Developing Individuals, Teams and Organizations- Professional Development, Business Performance & Collaborative Performance

This document discusses the importance of continuous learning and professional development in driving sustainable business performance. It analyzes the knowledge, skills, and behaviors required by HR professionals and explores the differences between individual and organizational learning, training, and development. It also examines how high-performance working contributes to employee engagement and competitive advantage.

Developing Individuals, Teams and Organizations- Professional Development, Business Performance &
Collaborative Performance

Running Head Unit 35
Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
LO1 Analysis of employee knowledge, skills and behaviors required by HR professionals..........3
1. Determine appropriate and professional knowledge, skills and behaviors that are required
by HR professionals.....................................................................................................................3
2. Analysis of a completed personal skilled individual, with identified appropriate
knowledge, skills and behaviors and develop a professional development plan for a given job.5
LO2 Analysis of the factors to be considered when implementing and evaluating inclusive
learning and development to drive sustainable business performance............................................7
3. Analysis of the differences between organisational and individual learning, training and
development.................................................................................................................................7
4. Analysis of the need for continuous learning and professional development to drive
sustainable business performance................................................................................................8
LO3 - Application of knowledge and understanding to the ways in which high-performance
working (HPW) contributes to employee engagement and competitive advantage........................9
5. Demonstration of the understanding of how HPW contributes to employee engagement
and competitive advantage within a specific organisational situation.......................................10
LO4 - Evaluation of different ways in which performance management, collaborative working
and effective communication can support high-performance culture and commitment...............11
6. Evaluate different approaches to performance management (e.g. collaborative working),
and demonstrate with specific examples how they can support high-performance culture and
commitment...............................................................................................................................12
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................14
References......................................................................................................................................15
1

Running Head Unit 35
Introduction
In the contemporary times, it is always recommended that there has to be the development in the
domain of the knowledge and improvement and up gradation of the skills in the individual which
will certainly and essentially help him or her to achieve high performance status and stages in an
organization (Aguinis & Kraiger, 2009). In other words, there are previous studies which proved
and recommended that there has to be development in the knowledge of the individual and this
will be taking place with the improvement of the skills. As a result, the person will be
performing at a great level. This will prove to be a very important for the final performance in
the organization itself.
Subsequently, one may observe the shift from the individual development to the high performing
organization and presence at the global levels. There is the paradigm shift from the levels of the
individual performance through the channels of learning to the professional development. This
development helps the individual to showcase the potentialities of high performance and
achieving the desired goals and aims in the life. The professional development is the path
wherein one is improving and achieving the success through a close network of the team targets
and being an asset to the organization (Birkinshaw & Gupta, K, 2013).
In the development of the knowledge, it is observed that there is learning and development in the
character and performance of the respective individual. That is, there is a correlation between the
development and the learning. There are cases wherein it has been observed that there is absolute
awareness, learning and the needs for the development in the individual. In the later stages of
life, this becomes a stronger and powerful strategy for the organization from the need of the
development and the learning passions in an individual.
2

Running Head Unit 35
At this stage, there is a need to present the hypothetical syllogism for the Developing High
Performance Stage in an individual and it may be stated in the following manner:
1. If there is a developing knowledge observed in the continuous manner, then there is a need for
the improvement of the skills.
2. If there is a need for the improvement of the skills, then there is an establishment of the high
performance through the lifelong learning from the side of the individual.
3. Therefore, if there is a developing knowledge observed in the continuous manner, then there is
an establishment of the high performance through the lifelong learning from the side of the
individual.
LO1 Analysis of employee knowledge, skills and behaviors required by HR professionals
In this part, one will focus on the development of the knowledge of the employee and the skills
required for the overall growth and enhancement of the necessary skills as demanded and needed
from the side of the HR professionals. This is done through the process of Continuous
Professional Development (CPD).
1. Determine appropriate and professional knowledge, skills and behaviors that are
required by HR professionals.
CPD is the process of continuous learning in one's life. It helps in the development of the
personality of an individual.It helps in learning more and more and gain knowledge from various
perspectives and different domains. Apart from this, it also accelerates the necessary skills
3

