Formal Vs Informal Learning In Business Organisations: An Essay.

Importance of Learning and Self-Assessment Processes in Professional World

It is more important for HRD practitioners to facilitate informal learning than it is to provide formal training opportunities.’’ To what extent do you agree with this statement?

Learning in organisation is considered to be an important aspect for different departments and employees. Learning can be categorised by the way of making the professional experience better. It can be argued that nobody is perfect purely. As the nature of the human begins everyone has some problem or drawbacks regarding their doings. Despite of having a series of flaws people are always puts focus on the betterment of their jobs and sometimes seek help of an expert who will guide them to enhance their performance far better than the previous one. In this context, it is also important to figure out the possible disadvantages that are identified in the character of a man. It will be helpful to resolve the problem if the person willingly figure out the flaws in his work. It means, self assessment and learning are considered to be the fundamental principles that make the life better for an individual (Goggins, Jahnke and Wulf 2013). Based on this understanding, it can be articulated that this learning and self assessment process has a significant relevance in the professional world as well. In the corporate business world one chance of mistake can be emerged as a biggest threat for the organisation. It can make a detrimental impact on the finance or the business environment of the company. In this regard, it can be advocated that professionalism with least scope for flaws and mistake is what the business organisations are looking for.

However, a pertinent question comes in mind that how far the professionals are succeeded to make a better framework to cope with the flaws in their professional activities. In course of this realization, various kind of learning process are taken into consideration that are directly or indirectly help the professionals to learn more to procure better work in their professions (Ford, 2017). In this context, there are some theories that are intertwined with the learning process and help to render better organisational outcomes. The psychological perspective and the social, contextual influences on learning are significant in this aspect (Bancheva and Ivanova 2015). Besides this, there are the formal and informal learning methods that are essential for any employee to put an emphasis upon.

Based on this understanding, the purpose of this report is to make a clear perception about various traits of formal and informal learning in a business organisation. To make the discussion more relevant and pragmatic, the report puts some light on various aspects of the formal and informal learning on human resource development. The reason behind choosing the HRD is because the efficiency and ability of the HRD team will help to set up better framework for the organisational employees. Moreover, this report is also discussing on the comparison between the formal and informal trends of learning procedure and finally assesses which process is better for the workplace learning.

Formal and Informal Learning Methods in Human Resource Development

Framing of the concepts

A major question that tinkers the strategizing of the practitioners and the policy makers in the domain of workplace training and development is ‘so what?’ In different words, various studies of workplace training seem to imply the causality of workplace learning towards organisational output. Learning as a single entity is very difficult to measure, in terms of its role towards organisational performance (Dennerlein et al. 2015). Considering other strategic factors like product market, Job design and official culture, employee engagement, and other factors, the contribution of workplace training can be assessed in lieu of its approach towards these derivatives.

Before delving into a comparative study, it is essential to assess how much is the scope of learning on place in the organisations. Indicators such as the engagement level of the employees towards formal training session that is organised by the management of the companies, the accuracy and relevance of the employee training program in offices and the assessment of the amount of knowledge acquired by the employees is essential for drawing a competitive line between formal and informal learning. According to the views of Marsick and Watkins(2015), there is high propensity among the employees of modern organisations for ignoring the ordeals of formal training sessions.

Formal learning

The ubiquity brought about in the realm of employee training and skill development by means of informal training in contrast to formal training is acknowledged by authors who analyse the effective of the job training programs through social as well as psychological perspective. Formal learning can be definitively stated as the formatted and structured learning that takes place in the workplaces, basically off the work. According to Manuti et al. (2015), the training is not directly linked to the work design. It is a training conveyed in structured classroom design and under formal educational layout. The pedagogical paradigm and didactic interaction that takes place in those educational settings helps clarify the work structure to the employees on a theoretical basis. Every employee goes through planned learning schedules. Each of the steps of formal training program is destined to help the employees to master an individual field of working.

By means of these learning programs the employees are expected to create a basic skill level and generate awareness about the outcomes of their work in the company. as opined by Sparr, Knipfer and Willems(2017), implicit is the realisation of the fact, that in most of the cases the educational setting, where the knowledge about job structure and design is imparted to the employees are contextually specified for development of knowledge in contrast to real in hand experience of how to execute any job when the problem or issue is offered to the employee in the workplace. For evidence, an employee gets the training in a survey firm regarding how to check factsheets and extract business data on a certain context. However, the employee does not gain the knowledge regarding how to handle the work pressure if excessive files are assigned to the employees in analysing a single business scenario. As per Nolan and Garavan(2016), the training program also does not convey the knowledge how to handle the work flow during the listed work schedule. Formal training, hence, is only intended to make the employee aware of how to use the work methodologies. The way the employees can make the work experience smooth or overcome job pressure is not conveyed in the formal job training sessions.

