Adult Learning and Human Resource Development: a critical analysis of personal experience (NLP in Transforming Stress to Motivational Energies)
This paper presents an analysis of a personal experience in terms of adult learning. The author took up a short course offering in the past month. Specifically, it is called as the NLP in Transforming Stress to Motivational Energies. This experience is associated to the theories and models of adult learning particularly on workplace or organisational learning and setting.
In order for an organisation to be more competitive in the marketplace, the management must always see to it that they use a management system and strategy that would sustain the capability, strength and competitive position (2000; 2003). One of the most effective management strategies that are irrevocable and proven to be effective is allowing learning to take place within the bounds of the organisation and its people. Learning is universally acknowledged as a fundamental human ability and constantly develops among people until the end of life excluding special cases. In the organisational context, learning is related to achievement and productivity in terms of performance (2004). Learning is generally known as a process in which rational individuals acquire knowledge, skills, attitudes, values, beliefs, emotions, and senses ( 2003). Today, learning is not only focused on knowledge acquisition and development in behaviour but also used in social institutions like learning society, learning organisation, and even permanent learning itself. Due to the current situations in the global marketplace (i.e. rapid and continuous change), managers are facing the challenge of having the best and practical strategies leading to sustainable development and success in the future. The management of knowledge capital is among the most potent strategies that promotes organisational goals towards sustainability and competitive advantage. Knowledge capital is managed through learning. Dealing with the organisational context, it is understood that most individuals are considered adults. Thus, learning processes for adult learners are specialised. People learn in various styles. Yet most theorists counteract the definition that learning styles is characterised by the presence of four (4) essential categories namely: visual (learning by seeing); aural or audio (learning by hearing); reading/writing (learning by processing text); and kinaesthetic or practical (learn by doing) ( 2003; 1995). Instead, learning is all-encompassing. It is argued that learning occurs in various locations – in the workplace, at home, in groups, or alone – and not only, or primarily limited within the bounds of formal educational environment ( 2002). Organisational learning is a significant feature that plays a major role in the development of latest and relevant competencies and innovations. It also serves as vital instrument in addressing changes within the organisation and its bounds. According to (2006), the potential role of employees in improving organisational effectiveness is rooted on the need to focus on the types of knowledge and skills learned at work including on how these types of knowledge and skills can be supplied, supported, and developed. As there are necessary, countless, and profitable consequences visible, learning is very much relevant particularly in linking the holistic development of people and organisations as well as the overall processes involved in the general environment. The related mechanisms are also important in planning the future operations and activities of the organisation. Through learning, the organisation is able to identify needs, predict trends, eliminate risks, solve problems, and cope up with the challenges in the market.
(1999) consider organisational learning as associated with the transfer of managerial knowledge from subsidiaries to the parent company. It can also be the case that the transfer is from one overseas affiliate to another. On this case study, learning is not directly with this idea; instead, it delves with transfer of learning from agents of learning through selective means. The transfer of learning or the need to learn suggests that the importance of organisational learning is rooted on the perception that all organisations must have better understanding of the ways on how to deal with the existing trends in the markets that they have decided to penetrate as well as the culture of the industry that they decided to operate into. According to (2004), human resource development is now concerned not just with training but with broader issues of workplace learning and change, generating a new field of practice and study, organisational learning. Historically, the past 30 years have fundamentally altered the condition of adult education as well as philosophy about adult learning. There are disappearances of specific university extension education while universities have expanded their professional education offerings. Community-based education has had to become largely self-supporting, and so has become much more businesslike in both its organisation and course offerings. Technical or vocational education similarly has long-drawn-out and diversified, adding ‘further education’ to its title in many countries. Numerous fields of practice have generated their own distinguishing forms of education and the management aspect is not kept apart.
Initially, learning is important to the employees and employers as this could increase the competitive power of an organisation. Learning through performance requires active discovery, analysis, interpretation, problem-solving, memory, and physical activity (2003). The growth of technologies did not only change the way people work and function, but also the demand of business companies all over the world. For instance, employers are now on the lookout for flexible employees who can easily adapt with changes and can work with minimal instructions and supervision. This type of attitude towards how an employee should react is contrary to what traditional methods of learning implies. Companies do not always want employees to rely on instructions and commands from superiors, instead they want employees who can think for themselves. This then would suggest that there is a great opportunity to explore the practice of discovery or progressive learning.
Today, the adult education class strives to provide adult learners an opportunity to use and apply what they have learned. It encourages the learners to think critically and to constantly redefine the content and process of the learning experience. Adult education is also expected to heighten individual awareness of community issues, motivate learners to create opportunities, embrace new ideas and give direction to positive change. In adult education and learning perspectives, an article written by (1998 cited in 2002) identified five philosophies in adult education namely: liberal, progressive, behaviourist, humanist, and radical. With this particular fact, the argument of what kind of pedagogy will be used may be based in these given philosophies. However, (2002) argued that these five philosophies provide a clear framework to understand the different definitions, goals, roles, concepts, methods and scholars within adult education. They noted that importance of realising that in reality, the personal philosophies of every individual in education do not fit exactly into specific categories and that while majority of people may identify primarily with one philosophy, others may share elements of the others ( 2002).
