Learning and Development is a Luxury that Organisations Can Afford Essay

Learning and Development is a Luxury that Organisations Can Afford only in Financially Prosperous Times - Essay Example Employers and employees both gain benefit from learning and development. From the viewpoint of employer, learning and development are significant to preserve or develop the knowledge, the abilities and the performances so that they can fulfil the business objectives. From the viewpoint of employees, learning and development help to accomplish performance goals in a successful way. They also deliver an outline to recognise new abilities and knowledge and apply them in the practical work environment. As a result, learning and development can also motivate the employees (ACCA, 2010). One of the most significant assets for every organisation is its employee force. In the modern business environment, knowledge, originality, and passion are crucial differentiators for any organisation or industry. Besides, when it comes to achievement and winning competition, advanced talents and proficiencies in the areas of mechanical, managerial or operational domain become necessary for organisations. Though abilities and knowledge are replaceable in the long-run, the cost of switching employees and providing required training to develop them is huge and it can impact on organisational performance (Mitchell, 2008). Investment in learning and development on a regular basis is significant to retain or ensure lesser employee turnover and inspire them to be involved more in the work and achieve the goals for the organisation. Organisations always require skilled employees who can perform efficiently their allocated tasks. In this rapidly changing business environment, it is extremely necessary to provide effective performance continuously. But the key conflict or constraint with respect to learning and development is the budget. Organisations that are smaller have less money to invest on learning and development. Yet, in present day’s even small organisations have more learning and developmental requirements. Contemporary business environment is different and it comprises of m any innovative technologies which were considered to be science fiction (sci-fi) few years ago. The globalisation is impacting the businesses structures and organisational cultures. New regulations are impacting the working practices, and employees have greater prospects from their companies and working lives. In the workplace, it is necessary for employees to adjust and to react with the fluctuations rapidly and without loss of efficiency. In other words, employees need to understand quickly new tasks, adjust with the new procedures, take additional responsibilities, grasp new technologies and obey the new legal necessities viz. health and security guidelines and data security among others (Clifford & Thorpe, 2007). Learning should be constant with the aim to maintain pace with the business fluctuations. Learning and development cannot be conveyed except when there is growth requirement. Growth requirements arise when employees’ actual performances differ from the desired pe rformances. The central idea of learning is that every person possesses the ability to learn if they are provided with adequate time and support (Clifford & Thorpe, 2007). Learning and development activities can be influenced by several aspects. Certain significant issues that impact on the learning and development are inadequate resources, traditional culture, embedded approach towards training, stress of