Workplace Learning and Development

Workplace Learning and Development 1
Running Head: WORKPLACE LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Workplace Learning and Development

Workplace Learning and Development 2
Introduction
The case revolves around the company Dow Chemical and the way it develops its
leaders by educating them to work even at strange places. It helps them to develop such a
personality that could reconcile at new places. This aims more on to allowing the employees to
accommodate the different culture, traditions, and people. On this note, the company is going
to successfully start up its business even at different regions that are totally different from its
home place (Shani, Docherty & Ebrary 2003).
Strengths and Weaknesses
The company’s Leadership in Action Program is said to be the most unique way to make
employees aware of the ups and downs that come in professional lives. In order to have a
geographical presence, it is important to develop expertise regarding different cultures,
traditions, and customs. With the help of this program, the company allows the employees to
contribute towards social work and to become an integral part of the society. From this, the
training gets started and it ends with making an individual a perfect person prepared to deal
with all kind of situations (Everson 2015, p. 121).
The program got initiated with the purpose to make members work hard meeting the
basic needs at the global level and also matching employees with the organizations that look
forward to sustainable development. It supports a lot in forming a better image and name amid
different companies in different regions all around the globe. The strong points related to the
Leadership in Action program are that it allows the members to form a close-knitted
relationship with the local communities, encourages team members to think broadly for the
betterment of the society, and develop the potential to plan and devise such strategic moves
that are going to benefit the company at its best. Not only this, the diversity concept can be
well understood by means of this particular program only.
Weaknesses associated with the program are that it does not support team members to
become accustomed to corporate world requirements. Leadership in action program is a great
initiative to form a connection with the society but does not fully educate to survive well in the
corporate world. Both of these differ from each other and have dissimilar requirements to
move with the same. In a corporate world setting, team members are to work on plans and

Workplace Learning and Development 3
devise such strategies that could render fruitful outcomes to the company. Formal
communication and time management is the must to make the company grow and excel by
means of this particular program. Leadership in action program is a good way to create a
human being that has the competence to work for the society and to show belongingness, but
in a real sense, things vary a lot.
In this respective program, the company is found utilizing the concept of
Transformational Leadership. The key concept of Transformational leadership aims more on
engendering change in individuals as well as social systems. Conceptually, it has to focus more
on producing a precious and constructive change in the followers with the end object of
building up followers into effective leaders. This theory applies in a way that it exposes its
workers to such conditions and cultures that are totally new to them. It brings a sense of
understanding and development to them by following their own thoughts and processes to deal
with the situations (Pless & Maak 2009).
Comparison
In the next point, the program’s approach is to be compared with more traditional ways
of training leaders such as University MBA programs. There is no doubt that the program is
meant for training and educating individuals to become effective and efficient leaders. They
possess a totally different approach and want their members to work with different people by
participating in society’s good and that is going to make them a better person as well as a great
leader.
The University MBA programs designed with the intention to make one a brilliant and
successful professional. Along with this, developing the objective to turn out to be an even
more gifted and helpful professional. This seems to be very much beneficial as such a person is
going to support the business grow more and more avenues. Dow’s Program approach is
formulated to make its members become better leaders and to form a connection with the real
setting. By contributing to society’s betterment, they could evolve as a person that can tackle
much more complicated things (Pless & Borecká 2014).
Traditional MBA programs develop the person with the mindset to quantify success on
the basis of numbers. It makes use of strategy formulation and ends with its implementation.