Adult education is certainly affected by the ambiguity that characterises the contemporary global situation today. Increasingly, there are difficult questions posed about what constitutes the field of adult education and what are its values and purposes ( 1997). In times when a greater number of adults coming from a diversity of backgrounds enter an increasing variety of programmes, another set of problems is emerging. The difficulty in coping with the current uncertainty is compounded by the nature of the contemporary situation, which itself is difficult to characterise and interpret. Whilst there is general agreement that the world is extremely witnessing profound economic, technological and cultural changes, there is less agreement on whether these constitute a continuation of quality education.
To (1999), adult learners in most situations have to plan from scratch, in other words, be self-creative. However, it is not enough that such learners are dependent to what they discover along the way. There is a need for them to validate the credibility and factualness of the knowledge they learned by themselves by using the standards of evaluation present in formal learning. Thus, the role of professional mentors in monitoring is important. study clearly indicates that adult education uses both traditional and non-traditional pedagogical methods and guaranteed that the combination of both can obtain more positive results.
As people move from the ‘field’ of adult education to a ‘moor land’ of adult learning, so the guiding paradigms of adult education, its theory, purposes and practices, need reconfiguring and new conceptual resources are required to make sense of the contemporary conjuncture and of the place of adult education within that ( 1997). and colleagues affirmed that it would be difficult to argue that adult education can sustain itself, as it is presently constituted in the face of the challenges posed by late modernity/post-modernity.
As compared from other authors, (1997) conducted his research focusing on the importance of interdisciplinary and integrative learning in adult education. He deemed that experiential learning is more appropriate in adult education especially in terms of interdisciplinary studies, thus, involving interaction to either formal or non-formal learning environments. Adults learn in a variety of ways. Regardless of whether their learning is derived in a formal or an informal setting, the way in which they learn is closely connected with the diverse experiences in their life (1997). Previous adult education scholars likee and also practitioners noted the apparent tendency of adult learners to integrate their experiences in an attempt to assign meaning. This fact means that adult learners are inclined to self-learning and personal discovery. study proves the mutual effectiveness of traditional and discovery or collaborative learning in adult education. Similarly, he acknowledged the unique abilities of both approaches especially in terms of knowledge assimilation of interdisciplinary subjects. The individual evaluation of teaching methods particularly the teacher in traditional classroom setting was also included. Based on the findings, an important factor in many adult students’ evaluation of teaching effectiveness is whether their instructor has been able to make connections between course content, the rest of their study program, and their own experience ( 1997; 1996). At the end of his research after his recommendation for further investigation, suggested that interdisciplinary studies and integrative learning is more appropriately match the needs of learning (adult) population when its resources are manage carefully.
In any industry, the employees are adult and the learning attitude and motivators are different from the children. To motivate the adult to learn, the implication method is different from children and necessary to understand adult learning process. Knowles’ theory of andragogy is specifically for adult learning. It emphasised that adults are self-directed and expect to take responsibility for decision. According to (1984), adults are themselves a richer resource for one another’s learning than youths. They are less dependent on the vicarious experiences of teachers, experts and textbooks. Adults have a broader foundation of past experience on which to base new learning. From their past experience, adults may have more fixed habits of thought and ways of doing a task, and sometimes this gets in the way of their better habits. When the trainer conducts training at the workplace and the participants are more experienced than the trainer, the participants are not willing to listen or even challenge the trainer, as they believe they are the experts. In this situation, trainer may consider allow the trainees to take the leading role and allow them to have more experience sharing. As (1984) stated that adults learn more effectively through experiential techniques of education such as discussion or problem solving. Moreover, adult have a strong need to apply what being designed not only according to the needs of the learner, but also learner can apply new acquired skills or knowledge at workplace.
In general point of view, HR Development (HRD) is an integrated area of study of the developmental practices of organisations so that they may accomplish higher levels of individual and organisational effectiveness ( 2000). The development of intellectual capital is seen on how individuals work towards their own motivations (willingness or commitment) and application of behaviours (capacity or competencies). The missing element of opportunity is provided using training and development mechanisms (2006) that aim to identify, assure, and help individuals to perform current or future jobs with planned individual learning accomplished through training, on-the-job learning, coaching or other means. In these ways, knowledge capital is developed towards productivity and performance.
NLP in Transforming Stress to Motivational Energies
The following is the directly quoted content of the HRD intervention the author has personally experienced.
