Saturday, September 26, 2009

IAF Singapore - Facilitation Workshops (Oct09-Nov09)

Two upcoming facilitation workshops to help you in your professional and personal development learning journey. It's a good opportunity for you to pick up useful and applicable facilitation skills and techniques.

Upcoming Facilitation Workshops Ready for You (Oct09-Nov09)


(1) Appreciative Inquiry – Applications At Work
Date : 29Oct09 (Thu) & 30Oct09 (Fri)
Time: 8.30am-5.30pm
Venue: YWCA Fort Canning Lodge

(2) Don't Just Do Something, Stand There! An Orientation To Facilitating Meetings That Matter
Date: 4Nov09 (Wed)
Time: 8.30am-5.30pm
Venue: Orchid Country Club

Register on line @
http://www.fns.sg


Tuesday, September 22, 2009

The 2009 Brandon Hall Excellence in Learning Awards

Excellence in Learning Awards: 2006 Categories

The 2009 Brandon Hall Excellence in Learning Awards

Recognizing the Best
in Innovative Learning Content and Initiatives


The entry deadline for the 2009 Awards has now passed.

The Brandon Hall Excellence in Learning Awards is in its 15th year of recognizing the best in innovative learning content, technology, and initiatives in workplace learning. Below are the categories for this year's awards.

  • Best Custom Content
  • Best Learning Game
  • Best Innovation in Learning Technology
  • Best Integration of Learning and Talent Management
  • Best Learning Team
  • Best Results of a Learning Program
  • Best Use of Blended Learning
  • Best Use of Games for Learning
  • Best Use of Mobile Learning
  • Best Use of Video for Learning
  • Best Use of Virtual Worlds for Learning
  • Best Use of Web 2.0 Tools for Learning

Winners of the 2009 Excellence in Learning Awards will be announced in September of 2009.

The call for entries to the 2010 Excellence in Learning Awards will take place in January of 2010.


Also of interest:

Methodology: How the Brandon Hall Excellence in Learning Awards Work

Past winners: 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999

Photos from past Awards ceremonies: 2008 | 2007 | 2006

Reports highlighting past entrants: The full list is available here.

Two Ways to Keep Informed:

Visit the Excellence in Learning Awards Blog.

Subscribe to our free e-newsletter:

E-mail:

Hrd Competency Model by Jean Barbazette



Driving Employee Motivation A New Theory

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Mgmt Dev The Ama Way

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

The Toyota Way

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Learning from the Toyota way

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Best Practice in T&D: Workforce Magazine





Best Practices in Training & Development

It’s no secret: by adding value to the business, your company’s training and development investment can yield significant returns and become a key driver in sustaining your organization’s competitive advantage—it’s a crucial investment strategy in both good times and bad.

Learn more in this Best Practices in Training & Development white paper on how to strategically integrate your training and development design and investment with high performance and talent management strategies designed to improve upon your company’s bottom-line results. Whether you are introducing a new training and development plan or you are fully entrenched in the process, this white paper provides valuable content for companies of all sizes and industries focused on high performance, long-term value and big picture goals.

Written by leading experts and respected industry analysts, this white paper provides valuable insight and proven strategies focused on bottom-line business results

Download Best Practices in Training & Development today! It's FREE; all you have to do is register below.



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All white paper content is provided by sponsoring companies. By downloading this white paper document you are acknowledging that the sponsoring companies may contact you.


Source: http://www.workforce.com/section/11/

12 Questions to Measure Employee Engagement

12 Questions to Measure Employee Engagement


Do your opinions seem to count? Does the mission/purpose of your company make you feel your job is important? Have you had opportunities at work to learn and grow?
Comments 2 | Recommend 282

ive years ago, The Gallup Organization began creating a feedback system for employers that would identify and measure elements of worker engagement most tied to the bottom line--things such as sales growth, productivity and customer loyalty.
    After hundreds of focus groups and thousands of interviews with employees in a variety of industries, Gallup came up with the Q12, a 12-question survey that identifies strong feelings of employee engagement. Results from the survey show a strong correlation between high scores and superior job performance. Here are those 12 questions:
  • Do you know what is expected of you at work?
  • Do you have the materials and equipment you need to do your work right?
  • At work, do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day?
  • In the last seven days, have you received recognition or praise for doing good work?
  • Does your supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about you as a person?
  • Is there someone at work who encourages your development?
  • At work, do your opinions seem to count?
  • Does the mission/purpose of your company make you feel your job is important?
  • Are your associates (fellow employees) committed to doing quality work?
  • Do you have a best friend at work?
  • In the last six months, has someone at work talked to you about your progress?
  • In the last year, have you had opportunities at work to learn and grow?
Reprinted with permission. Copyright 1992-1999 The Gallup Organization, Princeton, NJ. All rights reserved. Gallup and Q12 are registered trademarks of The Gallup Organization. 

