Learning and Skills Development is the now the education for adults. What adults need is really learning and skills development because these will result in performance.
I am now integrating this with the equation; Performance = individual attributes x work effort x support.
Putting this equation into practice runs something like this:
Develop positive attributes such as positive attitudes, values and positive perceptions.
Work effort cannot never be substituted for laziness or just doing minimum work. Hard and consistent diligent work has no equivalent and I believe in this strongly.
Support not only from organization (not to rely on this entirely) but from spouse, family, friends and networking is more important than from organization. If you can get support from your organization, you are one of the very fortunate ones. In most cases, in reality, expect little or no support from organization. You have to manipulate your organization resources to get the support for the project.
If you work on this formula for your own results, either in academic or in work, it will not fail. You just need one more ingredient, imagination or visualization. This is very important in realising your dreams, goals or objectives.

This chapter is organised around two key questions or issues: encouraging and facilitating desired work behaviours through use of extrinsic rewards; and the difference between teaching and learning organisations. Both issues depend upon a broad understanding of learning.

Learning is about acquiring the capacity to perform, whereas performance implies that a person has acquired these capacities, and is motivated to engage in appropriate behaviour, to apply the learning. Learning can be defined as a relatively permanent change in behaviour resulting from experience. It is an important part of rewards management.

The four general approaches to understanding or describing learning are classical conditioning, operant conditioning, cognitive learning and social learning.

Classical conditioning is a form of learning through association that involves the manipulation of stimuli (which incite action) to influence behaviour.

Operant conditioning is the process of controlling behaviour by manipulating its consequences. Reinforcement is the means through which operant conditioning takes place. Its foundation is the law of effect, which states that behaviour will be repeated or extinguished, depending on whether the consequences are positive or negative. Reinforcement is related to extrinsic rewards (valued outcomes that are given to the individual by some other person) because these rewards serve as environmental consequences that can influence people’s work behaviours through the law of effect.

Organisational behaviour modification (OB Mod) systematically utilises four reinforcement strategies to change behaviour: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement (avoidance), punishment and extinction. Positive reinforcement is used to encourage desirable behaviour through the administration of positive consequences that tend to increase the likelihood of a person’s repeating a behaviour in similar settings. Positive reinforcement should be contingent (administered only if the desired behaviour is exhibited) and immediate (as close in time to the desired behaviour as possible). It can be scheduled either continuously or intermittently. The latter involves variable intervals and ratios schedules of reinforcement as somewhat different applications are better in difference situations.

Negative reinforcement, or avoidance, is also used to encourage desirable behaviour. The withdrawal of negative consequences tends to increase the likelihood that a person will repeat a desirable behaviour in similar settings. Punishment is the administration of negative consequences or the withdrawal of positive consequences, which tends to reduce the likelihood of repeating a given behaviour in similar settings. Punishment is used to weaken or eliminate undesirable behaviour. There are a number of problems that can occur with punishment. Thus, one must be especially careful to follow appropriate reinforcement guidelines (including the laws of contingent and immediate reinforcement), when using it. Punishment is likely to be more effective if combined with positive reinforcement.

Extinction is the withdrawal of the reinforcing consequences for a given behaviour. It is often used to withhold reinforcement for an undesirable behaviour that has previously been reinforced. This is done to weaken or eliminate the undesirable behaviour. It is an especially powerful strategy when combined with positive reinforcement.

Reinforcement strategies continue to be analysed and debated. A number of success stories have been reported, but many lack controlled scientific research designs. Some argue that these results may be due to variables other than reinforcement. Others point out that using the various reinforcement strategies may manipulate workers and lead to managerial abuse of power (somewhat contrary to the empowerment approach of chapter 4). The criticisms raise ethical considerations. Advocates of reinforcement approaches respond that all managerial strategies are manipulative in some sense and that managers must be sensitive to the abuse of their power. Employees can also be encouraged to provide input to the design of the reinforcement system and to use behavioural self-management whenever feasible.

Social learning theory advocates learning through the reciprocal interactions among people, behaviour and environment. Thus, it combines operant and cognitive learning approaches. Behavioural self-management builds on social learning theory to emphasise both behavioural and cognitive foci with a special emphasis on enhancing a worker’s self-efficacy and feeling of self-control. Self-management is useful both in treating workers as individuals and as part of self-managed teams.