Running Head Unit 35
required for the individual from time to time. As a result, the person is able to make good
progress in the lie both in the personal and professional lives.
The main behaviors necessary in an individual and demanded from the side of the HR team are
curiosity, decisive thinker, collaborative team member (Hülsheger, Anderson& Salgado, 2009),
role model and skilled influencer, driven to deliver someone with a strong credibility in terms of
appealing to others, able to think intelligently and rationally, is able to apply sound judgment and
knows how to maintain both emotional and intelligence levels (Seibert, Wang & Courtright,
2011).
The key areas for showcasing the work will be the sharing of the knowledge, service delivery
that is required at the job floor, is able to understand the organization design and is able to work
accordingly without any kind of problems and difficulties, is able to help in the development of
the organization from time to time, knows how to be a good resource person and help in further
resourcing in the organization, is capable of planning of the operations or the respective
department by maintaining both short and long term aims and visions, learning continuously
without any breaks in between and helping self-development to acquire the knowledge and skills,
is able to perform very well and at high levels and expecting some kind of rewards from the side
of the management for the high level performance which proves to be essential for the
organization and individual must know how to keep the employee engaged in various ways and
help to build the client rapport also (Shore, Chung-Herrera, Dean, Ehrhart, Jung, Randel, &
Singh, 2009). Apart from all these, the individuals must be able to maintain and make healthy
relationships with other staff members in the organization.
4

Running Head Unit 35
Consequently, one may observe that the HR team uses CPD frameworks to ensure that there is
excellent track record maintained from the side of the employees. These are both effective and
successful also. It forms to set the appropriate benchmark and is at the excellence at par for both
the employee and HR personnels.
2. Analysis of a completed personal skilled individual, with identified appropriate
knowledge, skills and behaviors and develop a professional development plan for a
given job.
There are important knowledge domains that must be known to the staff member. The primary
one is the knowledge and understanding of the accounting standards with the skills of book
keeping and calculations of the accounts. The second option of the technical knowledge required
is the knowledge of the taxes. This helps in the understanding and preparation of the tax
calculations and making other files and documents associated with it. Apart from these two, it is
necessary to be aware of the business and its varied forms. This helps in the generation of the
revenue for the organization. Not only this, the employee will be able to get good business deals.
The fourth area is to maintain the good ethical standards as these are the basic levels to maintain
the integrity and spirit of the organization's visions and goals. There is a need to know about the
various regulations and compliance knowledge also. In the end, the person must showcase the
knowledge the various systems and processes necessary for growth and maintenance of the
organization.
The important key skills necessary are the capabilities of the analysis, excellent communication
skills, pro-active leadership, expert in planning and prioritization of different activities and job
5

Running Head Unit 35
related deadlines (Johansson, Miller& Hamrin, 2014). It is necessary to get accurate and quality
information and this must be based upon the collected data. It is very crucial to work in a team
and the atmosphere must be congenial and comfortable one. This will make the individual more
professional and knows how to make a good team and work accordingly.
The behavior of the individual matters a lot in the organization. Thus, there are certain cues
which are essentially observed in the individual. These are adaptability, value addition zeal like
active participation, providing correct information and making improvements, maintaining ethics
and integrity by showcasing honest and principled actions, being proactive and taking important
responsibilities and being alert with an attitude. All these are possible only with the reflective
learning in order to achieve good insights with respect to the high performance levels and these
must be beyond the levels of the management's expectations. There has to be regular feedback on
the learning and knowledge gained from the side of the individual. These must be recorded and
must be observed in the actions and behavior of the individual.
6

