Learning Systems May 7, 2008
Posted by sallyboyd in Learning Management.Tags: Learning Systems, Management, Management Involvement, Motivation
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I am a firm believer in “Systems Theory” which suggests that our environment consists of complex systems. In these systems, a change in one area can have an effect (positive or negative) in a totally different and completely unexpected area. There are a lot of new discussions in the learning field regarding new ways of helping people to gain knowledge. You hear less about “Learning Organizations” and more about “Learning Environments.” You hear a lot about collaboration and informal learning. You hear these things at conferences and read about them in the learning literature, but do you see much of them in the corporate world?
Corporations are practical entities that move slowly into new territory – trying out the trend de jour is not always the best idea. However, work has evolved from the linear Industrial Age to the complex systems of the Information Age, and as the new discussions suggest, it is time that learning make this evolution also.
There are a lot of pieces to the learning puzzle, and yet I think we are still looking at it in two dimensions instead of three. The Learning Environment consists of the knowledge to be learned, the media and methods through which it is delivered, the catalogs of knowledge available (which could also be a search engine, or a social event), lists of knowledge needed (or competencies) and tools for tracking knowledge acquired. Even with adding in all the people required to create and manage the learning function, this is still a two dimensional environment.
A learning system needs to include mechanisms to ensure that management (operations and line management) is involved and supportive of learning and development for their people. This is more than simply “aligning” with business. A learning system should require management participation, not just the ticking off of courses completed, or signing the expense report, but actual participation in defining needs, motivating learners and feeding back results. Because managers are extremely busy, and their jobs have so many elements to them that it is like herding cats, this mechanism needs to be made as easy and “user friendly” as possible to ensure involvement.
The real key here is motivation. There are a lot of ways to motivate employees, but the greatest motivator and de-motivator is management. That is why any learning system needs to include management.
So the idea of a learning system, much like our work systems, is evolving – both in reality and all the discussion of trends; and in my mind as well. I don’t have the answers to this scenario… yet. I think what I’m looking for here is a tool (or combination of tools). Obviously we can utilize our Competency, Learning, and Evaluation management systems for providing, and gathering information, but there needs to be involvement from HR, and other types of motivation for the managers to get involved. I’m thinking through this idea and the best way to present it – discussion is welcome!
I have found that management mostly just wants to look like they are addressing training needs. They want the results, but they want them easy. For example, they can have a custom-designed learning application that does the job but costs them some minor effort, or a canned and sliced learning application that just requires a signature to pay for it.
Guess which one gets selected? The easy one that doesn’t do the job, but looks like the job is being addressed. Management is basically lazy, and almost always takes the easy, if incorrect, way. Dilbert’s pointy-haired boss is not far from the actuality of the real world.
You are right that management usually takes the easy way out, but I disagree that it’s because of laziness (most of the time). Managers have a lot of different and varied tasks, but some pretty direct pressure — that on whatever directly effects their operations and budget. While training and/or employee development can have a great impact, it’s indirect. So management (like everyone else) responds to where the pressure is. It is the rare manager that can juggle all of those balls well.
What needs to change is the system that supports the manager in making poor decisions regarding their people and only supports operations and budget. And it needs to change at a point well above line management. In addition, current systems are well entrenched, so making that change will be REALLY DIFFICULT … maybe impossible.