Category: UNIT 6

Living in the Informational Age, people have invested too much energy in building the relationship with technology and relied on it. Technology has become part of our life, and basically, all kinds of organization exert the role of technology to gather information and to break through. For example, in my company, the Information Department has designed an organizational website for the staff to review the news of the organization and to post their professional report. We also have our own chat tools requested to use within the organization. Although most of the companies have incorporated high-tech means, technology itself is not the most crucial factor to offer “competitive advantage” (Kandampully, Bilgihan, & Tingting, 2016, p. 159). How to use it effectively in the right way is the main task for the organizations. In another word, “technology is created and changed by human actions, it is also used by people to accomplish various actions” (Kandampully, Bilgihan, & Tingting, 2016, p. 159). Therefore, the organization should address more on how to motivate the staff to use technology creatively. 

Inspired by the People-technology hybrid organizational model (Kandampully, Bilgihan, & Tingting, 2016), I have outlined a 4-step plan for employee development in my organization.

1. Design new communication tool for group chat

Although we have chat tools installed on everyone’s computer, we just use it to transfer files or documents most of the time. We used to text each other or send voice messages via other communication means such as Wechat. While actually, it is inappropriate for us to talk about issues of work through other communication means, and the chat record cannot be presented as evidence when encountering issues such as the conflict between different divisions. Therefore, creating an effective communication tool within the organization which could enable staff to use group chat whenever they want is the top-priority thing to do. The staff could genuinely exchange their opinions or thoughts through the group chat with each other, and they can create many chat groups to facilitate the communication with different people. For example, an employee can join a chat group of his/her division, or he/she could join another chat group which is consist of other people from different divisions who are in charge of the similar tasks as him/her.

2. Create a platform for offering and filtering feedbacks of innovative ideas

After creating the useful communication means for exchanging opinions, a platform which could allow staff to upload the electronic materials of their innovative products should be established. Also, the platform should allow other people to offer useful and valuable feedbacks rated by other readers. The innovators could refine their innovative products based on the feedbacks which are considered useful. I believe this would be the right way for genuine creation because the products are made based on the need of the workers rather than the need of the managers.

3. Offering external support

Sometimes, the chatting software or platform cannot be designed and accomplished by the staff in the organization. The higher management should offer great help such as technicists from a software company to make it happen. Although the technicists might not be familiar with the needs of the staff, they could have meetings and discussions until the satisfactory plan comes out. 

The external support could also involve hiring a professional assessment company to design a series of suitable questionnaires for the company. The questionnaires can help the staff to rate their level of professional work, to develop their personalities perceived by other colleagues, and to acquire all kinds of perspective including customers.

4. Seeking online courses to help managers understand and exert the power of leardership

Managers are definitely adult learners. Offering the suitable training courses to help them get access to the knowledge of leadership is the perfect way to motivate them to learn internally (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 1972). When managers possess the knowledge of leadership, they could understand how to better motivate the staff towards the common goal. Further, they could solve the problems and make decisions effectively with the ability of critical thinking. The most important thing is that once the managers have become transformative leaders or servant leaders, they could devote more to the community and society (Northouse, 2016).

References

Kandampully, J., Bilgihan, A., & Zhang, T. C. (2016). Developing a people-technology hybrids model to unleash innovation and creativity: The new hospitality frontier. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 29, 154-164.

Knowles, M. S., Holton, E., & Swanson, R. (1972). Andragogy. NETCHE.

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage publications.

https://create.twu.ca/ldrs500/unit-6/unit-6-learning-activities/

My experience working with adult learners

Fortunately, my professional work has a lot to do with adult learners as I am one of the trainers in my organization to train new recruits who are at least older than 22. Adult learners are defined in two ways: in one sense, adults refer to “mentally mature people”; in a different sense, adults can be understood as “individuals who are beyond the traditional school ages of 7 to 21” (Lieb & Goodlad, 2005, p. 7). Clearly, the new employees can be treated as adult learners. Before I got access to the term “Andragogy”, I had never systematically considered about the difference between adult learners and children or teenagers. However, I did find out that the employees trained in my course represented several traits which were completely different with my memory of being a student during the period of high school or college. I had summarized these traits that the employees (adult learners) were very aware of what was imported to them; they also valued their experience and thoughts very much and loved to share the experience with other people; when they were not interested in the content or knowledge points I was illustrating, they just left the room to run their personal errands; and it was hard for them to accept something beyond their recognition and beliefs. These special features sometimes greatly facilitated the quality of training and the trainees showed high degree of original learning, such as the principles or knowledge just accorded with their values and experience. While, sometimes the traits were the obstacles against adult learners’ participation in learning. My previous summarization did help me to reinforce my understanding the six principles of andragogy (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 1972).

1. “Self-concept: As a person matures, his or her self-concept moves from that of a dependent personality toward one of a self-directing human being” (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 1972, p. 4).

Self-concept includes self-schema, which is our “beliefs about self that organize and guide the processing of self-relevant information”, and possible selves which are “images of what we dream of or dread becoming in the future” (Myers & Smith, 2012, p. 39). Basically, self-concept is our sense of self that based on our personal experience and keeping moving towards our ideal self. Since each individual has his or her own possible selves, their destinations and directions are completely distinctive. I can always distinguish the trainees’ directions because they would focus more on the knowledge which can help them build on the way towards their possible selves and act indifferent to the skills which is irrelevant to the directions. Also, they are more firm on their way to achieve the ideal selves than the teenagers who are mostly confused and unsure about the future.

