topic FiVE: capability and Learning - Institute of Public ...cdn.nsw.ipaa.org.au/docs/PSMP/U3 Topic...

207t o p i c F i V E : c a p a b i l i t y a n d l e a r n i n g

topic FiVE: capability and Learning

overviewKnowing the best circumstances under which individuals learn is invaluable and one point of this topic is to help you think about learning in the context of your management role. To this end, learning style inventories are very practical. In this topic we utilise the VARK system which identifies whether individuals have primarily visual, auditory, read/write or kinaesthetic learning preferences. We also discuss Honey and Mumford’s styles which describe people as activists, reflectors, theorists or pragmatists. Techniques for learning according to your preferred mode are discussed and the limitations of style inventories are also acknowledged.

Horizontal versus vertical skills are explored in relation to developing deeper expertise as well as becoming more well-rounded. Vertical skills development can be ‘defined as the maintenance and enhancement of the knowledge, expertise and competence of professionals’ (Jones & Robinson 1998 in Gandolfi 2006:209) whereas horizontal skills development is concerned with personal development through acquisition of human or ‘soft’ skills. Horizontal or people capabilities are particularly significant in the contemporary public sector. Notwithstanding this, developing expertise through depth of knowledge and experience is also valued.

Talking about individual skills development has to be set in the context of the current skills shortage. Elements from the leadership framework applicable to this topic include commitment to personal development, avoiding complacency, thinking of new approaches to stretch skills, pushing out of your comfort zone, anticipating future challenges, recognising where gaps exist in your capability and addressing them. Other issues canvassed in the topic include lifelong learning.

Learning objectivesOn successful completion of this topic, you will be able to:

1. describe four learning modalities in the VarK model and develop strategies to capitalise on learning preferences.

2. describe Honey and Mumford’s learning styles.

3. distinguish between vertical and horizontal skills development.

4. determine your degree of continuous or lifelong learning.

208 p S M U n i t 3 : M a n a g i n g i n : e t H i c s a n d c a r e e r M a n a g e M e n t i n t H e p u b l i c s e c t O r

5.1 Learning

The link between a well-trained, highly-skilled, committed workforce and effective public service delivery is clear. Improved health, education, or policing cannot be achieved without improvement in the skills, knowledge and attitudes of the professionals engaged to deliver them. Individual learning is important for public organisations’ adaptation to emerging social conditions (Jorgensen 2004).

This argument is exemplified in the Queensland Department of Education. A report to the minister on improving the focus and outcomes for students in the middle phase of learning clearly identified a system that supported and engaged teachers to develop their knowledge of this phase and their ability to understand the issues that students faced (MACER 2004). This task is especially challenging because the middle years span late primary and early secondary school years. Effective responses require coordination between primary and secondary schools that generally does not exist. Without adequate learning support for teachers, better student outcomes are harder to achieve.

5.2 How Do i Learn?

It is now well established that individuals learn in different ways, and that a one-size-fits all approach to teaching and learning is not effective. Individual learning styles are part of the bigger picture concept of personality. These styles are a combination of traits (fairly fixed characteristics) and adaptations (common patterns of behaviour) (Hawk & Shah 2007). Knowing how to learn is a critical starting point for learning itself. As we saw earlier, Peter Drucker (1999) considers knowing how you learn to be a vital self-management attribute.

If we look at the Lancaster learning cycle shown in Figure 5.1, we can see that one aspect of learning is reception of input, for example, seeing, hearing or reading the material to be learned. We will look at how individuals vary in their preferences for input in the next section. The figure also distinguishes between the inner and outer worlds (as we saw similarly in the values topic). It shows that learning is not just about the input learners receive (such as course materials, lecturers etc) but also activity, such as applying the concepts at work, trying out a new computer program or following new policy guidelines during which learners discover whether and how the material relates to their responsibilities.

Individuals also vary in the learning style or type of activity they prefer, as Honey and Mumford explain in a later section. Discovery is also about challenging learners to see things in new ways, to look at the bigger picture and to look at critical or alternative views on what they already know in their existing schemas. Feedback shows how well this new learning suits them and what else they need to learn.

On the internal side of the figure is reflection, which is used a lot in this unit. That is, reviewing, looking inwards, thinking about what is happening, what is being learned, how well it is going, and of course, as we saw in the previous topic, self-


awareness. In the centre of the figure is your existing schema. This means that you are not a ‘blank slate’ but already have a range of experience, knowledge, skills and qualifications to which any new learning needs to be related. Hence the frequent requirement in activities and assessments for you to relate PSM Program material to your workplace, experience and management role. The WA Ombudsman Chris Field reinforced this point at the 2008 PSM Program Graduation:

This ceremony is an opportunity for you to reflect upon what you have learned and how you might use that knowledge in ways that will contribute to the continuing growth and success of Western Australia. All of you in this room will play a role in shaping and administering this State’s economic and public policy – policy that will help to define our success in the future (Field 2008:1).

Figure 5.1 the Lancaster model of the learning cycle

Source: Beardwell et al. 2004:286.

There needs to be another arrow in this figure to show that learning continues after input, reflection and feedback. Reflection forms a new input that the individual uses to re-do the whole learning cycle.