Source: http://www.workforce.com/section/09/article/23/53/40.html

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Positive organizational behavior

Positive organizational behavior

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Positive Organizational Behavior (POB) is defined as "the study and application of positively oriented human resource strengths and psychological capacities that can be measured, developed, and effectively managed for performance improvement in today’s workplace" (Luthans, 2002a, p. 59).[1]

For a positive psychological capacity to qualify for inclusion in POB, it must be positive and must have extensive theory and research foundations and valid measures. In addition, it must be state like, which would make it open to development and manageable for performance improvement. Finally, positive states that meet the POB definitional criteria are primarily researched, measured, developed, and managed at the individual, micro level.[2]

The state-like criterion distinguishes POB from other positive approaches that focus on positive traits, whereas its emphasis on micro, individual-level constructs separates it from positive perspectives that address positive organizations and their related macro-level variables and measures. Meeting the inclusion criteria for POB are the state-like psychological resource capacities of self-efficacy, hope, optimism, and resiliency and, when combined, the underlying higher-order, core construct of Positive psychological capital or PsyCap. [3]

Contents

[hide]

[edit] General overview

POB is the application of Positive psychology to the workplace. Its focus is on strengths and on building the best in the workplace under the basic assumption is that goodness and excellence can be analyzed and achieved.

[edit] Origins of POB: The Positive Psychology Movement

Although POB research is relatively new, its core ideas are based on ideas of earlier scholars.
POB origins developed from the Positive Psychology movement, initiated in 1998 by Martin Seligman and colleagues. Positive Psychology aims to shift the focus in psychology from dysfunctional mental illness to mental health, calling for an increased focus on the building of human strength.
The levels of analysis of positive psychology have been summarized to be at the subjective level (i.e., positive subjective experience such as well being and contentment with the past, flow and happiness in the present, and hope and optimism into the future); the micro, individual level (i.e., positive traits such as the capacity for love, courage, aesthetic sensibility, perseverance, forgiveness, spirituality, high talent, and wisdom); and the macro group and institutional level (i.e., positive civic virtues and the institutions that move individuals toward better citizenship such as responsibility, altruism, civility, moderation, tolerance, and a strong work ethic). [4]

[edit] Development of POB

By integrating positive psychology to organizational setting, Fred Luthans has pioneered the positive organizational behavior research in 1999. Since then, Luthans and colleagues have been attempting to find ways of designing work settings that emphasize people's strengths, where they can be both their best selves and at their best with each other.

Despite initial studies and conceptualizations, the field of POB is still in its infancy. Further research regarding the precise antecedents, processes, and consequences of positive psychological behavior is needed. The challenge currently awaiting POB is to bring about a more profound understanding the real impact of positive states for organizational functioning and how these states can be enhanced within the work place.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Luthans, F. (2002a). Positive organizational behavior: Developing and managing psychological strengths. Academy of Management Executive, 16(1): 57-72.
  2. ^ Luthans, F. (2002b). The need for and meaning of positive organizational behavior. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 23: 695-706.
  3. ^ Luthans, F., & Youssef, C. M. in 2007a. Emerging positive organizational behavior. Journal of Management, 33:321-349.
  4. ^ Seligman, MD., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology. American Psychologist, 55, 5–14.

[edit] External links

Fred Luthans, profile in University of Nebraska-Lincoln


Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_organizational_behavior

Performance Coaching

Performance Coaching

If you don't do it first, your competitors will. . .


Contents Lacks the Knowledge, Skills, or Abilities to Perform

Process or Environmental Problems

Lack of Resources

Motivation

Performance Feedback Verses Criticism

Single-loop and Double-loop learning

Final Thoughts

Achieving excellence through performance is accomplished in two major ways. The first way is taking a proactive stance by unearthing or preventing counter-productive methods. For example, you might implement diversity and sexual harassment training programs before they become a problem within the organization.

The second way is to correct performance problems that arise within the organization. This is accomplished by first, identifying the root cause and secondly, implementing a plan of action to correct the problem. Although people are our most important asset, it sometimes seems as if they are our biggest headache.

There are four major causes of performance problems:

  • Knowledge or Skills - The employee does not know how to perform the process correctly - lack of skills, knowledge, or abilities.
  • Process - The problem is not employee related, but is caused by working conditions, improper procedures, etc.
  • Resources - Lack of resources or technology.
  • Motivation or Culture - The employee knows how to perform, but does so incorrectly.
The Performance Analysis Quadrant (PAQ) is a tool to help in the identification. By asking two questions, "Does the employee have adequate job knowledge?" and "does the employee have the proper attitude (desire) to perform the job?" and assigning a numerical rating between 1 and 10 for each answer, will place the employee in 1 of 4 the performance quadrants:
                 10   ----------------------------------
High | | |
| A | B |
| | |
| Motivation | Resource/ |
| | Environment |
Does the Employee | | |
have adequate job ----------------------------------
knowledge? | | |
| C | D |
| | |
| Selection | Training |
| | |
1 | | |
Low ----------------------------------
1 10
Low High

Does the employee have the proper
attitude (desire) to perform the job?

  1. Quadrant A (Motivation): If the employee has sufficient job knowledge but has an improper attitude, this may be classed as motivational problem. The consequences (rewards) of the person's behavior will have to be adjusted. This is not always bad as the employee just might not realize the consequence of his or her actions.
  2. Quadrant B (Resource/Process/Environment): If the employee has both job knowledge and a favorable attitude, but performance is unsatisfactory, then the problem may be out of control of the employee. i.e. lack of resources or time, task needs process improvement, the work station is not ergonomically designed, etc.
  3. Quadrant C (Selection): If the employee lacks both job knowledge and a favorable attitude, that person may be improperly placed in the position. This may imply a problem with employee selection or promotion, and suggest that a transfer or discharge be considered.
  4. Quadrant D (Training): If the employee desires to perform, but lacks the requisite job knowledge or skills, then additional training may be the answer.
Also note that the solution does not have to be the same as the cause. For example, you can often fix a process problem with training or perhaps fix a motivation problem with attitude or (affective domain) coaching.