Course Name
NLP in Transforming Stress to Motivational Energies
Aim & Objectives
With this fast pacing society that we are working & living in, everyone is facing more and more stress. Without the ability to master Emotion and Stress effectively, we may soon be “Burnt-out.” What benefits will be there for the persons as well as for the organization? Is there a way to oversee and take charge of our Emotions / Stress?
Come & join the workshop: Be the CEO of your Stress!
Course Content
What are Emotions?
- Are Negative Emotions useful?
- What is Stress?
- Where does Stress come from?
Managing our Stress
- Body-Mind-Emotions system
- Are you at ‘Cause’ or at ‘Effect’?
- Effects of Beliefs & Values
Effective NLP techniques
- Mission Positive
- Visualization
- Redefine meanings of stress
Transforming Stress into Motivational Energies
- Positive Thinking Strategies
- Eliminating ‘Thought Virus’
- Building the mindset for success
Training Format
Face to face lectures
Mingles, Group Discussions,
Demonstrations, Exercises
Role plays, Case Studies
Managing Workplace Stress: an application
In the present day work environment, expectations exceed regarding the workloads and task requirements among employers and employees. Multi-tasking defines the current situation in most of business organisations as advances in technology especially in the use of the computer and the Internet continues.
Stress lowers the efficiency of the employees to perform their tasks. Some forms of stress management should be undertaken to alleviate the stress and its negative effects to the goals of both the organisation and the individual. Employees should perceive they are going to benefit or they will not voluntarily participate. Organisations must believe the benefits will outweigh the costs or they will not establish any stress management program.
According to and group (1995), in order to help organisations alleviate stress within them, they must consider the forms of strategic management. The major stressors in the workplace must be properly identified and assessed, and the concerned personnel must help their employees identify their major personal sources of stress. Developing goals or the program may not be as effective as possible and the results will be difficult to measure. The goals should be clear, as specific as possible, and measurable. They should focus on attitudinal adjustments, modification of behaviours, and any skills to be acquired. In addition, individuals and organisations must perceive the goals as realistic and attainable.
There must be a support by top management. Also, there must be a communication with employees about the benefits of stress management. They should explain what stress is along with the health implications of excess or dysfunctional stress, and employees should be encouraged to lead healthier lives by lowering their stress on the job as well as at home. Furthermore, the employees must be assisted in identifying their own stressors and stress tolerance levels. Before learning how to deal with stress, employees first have to identify those stressors which they react to because not everyone responds the same way to the same stressors. To aid this process, organisations might provide health risk appraisals which test for their employees’ levels of stress.
Employees must be taught to recognise symptoms of excessive and dysfunctional stress. Taking for example on the cases of earlier studies, symptoms often include intestinal distress, rapid pulse, frequent illness, insomnia, persistent fatigue, irritability, nail biting, lack of concentration, and increased use of alcohol and drugs (Miller 1988). The common methods used to help identify stressors and symptoms include self-report measures (e.g., interviews and surveys), behavioural measures (e.g., observation and performance measures) and physiological stress measures (e.g., heart rate and blood pressure) ( 1986).
Individualised programs must be developed in order to meet the needs of the employees. Moreover, the organisation must communicate with its employees. Providing more information about their jobs and other factors that affect them will help employees feel more in control of their circumstances and can help build cohesion. Organisations must also communicate and describe the stress management strategies available to employees and help them develop personalised action plans. The programs should also be implemented in stages. If all aspects of a program are implemented at one time and parts of the program fail, employees will lose faith in the program and in management. This will be another cause of anxiety and stress for the employee.
Lastly, the organisation must help the employees to keep a positive perspective on life and feel a sense of purpose. It is important for employees to feel they are making a valuable contribution to the organisation. However, and group (1995) emphasise that there is evidence that stress management programs are not only cost effective but also improve relationships and the overall quality of life within the workplace. Developing effective stress management programs can be complicated and time consuming. However, providing such programs should be viewed as an investment rather than an expense, because they ultimately can make employees healthier and happier and the organisation more successful.
To end, before categorically defining which effective and quiet ineffective pedagogical approach is, it is important to know that learning depends to some degree on the theoretical lens a person use to look at it. For instance, the behaviourist lens sees it as the acquisition of knowledge and skills that changes a person’s behaviour. On the other hand, the cognitive theorist’s lens focuses more on the acquisition of knowledge than on the resulting behaviour change. Thus, it is safe to state that whatever strategy in learning used in education, effects will be remain constant given the fact that the subject of application, area of study, the teacher’s and students’ factors, and other potential affecting factors are carefully studied and considered. Based on the discussions above, it is found out that the concept of learning can serve as strategy that the management can take to build-up its competitive edge. The ability of a business to stay in significant period of time in the industry where it belongs is one measure of its success. This means that being able to survive is a necessity and survival translates to the ability of a business to compete. This is done through learning – may it be individual or organizational in nature.
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