Metaphor Assignment

By Lauren Hanna

What Does HRD Mean To Me?

I believe HRD is a very valuable resource to have in an organization. A recognized and enjoyable fact about HRD is it enhances all business areas: the organization, the customers and the employees. The one thing that really attracts me to HRD is that the key factor is learning. From experience, I strongly believe that a learning organization is a successful organization. I see HRD as a domino effect because the more the employees learn, the more efficient the product and in return, the more efficient the product, the higher the profit therefore everything (the organization, employees and customer) balances off one another. Other factors I appreciate are:

•HRD encourages creativity and flexibility•HRD is a goal-oriented department•HRD finds solutions to financial issues, absenteeism and turnover•HRD seeks ways to become and stay proactive

WHY IS HRD IMPORTANT?• Provides learning opportunities to all employees• Acts as a change agent• Finds ways to become and stay proactive• Acknowledges and strengthens employees’ knowledge, skills and abilities

(KSAs)• Observes the external environment to stay ahead of competitors• Observes the internal environment to see how it can keep improving it

employees• Encourages diversity in the workspace

My Illustration of HRD

To me, HRD is like a shopping mall. I chose a mall because a mall is a place that consist of many separate items (i.e. different types of stores) that make up a big shopping center. HRD is the same way, HRD is a whole department that is comprised of multiple specialized areas.

• Lauren

My Illustration of HRD

Just like a mall has standard types of department store, HRD four major departments as well

How is a mall and HRD compare?

• A shopping mall consists of four major departments: retail, footwear, home decor and entertainment stores. HRD consist of four major divisions: Training and Development, Organizational Development, Career Development and Adult Learning.

• Each department is specialized in different items or innovations.• All the departments are major parts that create the subject ( either the mall

or HRD)

My Illustration of HRD

Here are the four major department stores and the four major HRD divisions:

• Retail- Training and Development (T&D)• Footwear- Career Development• Home Décor- Organizational Development (OD)• Entertainment- Adult Learning

My Illustration of HRD

Retail/ Training and Development (T&D)

• T&D, just like retail in the mall, is one of the most known areas of HRD.

• Both have to be very up-to-date with the latest trends. Trainers are constantly trying to new think of ways changing and improving employee morale and performance.

• T&D and retail contain items for a diverse audience. Just like in retail, you want to have a variety of materials to keep your audience satisfied whether it is hands on activities, case studies, lectures, e-learning, etc.

• T&D is used in retail stores. Some examples of training in retail would be when you see the new hire shadowing the consultant at the register or when corporate has a training at a conference room. T&D has three different parts– On-the-job training– Instructor-led training– Online training

Footwear/ Career Development

• Footwear stores and Career Development are always looking for new improvements. In Career Development, employees are trying to find ways to be promoted within the company.

• Footwear stores and Career Development are very competitive and try to stay proactive. While employees are thinking of new opportunities they have to think of ways to eliminate their skills gap and think of their external environment, too, such as their families.

• Footwear stores and Career Development both encourage feedback. In a shoe store they are constantly listening trying to discover what is comfortable, what shoe feels the lightest, design reactions, etc. In Career Development the employee wants to hold reviews from managers and supervisors to see where they stand in their position and if they are ready to be promoted.

• Another way to motivate Career development, whether in a footwear store or any organization, you need to participate in:– Coaching others– Mentoring– Staying away from Deviant Workplace behaviors (DWB)– Setting goals– Providing input and suggestions– Communicating with others, build a strong network

Home Décor/ Organizational Development (OD)

• Home décor stores and OD both pay close attention to detail. In OD focuses on every detail in a needs analysis to find ways to make the organization effective.

• Home décor and OD both share passion for design. OD conduct a needs analysis which is a designed intervention to find current problem or issues that the company is facing. Once the problems are addressed then individual participate in activities such as focus groups or observations are completed to find ways to improve the problem and engage in events to find solutions to overcome the problem and create an effective organization.

• Home Décor and OD seek a vision and perception of the subject. In home décor they want the ideal room whereas OD seeks vision and perception of the company. OD is constantly seeking change and ways to influence change in a positive way. Some employees are afraid of change ( known as the unfreezing stage), but the goal of OD is to encourage the employees to adopt the new change (the moving stage) and lastly to keep the change permanent (the refreezing stage).

Entertainment/ Adult Learning

• Adult learning and entertainment stores must be persistent in seeking new technologies. With the speed of the Internet it is important to make sure that adults share the ability to retain new information.

• In entertainment stores and adult learning it is necessary to have interaction. If you want to sell a new iPhone people are going to want to see it, touch it and play on it. It is the same way is adult learning, individuals need to participate in activities in order to fully understand the material. However, it is also important to allow the adults to lead a training or activity. Adults do not want to feel like children, they want to gain understanding. In adult learning you are no longer teaching, but more for guidance.

• Entertainment and adult learning both inspire creativity. In the entertainment industry, the more creative you are, the more profit you will gain. Just like in adult learning, the more abstract and creative you get, the more you are understanding the material. When adults fully understand they will be able to apply the learning material to personal experiences.

Thanks and Gig ‘em