Lacks the Skills, Knowledge, or Abilities to Perform

This problem generally arises when then is a new hire, new or revised process, change in standards, new equipment, new policies, promotion or transfer, or a new product. In this case, there is only one solution - training. The training may be formal classes, on-the-job, self-study, coaching, etc. To determine if training is needed, we only need to ask one question, "Does the employee know how to perform the task?" If the answer is yes, then training is not needed. If the answer is no, then training is required. However, this page will focus on coaching skills.

Coaching Skills

Some people tend to use the terms coaching, mentoring, and training interchangeably. However, there are differences. Mentoring is often thought of as the transfer of wisdom from a wise and trusted teacher. He or she helps to guide a personís career, normally in the upper reaches of the organization. However, this perception is starting to change as organizations are now implementing mentoring at all levels of the company's structure.

NOTE: Mentor comes from the age of Homer, in whose Odyssey; Mentor is the trusted friend of Odysseus left in charge of the household during Odysseus's absence. Athena, disguised as Mentor, guides Odysseus's son Telemachus in his search for his father. FÈnelon in his romance TÈlÈmaque (1699) emphasized Mentor as a character, and so it was that in French (1749) and English (1750) mentor, going back through Latin to a Greek name, became a common noun meaning "wise counselor." Mentor is an appropriate name for such a person because it probably meant "adviser" in Greek.

Training is about teaching or instructing a particular skill or knowledge and is normally givin in a formal environment.

Coaching, on the other hand, is about increasing an individual's knowledge and thought processes with a particular task or process. It creates a supportive environment that develops critical thinking skills, ideas, and behaviors about a subject. Although it is closely tied to training, it is more personal and intimate in nature.

The main difference between a coaching and a training is that the former is normally done in real time. That is, it is performed on the job. The coach uses real tasks and problems to help the learner increase his or her performance. While with training, learning is performed within the classroom.

Mentoring is more career developing in nature, while training and coaching are more task or process orientated. Also, mentoring relies on the mentor's specific knowledge and wisdom, while coaching and training relies on facilitation and developmental skills. Although there are these differences, you could say that the three are synergistic and complementary, rather than mutually exclusive as most people would agree that a good coach trains and mentors, a good trainer coaches and mentors, and a good mentor trains and coaches. A performance coach is also a:

  • Leader - who sets the example and becomes a role model.
  • Facilitator - is able to instruct a wide verity of material.
  • Team Builder - pulls people into a unified team.
  • Peace Keeper - acts as a mediator.
  • Pot Stirrer - brings controversy out in the open.
  • Devil's Advocate - raises issues for better understanding.
  • Cheerleader - praises people for doing great.
  • Counselor - provides intimate feedback.
In order to coach, it helps to use a few facilitating techniques:
  • Draws people out:
    • "What do others think?" or "What do you think?"
    • "I've heard from (name) so far. . . are there any other thoughts?"
    • "And what else?"
    • Silence (20-30 seconds) - gives the person a chance to think. Also, people tend to abhor silence, thus if you wait long enough, the person will usually speak up.
    • "You look like you have something to say. . ."
  • Interprets comments:
    • Words verses tune or tone (many questions are not really questions but a need for self-assurance).
    • Intent verses wording (learners often have a hard time wording new subject matters).
    • Sees beyond the learners paradigms and filters.
  • Clarifies thoughts or comments:
    • Use models and experiences to bring life to the subject.
    • Looks for multiple points to expound on the subject.
    • Looking for similarities and differences.
  • Senses group energy:
    • Sparks up the group with various energizers.
    • Takes breaks as needed.
    • Has a sense of timing.
  • Handling objections:
    • Try not to personalize (the learner will become defensive).
    • Reflect on the objection for a moment to ensure you understand the objection.
    • Encourages conversation.
    • Remembers to breath and relax.
  • How we treat each other:
    • Accepting each other into the group.
    • Individual responsibility.
    • Being right verses being successful.
    • Influence verses dominance (pull rank).
    • Confidentiality and trust.
    • Supporting each other.
    • Active listening.
    • Conflict resolution.
To go into further detail, see Coaching Skills and Activity.

Process or Environmental Problems (Not Related to Employees)

Many performance problems are due to bad process, that is, the process does not support the desired behavior. It has often been said that people account for 20% of all problems while bad processes account for the rest. See the Continuous Process Improvement Page for tracking down inefficient processes.

Resources

Just because the problem is caused by a lack of resources or technology, does not mean expenditures are needed. Remember, the solution does not always have to be the same as the cause. In this case you might be able to get your team to brainstorm new processes or procedures that will eliminate the need for new resources.

Motivation

Often the employee knows how to perform the desired behavior correctly, the process is good, and all resources are available, but for one reason or another, chooses not to do so. It now becomes a motivational issue. Motivation is the combination of a person's desire and energy directed at achieving a goal. It is the cause of action. Motivation can be intrinsic - satisfaction, feelings of achievement; or extrinsic - rewards, punishment, or goal obtainment. Not all people are motivated by the same thing, and over time their motivation may change.