Activity 5.1 - the lancaster learning cycle

this activity is designed to show how the lancaster learning cycle works for you. it should help you become more self-aware about learning so you can bring this awareness to your team or to others. the main components are reproduced in list form below. choose a particular topic or subject from the psM program as an example, identify the subject and fit how you learned about it into each component. an example is given first with a second blank list for you to fill in.

Reflection

Activity

Discovery

Feedback

Receptionof input

Learner’sschema,

meanings,skills, etc

The Lancaster model of the learning cycle

Learner’s inner world Outer world


Lancaster cycle component

A specific learning experience or subjectExample: learning about my Ei in topic Five

reception of input i read about emotional intelligence (ei) in the topic notes and readings

activity i did two tests of my ei on the internet

discovery i found out some of the behaviours that are considered to relate to high ei

Feedback the results of the test showed that my ei is a little below average

reflection cycle this did not surprise me as i already know that i am not very good with feelings, either mine or other people’s

your schema, meanings, skills etc

i accept that i am not great on ei, this is something i know about myself. i am a more task-focussed person. However, i would like to be better in this area so that my life runs more smoothly, particularly at work with senior professional colleagues and support staff

next action to learn more Have another look at what behaviours are shown by people with higher ei than me by reviewing the tests questions and see what i can do about them – perhaps enlist a coach or mentor.

choose an example and fill in the details below.

Lancaster cycle component

A specific learning experience or subject

Example: ____________________________________

reception of input

activity

discovery

Feedback

reflection cycle

your schema, meanings, skills etc

next action to learn more


5.3 Learning Style inventories

Hawk & Shah (2007) indicate there are several different learning style inventories. Some overlap while others add complementary information. Studying more than one inventory or doing more than one test is a good idea and you can see which gives you more useful advice. This is less about the test per se and more about what you can glean about yourself. For example, Hawk & Shah (2007:15) found that about half of their MBA students were ‘concrete sequential’ learners who preferred checklists, worksheets, outlines, charts, demonstrations, field trips, diagrams and flow charts. Twenty percent were ‘concrete random’ who preferred activities like brainstorming, creating possibilities, optional reading, investigations and problem solving. They found that more female (18%) than male (8%) students were ‘abstract random’ in learning style, preferring mapping, group work, humour, role plays, interviewing and keeping journals. In the next section we look at how to determine what your learning preferences and styles are with first VARK and then Honey and Mumford.

5.3.1 VARK

The acronym VARK stands for four sensory modes by which individuals take in and put out information in the learning process. That is, VARK addresses receiving input and activity in the Lancaster learning cycle. The four are:

Visual – learning through pictures, symbols, charts

Aural (or auditory) – learning by listening, verbal, what is heard has most impact

Read/write – material in written form works best, taking notes, reading textbooks

Kinaesthetic – learning by doing, hands-on, concrete, practical, may never finish a book but will excel in manual trades.

VARK can also be used to understand how people around you learn, for example your partner, children, team or work colleagues. Children are more likely to be uni-modal than adults. Fortunately, today most school teaching has recognised different learning styles and moved beyond ‘chalk and talk’, which only suited some children’s learning style. VARK is a practical model of learning preferences. Students can learn more effectively and teachers become more sensitive to diverse teaching strategies. In the workplace it can help managers train new staff, as attested by a previous PSM Program participant:

So I started to mentally evaluate any new members of the team I was asked to train and made sure I catered to their preferred learning style. This action resulted in less repetition allowing for faster learning, especially where complex legislation is concerned. My supervisor has certainly noticed the difference and has asked that I train all new team members. In doing so I noticed I was also exercising my emotional intelligence because training encompasses communication, trust, respect, performance review and so on.


Although researchers and practitioners have known for centuries about the different modes, the VARK inventory, initially developed in 1987 by Neil Fleming of Lincoln University New Zealand, was the first to systematically present a series of questions with help sheets for students, teachers, employees and others to use in their own way. Once you know about VARK, its power to explain things around you may be a revelation (Fleming 2001).

For example, an economics lecturer at the University of Southern Queensland routinely used this model with his first-year students. Economics is a compulsory subject with very large class sizes and many students struggled with the material. VARK helps students understand why they struggle with economics the way it is traditionally taught and gives them strategies for learning that are better suited to their preferences.

To work out learning preferences, there is an inventory or ‘test’. The inventory has been well received because the distinctions between the four modes – visual, aural etc. – are easily understood and have an intuitive appeal (Fleming 2001).

Table 5.1 describes each mode and summarises learning strategies for each one. Here they are presented in text-based format (i.e. Read/write (R) mode). Online, Neil Fleming puts his advice into practice in a much more engaging way – one that appeals to and illustrates each of the modalities by using that method to present the learning strategies. Have a look at the learning strategies online at the VARK site (see activity below).


table 5.1 Learning modes and strategies

ModeLearning strategies – how you can

improve your learning and facilitate better training for others

ViSUAL (V) this preference includes information in pictures, charts, graphs, flow diagrams, symbolic arrows, circles, hierarchies and other devices that facilitators use to represent visually what could have been presented in words.

people with a visual preference want ‘the whole picture’. they have a holistic rather than reductionist approach. they are interested in the colour, appearance, layout and design of learning materials.

to take in information, note that facilitators who use gestures and picturesque language are likely to be the most helpful to you. use pictures, videos, posters, slides and OHts. textbooks with pictures, charts and other diagrams are useful. Flow charts, underlining in different colours, symbols and white spaces all work well.