Critical Analysis of Formal and Informal Learning Methods

Traits of formal learning

According to the views of Baldwin, Kevin Ford and Blume(2017), formal training in the workplaces, focus eccentrically on the deliberate parameters which are as follows.

1. A scheduled educational design that conveys only a certain sets of facts irrespective of whether if the doubts and issues with every employee is resolved through those or not.
2. The learning package under which the employees receive training are modelled and predetermined. In case if the work pattern or the work methodologies change in the organisation, shortly after an employee joins work at the end of the training session, he or she would face huge difficulty to adapt to the organisational norms and emerge as a successful employee.
3. There is a designated theorist who conveys the knowledge to the employees in the formal training programs. However, it is evident that such personalities are indulged into streamlined lecturing sessions. As opined by Geiger(2017), the issues that the real time employees face in the workplaces while working on real projects is out of the perception of the instructors. This makes it problematic for the instructors to refer to every odd situational circumstance that the employees might face in the context of their real work experience.
4. The Workplace training programs basically focus on the proficiency that the employees have exhibited in mastering the training modules that are taught to them. The organisational instructors do not take much into account the importance of testing how well the employees are able to reflect the knowledge in terms of the real work field. On the contray, Dirani(2017), opines that the employees are awarded distinctions at the training centres if they are able to adapt to the lessons commendably, without paying attention to how well the employee is able to improvise the theoretical knowledge in real work context.

Another fact under consideration is the relevance of the training programs in the context of the work pattern of the companies. Often the small and medium enterprises or the companies that have recently stepped into the organised sector fail to link their training program with the original work process they are following on job (Marodin, Waterhouse & Malik, 2017). Again, such off work training facilities consume large amount of resources the likes of which include physical resources (space, utilities), human resources (instructors) and capital resources (wages of the instructors and the employees who are attending the training sessions).

Importance

Arthur-Mensah and Alagaraja(2018), opines that the employees who are adults in the workingfield have a definite mental disposition. Debates have been raised regarding the benefits that can be drawn by the employees from such formal trainings. Again,Sparr, Knipfer and Willems(2017), have opined that the employees in the off the job settings are often facing difficulties to decipher various technical and financial terms associated with the training programs and hence they are not able to fully relate to the training modules. There is also no scope for full analysis of various contexts to the employees. Hence, often major sections of the employees are oblivious about the applicability of the theories that are being learnt by them at the raining.

The major outlook of informal learning at the workplaces on the contrary is how skills and basic knowledge can be acquired by an employee in the work setting itself. As per Manuti et al. (2015), this has a direct influence to the organisational performance of the individual employees. In major number of the organisations in modern Hong Kong, the companies give more stress on the formal learning process in the workplaces rather than on job informal learning measures. However, after analysing the significance of formal training, a question can be raised: Is formal training program the ultimate solution for employees’ skill development? Another important fact is that irrespective of the amount of formal training that takes place in a company, the employees learns to handle job pressure or encounter the difficult contexts in job, through the learning that they acquire form various persons like departmental heads, co- employees and others. This is part of the “invisible learning” that is acquired by the employees outside the copybook training that is provided by the companies (Pradhan, 2017).

Comparison of Formal and Informal Learning Methods in Workplace Learning

Hence, Cerasoli  et al. (2018), opines that it is evident in smaller organisation that level of engagement of the employees in the formal training sessions is deliberately low. The employees who have been accustomed with the formal educational setting throughout their educational career finds themselves disoriented with a similar setting. On the contrary, many business organisation have a major conception that the knowledge acquired through informal interferences in a company do not contribute much towards accreditation of the working knowledge of the employees or increasing their proficiency. However, according to the opinion of Baldwin, Kevin Ford and Blume(2017), internal surveys conducted in various major international have conferred that major percentage of the employees who are in a distinctive position have learned the major fundamentals of working in the organisation from their peers at work, rather than from the formal training t5hat have been organised on the part of the management for the skill development of the employees in that company.