Although most jobs have problems that are inherent to the position, it is the problems that are inherent to the person that cause us to loose focus from our main task of getting results. These motivational problems could arrive from family pressures, personality conflicts, a lack of understanding how the behavior affects other people or process.

When something breaks the psychological contract between the employee and the organization, the leader must find out what the exact problem is by looking beyond the symptoms, find a solution, focus on the problem, and implement a plan of action. One of the worst situations that a leader can get into is to get all the facts wrong.

Start by collecting and documenting what the employee is not doing or should be doing - tasks, special projects, reports, etc. Try to observe the employee performing the task. Also, do not make it a witch hunt, observe and record what the employee is not doing to standards. Check past performance appraisals, previous managers, or other leaders the employee might have worked with. Try to find out if it a pattern or something new.

Once you know the problem, then work with the employee to solve it. Most employees want to do a good job. It is in your best interest to work with the employee as long as the business needs are met and it is within the bonds of the organization to do so.

Causes of problems

Expectations or requirements have not been adequately communicated.

This motivational issue is not the fault of the employee. By providing feedback and ensuring the feedback is consistent, you provide the means for employees to motivate themselves to the desired behavior. For example, inconsistent feedback would be for management to say it wants good safety practices, and then frowns on workers who slow down by complying with regulations. Or expressing that careful workmanship is needed, but reinforces only volume of production.

Feedback must be provided on a continuous basis. If you only provide it during an employee's performance rating period, then you are NOT doing your job.

Also, ensure that there is not a difference in priorities. Employees with several tasks and projects on their plates must be clearly communicated as to what comes first when pressed for time. With the ever increasing notion to do more with less, we must understand that not everything can get done at once. Employees often choose the task that they enjoy the most, rather than the task they dislike the most. And all too often that disliked task is what needs to get performed first.

Lack of motivation.

A lack of motivation could be caused by a number of problems, to include personal, family, financial, etc. Help employees to recognize and understand the negative consequences of their behavior. For counseling techniques see Leadership and Motivation and Confrontation Counseling. For some training exercises see Performance Counseling Activity.

Shift in focus

Today, it's a lucky employee (or unlucky if that employee thrives on change) that does not have her job restructured. Changing forces in the market forces changes in organizations. When this happens, ensure that every employee knows:
  • How the job changed and what are the new responsibilities.
  • Why the job was restructured.
  • How their performance be evaluated and by whom.
  • New skills they will need to learn.
  • What responsibilities will be delegated.
  • How their career will benefit from this transition.
  • What new skills or training they need to perform successfully.
  • How it will make them more marketable in the future. By keeping them informed, you help to eliminate some of the fear and keep them focused on what must be performed.

    Performance Feedback Verses Criticism

    In general, there are two different forms of information about performance -- feedback and criticism. Feedback was originally an engineering term that refers to information (outcome) that is fed back into a process to indicate whether that process is operating within designated parameters. For example, the sensor in a car's radiator provides feedback about the engine temperature. If the temperature rises above a set point, then a secondary electrical fan kicks in.

    When dealing with human performance, feedback refers to observable behaviors and effects that are objective and specific. This feedback needs to be emotionally neutral information that describes a perceived outcome in relation to an intended target. For example, "During the last two meetings, you announced the tasks and how to perform them, rather than asking for input. That does not give people the opportunity to take ownership of their work." People who receive feedback in this manner can use the data to compare the end results with their intentions. Their egos should be aroused, but not bruised.

    Compare this to criticism that is emotional and subjective. For example, "You dominate the meetings and people do not like it!" The recipient has much more difficulty identifying a changeable behavior other than to try to be less dominant. Also, the angry tone of the criticism triggers the ego's defensive layer and causes it to be confrontational or to take flight (fight or flee), thus strengthening the resistance to change; which is exactly the opposite of what needs to be done.

    Delivering effective performance feedback takes time, effort, and skill; thus people often fall back to criticism. Since we receive far more criticism than feedback, our egos have become accustomed to fighting it off. We have all seen people receive vital information, yet shrug it off through argument or denial, and then continue on the same blundering course.

    Receiving Feedback

    Being able to give good feedback should not be the only goal; we also must be aware of the need to receive and act upon feedback, even if it is delivered in a critical manner. That is, we need to develop skills that help us extract useful information, even if it is delivered in a critical tone.

    Allowing attitudes of the criticizer to determine your response to information only weakens your chances for opportunity. Those who are able to glean information from any source are far more effective. Just because someone does not have the skills to give proper feedback does not mean you cannot use your skills to extract useful information for growth. When receiving information, rather it be feedback or criticism, think "How can I glean critical information from the message?" Concentrate on the underlying useful information, rather that the emotional tones. Also note what made you think it was criticism, rather than feedback? This will help you to provide others with feedback, rather than the same emotional criticism.

