Personal development and careers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Personal development and careers - Essay Example The last part focuses on barriers to communication and strategies that can be implemented to overcome them. 1. â€Å"Learning is the process of acquiring knowledge through experience which leads to an enduring change in behaviour,† (Hucznski & Buchanan, 2010). It can be noted that organisations operate in a dynamic environment which is ever changing hence learning in an organisation is a very important strategy that ought to be implemented in order to overcome the challenges that are often brought about by change. Against this background, this essay seeks to explain this assertion in relation to learning theories. The paper will also outline different elements of learning and how they impact on individuals as well as the organisation as a whole. Basically, the concept of learning was popularized by Peter Senge (1990) who described it as, â€Å"the process whereby people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free and where people continually learn how to learn together through the exchange of ideas,† (Robbins, 2003). ... The ability of the organisation to grow mainly depends on the ability of the employees to generate new ideas which can be developed into feasible strategies that can be implemented in the operations of the organisation. There are mainly two theories of learning namely the behavioural and cognitive theories. Behavioural theory suggests that human behaviour in relation to learning can be explained in terms of external stimuli, responses, learned histories and reinforcement which mean that all human behaviour could therefore be understood in terms of cause and effect (Torrington, Hall & Taylor, 2008). On the other hand, cognitive theory posits to the effect that learning is influenced by mental structures. According to Vygotsky (1978), aspects such as problem solving are influenced by an integration of personal traits such as motivation, cognitive strategies as well as the learner’s ambition to acquire new knowledge in a related subject. In most cases, an individual person is awa re of the reason why he or she is learning hence there is need to positively influence this process for a positive result. Both theories are applicable to learning especially in organisations where it can be noted that people learn through socialisation whereby they interact with their workmates in a bid to exchange ideas and knowledge which is the foundation of learning. There is a close relationship between these two concepts given that they emphasise on the need to transform the organisation for positive growth through changing the behaviour of the employees through the knowledge they will gain from the learning process. The learner will be exposed to a system that will