People - Learning & Development (In Today's Org) Flashcards
Which best describes the process where training or educational activities occur at multiple levels?
Organizational learning
Organizational learning occurs at individual, group, and organizational levels. A learning organization learns to react and adapt to its environment.
What characterizes a learning organization?
It manages change and adapts to its environment.
Learning organizations encourage constant networking both internally and externally. Change is embraced and managed, and learning experiences alter the organization’s behavior. In such an organization, employees are responsible for their own learning.
What type of organization embraces change, tolerates risk, and views failures as an opportunity to learn?
Learning organization
A learning organization understands that change, risk, and failure are all key parts of organizational learning. A learning organization provides the environment for organizational learning.
Which situation best indicates that training is the preferred solution?
Salespeople lack the product knowledge to answer customer questions.
Training is not a solution for employee relations problems resulting from poor morale, insufficient rewards, or conflicts of values. A needs assessment will identify problems that can be solved elsewhere in the organization.
Which best describes the type of activities aimed at preparing for long-term, future job responsibilities as well as increasing skills for performing the current job?
Developmental
Developmental activities have a long-term focus on preparing for future responsibilities while increasing the capacities of employees to perform their current jobs. These activities are broader in scope than training activities.
In addition to improving knowledge and skills and building social capital, what are global employee development programs aimed at achieving?
Enhancing global understanding, awareness, and mindset
A goal of global employee development programs is to help instill global understanding, awareness, and mindset. Without these perspectives, it will be much more challenging to be successful in global environments.
Which best identifies the difference between training and developmental activities?
Developmental activities have a long-term focus; training activities mitigate current skill gaps.
Developmental activities have a long-term focus on preparing for future responsibilities while increasing the capacities of employees to perform their current jobs. These activities are broader in scope than training activities.
In Peter Senge’s The Fifth Discipline, which discipline discusses our deeply ingrained assumptions that influence how we understand the world and how we take action?
Mental Models
Mental models are our deeply ingrained assumptions that influence how we understand the world and how we take action.
An HR VP is looking to drive the organization to improve as a learning organization. How can the HR VP help create a culture that supports organizational learning?
Focus on instituting quality and continuous improvement to drive the organization moving forward.
A culture that supports organizational learning will inherently focus on quality and continuous improvement as organizational needs and training methods change over time. Organizational learning should embrace creativity and reward both group and individual learning. Learning should be seen as something that happens concurrently with work activities, not separate from them.
A global organization invests heavily in learning and development. It has country-specific learning and development departments, each creating its own programs, all of which seem highly successful. However, the HR VP notices that training issues common to certain countries do not appear to affect other countries. Which of the following likely represents the cause of the discrepancy?
The organization focusing on each individual part of the learning and development system instead of the global system
By focusing on the parts of the global system instead of the whole system, the organization is susceptible to divisional silos preventing the sharing of information. A global focus would help ensure consistency between the learning and development efforts from country to country, helping to prevent issues that have already been solved and addressed in one location from occurring in other locations.
A company is interested in enhancing organizational knowledge retention while providing an opportunity for “boomerang” employees to reconnect with the company following amicable departures. Which knowledge retention system would best fit the needs of the company?
Alumni Network
An alumni network is an example of a softer system that will assist with knowledge retention and provide networking opportunities to keep departed employees engaged with the organization, setting up the potential for the return of those former employees. While both mentoring and communities of practice are also examples of softer systems for organizational knowledge retention, they would not be as effective at generating opportunities and interest for “boomerang” employees to rejoin the organization. Learning management systems are primarily designed to deliver needed training to current employees, which may be distinct from the goal of organizational knowledge retention.
Which type of learning program would best suit an organization where employees at all levels expect to be able to access training anywhere and anytime, across varied formats?
“Pull” learning model
A “pull” training model allows employees to access training anywhere and may feature content in various formats, accessible from work computers, personal computers, and mobile devices. A “push” training model is more rigid and works well for required training, such as compliance training, but wouldn’t be broadly suitable for the organization. The 70-20-10 model refers to manager development, and although it may be applied to employees generally, it features a relatively small percentage of learning that is accessible on demand (10% coursework and training compared to 70% challenging assignments and 20% developmental relationships). Developmental activities have a long-term focus on preparing for future responsibilities, but the term does do not refer to the method by which employees access or consume the materials.