2. “Experience: As a person matures, he or she accumulates a growing reservoir of experience that becomes an increasing resource for learning” (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 1972, p. 4).

Experience is related to self-concept because the self-schemas of self-concept can “help us organize and retrieve our experiences” (Myers & Smith, 2012, p. 39). Experience is also the most typical principle that makes adult learning distinctive from learning in childhood (Mezirow, 1993). Generally, the older you are, the more experience you will gain in terms of many aspects of life and professional work. Based on my experience with adult learners, the Experience can be both an accelerator and a barrier for them. We do not just train new staff, we also regularly give class to older workers to see if they still retain the skills and knowledge. Apparently, the older staff have possessed several years working experience. It is extremely easy to re-teach them, and they are always willing to share their experience with the new staff. But when we are trying to show them a new way or method which can help them work effectively, the acceptance degree of the older staff is much lower than the new employees as the older staff are habitual of resorting to the old ways to solve problems. They would rely on their own experience, which they value a lot and has become part of their beliefs (Mezirow, 1993), and it is hard to transform them to another perspective.

3. “Readiness to learn: As a person matures his/her readiness to learn becomes oriented increasingly to the developmental tasks of his social roles” (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 1972, p. 4).

“Adults are practical, focusing on the aspects of a lesson most useful to them in their work” (Lieb & Goodlad, 2005, p. 2). I think the developmental tasks of one’s social roles can be seen as the tasks they would like to accomplish to become their possible selves. Focusing on the practical aspects can help the adult learners move towards the goal accurately and steadily.

4. “Orientation to learning: There is a change in time perspective as people mature – from future application of knowledge to immediacy of application. Thus, an adult is more problem than subject centered in learning” (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 1972, p. 4).

Adults are “goal-oriented” and “relevancy-oriented” (Lieb & Goodlad, 2005, p. 2). I think the goal means solving real life or work problems as soon as possible. Based on my experience, I think the reason why adult learners are reluctant to accept irrelevant knowledge they might use in the future is that adults have so much to deal with both in life and work and they do not have enough capacity to memorize a vast amount of knowledge. They just want to gain the relevant skills that can fix the problem they are facing as soon as possible.

5. “Motivation to learn: As a person matures the motivation to learn is internal” (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 1972, p. 4).

The motivation factors for adult learners are listed by Lieb and Goodlad (2005) that “typical motivations include a requirement for competence or licensing, an expected promotion, a need to maintain old skills or learn new ones, a need to adapt to job changes, and the need to learn in order to comply with company directives” (p. 3). Clearly, the needs and requirements mentioned above are internal factors which represent the adults’ own willingness. The trainees I have met are more motivated by the need to adapt to job changes and to comply with company directives, and they want to be competent in the work and become someone reliable and trustworthy.

6. “The need to know: Adults need to know why they need to learn something before undertaking to learn it” (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 1972, p. 4).

As an adult learner, I clearly realized that teacher or trainer is a typical type of servant leadership before I took the course. And I hope what I am learning right now and what I will learn from the future courses will greatly help me create value for the organization and the community. I would also want to help other people understand the power of embodying servant leadership in educational and training profession.

References

Knowles, M. S., Holton, E., & Swanson, R. (1972). Andragogy. NETCHE.

Lieb, S., & Goodlad, J. (2005). Principles of adult learning. Retrieve from http://carrie-e.startlogic.com/handouts/Rotterdam2012/Eu_Coaches_Conf2_Rott_Day_1_A4.pdf

Mezirow, J. (1993). A transformation theory of adult learning. In Adult Education Research Annual Conference Proceedings. pp. 141-146.

Myers, D. G., & Smith, S. M. (2012). Exploring social psychology. New York: McGraw-Hill.

https://create.twu.ca/ldrs500/unit-6/unit-6-learning-activities/

A Facetime Audio Interview with Linda Elson

Linda is a sales manager of a pharmaceutical company. Sometimes, there will be more than two providers, and she can always deal with them very well. She is very confident in staying calm and communicating with people, including her team, the providers, and the patients. Further, She cares not only for the patients and her team members but also the providers. When the drugs are promoted to the market, she can always get support from people, and her sales performance and customer satisfaction level are high. She loves her job very much and has decided to be with the company and her team in the future. She would like to make the best of the team in this company and to become a better herself as well. In order to devote more to her professional work, she would continue with this master to develop her potential ability as much as she can. And, more important, the leadership role she is taking can be an emergent leader sometimes, the ability required in the decision-making process is crucial for her, as well as critical thinking. Luckily, she is very good at being calm, which makes her reliable to other people and a natural leader to deal with issues effectively.

Through our 13-minute interview, I can perceive her caring heart. She asked me about my concerned issues and shared her experience with me which did give me a lot of strength. She also introduced a book to me after knowing the topic I was interested in. She mentioned that she was good at communicating with people, and I believe the key factor is that she has shown empathy during the communication. Also, she is a very good listener who could try to connect herself to other people’s feeling and share the experience to comfort other people. More, the ability to keep calm possessed by her, which is the most desired ability for me, is the decisive factor for being an effective leader. Basically, most of the practices of a leader could really use this ability, such as making decisions, negotiating, managing conflict, and so on. I really value the chance to talk to her next time and would like to learn from her in the future.

https://create.twu.ca/ldrs500/unit-6/unit-6-learning-activities/