Running Head Unit 35
LO2 Analysis of the factors to be considered when implementing and evaluating inclusive
learning and development to drive sustainable business performance.
3. Analysis of the differences between organizational and individual learning, training
and development.
There are marking differences between the individual and organizational learning, training and
development (Kolb& Kolb, 2009). As an individual, it needs to be self-motivated and highly
passionate about learning from time to time. This helps the individual to enhance the skills
required for working and learning, by looking at others and learning tips towards the work,
involving as much as possible in the work and associated activities, interacting with one another
and working in teams. Furthermore, it helps in enhancing the skills of team building activities,
communicating in an effective manner and getting experienced and confidence in mundane
activities.
On the other hand, the organization helps and understands the need for learning from time to
time for their employees. Thus, the organization has its own training department and organizes
training programs as per the need of the staff member in various directions. In case the training
department is not present, then the care is taken to either organize the training programs by
inviting external trainers or coaches for the benefit of the employees. Otherwise the employees
may choose to attend the program outside the organization to improve their knowledge or the
skills (Bolden, 2011).
Moreover, the organizations encourage the ongoing opportunities for more learning and give
necessary feedback to the employees on a regular basis. The learning opportunities are meant for
all the employees of the organization. The time is allotted for the learning and other training
7

Running Head Unit 35
programs. The training programs may be self-financed or support is provided from the side of the
organization. The organization develops the culture to help their staff members to be curious, be
innovative and is ready for gaining knowledge (Anderson, Potočnik& Zhou, 2014). The
managers or the senior management members may facilitate further learning training programs
for their team members (Armstrong, 2018). The strategies are designed in such manner that there
are training programs planned for the benefit of their staff (Bell, Villado, & Briggs, 2011).
4. Analysis of the need for continuous learning and professional development to drive
sustainable business performance.
A very simple argument may be presented to understand the analysis of the need for continuous
learning and profession, a development in order to accelerate the performance in the business
and following may be stated out clearly:
1. Either it is the case that there is a continuous development program for the learning and
professional development of the individual or it is the case that the individual exhibits the
professional growth without any kind of learning and gaining knowledge necessary for the career
(Bryde, Broquetas &Volm, 2013).
2. However, it is not the case that the individual exhibits the professional growth without any
kind of learning and gaining knowledge necessary for the career as it is not good for the
organization (Dingsøyr, Nerur, Balijepally &Moe, 2012).
3. Therefore, it is the case that there is a continuous development program for the learning and
professional development of the individual.
8

Running Head Unit 35
This has been proven and supported through various research papers also. It may be observed
that the Departments of Engineering and Technology, Education, Management Studies, etc. not
only support the continuous development programs; however, a lot of money is spent towards
encouraging individuals to attend and participate such programs. This has been acknowledged
and agreed upon universally also (Lawson, Petersen, Cousins &Handfield, 2009).
LO3 - Application of knowledge and understanding of the ways in which high-performance
working (HPW) contributes to employee engagement and competitive advantage.
The knowledge gained through learning at different phases of life can never go waste for a
person. The knowledge may be applied and used in different ways (Somech& Drach-Zahavy,
2013). The individual may use the knowledge gained as per the domain and prove to be
innovative towards the working culture of the organization. For example, in the multinational
corporate like GE Capital, it has been observed that the organization really involves the staff to
improve their performance (Mahembe& Engelbrecht, 2013). Subsequently, there are various
competitions and programs rolled out from time to time wherein the teams may compete with
each other in terms of their performance by applying Lean ideas, quality projects like master
belts, black belts, green belts, etc, relying on Kanban and Kaizen visions and improving their
work along with their teams, suggesting and implementing lean ideas as per the requirement of
the job floors, etc. (Penuel, Fishman, Haugan &Sabelli, 2011). Apart from these activities, the
Managers encourage their team members to apply for the training programs either through the
online or offline modes (Bushe & Marshak, 2009). Sometimes the managers select and send their
9