Many small and start-up firms have recently started to acknowledge that formal training programs are not an integral part of skill development and human resource development in the company. They have a basic training program where the employees get acquainted with the basic work design that is followed by the employees of the organisation. Other than that, Kukenberger, Mathieu and Ruddy (2015), opines that the working styles, or proficiency development trainings are given to them by the departmental heads or the human resource managers who are perse4nt in the work teams where the employees work in the company. The senior employee also conducts induction sessions for the junior and the new joiners so that they can get acquainted with the issues that they might encounter at the office.

Informal learning

The recent organisations have acknowledged that informal learning within the context of the organisation have the broadest significance and the deepest cognitive influence. The employees who learn through informal learning sources do not require employee motivation sessions for boosting individual organisational performance. On the contrary, Noe, Tews and Michel(2017), opines that the work success rate and accuracy of such employees are greater in contrast to the formally trained employees. Many of the companies of recent times have adapted to the procedure of e-learning which is subversion of Informal learning at the workplace. The employees in such organisations do not get a long training session at the front of their work regime. Rather, they have the facility to ping the quality control experts of the company any time they encounter any issues that is insolvent their own. In fact, according to Tews et al. (2016), the bigger corporations have also acknowledged the importance and avenues of informal training.

This is why they run small and short time online courses for the employees that are dedicated various kinds of workplace management. These courses enable them to learn the approaches to work in the companies with increased effectiveness. Employee workshops are also run by many companies where the employees engage in external non paid sessions for elevating their workplace proficiency. In fact many employees are seen to participate in the skill development program arranged by various organisations for getting promotions. This shows it evidently that majority if the employee working in the modern organisations is not satisfied with the training they receive at the advent of their work. On the other hand, it might happen that the formal training that they receive in their workplaces is inadequate to address the complex situations that they face in their real work atmosphere. This is why they look to alternative avenues of skill development. According to the words of Gerken, Beausaert and Segers(2016), if the employees are allowed to learn and gather knowledge when they face or encounter a certain issue at the workplace, such knowledge can result in better organisational outcomes rather than the mediated lessons that they are forced to learn.

Majority of the employees tend to forget the lessons that are conveyed to then at the formal training centres of their designated companies. This is evident that skills that the employees acquire through informal learning addresses a single workplace issue only, rather than a general business scenario like a conception in formal training. Another issue is that most firms do not have appropriate number of human resource so that they are able to conduct a well oriented and relevant informal learning program through online learning, workplace training and other means (Spaan, 2016). In spite of that it is to be addressed that human capital development is a crucial and difficult regime in a company and very hard to accomplish through formal training provided at the advent of work regime to the employers.

Facets of informal learning

There are some important aspects of the informal learning that make the process more effective for the employees. Therefore, some important features of the informal learning are:

1. Unorganised- It can be argued that the informal learning is based on no set of formulas or guidelines. For an instance, it can be argued that spontaneity has a great influence on the informal learning which in return helps the employees to make their learning process more liberal (Manuti et al. 2015).
2. High motivation- In the informal learning employees become highly motivated not only for its liberal approach but also the informal learning has an ability to make an environment that is beneficial for the employees to learn systematically (Marsick and Watkins 2015).
3. Spontaneous- It can be argued that spontaneity is an essential feature of the informal learning. In fact, the realisation or the self assessment of the learner to learn something for his or her betterment drives the employee to more attach with the learning procedures (Bancheva and Ivanova 2015). In this regard, it can be argued that the immediate desire of the learner to learn something is an example of spontaneity and at the same time can be considered as an important character of the informal learning.
4. Beyond formal learning- In the informal learning process employees get more information and experience which are not present in the formal learning framework. It can be argued that in the informal learning mechanism the employees get a glance of the live problems and they have to take decisions instantly (Noe, Tews and Marand 2013). As a result of that it enhances their ability to deal with the problem and taking solutions instantly and firmly.
5. Difficult to quantify- as it can be argued that the informal learning has no such curriculum or prefixed framework therefore the learning process of the informal learning can be identified as dynamic (Kim and McLean 2014). In addition to this, it can be stated that the informal learning process is difficult to quantify because of dearth of any planned framework.
6. Easy to learn- In a business organisation there are various kinds of employees with different kind of intellects. As a matter of fact, often employees are unable to keep pace with the formal learning procedures that is, off job training. The practical orientation of the informal learning helps the employees to understand the possible threat in their operations and in this regard, they are trying to take decisions that are important for their betterment as well as for the company (García-Peñalvo et al. 2013).

Importance

Based on the characteristics of the informal learning it can surely be argued that there is an array of significance of the informal learning in the environment of an organisation.