When rehearsing or trying to remember what you have learned, reconstruct the images that you have taken in, in different ways. Make different spatial arrangements of the symbols. redraw your images from memory; replace words with symbols, initials or pictures. look at your pages and make them visually appealing and interesting. to output the information you have learned, draw things, use diagrams, write answers, recall the pictures made by your pages, practise turning your visuals back into words.

AUrAL (A) this perceptual mode describes a preference for information that is heard. participants with this mode report that they learn best from listening to lectures and tutorials and tapes, talking to other participants or hearing group discussions.

people who prefer the aural mode would rather have instructions explained to them verbally than to read them in an instruction book or manual, or even be shown what to do. the words that they hear are much more valuable than those they read.

to take in information, attend lectures, tutorials, hold discussions with facilitators and other participants. explain new ideas to other people. use a tape recorder. remember the interesting examples, stories and jokes. describe the overheads and visuals to someone who wasn’t present. leave spaces in your lecture notes to fill in missing details later. put your summarised notes onto tape and listen to the tape. read your summarised notes out loud. explain your notes to another aural person.

in examination conditions, talk with the examiner, listen to your ‘voices’ and write down what they say, speak your answers.

rEAD/writE (r) this preference is for information and learning materials displayed as words. not surprisingly, many academics have a strong preference for this mode. people with this preference extract meaning and understanding from the written word.

this type of participant is most likely to be found in the library! since much of what is taught at university is text and lecture based and the emphasis in assessment is on written work in exams and assignments, much of university teaching may suit the natural preferences of the read/write learning style. therefore it is not surprising that learners with other modal preferences, particularly the kinaesthetic, may struggle with tertiary courses.

to take in information, use lists, headings, definitions, handouts, reading, verbatim lecture notes, manuals and lecturers who use words well and give a lot of information in sentences and notes.

to rehearse and retain information, write out the words over and over. read your notes silently over and over. rewrite the content into other words. translate any diagrams or charts into sentences. For example, ‘the trend in graph 2 is …’. Write out exam answers, practise doing multiple choice questions, write the beginning and ending of paragraphs or answers, make lists (numbered or lettered), arrange your words into hierarchies and points.

KinAEStHEtic (K) this mode for learning refers to a ‘perceptual preference related to the use of experience and practice (simulated or real)’. although such an experience may invoke other modalities, the key is that the student is connected to reality, ‘either through experience, example, practice or simulation’ (Fleming & Mills 1992:140–141).

this is a very practical, hands-on mode of learning. learning is through concrete experience and ‘real life’ situations. learning by doing, experience and action.

use all your senses to take in information – sight, touch, taste, smell and hearing. What works for this type of participant is laboratories, field trips, real-life examples, hands-on approaches, trial and error, collecting things, exhibits, samples, photographs, scale models, recipes, solutions to problems and past exam papers. lecture notes taken by a kinaesthetic learner may be poor because the topic was not concrete or relevant.

put plenty of examples into your summaries, use case studies and applications. talk about your notes with another kinaesthetic person. go back to the practical aspects of what you were supposed to learn and recall them. Write practice answers. role play the learning and the assessment.

MULti-MoDAL people, particularly adults, can be multi- modal, showing a preference for two, three or all four modes. they can and do use strategies from the several modes that they prefer.

see above

Source: adapted from Fleming 2001.


Activity 5.2 – you and VarK

this activity is designed to let you explore your learning style. this was partly addressed in the earlier topic where you answered drucker’s question about how you learn, but this activity will extend that self-awareness. Visit the VarK website at www.vark-learn.com and complete the test, then review the feedback about how to capitalise on your learning style. study other strategies for learning where the material, instructor or situation do not suit your style. also consider what you can do about your team or colleagues to make sure any training or instruction you give suits their learning style.

In the VARK model some individuals have single preferences for the various modes and some have multiple preferences as follows:

table 5.2 proportion of learners with single and multiple VArK learning style preferences

number of style preferences % of learners

single 41

two 27

three 9

Four 21

Source: Fleming 2001 in Hawk & Shah 2007:7

Having studied VARK we will now turn to Peter Honey and Alan Mumford.

5.4 Honey and Mumford’s Learning Styles

Practitioners consider Honey and Mumford as the industry ‘norm’ so we will look at them in some detail here. Because they are more industry-based they take account of experiential learning which may be more relevant to managers ‘on-the-job’ than academic learning in schools or universities. Honey and Mumford allow for reflective practice which is not addressed in VARK but forms a significant part of adult professional learning.

