pritchard 2013). A few materials of the learning strategies is defined as follows: Auditory learning A few auditory learning materials are: Audio books- Audio books is like a talking book as it is a recording of the text being read. It is beneficial for the learners who follow auditory style (Pritchard 2013). Audio notes and videos- Audio notes shall be beneficial as it is a combination of note taking and voice recording. The learners may listen to recording or videos for the lectures conducted on a specific topic. The learners who do not require visual representation can gain from this subject. Group discussions- The group discussions shall help the auditory learners in learning as they learn the best when they hear things. Group discussions cover various aspects and perspectives that is beneficial for the learner (Pritchard 2013). Visual learning Diagrams and charts- The diagrams, charts, maps, flashcards and notes can help in visual learning as the figures are a graphic representation of the theoretical notes. It can help in better understanding as it precisely covers the variables or factors in a particular subject. Coloured notes- The colourful notes shall grab attention of the learner. Highlighting the notes is beneficial for the learner as they learn the important elements through highlights. Simply reading the coloured or highlighted parts shall give the learners a summary of the specific subject or topic (Pritchard 2013). Videos- The videos shall be beneficial for the learners as it is a visual and audio representation of the topics. The video may cover theories or stories in an effective manner that would help in better understanding to the learners. Kinaesthetic learning A few kinaesthetic learning materials are: Action based classes- A kinaesthetic learner explores material periodically. Activities such as role playing, laboratory experiments and field trips can be used by the students. The learners can physically sense for what is being studied through practical lessons. The real life applications can help in action-based learning (Pritchard 2013). Role playing- The learner can assume a role to adapt to the situation. It shall help in making practical demonstrations. A fictional setting can be arranged so that the participants take the responsibility of meeting the objectives. Using objects and materials- The kinaesthetic learners manipulate things in their environment so that creativity flourishes across the processes. The materials and software can help those turning theoretical lessons into practical demonstrations (Pritchard 2013). Henry needs development as a workplace trainer, coach or mentor so that his experience can take the organization to the next level. Mary needs to manage time effectively and prioritize her tasks so that no deadlines are missed. She works 12-hour days to meet deadlines and subsequently keeps sick after she works in this manner. Robert needs time management training to conduct meetings on time. He also requires learning and focusing on the task required. The strengths recognized in the case study are that Henry has a strong personality and possesses the ability to multitask. He is focused and consistent in his performance and meeting deadlines. However, he feels frustrated with monotonous work and does not want to do the same work again and again. Mary needs to develop her time management skills as she keeps the work till the last minute. She has thorough knowledge of background in business and administration. Robert possesses highly efficient communication skills and interpersonal skills. However, he can be sloppy and needs to work on his time management issues. Considering the above issues, there is a need for team development especially on the time management. Since Henry is good at time management skills, he must mentor Mary and Robert to improve their time management. Robert is a team player and must impart his skills to Henry and Mary (Pritchard 2013). References Balakrishnan, L. and Srividhya, S., 2015.Human resource development. Mumbai: Himalaya Pub. House. Brinkerhoff, R., 2012.Program evaluation. Boston: Kluwer-Nijhoff Pub. Dabbagh, N. and Kitsantas, A., 2012. Personal Learning Environments, social media, and self-regulated learning: A natural formula for connecting formal and informal learning.The Internet and Higher Education, 15(1), pp.3-8. Ford, J., 2016.Improving training effectiveness in work organizations. New York: Psychology Press. Ganesh, A., 2014. 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