Running Head Unit 35
team members to attend and participate the training programs in the classrooms to enhance their
growth (Choi, Lee, & Yoo,2010)
5. Demonstration of the understanding of how HPW contributes to employee
engagement and competitive advantage within a specific organizational situation.
This may be illustrated with the help of an example from the organization of the GE Capital. It is
one of the well-known companies in the world. It has established itself as the customer centric
and the employee performance best company across the globe. This is possible because of the
following reasons:
1. Involving the employees in each and every aspect of the operations and other functional
areas
2. Being transparent in showcasing the performance and maintaining the business activities
across the globe through the quarterly meetings and addressed by the most senior
management member of the company (Tekleab, Quigley&Tesluk, 2009).
3. Recognizing the efforts and time spent and given from the side of the employee towards
the company
4. Encouraging the employees to perform at their best and excellent levels
5. Supporting and giving the necessary platforms as per the skills and knowledge of the
employee
6. Giving importance to the team formation and working at the high levels of performance
for the growth of the organization
7. Organizing necessary training programs for the employees
10

Running Head Unit 35
8. Recognizing and sending the employees for the on job training programs and assignments
to gain knowledge and improving the learning skills to other countries or locations or
cities in order to see and learn more and more
9. Arranging competitions so as to improve the performance like Team miller awards, best
team, maximum revenues generated by a respective team, etc.
10. Arranging quarterly parties and the present rewards for the different contributions made
from the side of the teams and staff members.
LO4 - Evaluation of different ways in which performance management, collaborative
working and effective communication can support high-performance culture and
commitment.
There are different ways and approaches in which the performance may be evaluated and get the
performance culture maintained through the commitments and working styles of the employees
(Martins& Terblanche, 2003). Under this, there is a need to keep a check on the performance
management, collaborative working, and effective communication in order to reach out the high
performance culture and commitment from the side of the individual. As a result, both the
organization and the individual are satisfied and happy (Braun, Peus, Weisweiler& Frey, 2013)
(Currie, Zanotti, Morgan, &Barnekow, 2009).
11

Running Head Unit 35
6. Evaluate different approaches to performance management (e.g. Collaborative
working), and demonstrate with specific examples how they can support high-
performance culture and commitment.
It is a general observation that the company's goals is equated and identified with the outputs and
activities showcased from the side of the employees. The performance is defined through job
analysis and this is done through the detailed information about different kinds of jobs needed in
the organization. Furthermore, the performance is measured through the specified aspects via
performance appraisal and by managing the performance of the employee. Apart from this, there
is feedback information shared with the employee so as to improve the performance. There are
frequent performance reviews done on a monthly basis. There are 76% of reviews done on
annual periods depending upon the individual performance, pay decisions, the development
needs of the individual and successful planning for the overall growth of the individual. This is a
practicing trend in GE Capital (Salas, Tannenbaum& Smith-Jentsch, 2012).
This kind of management lies at the foundation of the three main concepts viz. Strategy,
Administrative and developmental needs for the individual (Salas, Tannenbaum, Kraiger &
Smith-Jentsch, 2012). This is done through the strategic need wherein there is the linkage
between the employee activities and the organization goals (Gilson, Maynard& Hakonen, 2015).
The organization gives the growth opportunities to the developing employees and this depends
upon the effectiveness of their job performance. Most effective performance management of GE
Capital depends upon the close reflections between the culture and values, transparent senior
management and their support, dedicated performance measures, training and development of
the staff, absolutely free communication styles, clear expectation models and flexible working
12

Running Head Unit 35
systems for the benefit of the staff like setting up proper infra structure for the company or
working in the virtual teams (Ale Ebrahim, Ahmed&Taha, 2009).
Following is the Dilemma for the different approaches:
1. If it is the case that there is comparative approach, then there are three kinds of performance
measured viz. ranking (simple and alternative), forced distribution and paired comparison; if it is
the case that one opts for the attribute approach, then it focuses on the characteristics and traits of
the individual staff members. If it is the case that the behavior approach is adopted for the
measuring the performance, then certain critical incidents are recorded. If it is the case that the
company adopts the result approach, then individual employee's performance and contribution
towards the company is checked out If it is the case that quality approach is checked out, then
various things are assessed viz. person, system factors, collaborative working style between the
manager and the employee, setting of the standards as per the internal and external customers,
and using many sources to evaluate the person and the contributions. If it is the case that one
adopts the traditional approach, then quantity is given the priority ignoring the quality,
employees are responsible for whatever the results are achieved and there is no sharing of the
profits with the employees (Mohammed, Ferzandi & Hamilton, 2010).
2. There are different kinds of performance approaches like comparative or attributive or
behavior or quality or result or a traditional one (McCleskey, 2014).
3. Therefore, it is the case that there are three kinds of performance measured viz. ranking
(simple and alternative), forced distribution and paired comparison or it focuses on the
characteristics and traits of the individual staff members or certain critical incidents are recorded
13