    The Feedback Process

    Giving feedback, instead of criticism, can best be accomplished by following two main avenues:
    • Observing behavior - Concentrate on the behavior. Why is it wrong for the organization, team, individuals, etc.; not why you personally dislike it. Your judgment needs to come from a professional opinion, not a personal one. Report exactly what is wrong with the performance and how it is detrimental to good performance.
      • Concentrate on pointing out the exact cause of poor performance. If you cannot determine an exact cause, then it is probably a personal judgment that needs to be ignored.
      • State how the performance affects the performance of others. Again, if it does not affect others, then it is probably a personal judgment.
    • Do unto others, as you want them to do unto you - Before giving the feedback, frame the feedback within your mind.
      • It might help to ask yourself, "how do I like to be informed when I'm doing something wrong?"
      • What tones and gestures would best transfer your message? Remember, you want the recipient to seriously consider your message, not shrug it off or storm away.

    Single-loop and Double-loop learning

    Coaching all too often focuses too narrowly on "problem solving" by identifying and correcting errors. Yet if the coaching is to transfer to the work environment, it must also look inwardly by allowing the learners to reflect critically on their own behavior. Chris Argyris (1991) coined the terms "single-loop" and "double-loop" learning.

    In Borat's cheesy video shown above, we notice that Borat is learning that all the packages are "cheese" in one form or another. He might even go on to an advanced cheese class and actually taste some cheeses and learn how to prepare a few dishes. And this is where a lot of coaching ends -- at the single-loop learning stage in which we learn about something and how it can solve some of our problems.

    Yet Borat still faces the daunting task of actually using his new skills and knowledge in the workplace. And when he meets the slightest form of resistance of putting his new found learnings into action, e.g., "we only use block cheese," he is going to place the blame on the external environment. This allows any failings to fall upon external forces.

    Thus his ability to learn has been shut down at the time that he really needs it the most. Rather than shifting to double-loop learning by asking deep reflective questions on why he cannot do it and then taking action to actually do it, he shifts to a defensive reasoning pattern that ensures any criticisms are shifted to others or to the environment.

    For coaching to be the most effective, then we need to allow the learners to look at their own reasoning patterns so that they can detect any inconsistencies between their espoused and actual theories of action.

    Note that the supermarket manager is analogous to coaches who only teach "packaging" and pay no mind to the differences in substance. He presented every package as "cheese" even though the product might have been quite different from variety to variety. For example, Feta and Colby are both "cheese" but if a recipe calls for one, they are not normally interchangeable. Distinctions often matter, even if it is only cheese.

    Borat seems quite confused that the same product could be offered in so many different packages; he has not yet realized that the product within differs. A good coach allows the learner to go "deeper" into the process, rather than just gloss over the surface so that when he or she returns to work, they can use their new knowledge and skills in a variety of contexts.

    Final Thoughts

    Ralph Doherty wrote an interesting article about "Commitment vs. Compliance" in Beyond Computing (July/August 1998 p. 44):

    In compliance environments, employees are told what to do. Although you may turn them loose to perform their jobs, the goals and objectives come from upper-management.

    In commitment environments, employees are involved in determining the strategies, directions, and tasks needed to achieve the organization's objective's. This is accomplished by:

    • Involve all essential people in developing action plans in areas that are critical to success.
    • Identify critical success factors and formulate the plans necessary to achieve those objectives. Everyone in the department, from the front-line workers to managers are used in this process.
    • Drive the methodology deeper into the organization by cultivating an environment in which almost everything is linked to employee involvement. The heart of this strategy is by sharing information and involving people at all levels of the organization. Also, hold regular team meetings in which everyone is encouraged to speak what is on their mind.
    • Give workers direct access to top management. This keeps top-management in tune with the wants and needs of front-line employees.
    By bringing them into the process, they understand the problems and have a say in the commitment. This engages their hearts, minds, and hands. . . the greatest motivators of all!

    References

    Argyris, C. (1991). Teaching smart people how to learn. Harvard Business Reprint 91301. Boston: Harvard Business Press
  • Source: http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/coaching/coach.html
  • MA, HRD, UTM

    Master of Science Human Resource Development
    Entry requirement | Why choose UTM | How to Apply | Dateline | Admission Process | Tuition Fee | Academic Guide

    The programme is offered in taught course or by research (see below). The Master of Science Human Resource Development by coursework is designed to produce skilled personnel in the field of training who can manage and develop human resources in an organization. It exposes students to theories and basic principles in the field of human resource development. This programme consists of foundation, support, electives, graduate projects and common university courses. Students can choose for either full-time or part-time mode of study.

    Curriculum
    Core (15 credits):
    MHF1013 Human Resource Planning and Management
    MHF1023 Human Resource Development Programme Evaluation
    MHF1033 Human Resource Trainning Management
    MHF1043 Quality Improvement of Human Resource Development
    MHF1053 Human Resourse Development Training Design

    Support (6 credits):
    MHF1743 Research Methodology
    MHF1213 Seminar in Counseling at The Work Place

    Electives (3 credits, choose 1):
    MHF1063 Organizational Theories
    MHF1073 Organizational Management

    Graduate Project (6 credits):
    MHF2832 Graduate Project (Proposal)
    MHF2844 Graduate Project (Report)

    University General Electives (2 credits, choose 1):
    UHP6012 Seminar on Development Global Issues and other general electives offered by other faculties in UTM.

    Duration of Studies: Full Time 3-6 semesters; Part Time 4-8 semesters.