Honey and Mumford also identified four styles of learner that they labelled activists, reflectors, theorists and pragmatists. These have some similarities and differences compared to the VARK model. The VARK model, however, is an input approach and misses some significant aspects of management or professional on-the-job learning such as experiential learning. ‘Peter Honey and Alan Mumford developed their learning styles system as a variation on the Kolb model while working on a project for the Chloride corporation in the 1970s’ (Chapman 2006:np). They originally started working with Kolb’s learning style inventory but since that was developed


more in an education context it didn’t have enough ‘face validity’ (perceived relevance) for managers (Coffield et al. 2004).

The next section reviews each of the four styles.

5.4.1 Activists

The main word describing learners of this style is doers. They:

• enjoyimmediateexperience

• likeexercisesandproblems

• likedramaandexcitement

• dislikesimplyobserving

• immersethemselvesfullyinnewexperiences

• enjoyhereandnow

• areopenminded,enthusiastic,flexible

• actfirst,considerconsequenceslater

• seektocentreactivityaroundthemselves

5.4.2 Reflectors

The main word describing learners of this style is reviewers. They:

• prefertoviewthingsfromdifferentperspectives

• liketomakenotesandhavetimetothink

• standbackandobserve

• arecautiousandtakeabackseat

• collectandanalysedataaboutexperienceandevents

• areslowtoreachconclusions

• useinformationfrompast,presentandimmediateobservationstomaintainabig picture perspective.

5.4.3 Theorists

The main word describing learners of this style is concluders. They:

• areanalyticalandobjective

• preferstructure,purpose,modelsandrationalexplanations

• thinkthroughproblemsinalogicalmanner

• valuerationalityandobjectivity

• assimilatedisparatefactsintocoherenttheories

• aredisciplined,aimingtofitthingsintorationalorder

• arekeenonbasicassumptions,principles,theories,modelsandsystemsthinking.


5.4.4 Pragmatists

The main word describing learners of this style is planners. They:

• lookfornewideasandliketotrythemout

• preferlearningtobegroundedinsomepracticalreality

• arekeentoputideas,theoriesandtechniquesintopractice

• searchfornewideasandexperiment

• actquicklyandconfidentlyonideas

• getstraighttothepoint

• areimpatientwithendlessdiscussion(Cotton2004:24;Swinton2008)

Honey and Mumford’s learning style questionnaire (LSQ) was developed to apply style theory in managing organisations. It has been routinely employed for some years as a component of management development courses in UK and other business schools (Zwanenberg Wilkinson & Anderson 2000 in Van 2004).

Although Honey and Mumford’s learning styles are popular with practitioners, they have been criticised by academics who point out, for example, that they are simply a sub-set of personality traits (such as measured on the MBTI or similar) and do not need to be measured separately. There is also evidence that neither learning styles nor personality traits explain enough variation in performance (Coffield et al. 2004).

The Honey and Mumford model may be more popular in practice but its use is not free.

Activity 5.3 - Honey and Mumford learning styles

the Honey and Mumford learning styles instruments can be accessed at the following site. these instruments have to be paid for which may not suit all participants. they have been included, however, at the request of psM program facilitators. http://www.peterhoney.com/.

required reading 5.1snook, i 2007, Learning Styles and Other Modern Educational Myths, philosophy of education society

of australasia, viewed 25 July 2008 <http://www.pesa.org.au/html/documents/2007-papers/snook,%20i.pdf>.

it is helpful to examine new ideas from more than one perspective rather than unquestioningly accepting what may just be the latest ‘fad’. this short reading critiques learning styles. read it and identify how it contradicts some of the comments made in the section above. identify and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the writer’s case. read it and form your own opinion of the value of this model.

Whatever opinion you may form from this reading, it is useful to think about your learning preferences, how they can be expanded, how well teaching techniques suit


your preferences and how you can make the most of any learning experiences you have, as well as extending this information to your direct reports and their development.

Activity 5.4 – expand your learning style

this activity has been framed in terms of parents/carers concern with their children’s learning style but is equally valid for managers/mentors/coaches. First you need to investigate your own learning style using the sites available in the earlier activity or others sourced from the web (google ‘learning styles’). Having done this and worked out what your learning style is and what the other options are, think about how you could expand your learning style. also think about how difficult it would be for you to adopt a learning style that is opposite from your own. then put yourself in the place of someone from an opposite learning style. How would they feel if you were their manager, coach or teacher? choose an individual and invite them to complete a learning styles inventory and discuss with them how you could work together more effectively to capitalise on the similarities or differences in your styles. the VarK details in the second column of table 5.1 provide a lot of useful techniques. performance problems may have many causes, but lack of skills or inadequate learning certainly have to be considered as one. it may be that an individual is not following your instructions because they have not been presented in a way that suits their learning style.

Activity 5.5 - the psM program and your learning style

How well does the psM program suit your learning preferences? What if anything could be changed? For example:

For my learning style, I would like to see more “real life examples” such as a DVD with case studies that relate to the reading material and less read/write text book style learning practices

5.5 what Should i Learn?

So far, this topic has covered the general concept of learning styles or preferences. Learning preferences as a topic is still relatively general or generic. It tells you how you learn, or how you might structure your learning. The next question to ask is: What to learn?

To answer this we use a simple model of vertical skills development versus horizontal skills development. This distinction is important – we need to be conscious of not neglecting either axis shown in Figure 5.2.