Managing pay as an extrinsic reward is particularly important because pay has multiple meanings — some positive and some negative. A major and highly visible extrinsic reward, pay plays a role in reinforcement and in the motivation theories discussed previously. Its reward implications are especially important in terms of merit pay. Other pay practices that are important and offer creative reward opportunities are skill-based pay, gain-sharing plans, lump-sum pay increases and flexible benefit plans.

The role of learning is highlighted as a critical factor if organisations are to cope effectively with the transition to an information society. A learning organisation is a new, company-wide philosophy which involves all organisational participants. Factors involved in creating a learning organisation include a shared vision of future growth, the development of strategies and action plans to inspire commitment to future goals, a process of ongoing consultation to achieve consensus, renewal of organisational structures and processes, employing systems thinking and creating self-directed teams of employees.

Following the rise to significance of the learning organisation in the 1990s, the notion of a teaching organisation has become apparent for the new millennium. Organisational learning is acquiring or developing new knowledge that modifies or changes behaviour and improves organisational performance. Teaching organisations aim to pass on learning experiences to others, thereby allowing the organisation to achieve and maintain success.

The Kirkpatrick Model

The most well-known and used model for measuring the effectiveness of training programs was developed by Donald Kirkpatrick in the late 1950s. It has since been adapted and modified by a number of writers, however, the basic structure has well stood the test of time. The basic structure of Kirkpatrick’s four-level model is shown here.

Figure 1 - Kirkpatrick Model for Evaluating Effectiveness of Training Programs

The difficulty and cost of conducting an evaluation increases as you move up the levels. So, you will need to consider carefully what levels of evaluation you will conduct for which programs. You may decide to conduct Level 1 evaluations (Reaction) for all programs, Level 2 evaluations (Learning) for “hard-skills” programs only, Level 3 evaluations (Behavior) for strategic programs only and Level 4 evaluations (Results) for programs costing over $50,000. Above all else, before starting an evaluation, be crystal clear about your purpose in conducting the evaluation.

n Kirkpatrick's four-level model, each successive evaluation level is built on information provided by the lower level.

ASSESSING TRAINING EFFECTIVENESS often entails using the four-level model developed by Donald Kirkpatrick (1994). According to this model, evaluation should always begin with level one, and then, as time and budget allows, should move sequentially through levels two, three, and four. Information from each prior level serves as a base for the next level's evaluation. Thus, each successive level represents a more precise measure of the effectiveness of the training program, but at the same time requires a more rigorous and time-consuming analysis.

Level 1 Evaluation - Reactions

Just as the word implies, evaluation at this level measures how participants in a training program react to it. It attempts to answer questions regarding the participants' perceptions - Did they like it? Was the material relevant to their work? This type of evaluation is often called a “smilesheet.” According to Kirkpatrick, every program should at least be evaluated at this level to provide for the improvement of a training program. In addition, the participants' reactions have important consequences for learning (level two). Although a positive reaction does not guarantee learning, a negative reaction almost certainly reduces its possibility.

Level 2 Evaluation - Learning

To assess the amount of learning that has occurred due to a training program, level two evaluations often use tests conducted before training (pretest) and after training (post test).

Assessing at this level moves the evaluation beyond learner satisfaction and attempts to assess the extent students have advanced in skills, knowledge, or attitude. Measurement at this level is more difficult and laborious than level one. Methods range from formal to informal testing to team assessment and self-assessment. If possible, participants take the test or assessment before the training (pretest) and after training (post test) to determine the amount of learning that has occurred.

Level 3 Evaluation - Transfer

This level measures the transfer that has occurred in learners' behavior due to the training program. Evaluating at this level attempts to answer the question - Are the newly acquired skills, knowledge, or attitude being used in the everyday environment of the learner? For many trainers this level represents the truest assessment of a program's effectiveness. However, measuring at this level is difficult as it is often impossible to predict when the change in behavior will occur, and thus requires important decisions in terms of when to evaluate, how often to evaluate, and how to evaluate.

Level 4 Evaluation- Results

Level four evaluation attempts to assess training in terms of business results. In this case, sales transactions improved steadily after training for sales staff occurred in April 1997.

Frequently thought of as the bottom line, this level measures the success of the program in terms that managers and executives can understand -increased production, improved quality, decreased costs, reduced frequency of accidents, increased sales, and even higher profits or return on investment. From a business and organizational perspective, this is the overall reason for a training program, yet level four results are not typically addressed. Determining results in financial terms is difficult to measure, and is hard to link directly with training.