    Additional Info: The degree will be awarded to candidates who have completed 32 credit hours with a CPA of 3.0 and above. Students who are not able to complete the 32 hours of credit requirement can be awarded a postgraduate diploma on the following conditions: (1) Have taken core, support and elective courses, and (2) Have completed at least 21 credit hours.

    BA of HRD, UTM

    TP09 - Bachelor of Science (Human Resource Development)

    Entry Requirements | Academic Guide | Study Part-Time | Tuition Fee | International Students

    This 3-year program is designed to produce competent graduates in the area of human resource development especially in meeting the needs of the industry.

    Career prospects: Graduates of the programme can work as human resource development manager, training needs analyst, programme designer, HRD meterials developer, instructor/facilitator, career development advisor, administrator, programme evaluator, researcher and entrepreneur.

    Curriculum:
    Year 1 Semester 1:
    SHP1303 Principles of Human Resource Development
    SHP1313 Introduction to Industrial Psychology
    SHD1513 Principles of Management
    SHC1123 Principles of Financial Accounting
    SHP1333 Communication Skills
    ULT1022 Islamic and Asian Civilisation

    Year 1 Semester 2:

    SHP1323 Industrial Counseling
    SHP1343 Principles of Human Resource Planning
    SHP1363 Basic Principles in Malaysian Law
    SHD1213 Introduction to Finance
    SHD1523 Organisational Behaviour
    UHS1152 Ethnic Relations
    UHB1412 English for Academic Communication

    Year 2 Semester 1:
    SHP1353Statistics for Social Science
    SHP2323 Instructional Technology System
    SHP2353 Training Needs Analysis
    SHP2423 Negotiation Techniques
    SHD2513 Human Resource Management
    UHS2092 Professional Ethics
    UQX1XX1 Co-Curriculum

    Year 2 Semester 2:

    SHP2303 Fundamentals of Research Methodology
    SHP2333 Programme Evaluation
    SHP2363 Skills for Trainers
    SHP2343 Principles of Training Design
    SHP2XX3 Department Elective
    ULT2XX2 General Elective (PPIPS)
    UHB2422 Advanced English for Academic Communication

    Short Semester:

    SHP2414 Industrial Training

    Year 3 Semester 1:
    SHP3303 Practicum
    SHP3313 Adult Learning
    SHP3323 Career Development
    SHP3363 Training Management
    SHP3423 Human Resource Information System
    UHB3XX2 English Elective
    UQX2XX1 Co-Curriculum

    Year 3 Semester 2:
    SHP3373 Organisational Development
    SHP3383 Industrial Relations Law
    SHP3433 Occupational Safety and Health
    SHP3533 Academic Exercise
    SHP3XX3 Department Elective

    Electives (Year 2):
    SHP2373 Industrial Supervisory
    SHP2383 Interpersonal Communication
    SHP2393 Behaviour and Behaviour Modification
    SHP2403 Performance Management

    Electives (Year 3):
    SHP3393 Cross-Cultural Management
    SHP3403 Crisis Management
    SHD3583 Business Strategy
    SHD2613 Technology and Economic Development

    Organizational Behavior

    Organizational Behavior


    Introduction

    Organizational Behavior (OB) is the study and application of knowledge about how people, individuals, and groups act in organizations. It does this by taking a system approach. That is, it interprets people-organization relationships in terms of the whole person, whole group, whole organization, and whole social system. Its purpose is to build better relationships by achieving human objectives, organizational objectives, and social objectives. As you can see from the definition above, organizational behavior encompasses a wide range of topics, such as human behavior, change, leadership, teams, etc. Since many of these topics are covered elsewhere in the leadership guide, this paper will focus on a few parts of OB: elements, models, social systems, OD, work life, action learning, and change.

    Elements of Organizational Behavior

    The organization's base rests on management's philosophy, values, vision and goals. This in turn drives the organizational culture which is composed of the formal organization, informal organization, and the social environment. The culture determines the type of leadership, communication, and group dynamics within the organization. The workers perceive this as the quality of work life which directs their degree of motivation. The final outcome are performance, individual satisfaction, and personal growth and development. All these elements combine to build the model or framework that the organization operates from.

    Models of Organizational Behavior

    There are four major models or frameworks that organizations operate out of:
    • Autocratic - The basis of this model is power with a managerial orientation of authority. The employees in turn are oriented towards obedience and dependence on the boss. The employee need that is met is subsistence. The performance result is minimal.
      Autocratic Organizations
    • Custodial - The basis of this model is economic resources with a managerial orientation of money. The employees in turn are oriented towards security and benefits and dependence on the organization. The employee need that is met is security. The performance result is passive cooperation.
      Custodial Organization
    • Supportive - The basis of this model is leadership with a managerial orientation of support. The employees in turn are oriented towards job performance and participation. The employee need that is met is status and recognition. The performance result is awakened drives.
      Supportive Organization
    • Collegial - The basis of this model is partnership with a managerial orientation of teamwork. The employees in turn are oriented towards responsible behavior and self-discipline. The employee need that is met is self-actualization. The performance result is moderate enthusiasm.
      Collegial Organization
    Although there are four separate models, almost no organization operates exclusively in one. There will usually be a predominate one, with one or more areas over-lapping in the other models. The first model, autocratic, has its roots in the industrial revolution. The managers of this type of organization operate out of McGregor's Theory X. The next three models begin to build on McGregor's Theory Y. They have each evolved over a period of time and there is no one "best" model. The collegial model should not be thought as the last or best model, but the beginning of a new model or paradigm.