Figure 5.2 Vertical v. horizontal skills development

5.5.1 Vertical Learning and Capacity

Vertical skills development involves accumulating deeper, more sophisticated and more advanced knowledge, skills, attitudes or capability within a professional or technical discipline: finance, policy analysis, economics, IT, engineering, human resources (HR), purchasing, social work, or law, for example.

The National Institute of Governance report on emerging leadership issues in the public sector noted that:

Generic management skills that remain of ongoing importance – including the management of human resources, finances, organisational development, projects, contracts etc. – continue to be of central importance to public service effectiveness. Specialist management skills can also be called for in particular areas, such as management of research activities, media and public relations management etc (Edwards, Ayres & Howard 2003:15).

Expertise can only come with experience and training, within a narrow field. For front line workers, Australian organisations have embraced vertical skills development in terms of nationally recognised training (NRT) as part of the VET system. This has proved quite successful for giving employees skills and qualifications that are recognised around the country and signify a certain level of skill or competence, such as Certificate III in Aged Care or Certificate IV in Community Services (Smith & Smith 2008). These qualifications are arranged in an ascending or vertical hierarchy of competence. Queensland Main Roads has identified the range of competencies it needs to meet its obligations in the 21st century and instituted employee recruitment and retention strategies that address the labour market demographic to ensure it has a workforce with the necessary competencies. In the

Vertical skills development

expert or specialist in-depth skills and knowledge

novice – shallow, limited degree of knowledge and experience in a particular area

broad range of skills, well-rounded

Horizontal skills development

limited range of skills


United States five of the fastest growing jobs require at least a Bachelor’s degree indicating the growing need for professional qualifications (Trent 2004:5).

5.5.2 Does Long Experience Equate to In-depth Skills or Professional Expertise?

There may be a tendency to discriminate against older workers in some workplaces, even though it is subtle or well-disguised. There may also be a stereotype that views ten years in the one field as too long. That is, ‘ten year’s experience is no good if it is only one year’s experience repeated ten times’. However, expertise built up over a long period of training and working is very valuable. This may be especially true in technical fields such as IT or engineering and in other areas such as community service and the helping professions, where experience brings wisdom and depth of understanding. This depth is represented on the vertical axis.

Expertise is based on specific organised knowledge and on acquired strategies for using that knowledge. The information at the expert’s disposal is systematic and learned or domain-specific. Research shows that experts make better use of analogies between old problems and current problems. They have more scripts, schemas and plans with which to assess possible options and are more efficient at processing past experiences. They can use these to recognise patterns and eliminate unproductive options (Hayward 2002). This is a persuasive argument for vertical skills development and long-term experience culminating in true expertise. However, this alone is not sufficient. As Jorgensen (2004:93) warns ‘static, functionally based specialisation is unlikely to survive in the modern era’.

5.5.3 Horizontal Learning and Capacity

On the other axis in Figure 5.2 is horizontal development. This is about becoming a more well-rounded person by developing generic skills such as:

• communicationandotherliteracyskills

• assertiveness

• negotiationandinfluencing

• teamworkandteamlearning

• emotionalintelligence

• stressmanagement

• planning,organisingandprojectmanagement

• changemanagement

• informationanalysis

• problem-solving,decision-making,lateralthinkingandinnovation

• technology

• customerservice

• continuousimprovement


• capacitytogenerateandmaintainnewrelationships

• coachingandbeingcoachable

• volunteering

• networknodalrelations

• mediatinginstitutions

• brokeringpublicvalue

• deliberativedemocracy

• boundaryriding

• navigating

• co-productionofknowledge

• creationofmeanings

• agility(Johnson1996;Streumer1999;APSC2000;Trent2004;Jorgensen2004;Gottliebsen2004;Andrews&D’Andrea-Tyson2004;Gandolfi2006;Morehouse2007;Adams2007,ParkerandBartlett2008).

Numerous research reports emphasise these horizontal skills, both here and overseas. For example, a London Business School survey of 100-plus executives in more than 20 countries identified the knowledge, skills and attributes young leaders need to succeed (Andrews & D’Andrea-Tyson 2004). The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI 2002) conducted a detailed study of employability skills (soft or generic skills) with support from the Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) and the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA).

Gandolfi (2006) studied the role of vertical and horizontal skills development in banks that were downsizing. He found that they provided a lot of vertical skills training (professional development) but insufficient horizontal skills training (personal development), even though personal development was favoured by employees and also considered to be more useful in preparing them to cope with downsizing. Employees report the following benefits from this type of training:

• enhancedlevelsofself-esteem

• greaterinternalandexternalmarketabilityforfurtherroles

• increasedlevelsofflexibility

• increasedprofessionalmaturity

• increasedtransferabilityofskills

• greateropportunitiestohaveabalancebetweenpersonalandbusinesslife

• increasedlevelsofrelaxationandpersonalwell-being

• increasedlevelsofhappinessatwork

• animprovedunderstandinghowtowork,interactandrelatetopeople

• improvedabilitytoplanacareer

• increasedmeaningthroughtheworkplace

• anenhancedattitudeof‘healthymind,healthybody’(Gandolfi2006:217).