1. It can be advocated that the informal learning practice does not take extra time for resolving problems. The on job learning process of the informal training fosters a live experience of dealing with the problems so that the employees get perfect understanding of the real time crisis situation (García-Peñalvo et al. 2014).
2. Besides this, it can be argued that in compare to the formal learning method thee informal learning procedure is less complex and easy to understand. It has been seen that often employees get bored with the formal learning process and they do not put proper concentration on the learning. As a result of that in the time of real case scenario the inability of the employees becomes prominent and it creates a number of problems in order to resolve the situation (Cheng et al. 2014). In this regard, the informal learning based on the real time experience and helps to develop a proper understanding of the work related problems and facilitates a moral standard that motivates the employees.
3. In addition to this, the informal learning procedure is more relax and liberal in approach. As a result of that it is easy for the staff to perceive an idea about the informal learning and in return use their experience in case of emerging threats (de Laat and Schreurs 2013).
4. According to García-Peñalvo and Conde (2014) the informal learning process provides an environment for the employees where they can nourish and practice their creative skills while dealing with the issues. In fact, these skills and creativeness will deliver a positive outcome to the staff in near future.
5. In this discussion, it can also be argued that in the professional world the management and the employees have to deal with several types of threats. Therefore, it is impossible to figure out the nature of the problems and give the employees a lesson to deal with it. Furthermore, the informal process also reduces the expenses of conducting an induction and training facility for the staff (Bednall, Sanders and Runhaar 2014). As a result of that both the employees and the management become beneficial by implementing the informal learning process.

Comparison between formal and informal learning

The relationship between formal and informal learning is quite dubious. It can be argued that the formal learning process can be conducted by the Human Resource Development team whereas in case of informal learning it does not require any kind of Human Resource establishment. However, it can be stated that the informal learning questions the existence of the Human Resource Development management. Rather it is in the HRD team to make an amicable environment where the employees are enabling to cherish and practice their learning (Griffiths and García-Peñalvo 2016). It is in fact, can be ascribed that the role of the HRD management is very important in dealing with the informal learning set up.

In course of the discussion, there are a number of study reports that identified that employees are prone towards informal learning than formal learning. The primary reason behind this kind of likings is the nature of informal learning. In the formal learning, employees have to attend an off job training set up where they do not any task to do (Milligan, Littlejohn and Margaryan 2014). It is more like a class room environment where the experts are given their lectures and the employees learn about the theoretical approaches to deal with the problems. However, the openness and the liberal approach of the informal learning help them to deal with the problem in a real time solving mode. In this regard, it can be argued that there are some problems regarding the implementation of informal learning. It requires high skill of the employees to deal with critical problems (Tews, Michel and Noe 2017). However, in this situation the HRD team will come into relevance. It is important for the HRD team to train the employees and help them to realise the importance of taking responsibilities in crisis situation. Furthermore, it is also true that with the rapid expansion of the business organisations paves the way for the corporate institutions to recruit more employees. As a result of that it becomes impossible for the HRD team to organise such a great number of people. It also takes time for the HRD team to generate training and learning process in such a short time (Conde-González et al. 2013). Therefore, they are looking for an alternative in the form of informal training which is pragmatic and relevant as well.

Conclusion

The report clearly opines various aspects of the learning process that is prevalent in the business organisations nowadays. In fact, excluding the psychological aspects of the learning process the report clearly argued about the social and contextual perspective of learning in workplace. In this regard, the contextual aspect is categorised into two parts the formal and the informal learning. However, there is the non-formal learning mechanism that is also considered to be included into the social and contextual perspective. In this context, the report relies on a comparative understanding between formal and informal learning in workplace. In course of making a comparative assessment between the two methods of learning mechanism the discussion has been developed by putting emphasis on the Human Resource Development management. Through the discussion it can be analysed that the HRD management is the key medium to implement the learning methods in workplace. Therefore, it is imperative to analyse the significance of the Human Resource Development management in introducing the learning method for the organisation. The report clearly argued that both the learning process in the name of formal and non-formal methods have some disadvantages but the informal learning process is far popular among the employees because of its liberal approach. Moreover, it is beneficial for the company as well to train the employees through on job learning procedure because the informal process takes less amount of time to train the staff and in this process reduces the expenses. Therefore, it can be concluded that the HRD practitioners to implement informal learning instead of formal training opportunities and paves the way for the organisation to witness maximize profit and prosperity that fosters future sustainability for the organisation

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