    Social Systems, Culture, and Individualization

    A social system is a complex set of human relationships interacting in many ways. Within an organization, the social system includes all the people in it and their relationships to each other and to the outside world. The behavior of one member can have an impact, either directly or indirectly, on the behavior of others. Also, the social system does not have boundaries...it exchanges goods, ideas, culture, etc. with the environment around it. Culture is the conventional behavior of a society that encompasses beliefs, customs, knowledge, and practices. It influences human behavior, even though it seldom enters into their conscious thought. People depend on culture as it gives them stability, security, understanding, and the ability to respond to a given situation. This is why people fear change. They fear the system will become unstable, their security will be lost, they will not understand the new process, and they will not know how to respond to the new situations.
    Individualization is when employees successfully exert influence on the social system by challenging the culture.
           Impact Of Individualization 
                           On A Organization
                   _______________________________
             High |               |               |
                  |               |               |
                  |               |               |
                  |   Conformity  |   Creative    |
                  |               | Individualism |
                  |               |               |
    Socialization |_______________|_______________|
                  |               |               |
                  |               |               |
                  |               |               |
                  |   Isolation   |  Rebellion    |
                  |               |               |
                  |               |               |
              Low |_______________|_______________|
                 Low     Individualization    High
    
    The chart above (Schein, 1968) shows how individualization affects different organizations:
    • Too little socialization and too little individualization creates isolation.
    • Too high socialization and too little individualization creates conformity.
    • Too little socialization and too high individualization creates rebellion.
    • While the match that organizations want to create is high socialization and high individualization for a creative environment. This is what it takes to survive in a very competitive environment...having people grow with the organization, but doing the right thing when others want to follow the easy path.
    This can become quite a balancing act. Individualism favors individual rights, loosely knit social networks, self respect, and personal rewards and careers. It becomes look out for number 1! Socialization or collectivism favors the group, harmony, and asks "What is best for the organization?" Organizations need people to challenge, question, and experiment while still maintaining the culture that binds them into a social system.

    Organization Development

    Organization Development (OD) is the systematic application of behavioral science knowledge at various levels, such as group, inter-group, organization, etc., to bring about planned change. Its objectives is a higher quality of work-life, productivity, adaptability, and effectiveness. It accomplishes this by changing attitudes, behaviors, values, strategies, procedures, and structures so that the organization can adapt to competitive actions, technological advances, and the fast pace of change within the environment. There are seven characteristics of OD:
    1. Humanistic Values: Positive beliefs about the potential of employees (McGregor's Theory Y).
    2. Systems Orientation: All parts of the organization, to include structure, technology, and people, must work together.
    3. Experiential Learning: The learners' experiences in the training environment should be the kind of human problems they encounter at work. The training should NOT be all theory and lecture.
    4. Problem Solving: Problems are identified, data is gathered, corrective action is taken, progress is assessed, and adjustments in the problem solving process are made as needed. This process is known as Action Research.
    5. Contingency Orientation: Actions are selected and adapted to fit the need.
    6. Change Agent: Stimulate, facilitate, and coordinate change.
    7. Levels of Interventions: Problems can occur at one or more level in the organization so the strategy will require one or more interventions.

    Quality of Work Life

    Quality of Work Life (QWL) is the favorableness or unfavorableness of the job environment. Its purpose is to develop jobs and working conditions that are excellent for both the employees and the organization. One of the ways of accomplishing QWL is through job design. Some of the options available for improving job design are:
    • Leave the job as is but employ only people who like the rigid environment or routine work. Some people do enjoy the security and task support of these kinds of jobs.
    • Leave the job as is, but pay the employees more.
    • Mechanize and automate the routine jobs.
    • And the area that OD loves - redesign the job.
    When redesigning jobs there are two spectrums to follow - job enlargement and job enrichment. Job enlargement adds a more variety of tasks and duties to the job so that it is not as monotonous. This takes in the breadth of the job. That is, the number of different tasks that an employee performs. This can also be accomplished by job rotation. Job enrichment, on the other hand, adds additional motivators. It adds depth to the job - more control, responsibility, and discretion to how the job is performed. This gives higher order needs to the employee, as opposed to job enlargement which simply gives more variety. The chart below (Cunningham & Eberle, 1990) illustrates the differences:
        Job Enrichment and Job Performance 
                   _______________________________
           Higher |               |               |
            Order |               |     Job       |
                  |      Job      |  Enrichment   |
                  |   Enrichment  |     and       |
                  |               |  Enlargement  |
                  |               |               |
      Accent on   |_______________|_______________|
        Needs     |               |               |
                  |               |               |
                  |    Routine    |     Job       |
                  |      Job      |  Enlargement  |
                  |               |               |
            Lower |               |               |
            Order |_______________|_______________|
                   Few                         Many
                         Variety of Tasks
    
    The benefits of enriching jobs include:
    • Growth of the individual
    • Individuals have better job satisfaction
    • Self-actualization of the individual
    • Better employee performance for the organization
    • Organization gets intrinsically motivated employees
    • Less absenteeism, turnover, and grievances for the organization
    • Full use of human resources for society
    • Society gains more effective organizations
    There are a variety of methods for improving job enrichment (Hackman and Oldham, 1975):
    • Skill Variety: Perform different tasks that require different skill. This differs from job enlargement which might require the employee to perform more tasks, but require the same set of skills.
    • Task Identity: Create or perform a complete piece of work. This gives a sense of completion and responsibility for the product.
    • Task Significant: This is the amount of impact that the work has on other people as the employee perceives.
    • Autonomy: This gives employees discretion and control over job related decisions.
    • Feedback: Information that tells workers how well they are performing. It can come directly from the job (task feedback) or verbally form someone else.
    For a survey activity, see Hackman & Oldham's Five Dimensions of Motivating Potential.

