There are different theories to use when it
comes to learning, one of the most influential theories is most common used in
companies and in their organizations is psychological learning theory, also
known as organizational learning theory. Organizational learning theory has
traces of other learning theories that works with the idea that not all
learning is has to have reinforcement as a motivation for learning. This learning theory takes into account a social element
which debates that individuals learn new things through social interactions by
watching people and modeling in order to learn about new behaviors and
information. Because the outcome of the combination of social elements this
theory of learning has extended the understanding of how learning in
individuals works and has become an influential tool for psychologists to use
in different fields such as in government or corporations. During this presentation will cover
the social learning theory as it applies to the Industrial organizational field
of psychology covering how the basic tenants of the theory reinforce the study
of learning. Will also
speak about how the theory can be applied to the Industrial Organizational
psychology field and provide examples of how research methods care used to
study learning processes. Finally,
will cover the APA ethical guidelines which would be relevant to the
presentation being given.
When looking into a learning
theory, one expect that the theory will provide context for studying,
understanding and interpreting how an employee will process relates to
learning. The organizational learning theory according to Schunk (2012),
learning occurs when an organization utilizes new information in such a way
that it results in observable changes to both individuals that make up the
organization and the organization itself.
Learning in an employee does not
always produce a change in behavior but the goal of learning in an organization
is to make an impact and possibly alter the way things work. According to Schunk (2012),
organizational learning studies theories and models about the way a company
learns as well as adapts. .
Organizations are social by nature requiring interaction on some level in order
for the organization to grow and be successful, which requires an understanding
on how the company as well as the employee work there learn. Organizational learning allows a
company to learn through context and history how to improve services and
training not only with the current employees working there but with future
employees. Through using organizational learning theory, a company can break
down different aspects of learning such as observation, experience, reflection
and transference in order to find out how the company and individual members
learns and apply the information to programs which assist in learning new
information.
In organizational development a
company is able to expect changes or see that things are moving in a certain
direction and the organization adapts to the changes in order to persist. In organizational learning theory
influences the study of learning by providing a new aspect to how employees
learn. In an organization
learning is done in order to change behaviors to better a company and the
services that the company may provide. Learning theories seek to understand and
interpret how individuals learn. In organizational learning it is the same with
the exception that the organization itself is also learning. In organizational
learning theory it describes the processed an organization and its members go
through to acquire new information, process it, and utilize it. The
implications of this can be seen in the way individuals learn and pass new
information on, from trainer to trainee. According to Schnunk (2012), a
transfer of knowledge or skills like this in which a person applies to new
content or in new ways and situations benefits the organization in allowing it
to adapt. The new skills or
abilities translates to new information or practices in the organization which
results in observable changes in both organization and members.
Organizational learning theory
provides a means for studying the effectiveness of learning in the organization
as well as providing different ways in order to increase effective learning and
performance. If the company
is looking to integrate a new computer system which is completely different
from the pen and paper method that they are used to using then there are going
to be factors that need to be looked at. An organization is going to want to
effectively train individuals on how to use the new system and provide trainers
who are proficient with the new system. Organizational learning theory allows
the company to look at aspects like providing information on how the change is
contributing to the larger good of everyone making the jobs easier so that
individuals are more invested and motivated to learn the information. Additionally, through use of the
organizational method researchers can find out information about how timeframes
may make learning new information and implementing it hard for the
company. If a company needs
to have everyone trained on the new computer system within a week because it is
being implemented the following week then the company needs to know how the
short timeframe is going to impact the employees and learning the new
information.
As researchers learn information like
this they can devise a way to test theories though projects such as how
followers may be influenced by strong leader or how individuals retain new
information and learn to do new jobs effectively. The more the researchers are able to
observe and experiment the more information they are able to receive about how
individuals learn and work in organizations. Argote (1999), states that factors
such as learning how groups influence organizational learning provide insight
to how a group breaks down work on a project. Through observing the project
researchers are able to study how individuals interact and communicate in the
group, they can see strategies, leaders and followers, brainstorming, and
motivation as the group works to complete the project. After completion researchers can
evaluate how effective the group was, the group’s performance, the outcome, and
the productivity (Argote, 1999). This
allows researchers in organizational psychology to study how the individuals
work together and learn from one another, motivating each other, and
communicating in order to complete tasks. In one study done by Bontis, Crossan,
and Hulland (2002), the researchers wanted to test empirically the stocks and
flows of organizational learning through knowledge being given across an
individual, a team, and the organization. Through this study the researchers
were able to show a negative relationship between organizational performance
and a misalignment of stocks and flows.
In the APA ethical guidelines for the industrial
organizational psychology field there are 10 areas of standard conduct (Knapp,
2003). The areas are
generally the same for most fields of psychology dealing with individuals in
the nature of learning, helping, or observing. The first few areas include resolving
ethical issues, competence, and human relations which should be some of the
fields making concerns because the ease of violation in these areas is of
concern for individuals that may not be familiar with the code itself (Knapp,
2003). In industrial
organizational psychology, it is important to maintain confidentiality with employees,
especially when presenting ideas to management of a company about how to better
train employees, motivate them, or go about adjusting behavioral issues.
Additionally, when psychologists are educating others or researching
information confidentiality should be kept which makes it so that one company
is not given up in research without its permission. Ethically if a psychologist wants to
publish results of research, the company should approve to allow its name to be
published, or the psychologist should only refer to the company in an anonymous.
There are a few reasons a company may not want to be listed such as propriety
information. A researcher has to make sure to maintain confidentiality for both
organizations and employees involved.
•
Argote, L. (1999). Organizational
learning: Creating, retaining and transferring knowledge. Norwell, MA,
Kluwer Academic Publishers.
•
Bontis, N., Crossan, M.,
Hulland, J. (2002). Managing an organizational learning system by aligning
stocks and flows. Journal of Management Studies 39(4). 437-469.
•
Knapp, D., (2003). The ethical
practice of I-O psychology. The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist. 40(4).
164-165.
•
Schunk, D. H. (2012). Learning
theories: An educational perspective (6th ed.). Boston, MA:
Pearson Education.
