Human Resource Development: Principles and Practice

1
10.1
CHAPTER 10 OTHER DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

• THE INDIRECT FACTORS
• THE PRODUCT
• THE HR DEVELOPER AS A DESIGNER

Human Resource Development Principles and
Practice
By Brian Delahaye
2
10.2
CHAPTER 10 OTHER DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

• THE INDIRECT FACTORS
• THE PRODUCT
• THE HR DEVELOPER AS A DESIGNER

Human Resource Development Principles and
Practice
By Brian Delahaye
3
10.3
THE INDIRECT FACTORS

• The indirect factors are the second set of
  considerations when
• designing a learning experience for adult
  learners. While these factors are indirect, they
  do not lack importance. Unfortunately, the
  designer often finds that balancing and
  negotiating these factors takes up considerable
  time. These factors are
• strategic orientation
• organisational culture
• key stakeholders
• resources
• designers personal frame of reference.

Human Resource Development Principles and
Practice
By Brian Delahaye
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10.4
STRATEGIC ORIENTATION
The developmental designs are usually quite
different for the legitimate system and the
shadow system of the organisation. The
legitimate system gives much more emphasis to
programmed knowledge as this is what gives the
organisation its current competitive edge.
Further, the conventional strategic plan often
defines the learning outcomes needed and also the
preferred learning strategies to be used,
depending on the type of strategy (see Chapter
4). See A closer look on page 266). The shadow
system needs all the learning outcomes defined in
the HLO (see Chapter 9). See A closer look on
page 267.
Human Resource Development Principles and
Practice
By Brian Delahaye
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10.5
ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE
In every organisation, there are patterns of
beliefs, values, rituals and practices that
combine into shared meanings. These shared
meanings create common understandings between
members and this is called organisational
culture. Organisational culture can have a
subtle yet pervasive effect on the behaviour and
decision making in the organisation including
the HRD process. Organisational culture has to
be considered when designing learning programs.
See A closer look on page 268.
Human Resource Development Principles and
Practice
By Brian Delahaye
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10.6
KEY STAKEHOLDERS
Key stakeholders have political power and a good
knowledge of organisational procedures and
processes (including those defined by the
organisational culture). Key stakeholders who
also have legitimate power tend to be the movers
and shakers within the organisation. HR
developers, whether in the role of investigator,
designer, implementor or evaluator, should be
aware of the key stakeholders and especially key
stakeholders with legitimate power. See A
closer look on page 269.
Human Resource Development Principles and
Practice
By Brian Delahaye
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10.7
RESOURCES

• The resources available to the designer often
  seem to be a constraint on design, but these
  assets can also be an advantage.
• The tyranny of time. Time can be a problem in
  two ways. Firstly, there is always so many
  learning outcomes to be achieved and not enough
  time. Secondly, many managers do not realise how
  time consuming learning can be.
• The tyranny of numbers. Simply, the more people
  who are on a learning program, the less the
  unstructured strategies can be used.
• Physical resources. This is not just a matter of
  having the resources but also having the funding
  to hire or purchase equipment and material.
• Suitably qualified HR developers are needed to
  conduct certain learning strategies, particularly
  the unstructured ones.

Human Resource Development Principles and
Practice
By Brian Delahaye
8
10.8
DESIGNERS PERSONAL FRAME OF REFERENCE
Because it resides within, the designer often
overlooks her or his personal frame of reference.
Yet, as discussed in Chapter 2, ones frame of
reference can have a significant impact on
decisions and actions. Therefore, the designers
should be very aware of their personal values and
beliefs and the possible impact both positive
and negative these may have on design decisions.
Human Resource Development Principles and
Practice
By Brian Delahaye
9
10.9
CHAPTER 10 OTHER DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

• THE INDIRECT FACTORS
• THE PRODUCT
• THE HR DEVELOPER AS A DESIGNER

Human Resource Development Principles and
Practice
By Brian Delahaye
10
10.10
THE PRODUCT THE LEGITIMATE SYSTEM

• The result of the designers work is most
  obviously seen in the legitimate system. The
  legitimate system tends to be interested in
  learning episodes that concentrate on
  instrumental learning with some communicative
  learning. For the legitimate system, the designer
  provides a series of plans including
• the program and session plans
• the resource plan
• the product marketing plan
• the budget
• the evaluation plan.

Human Resource Development Principles and
Practice
By Brian Delahaye
11
10.11
PROGRAM AND SESSION PLANS

• The program and session plans explain the content
  to be covered in the learning experience, the
  learning strategies to be used and the expected
  assessment. A program is made up of a series of
  sessions that are presented in a specific order.
• In a program, the sequencing of sessions is
  important. In sequencing, consideration should be
  given to
• using building blocks
• moving from simple to complex
• assuring transfer of learning
• incorporating both informational and
  motivational feedback.
• Programs can be called training courses
  information and skills and use of theory and
  skill sessions or workshops programmed
  knowledge and simpler levels of task and
  relationship categories.