    Action Learning

    An unheralded British academic was invited to try out his theories in Belgium -- it led to an upturn in the Belgian economy. "Unless your ideas are ridiculed by experts they are worth nothing," says the British academic Reg Revans, creator of action learning [L = P + Q] -- learning occurs through a combination of programmed knowledge (P) and the ability to ask insightful questions (Q). Action learning has been widely used in Europe for combining formal management training with learning from experience. A typical program is conducted over a period of 6 to 9 months. Teams of learners with diverse backgrounds conduct field projects on complex organizational problems requiring use of skills learned in formal training sessions. The learning teams then meet periodically with a skilled instructor to discuss, analyze, and learn from their experiences.
    Revans basis his learning method on a theory called "System Beta," in that the learning process should closely approximate the "scientific method." The model is cyclical - you proceed through the steps and when you reach the last step you relate the analysis to the original hypothesis and if need be, start the process again. The six steps are:
    • Formulate Hypothesis (an idea or concept)
    • Design Experiment (consider ways of testing truth or validity of idea or concept)
    • Apply in Practice (put into effect, test of validity or truth)
    • Observe Results (collect and process data on outcomes of test)
    • Analyze Results (make sense of data)
    • Compare Analysis (relate analysis to original hypothesis)
    Note that you do not always have to enter this process at step 1, but you do have to complete the process. Revans suggest that all human learning at the individual level occurs through this process. Note that it covers what Jim Stewart (Managing Change Through Training and Development, 1991) calls the levels of existence:
    • We think - cognitive domain
    • We feel - affective domain
    • We do - action domain
    All three levels are interconnected -- e.g. what we think influences and is influenced by what we do and feel.

    Change

    In its simplest form, discontinuity in the work place is "change." Our prefrontal cortex is a fast and agile computational device that is able to hold multiple threads of logic at once so that we can perform fast calculations. However, it has its limits with working memory in that it can only hold a handful of concepts at once, similar to the RAM in a PC. In addition, it burns lots of high energy glucose (blood sugar), which is expensive for the body to produce. Thus when given lots of information, such as when a change is required, it has a tendency to overload and being directly linked to the amygdala (the emotional center of the brain) that controls our fight-or-flight response, it can cause severe physical and psychological discomfort. (Koch, 2006)
    Our prefrontal cortex is marvelous for insight when not overloaded. But for normal everyday use, our brain prefers to run off its "hard-drive" -- the basal ganglia, which has a much larger storage area and stores memories and our habits. In addition, it sips rather than gulps food (glucose).
    When we do something familiar and predictable, our brain is mainly using the basal ganglia, which is quite comforting to us. When we use our prefrontal cortex, then we are looking for fight, flight, or insight. Too much change produces fight or flight syndromes. As change agents we want to produce "insight" into our learners so that they are able to apply their knowledge and skills not just in the classroom, but also on the job.
    And the way to help people come to "insight" is to allow them to come to their own resolution. These moments of insight or resolutions are called "epiphanies" -- sudden intuitive leap of understanding that are quite pleasurable to us and act as rewards. Thus you have to resist the urge to fill in the entire picture of change, rather you have to leave enough gaps so that the learners are allowed to make connections of their own. Doing too much for the learners can be just as bad, if not worse, than not doing enough.
    Doing all the thinking for learners takes their brains out of action, which means they will not invest the energy to make new connections.

    Reference

    Cunningham, J. B. & Eberle, T. (1990). "A Guide to Job Enrichment and Redesign," Personnel, Feb 1990, p.57 in Newstrom, J. & Davis, K. (1993). Organization Behavior: Human Behavior at Work. New York: McGraw-Hill.
    Hackman, J. R. & Oldham, G. R. (1975). "Development of the Job Diagnostic Survey." Journal of Applied Psychology, 60, pp. 159-70.
    Knoster, T., Villa, R., & Thousand, J. (2000). A framework for thinking about systems change. In R. Villa & J. Thousand (Eds.), Restructuring for caring and effective education: Piecing the puzzle together (pp. 93-128). Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. Koch, C. (2006). The New Science of Change. CIO Magazine, Sep 15, 2006 (pp 54-56). Also available on the web: http://www.cio.com/archive/091506/change.html
    Revans, R. W. (1982). The Origin and Growth of Action Learning. Hunt, England: Chatwell-Bratt, Bickley.
    Schein, E. (1968). "Organizational Socialization and the Profession of Management," Industrial Management Review, 1968 vol. 9 pp. 1-15 in Newstrom, J. & Davis, K. (1993). Organization Behavior: Human Behavior at Work. New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Source: http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadob.html

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