Round 1 – John
The current situation, which clearly shows the discontent of staff members with the direction that the HRM strategy is taking needs to be addressed, hence the necessity to introduce the Constructivist Learning Theory as the tool for shaping the process based on unique backgrounds, experiences, and opinions of staff members (Beevers & Hayden, 2019). To understand the issue, one has to acknowledge that, due to the lack of feedback received from employees, addressing the issue at hand will require altering the presently applied HRM framework in the way that could encourage staff members to share their personal experiences, difficulties that they face, and the obstacles that they have to overcome in the workplace.
In order to ensure that the learning process occurs in the way that employees deem as most effective and suitable for their needs, it is necessary to introduce the action that will encourage them to speak and be unafraid of doing so. However, the current approach used to promote active learning among staff members might be the reason for managers failing to establish the principles of professional development (Lussier & Hendon, 2019). Namely, managers will need to develop their approach toward development and encouragement of learning in staff members by listening to their experiences and adapt training sessions to their corresponding needs and requirements. In turn, aggressive, authoritarian guidance that suggests a cookie-cutter, homogenous learning process for all employees will have to be abandoned.
At the same time, the HR managers will have to ensure that the personal experiences and professional standards of staff members align with those of the company. For this purpose, the general vector for the employees’ development will have to align with the organization’s goals, particularly, the improvement of quality and development of new skills. In turn, the approach toward learning will have to be based on assisting and listening actively, as well as using employees’ professional experiences and opinions as the hints for creating the learning setting.
Round 2 – John
To handle the current issue of employees underperforming and defaulting on their responsibilities, it is necessary to shape the framework for directing and managing their learning and development. Specifically, it is necessary to make sure that their opinions and experience are valued as well. Currently, the style that Nora has been using may have been inhibiting employees from sharing their ideas and developing their unique approach toward managing their responsibilities. Therefore, it is paramount to reconsider the framework for learning and development, specifically, by introducing the Transformative Learning Theory and the concepts of instrumental and communicative learning as a part of the theory (Kenon & Palsole, 2019). Namely, as managers, we will have to be active listeners first, and only then should we provide guidance by acknowledging their emotions (communicative) and their ability to build cause-and-effect logical connections (instrumental).
Therefore, it is strongly suggested to avoid the use of authoritarianism in the workplace and, instead, focus on getting to know staff members, their needs, and the specifics of their culture to build understanding. Thus, managers will be more efficient in appealing to the values and beliefs of employees to encourage them to develop professionally and improve their performance. It is understandable that the HR managers who have been working in the company for a long time, such as Nora, may view the specified proposition as an attempt an encroaching upon their right to choose a suitable learning and development framework according to their professional beliefs, which should be the focus of the action (Lussier & Hendon, 2019). However, to ensure that a company grows, it is important to set aside personal differences and emotions, and focus on the measures that will contribute to the corporate development.
Round 3 – Nora
Employees are the most valuable asset of an organization, which is why it is crucial to promote improvements in their performance. As a manager with substantial experience of working in the HRM field, I am positively certain that employees are primarily driven by their own needs as opposed to the corporate ones. The specified opinion is vastly supported by theoretical frameworks such as the Theory of Rational Choice (Paull, Spencer, & Brueckner, 2018). Specifically, the concept of rational actors need to be applied to understand how and why employees to choose to act in a certain way and engage in professional development (Paull et al., 2018). The specified stance is not to be frowned upon, but it allows for a better understanding of employees’ actions and implies that a manager needs to be insistent and persuasive in her approach toward encouraging learning and development (Lussier & Hendon, 2019). If staff members are given complete professional freedom before they develop loyalty to the organization, they are likely to default on professional growth and, instead, remain comfortable with their current set of skills without challenging their professional competencies. In turn, the failure to meet corporate values will inevitably reduce the company’s efficacy. Therefore, as a manager, I am positively certain that the HR action should be focused on guiding staff members, and that the use of a more liberal approach toward learning and development will result in a drop in employees’ performance, learning, and development.
References
Beevers, K., & Rea, A. (2016). Learning and development practice in the workplace. Kogan Page Publishers.
Kenon, V. H., & Palsole, S. V. (Eds.). (2019). The Wiley handbook of global workplace learning. John Wiley & Sons.
Lussier, R. N., & Hendon, J. R. (2019). Human resource management: Functions, applications, and skill development. (3rd ed.) Sage Publishing.
Paull, M., Spencer, R., & Brueckner, M. (2018). Disciplining the undisciplined? Perspectives from business, society and politics on responsible citizenship, corporate social responsibility and sustainability. Springer.