Running Head Unit 35
or individual employee's performance and contribution towards the company is checked out or
various things are assessed viz. person, system factors, collaborative working style between the
manager and the employee, setting of the standards as per the internal and external customers,
and using many sources to evaluate the person and the contributions or quantity is given the
priority ignoring the quality, employees are responsible for whatever the results are achieved and
there are no sharing of the profits with the employees.
In order to resolve the dilemma, it is totally the decision of the management of the organization
to make a choice of the kind of the performance management to be designed and rolled out to
their employees (Salas, Rosen& DiazGranados, 2010). While doing so, they may keep in the
mind that the employees’ performance and their visions are kept together. In this manner, the
benefits and profits are shared between the employees and the company (Morgeson, DeRue&
Karam, 2010).
Conclusion
In the end, it may be concluded that there is a close relationship between the employee, learning,
knowledge gained, skills improved and the performance of the individual matching with the
performance of the company. This is more mediated and moderated through the presence of the
training, learning and developmental needs of the employee. Each one of them is important and
cannot be ignored or rejected or removed from the logical model set forth for the analysis.
Thus, the close relationship between the working model of the performance, training,
development as a strategy for the organization is understood between the two variables of the
employee and the organization (Hitt, Ireland, Sirmon& Trahms, 2011).
14

Running Head Unit 35
References
Aguinis, H. and Kraiger, K. (2009) Benefits of training and development for individuals and
teams, organizations, and society. Annual review of psychology, 60, pp.451-474.
Ale Ebrahim, N., Ahmed, S. and Taha, Z.(2009) Virtual teams: A literature review. Australian
journal of basic and applied sciences, 3(3), pp.2653-2669.
Anderson, N., Potočnik, K. and Zhou, J.(2014) Innovation and creativity in organizations: A
state-of-the-science review, prospective commentary, and guiding framework. Journal of
management, 40(5), pp.1297-1333.
Armstrong, D.(2018) Organization in the mind: Psychoanalysis, group relations and
organizational consultancy. Routledge.
Bell, S.T., Villado, A.J., Lukasik, M.A., Belau, L. and Briggs, A,(2011) Getting specific about
demographic diversity variable and team performance relationships: A meta-analysis. Journal of
management, 37(3), pp.709-743.
Birkinshaw, J. and Gupta, K.(2013) Clarifying the distinctive contribution of ambidexterity to
the field of organization studies. Academy of Management Perspectives, 27(4), pp.287-298.
Bolden, R.(2011) Distributed leadership in organizations: A review of theory and
research. International Journal of Management Reviews, 13(3), pp.251-269.
Braun, S., Peus, C., Weisweiler, S. and Frey, D.(2013) Transformational leadership, job
satisfaction, and team performance: A multilevel mediation model of trust. The Leadership
Quarterly, 24(1), pp.270-283.
15

Running Head Unit 35
Bryde, D., Broquetas, M. and Volm, J.(2013) The project benefits of building information
modelling (BIM). International journal of project management, 31(7), pp.971-980.
Bushe, G.R. and Marshak, R.(2009) Revisioning organization development: Diagnostic and
dialogic premises and patterns of practice. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 45(3),
pp.348-368.
Choi, S.Y., Lee, H. and Yoo, Y.(2010) The impact of information technology and transactive
memory systems on knowledge sharing, application, and team performance: a field study. MIS
quarterly, pp.855-870.
Currie, C., Zanotti, C., Morgan, A., Currie, D., De Looze, M., Roberts, C., Samdal, O., Smith,
O.R. and Barnekow, V.(2009) Social determinants of health and well-being among young
people. Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study: international report from
the, 2010, p.271.
Dingsøyr, T., Nerur, S., Balijepally, V. and Moe, N.B.(2012) A decade of agile methodologies:
Towards explaining agile software development.
Gilson, L.L., Maynard, M.T., Jones Young, N.C., Vartiainen, M. and Hakonen, M.(2015) Virtual
teams research: 10 years, 10 themes, and 10 opportunities. Journal of Management, 41(5),
pp.1313-1337.
Hitt, M.A., Ireland, R.D., Sirmon, D.G. and Trahms, C.(2011) Strategic entrepreneurship:
creating value for individuals, organizations, and society. Academy of management
perspectives, 25(2), pp.57-75.
16

