Learning and development. 

In a modern day organizations learning and development is a key factor to sustain its goals while continues development and to develop their employees professional capabilities for the benefit of the organization. 

Organizations use training and development as a mechanisms to retain its employees as every empoloyee would want to work for an organization which will spend their internal and external resources to develop the capabilities of the employees. “An organization which facilitates the learning of all of its members and [thereby ] continuously transform itself “. (Peddler , Boydell and Burgoyne , 1997 )


VAK learning styles (Barbe, 1979 ) 

• Visual

• Auditoria

• Kinesthetic  

Visual- Utilization of  a visual learning style has a preference for seen or observed things ,including pictures ,diagrams ,demonstrations ,displays ,handouts ,films ,flip charts ,etc.

Auditoria - Utilization of an auditory learning style which has a preference for the transfer of information through listening: to the spoken word, of self or others , of sounds and noises. 

Kinesthetic - Utilization of kinesthetic learning style has a preference for physical experience - touching ,feeling ,holding ,doing , practical hand on experience.

Individuals learn for themselves but also learn from other people -their managers  and co - worker (social learning ). They learn mainly by doing (ex periential learning ) and to a much lesser extent by instruction. The way in which individuals learn will differ and what they learn will depend largely on how well they are motivated or self motivated. Discretionary learning ( self directed or self managed) takes place when individuals of their own volition actively seek to acquire the knowledge 
and skills they need to carry out their work effectively . It should be encouraged and supported.

Learning theories describes in general terms how people learn , but individual learners will have different styles - a preference for a particular approach to learning . The two most familiar classifications of learning styles are those produced by Kolabage team at (1974) and Honey and Mumford (1996).

1) concrete experience - this can be planned or accidental 2) Reflective oberservation - this involves actively thinking about the experience and its significance.

3)Abstract conceptulazation ( theorizing ) generalizing from experience to develop various concepts and ideas that can be applied when similar situation are encountered. 
4) Actively experinmantation - testing the concepts or ideas in new situations . This gives rise to a new concrete experience and cycle begin again.  

Handerson (2017 ) common learning and Development methods 
Action  learning , Blended learning , case studies , coaching , continuing professional  development ,

E- Learing , Mentoring  ,Out door lerarinig ,Role playing , self development , simulation / business 

E - learning

Understanding eLearning is simple. eLearning is learning utilizing electronic technologies to access educational curriculum outside of a traditional classroom.  In most cases, it refers to a course, program or degree delivered completely online. 

There are many terms used to describe learning that is delivered online, via the internet, ranging from Distance Education, to computerized electronic learning, online learning, internet learning and many others. We define eLearning as courses that are specifically delivered via the internet to somewhere other than the classroom where the professor is teaching. It is not a course delivered via a DVD or CD-ROM, video tape or over a television channel. It is interactive in that you can also communicate with your teachers, professors or other students in your class. Sometimes it is delivered live, where you can “electronically” raise your hand and interact in real time and sometimes it is a lecture that has been prerecorded. There is always a teacher or professor interacting /communicating with you and grading your participation, your assignments and your tests. eLearning has been proven to be a successful method of training and education is becoming a way of life for many.

Intergrated e - learning at cable & wireless  a British multinational  telecommunication company 

E - learning at cables & wireless based on the establishment and promotion of a single platform for 
learning. This has been delivered through an outsourcing arrangement with the e - learning company Skillsoft. The core platform is a learning management system that is available to cable and wireless colleagues as a portal labelled  “i LEARN” All training delivery chanellels are linked to this portal. The library of generic material consists of some 15,000 items plus about 60 modules commissioned by cables & wireless in modern world employees are not keen to join organizations where their knolegdge and skills are not upgraded and many organizations use learning as a retention methodology.(R.Subashini)Wikis  are another resource that can be used for training purpose. Development in early 2000s,wikis provide information sharing sites that run via the internet and allow users to modify information.certain companies may even find themselves having to implement a wiki “how -to “ training session before even conducting training via wiki.value of the company lies in the fact that wikis can be used as a collaboration tool. Setting their stage for company - specific tasks /jobs such as project management ,knowledge management , and fostering information .The obviously advantage at hand is the cost  effectiveness aspect.The use of you tube for training in the workplace is  still in the beginning steps , but there is no doubt it is evolving  and quickly at that . You tube serves various functions in training and its role as a training and its role as a training tool is hardly going unnoticed. Computer based training has proven to be a cost effective way to train large number of people with minimal time disruption and maximized return on financial investment. No travel ,no hotel ,no unnecessary time away from work.But traditional live (face to face )training sparks great ideas and strengthens personal connections -a benefit that is often missing from e learning, Training in 3D puts spark back to virtual training .It takes e- learning to the next level.(Harika Putta sep 2014) impact of region on training. 

Digicast productions ,an internet based company has taken advantage of the shift towards online training , Digicast productions “help [s] companies influence behaviour change through Creating communication and training programs “via internet (WWW.digicast.com.au).A similar compan-Media partners has also realized the window of opportunity in creating training videos.  Media - partners are emerging on the forefront as a leading ,video training company with a  slogan that reads “ Best Trainig videos at the best price “ Each company  , both Digicats productions ans Media -partners ,has established a successful platform and revels case studies to prove it.

Organizational learning out come contributes to the development of a firm’s recsourse  capability . This is accordance with one of the basic principals of human resource  management ,namely that it is necessary to invest in people in order to develop the intellectual capital required by the organization and thus increase its stock of knowledge and skills as state by Ehrenberg and smith (1994) ,human capital theory indicates that :The knowledge and skills a woker has - which comes from education and training ,including the training that experience brings -generate productive capital. 

Mentoring 
Extracting  a  talent  out of  second level of leaders and guiding them  to go up in life for the benefit of the organization and for the invidual is mentoring which is one of the most successful way to develop employees.

FedEx has registered a great improve in its human resource and technological development. In late 2009, FedEx instituted a hiring freeze to eliminate a lot of the compensation benefits to its employees. The part-time employees were no longer allowed to work over 30 hours a week and the full-time employees were only allowed to work overtime once a month at the maximum. FedEx Freight reduced their salaries down 7.5 to 10%. And because FedEx believes so much in their employees and knows they are nothing without them, even the executives took a pay cut. CEO Frederick W. Smith took a 20% base salary cut in 2009 showing that he believes the cut backs
 are only temporary. But because of these cut backs FedEx has been able to continue growing in new areas and stay the successful parcel shipping company that we have today.



FedEx CEO shows to its employees by leading from the front and mentoring his employees to great heights. 


Leading by an example is a way which could mentor your employees in different stages in organization.


Mentorship is a relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable  person help to guide a less experience or less knolegeble person ( Wikipedia ). 

Conclusion

Learing and development had made significant influence for the sustainability and growth of an 
organization. It is obvious that even the employees would be more eficient with the training and development.
E - Learing had emerged to be more popular version of training and development methodology , technology had made the world to be closer than ever before  and it will change the perspective of learning and development in time to come but mentoring had proved to be the best way to transform employees to become leaders of their own , A mentor whom  having vision to groom a young leader to become great could prove that leaders are been made.