St George Bank Corporate Performance Centre (Case Study Sample)

Running head: Adult Learning
St George Bank Corporate Performance Centre - Human Resources
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St George Bank Corporate Performance Centre - Human Resources
Introduction
Literacy was traditionally viewed as the ability of an individual to read, and communicate using symbols in a defined social context. In this context, a literate individual can ‘derive and convey meaning, and use their knowledge to achieve a desired purpose or goal that requires the use of language skills, be they spoken or written’ (Farrar, para.1). Such an individual can reorganize the meaning of a given language from one knowledge base to fit in another knowledge base. The concept of literacy has evolved over time with the changes that are observed in the society so that in the modern setting it has grown to include knowledge of the applications of information communication technologies and other critical literacy in the daily operations (Farrar, para.1). The use of modern technology such as computer and the internet is common in the current work place to facilitate various organizational functions. The organizations are showing increasing concern on customer satisfaction in order to attract and retain customers as one of the strategies for competition. Customer satisfaction will in turn be influenced by the quality of service provided (speed, accuracy, and convenience). The application of modern technology is appropriate in achieving this objective.
The employees need to be conversant with these modern technologies to ensure that they are effectively applied at the workplace. However, this may not be achieved since some of the employees are illiterate and this hinders their ability to learn and understand the application of such modern technologies. There is thus a need for organizations to have programs that enable the adult employees to learn the modern/emerging skills applicable in workplaces. St George Bank, a financial institution operating in Australia, has developed an understanding of the need to equip its employees with the modern skills and technologies applicable in the industry. For a long period, the non-whites and other marginalized groups in Australia had poor access to good training for industrial applications. This led to the development of training reforms with the initiation of programs such as Towards a Skilled Australia (1994-1998), A Bridge to the Future (1998-2003), and Shaping Our Future (2004-2010) all emphasizing on the essence of adult literacy and numeracy skills (Smith, 273). This has set pace for adult learning in different organizations within Australia. This paper focuses on various aspects of adult learning and training employed at St George Bank, Australia.
The use of adult learning principles to develop workforce at St George
The level of literacy has been relatively high in the general population in Australia in the past few decades with low levels of literacy recorded for indigenous students (Department of Education Science and Technology, 2012). These individuals move on to become employees in organizations. However, significant developments are often recorded in the operations of organization necessitating training and development programs for the employees. Such employees will be trained at older ages applying the principles and processes in adult learning. Adult learning is necessary to enhance a change in the skills of the adults, their behaviors, their knowledge level, or attitudes and thoughts towards some concept (Russell, para.2). The learning process among adults may take a different dimension from that observed among the young learners, largely because the adults have had some experiences and expanded individual understanding of a given concept. Significant differences are observed in the ‘degree of motivation, the amount of previous experience, the level of engagement in the learning process, and how the learning is applied’ (Russell, para.2). Generally, an effective adult learning process will occur if there is an environment created for cooperative learning. St George Bank has made use of various principles of adult learning in the improvement of its workforce. A remarkable application of adult learning principle is the application of a blended learning solution that aims at providing high quality learning support (Case Study). An important principle of adult learning is motivation. Proper adult learning occurs when the learner is fully convinced of the need for the sought-after information (Russell, para.3). The trainers need to ensure that the adult learners understand the purpose for which some training intervention is organized (Adult learning principles.doc, para.20). This explains why the bank has blended the traditional classroom approaches with more proactive learning approaches that motivate the learners. Adults will be motivated to learn a concept when referred to some moment when they had undergone difficulties that could be solved with the expected knowledge. They are touched by internal motivators such as self-esteem as opposed too external motivators (Adult learning principles.doc, para.7). The adult educator should strive to show concern and share with the adult learner the positive learning experiences.
Adult learners also get into the training when they have deeper and broader life experiences as compared to young learners, which will affect the learner’s perception of the entire learning process (Adult learning principles.doc, para.4; Russell, para.4). With proper guidance from the adult educator, the adult learner is capable of linking the past work and educational experiences to the current learning experiences. It enables the learner to develop some meaning out of the learning process. To show an understanding of this principle, the Corporate Performance Centre at the bank has shifted focus from the traditional learning style and development function to focusing on skill development and improvement of workplace performance (Case Study). This considers that the learners have had some experience of the concept under investigation and they differ quite significantly from first time learners. The centre has designed its programs to go beyond the provision of basic technical skills to providing technical skills that match the changing business needs and demands (Case Study).
Adult learning principles and development of corporate learning systems
Different aspects of the adult leaning can contribute to the development of corporate learning systems. A significant aspect of adult learning is that it becomes successful when the learner determines the timing, nature, and direction of the learning process (Russell, para.5). The adults will be comfortable when they are allowed to make decisions on what they want to learn. The adult learning principles require that the adults be allowed to plan for their training and develop a self-assessment and evaluation program for their instruction. The educators need to understand this but impose some minimal control to ensure that the learning process stays on course. The learners should be allowed and encouraged to participate actively in the learning process with the assessment performed through self-evaluation (Russell, para.5). This helps in cultivating a spirit of teamwork in them. Both the educator and the adult learner need to be patient with each other to achieve this. This has also been applied at St George. The Corporate Performance Centre uses a flexible mode of delivery that makes learning ad development stand out as key business partner to the bank (Case Study). The learning at the CPC is collaborative with appropriate performance tools used to assess the learning outcomes.
Besides, adult learning is also characterized by an immediate application of the learned concepts through demonstrations, application exercises, and discussions (Russell, para.7). This often motivates the learner to seek more about a concept. The adults are concerned with learning concepts that are closely connected to their jobs. They do not consider the wider content of a given subject but rather the application of a given concept to solve specific problems that arise at work. In a similar perspective, adults learn when they have gained a wealth of life experiences that can be appropriate in designing the learning objectives. The learners will be seeking to develop solutions to problems they have encountered and the mistakes they have made before. Learning as a team will bring in various experiences and schools of thoughts and opinions that promote the understanding of a concept. The bank has shown concern on the effectiveness of its learning programs through its pre- and post-coursework programs. Such programs require the learners to relate the experiences that they have obtained in the learning process to the real life experiences (Case Study).
Contribution of learning programs to continuous organizational improvement
The learning programs in an organization are concerned with training and development of the employees. Training and development (T&D) programs in an organization are necessary to ensure effective performance of the workforce of the organization. The programs, which apply to nearly all categories of employees in an organization, enable new employees of an organization to adjust to workplace (Encyclopedia of Business, para.1). The programs may include provision of specific job skills as well as long-term professional development of the employees. While training focuses on specific objectives such as learning a concept, procedure, or operation of machinery, development focuses on a wider scope covering concepts such as decision-making or goal setting (Encyclopedia of Business, para.2).
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