5.5.4 Horizontal Skill Demands in the Globalised World

The nature of work today is such that the majority of skills or abilities needed are soft, process or generic – that we are calling horizontal skills in this topic. This is due to the knowledge- and service-based economy and the increased mobility of the labour force. In the 1950s, around sixty per cent of the workforce was unskilled. In 1970 this figure dropped to twenty per cent, with a concomitant rise in the proportion of skilled workers (Trent 2004) and no doubt is even higher today. Generic skills are more portable and give individuals greater flexibility (Joyce 2001). There is a need to shift away from technical skills and organisational structures that reflect the technical/knowledge of employees to a future characterised by a balance between enduring technical skills and soft skills (APSC 2000). New learning approaches are required in all parts of the public and community sectors (APSC 2000;PSMDWA,2001).Fairholm(2004:586)reinforcesthispoint:

As important as the technical and traditional management skills of public administration are, there is also a need to focus on the recently recognized skills and perspective of leadership such as relationship building, inspiration, culture creation, values change, creativity and flexibility.

Industrial practices from previous years are being supplanted by new ways of working. Developing human capital through learning is essential to complement new technologies (Jorgensen 2004).

5.5.5 Going beyond a Two Dimensional Model

It could be argued that a two-dimensional model such as Figure 5.2 is too limited to capture the complexity of what individuals need to learn in the 21st century. An alternative is presented in Figure 5.3. The first curved section on the left talks about life and career skills which are horizontal and cover much of Managing In. Learning and innovation in the next segment are also horizontal skills and this figure is useful for highlighting them in their own right, given the current organisation context requiring continuous learning (as we shall see in a later section). The inner semi-circle could be said to represent the professional expertise we described as vertical development. The semi-circles radiating from the rainbow represent the context of learning.


Figure 5.3 Skills rainbow for the 21st century

Source: Partnership for 21st Century Skills 2007:1

5.6 Lifelong Learning

Following the global financial crisis of 2008 redundancy is back on newspapers’ front pages, and on the agenda in ministers’ offices, boardrooms and the business pages. Banks are still shedding staff, Telstra is still downsizing middle managers and governments are still rationalising and reorganising offices and sometimes closing them down. Failure to develop new skills or strengthen existing ones can result in managers placing themselves at greater risk of redundancy, as demonstrated in Australian research conducted in the 1990s. The research showed that managers whose positions were made redundant engaged in significantly fewer learning and development activities than those who kept their jobs (Marchant, Critchley & Littler 1997). On the other hand, it can also be the case that employees are demanding to learn new things and organisations are not providing enough opportunities for them. It is a two-way street (Green 2000). In any case, there is a strong emphasis on lifelong learning.

5.6.1 Continuous Learning and Change

Continuous learning is a basic requirement for many jobs and organisations today because of continuous change (van der Sluis 2007). For example, libraries used to be repositories of knowledge in the form of books, but are now dynamic online knowledge and information service providers. This means library staff needed to develop a whole new skill set in information and communication technology (Smith 2006).

Lifelong learning originated as a concept in 1972 through UNESCO. The vision was of a ‘scientific, humanist’ society where all citizens would participate in learning.

Learning andInnovation Skills

Core Subjects and21st Century Themes

Standards andAssessments

Curriculum and Instruction

Professional Development

Learning Environments

InformationMedia, andTechnology

Skills

Life andCareer Skills


This vision was seen as somewhat utopian and the concept fell out of favour for some years. It has been resurrected in a more functional form, re-presented and re-packaged as a ‘corollary of globalisation and hyper capitalism’ (Hager 2004:22). In this context, capacity for learning and adapting will become the main measure of performance (Jorgensen 2004).

West Australian Ombudsman Chris Field reinforced this point in the 2008 PSM Program graduation ceremony:

Fifth, and finally, while your PSM degree will have given you significant new knowledge and skills, do not let its completion be the end of your journey of learning. Indeed, you should, in my view, consider that journey to be a lifelong one – the value of challenging yourself, your frameworks to approach issues, your ideas and principles, is one that should never stop. Necessity, humility and the promise of a nice graduation ceremony will all be natural motivators to this end – but most importantly, your desire to innovate and grow, and thus to contribute to a dynamic, innovative and ever-evolving public sector, should be motivation alone (Field 2008:3).

5.6.2 Various Methods of Learning

Learning as it has been defined in this section is about acquiring new information or skills. There is more to learning, however, than just that. Brain research has advanced in leaps and bounds since the early days of the 1980s even if, according to Carneiro (2007), it is still under-developed. For example, researchers are only now identifying the role of certain chemicals in the brain and their effect on learning new physical skills. What may we expect in the next few years? Is it conceivable that organisations may prescribe certain chemicals for employees to make their learning more effective? This concept suggests possibilities that you may find either exciting or scary.

As Peter Senge (1990:142) argued, learning is really about ‘expanding the ability to produce the results we truly want in life. It is lifelong, generative learning’. Learning is more than just a product and the mind is not simply a receptacle for information (Hagar 2004). The focus of business schools (and in fact much of education, training and development) equips people with knowledge, when instead they need to be furnished the means by which knowledge is acted upon (Andrews & D’Andrea-Tyson 2004:3).