Human Resource Development Principles and
Practice
By Brian Delahaye
12
10.12
THE RESOURCE PLAN

• The resource plan covers all those physical and
  human resources needed to mount the program. This
  would include
• the internal and external HR developers and
  guest speakers
• training rooms, meeting rooms and even
  accommodation
• equipment and training aids needed
• stationary and other material.
• In addition to listing the quantities, the plan
  should indicate when the resources are needed.

Human Resource Development Principles and
Practice
By Brian Delahaye
13
10.13
THE PRODUCT MARKETING PLAN
The product marketing plan identifies the people
in the five buying roles (initiator, influencer,
decider, purchaser and user) and also their
location and what benefit the product will bring
to each of them. Based on this information, the
promotional tactics can be decided. The
promotional tactics include the advertising
content and the type of media to be used.
Human Resource Development Principles and
Practice
By Brian Delahaye
14
10.14
THE BUDGET
For a single product (e.g. a learning program),
the budget consists of the expected income
an estimate of the income that the program is
expected to generate the cash expenditures
all items on which the organisation will spend
cash (e.g. payment of external consultants, hire
of training aids) the opportunity cost
expenditures all those disbursements that the
organisation has already made a commitment to,
that would have been used on work other than the
learning program (e.g. the wages of the
learners). Not all organisations include
opportunity costs in budgets.
Human Resource Development Principles and
Practice
By Brian Delahaye
15
10.15
THE EVALUATION PLAN
The final, but not least important, task of the
designer is to plan how the learning program is
to be evaluated. Evaluation is discussed in
Chapter 13.
Human Resource Development Principles and
Practice
By Brian Delahaye
16
10.16
THE PRODUCT THE SHADOW SYSTEM

• Learning in the shadow system is highly
  individualised by being initially focused on the
  learner concerned. However, this learning
  establishes long-term benefits for the
  organisation and is part of the knowledge storage
  process (see Chapter 14).
• There are three domains of learning that occur in
  the shadow system
• learning transfer
• extended learning
• creating new knowledge.

Human Resource Development Principles and
Practice
By Brian Delahaye
17
10.17
LEARNING TRANSFER

• The HR developer as the designer must avoid the
  trap of encapsulation. This occurs when the
  learning does not transfer back to the workplace.
• A positive transfer climate occurs after the
  learning program and back in the workplace when
  the learner
• is provided with opportunities to reinforce and
  further develop the routinised problem solving
  knowledge learnt in the program
• is given both informational and motivational
  feedback in the workplace
• operates in a supportive atmosphere.

Human Resource Development Principles and
Practice
By Brian Delahaye
18
10.18
EXTENDED LEARNING

• The extended learning phase is the responsibility
  of the learner and the supervisor.
• Extended learning is achieved through the
  combination of
• having opportunities to become engaged in tasks
  of more complexity and accountability
• being given informational and motivational
  feedback
• being given opportunities to observe models of
  expert performance
• being encouraged to develop expertise using the
  process of successive approximations.

Human Resource Development Principles and
Practice
By Brian Delahaye
19
10.19
CREATING NEW KNOWLEDGE
The transfer of learning and the extended
learning phases tend to create reservoirs of
already known knowledge knowledge that is used
by the legitimate system to conduct everyday
activities. Supervisors need to go further than
this and develop an organisational climate that
encourages staff to create new knowledge using
all the knowledge creation processes of
externalisation, combination, internalisation and
socialisation. This learning climate is
designed to create a learning community. This
will be discussed further in Chapter 14.
Human Resource Development Principles and
Practice
By Brian Delahaye
20
10.20
CHAPTER 10 OTHER DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

• THE INDIRECT FACTORS
• THE PRODUCT
• THE HR DEVELOPER AS A DESIGNER

Human Resource Development Principles and
Practice
By Brian Delahaye
21
10.21
THE HR DEVELOPER AS A DESIGNER
For the HR developer, the role of the designer is
quite wide and complex. The separate needs of the
legitimate system and the shadow system have to
be considered. For a checklist of the designers
actions in the legitimate system see Figure 10.2
on pages 281 and 282 of the textbook. Certainly
in most organisations the designers role is more
evident in the legitimate system. However, to
survive in todays business environment,
organisations have to ensure that the designer
invests significant time in the learning needs of
the shadow system.
Human Resource Development Principles and
Practice
By Brian Delahaye