Methods for Long-Term Evaluation

• Send post-training surveys
• Offer ongoing, sequenced training and coaching over a period of time
• Conduct follow-up needs assessment
• Check metrics (e.g., scrap, re-work, errors, etc.) to measure if participants achieved training objectives
• Interview trainees and their managers, or their customer groups (e.g., patients, other departmental staff)

Elaine C. Winfrey
Graduate Student
SDSU Educational Technology

In 1975, Donald Kirkpatrick first presented a four-level model of evaluation that has become a classic in the industry:

• Level One: Reaction
• Level Two: Learning
• Level Three: Behavior
• Level Four: Results

Level One: Students' Reaction

In the first level , students are asked to evaluate the training after completing the program. These are sometimes called smile sheets or happy sheets because in their simplest form they measure how well students liked the training. Because this type of evaluation is so easy and cheap to administer, it usually is conducted in most organizations.

Level Two: Learning Results

Level Two in the Kirkpatrick model measures learning results. In other words, did the students actually learn the knowledge, skills, and attitudes the program was supposed to teach? To show achievement, have students complete a pre-test and post-test, making sure that test items or questions are truly written to the learning objectives. By summarizing the scores of all students, trainers can accurately see the impact that the training intervention had. This type of evaluation is not as widely conducted as Level One, but is still very common.

Level Three: Behavior in the Workplace

Students typically score well on post-tests, but the real question is whether or not any of the new knowledge and skills are retained and transferred back on the job. Level Three evaluations attempt to answer whether or not students' behaviors actually change as a result of new learning.

• Ideally, this measurement is conducted three to six months after the training program. By allowing some time to pass, students have the opportunity to implement new skills and retention rates can be checked. Observation surveys are used, sometimes called behavioral scorecards. Surveys can be completed by the student, the student's supervisor, individuals who report directly to the student, and even the student's customers.

Level Four: Business Results

The fourth level in this model is to evaluate the business impact of the training program. Below are sample training programs and the type of business impact data that can be measured.

• Sales training. Measure change in sales volume, customer retention, length of sales cycle, profitability on each sale after the training program has been implemented.
• Technical training. Measure reduction in calls to the help desk; reduced time to complete reports, forms, or tasks; or improved use of software or systems.
• Quality training. Measure a reduction in number of defects.
• Safety training. Measure reduction in number or severity of accidents.
• Management training. Measure increase in engagement levels of direct-reports

Performance management is a process of managing and developing people through everyday activities, where there is a common understanding of what is to be achieved and how well it is to be achieved, based on firm agreements between managers and individuals which clearly contribute to organizational results (Tovey 2001,P.59)

Human Resource Development is a combination of structured and unstructured learning and performance based activities which develop individual and organizational competency, capability and capacity to cope with and successfully manage change (Simmonds & Pedersen 2006)

The common trait between Performance Management and Human Resource Development lies in the development of the human asset, people in organization. In performance management, the manager has to manage performance problems. Human resource development has to look into the training and development needs that are required to develop the necessary competency to enable the individual to perform to the required performance standards.

In any organization, you will encounter workers who do not meet the performance standards. There are two types of unsatisfactory performance. Workers who are not performing to their optimum levels are classifies as 'under performance' while those who have no intention of performing are classified as 'non performance'. There is still hope and opportunity for those who under perform but those who are non performance are usually considered 'dead wood'.
There are two contributing factors to under performance. First, fault of machine or the tools used by the worker which caused the worker to underperform. This factor is largely outside the control of the worker. Identification of this factor is important as the mere correction of this factor will result in improved performance immediately. The second factor is the behavior of the worker which is limiting his performance. Behavior can be influenced and corrected and is within the control of the worker. Right training and instructions will usually lead to change of behavior and result in improved performance.

The identifications of under performance can be done by analysing the actual performance of a worker under observation. Performance appraisal is carried out using the various performance appraisal methods such as objectives based methods and reviewed techniques (Rudman 1995).

The issue of non performance is a more serious problem. There are some workers who do not performance no matter what training, counselling and motivations have been given. There is not the slightest bit of improvement in performance for this group. Sometimes , a total review of the job skills possessed and the job descriptions are done to see if a job reassignment is possible. Maybe the person is wrongly assigned to the job by the previous person. Sometimes a transfer to another department and place may help. Come to the final stage, a termination procedure may have to take place.