Learning is a process. In workplaces that encourage lifelong learning, employee satisfaction with their work is high. However, there can be a stigma attached to being ‘a learner’. The implication is that the individual has a deficit or is not yet competent, has less power and needs to leave the L plates behind as soon as possible. These attitudes need to be overcome if true lifelong learning is to take place (Hagar 2004).

Learning is also a lot more than just attending a training course (O’Donnell, McGuire & Cross 2006). Organisations today need self-regulated learning that is a key requirement of the work itself, rather than something that has to be learned in order to do the work. In other words, people should be tasked with learning as part of their job (Harrison & Kessels 2004). Learning is not just the outcome ofworkshopsorclassroomactivities;itisasocialprocess(Corley&Eades2006)that is vital for increasing the human capital of organisations (van der Sluis, 2007).


Although this unit’s focus is on you as an individual and your self-management, it is important to point out that learning is a group process as much as it is a solitary exercise (Poell 2007).

You may have noticed this distinction between individual and collective learning through differences in what and how you learn on the PSM Program – for example, doing the pre-reading compared to the contact sessions, or when you take your new ideas back to your workplace and colleagues or team. Other methods of learning outside the classroom include mentoring and coaching. These social learning processes help to engage and retain staff in the current skills shortage (Sherman 2007;Barlas,Baur,Devonish-Mills,Frigo&,Williams2007)andhavemanyotheradvantages. There are some similarities between mentoring and coaching and some differences which we don’t need to go into here. Rather the point is, do you have a coach? Or are you a good coach for your staff? Who are you mentoring at the moment? Or who is your mentor?

Activity 5.6 – learning audit

using the table below, consider each audit element in the left-hand column and make notes of your recent experience and actions in the right hand column. give specific examples. When you have finished doing this, make some notes that summarise overall what the audit has shown about your current approach to lifelong learning and what action if any, seems indicated.

Audit element comments and ‘evidence’

professional skill set Vertical development

develop a broader skill base – cross-train in skills outside your position description

take advantage of new technology and keep up with changing work methods (for example, what is the latest new wave of thinking in your profession or technical speciality?)

learn new skills or knowledge that add to your professional/ technical capability

go to specific (vertical) skills training, internal or external to your employer, to add to your professional expertise

upgrade degree qualifications

do work-related professional reading (journals, articles etc.)


Audit element comments and ‘evidence’

personal and interpersonal development Soft skills – horizontal development

develop skills to move across and work with people from different functional areas

do a personal development program (conflict resolution, communication skills, team building, ei)

learn how to work in teams. do you know the theory and language of team building?

practice communication and public speaking, eg join toastmasters

demonstrate enhanced interpersonal skills

get involved in project teams, working parties or task forces that are disbanded when a project is finished

Flexibility, values and attitudes Be prepared to cope with change

thrive on ambiguity

be flexible, adaptable, resilient, hardy and agile

become a change leader – develop a track record of creating change. What was the last change you successfully brought about?

Source: Adapted from Downs 1995; Johnson 1996; Kotter 1995, Morehouse 2007.

Feedback

there are no iron-clad guarantees, of course, but if you divide the list of fifteen items into three, managers in the bottom third (actioned five or fewer items) would be at risk of possibly being seen as ‘dead wood’ in their organisation. at the same time, those in the top third (say ten or more items actioned) would be at lesser risk of being considered for involuntary redundancy and are doing well on the employability, promotability and lifelong learning stakes.

This idea of taking responsibility for your own learning is captured by a report on public sector learning and development in South Africa:

The responsibility for developing the capacity to enhance one’s job performance should eventually be an individual responsibility. The intent is to move more and more toward a system where people can grow themselves so that their performance can be enhanced


on an ongoing basis. Traditionally, the State has assumed the responsibility for its people, and, as a result, the meaning and value of training sometimes go unappreciated and are sometimes lost. This kind of ongoing training may not necessarily be in courses, workshops or degree programmes. It will also be constituted of the many workplace learning options which could be accessed in a transformed culture of organizational learning where people take responsibility for their growth (DPSA 2008:46).

Notice how the DPSA emphasises both training course and workplace learning.

5.6.3 Learning and the Skills Shortage

Learning has different connotation depending on the availability or otherwise of the required skills:

Employers look for many qualities in a worker, beyond the technical capacity to complete the required tasks. When workers are abundant, employers develop a high expectation of the level and range of qualities that new workers should possess. When workers become scarce, employers are forced to accept workers with lesser qualities (such as relevant experience, personal presentation and willingness) (NCVER 2007:7).

Thus employers have more need to train when there are fewer skilled workers, and they also have to offer more training and development opportunities to keep the staff they have:

Employers increasingly recognise that learning and mobility opportunities are critical means of achieving a competitive edge in attracting and retaining skilled knowledge workers. In Queensland, because of the diversity and geographical spread of the public sector workforce, different skill shortages occur in different jurisdictions and regions. The skill shortages are likely to include IT and accounting, a range of management, leadership, customer service and technological skills including e-commerce, contract management, business, project and financial management and policy development skills (Queensland Coalition 2008:6).