Running Head Unit 35
Hülsheger, U.R., Anderson, N. and Salgado, J.(2009) Team-level predictors of innovation at
work: a comprehensive meta-analysis spanning three decades of research. Journal of Applied
psychology, 94(5), p.1128.
Johansson, C., D. Miller, V. and Hamrin, S.(2014) Conceptualizing communicative leadership:
A framework for analyzing and developing leaders’ communication competence. Corporate
Communications: An International Journal, 19(2), pp.147-165.
Kolb, A.Y. and Kolb, D.A.(2009) Experiential learning theory: A dynamic, holistic approach to
management learning, education and development. The SAGE handbook of management
learning, education and development, pp.42-68.
Lawson, B., Petersen, K.J., Cousins, P.D. and Handfield, R.(2009) Knowledge sharing in inter-
organizational product development teams: The effect of formal and informal socialization
mechanisms. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 26(2), pp.156-172.
Mahembe, B. and Engelbrecht, A.S.(2013) The relationship between servant leadership, affective
team commitment and team effectiveness. SA Journal of Human Resource Management, 11(1),
pp.1-10.
Martins, E.C. and Terblanche, F.(2003) Building organisational culture that stimulates creativity
and innovation. European journal of innovation management, 6(1), pp.64-74.
McCleskey, J.A.(2014) Situational, transformational, and transactional leadership and leadership
development. Journal of Business Studies Quarterly, 5(4), p.117.
Mohammed, S., Ferzandi, L. and Hamilton, K.(2010) Metaphor no more: A 15-year review of
the team mental model construct. Journal of management, 36(4), pp.876-910.
17

Running Head Unit 35
Morgeson, F.P., DeRue, D.S. and Karam, E.P.(2010) Leadership in teams: A functional approach
to understanding leadership structures and processes. Journal of management, 36(1), pp.5-39.
Penuel, W.R., Fishman, B.J., Haugan Cheng, B. and Sabelli, N.(2011) Organizing research and
development at the intersection of learning, implementation, and design. Educational
researcher, 40(7), pp.331-337.
Salas, E., Tannenbaum, S.I., Kraiger, K. and Smith-Jentsch, K.A.(2012) The science of training
and development in organizations: What matters in practice. Psychological science in the public
interest, 13(2), pp.74-101.
Salas, E., Rosen, M.A. and DiazGranados, D.(2010) Expertise-based intuition and decision
making in organizations. Journal of management, 36(4), pp.941-973.
Seibert, S.E., Wang, G. and Courtright, S.(2011) Antecedents and consequences of psychological
and team empowerment in organizations: A meta-analytic review. Journal of applied
psychology, 96(5), p.981.
Shore, L.M., Chung-Herrera, B.G., Dean, M.A., Ehrhart, K.H., Jung, D.I., Randel, A.E. and
Singh, G.(2009) Diversity in organizations: where are we now and where are we going?. Human
resource management review, 19(2), pp.117-133.
Somech, A. and Drach-Zahavy, A.(2013) Translating team creativity to innovation
implementation: The role of team composition and climate for innovation. Journal of
management, 39(3), pp.684-708.
18

Running Head Unit 35
Tekleab, A.G., Quigley, N.R. and Tesluk, P.E.(2009) A longitudinal study of team conflict,
conflict management, cohesion, and team effectiveness. Group & Organization
Management, 34(2), pp.170-205.
19