However, training alone will not fix the skills shortage (Phillips 2008). As you are aware organisations are taking other actions including recruiting from overseas.

5.6.4 Critique

Not everyone is a fan of lifelong learning. Consider this from Gary Day, principal lecturer at De Montfort University in England:

the commitment to ‘lifelong learning’ stems from that pernicious philosophy that prevented individuals from taking responsibility for their lives. Where before they were quite happy to saw off their own gangrenous limbs, they now expect a surgeon to do it for them, with the aid of anaesthetic, too (2004:48).

Regarding the knowledge economy and the instrumental view of learning, Day says:

it is a sad state of affairs when instead of passing on culture to those who can appreciate it, we have to teach the distracted multitude what skills will fit them for the new knowledge economy (2004:48).


Activity 5.7 – comment on day’s views

What do you think about day’s comments? is he just being provocative? What do you think the role of a university education should be?

One of the problems people face is finding time to carry out learning activities. United States research shows that the three primary barriers to training, development and education are:

• schedulingcourses

• timerequired

• cost(Trent2004:7).

The situation is the same in Australia with a public sector training culture in some organisations that seeks to ‘minimise disruption to local operations and time away from the workplace, putting the needs of the workplace ahead of the unique needs of the individual’. Learning opportunities are often budget-driven rather than linked to individual need and organisation strategy (Jorgensen 2004:92). The individual needs to have the motivation, discipline and persistence to transfer what they have learned to their job, despite accumulated habits and other obstacles (Kirwan & Birchall 2006). More enlightened organisations provide support for employee learning in terms of financial sponsorship and time off, recognising that benefits accrue to the organisation as well as the individual. Some jurisdictions are aware of this, for example the ‘realisation that enhanced service delivery in the (South African) Public Service depends largely on the capacity and performance of people is not new’ (DPSA 2008:9). Your agency will not be able to deliver better public value more quickly than the rate at which you and other members can learn (Hyland, Di Milia & Becker 2005). The fact that you are participating in the PSM Program indicates an enlightened view.

Activity 5.8 – transfer of learning from psM program to workplace

think about how you transfer what you are learning in the psM program to your workplace. How much transfer is taking place? is there room for improvement? reflect on the role of your manager in this process. also, if you have staff reporting to you, what measures have you put in place to support them when they come back to work after training?

This is the end of this topic on learning and capability, in which you should have developed some new insights into how you learn, what to learn and the significance of learning in today’s organisational milieu.


reviewHaving completed this topic, you should now be able to:

1. describe four learning modalities in the VarK model and develop strategies to capitalise on learning preferences.

2. describe Honey and Mumford’s learning styles.

3. distinguish between vertical and horizontal skills development.

4. determine your degree of continuous or lifelong learning.

required readingreading 5.1 Snook, I 2007, Learning Styles and other Modern Educational Myths,

Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia, viewed 25 July 2008 <http://www.pesa.org.au/html/documents/2007-papers/Snook,%20I.pdf>.

Further readingBoyatzis, RE 2008, ‘Competencies in the 21st century’, Journal of Management

Development, vol. 27, no. 1.

Useful information about how competencies develop.

Clifford, J., & S Thorpe 2007, Workplace Learning and Development: Delivering Competitive Advantage for your Organization, London, Kogan Page.

We don’t expect you to be a trainer but managers do have a role in assisting their staff to learn and this is a practical guide.

Cotton, D 2004, ‘Essentials of training design part 5: adult learning theories and design’, Training Journal, pp. 22-25.

Line managers are often required to deliver training, even of an informal nature. Useful information can be found in the Training Journal series.

Evans, K & H Rainbird 2006, Workplace Learning: Perspectives and Challenges, pp. 3-23 in K. Evans, P. Hodkinson, H. Rainbird & L. Unwin (eds), Improving Workplace Learning, London: Routledge.

Useful for looking at how learning takes place at work.

http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/

Another free learning styles questionnaire developed by Solomon and Felder is available from Prof Felder’s home page at North Carolina State University. The site also gives evidence for the reliability and validity of this instrument.


Kim, DH 2004, ‘The link between individual and organizational learning’, pp. 29-50 in K Starkey, S Tempest & A McKinlay (eds.), How organizations learn: managing the search for knowledge, 2nd edn. Thompson, London.

Individual learning and organisational learning are covered in separate units of the PSM Program. See Kim for discussion on how they are connected.

Northern Territory Department of employment Education and Training, 2008, Facilitating Professional Learning, viewed 25 July 2008 <http://www.deet.nt.gov.au/education/professional_learning/docs/adult_learners.pdf>.

A brief mention of learning styles in an indigenous context.

Parker, S and J Bartlett 2008, Towards Agile Government, Report by Demos and Victoria State Services Authority, viewed at 21 August 2008

<http://www.ssa.vic.gov.au/CA2571410025903D/WebObj/agile_government_towards_agile/$File/agile_government_towards_agile.pdf>.


topic 5: required reading

Snook, I 2007, Learning Styles and other Modern Educational Myths, Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia, viewed 25/07/08 <http://www.pesa.org.au/html/documents/2007-papers/Snook,%20I.pdf>.

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