Outdoor Development


 


Introduction


People are the most important part of any organisation may it being profit or profit organisation.  In line with this, human resources must be developed and improved from time to time to make them become an efficient asset of an organisation. Human resource development is the process of developing human potential through organisation development and personnel training. Typically, these activities encompass team building, executive coaching, diversity training, and most education and training programs, along with action research designed to uncover organisational issues (1991). In enhancing human skills one of the growing concepts that emerge is the use of outdoor setting for trainings and development (1999).


            Primarily, the main goal of this paper is to provide insightful details regarding the issues faced by considering outdoor development in an organisation. For this report, the analysis will give emphasis on the following issues: health and safety issues (physical and psychological); possible discrimination on gender, disability and ethnicity; costs and possible elitism charges; and transferability to the work situation.


 


Overview of Outdoor Development


The implementation of an outdoor setting fro training and development is emerging so fast (1994). Generally, such kind if training and development is used to establish teamwork and team skills which includes interpersonal communication, group problem solving, trust, leadership, and the capability to work effectively with other people around them.


Outdoor development is also oftenly used to encourage delegates to expand their horizons by considering risks and accomplishing things they never thought they were capable of doing. This kind of personal growth and development are known to have essential Organsational payoffs by different firms (1987). According to and his colleagues (1991) there are two kinds of outdoor development programs. The first is the wilderness-centred type. This training oftenly includes white-water rafting or canoeing, or exercises done in the wilderness in which the team works and lives together outdoors for up to a week at a time. Normally, wilderness activities do not utilise particular home camp or training facilities.


On the other hand, the other type of outdoor development can be regarded as outdoor-centred. Herein, a base camp is acquired and participants live and eat indoors. However, there specific outdoor activities available for use which depends on goals of the programs. Each individual goes through events in small groups which are followed by a discussion or “debriefing” which focuses on what they have learned from each of the events and to tie those learning back to the working environment. In this type of outdoor training, the trainer usually choose training camps with events like high ropes course, a series of group problem-solving activities and a rock climb and/or rappel. While these kinds of activities may enhance and improve both team and interpersonal skills of an individual (Bronson, et al, 1992), it is possible that such outdoor development programs can have an even greater organizational effects (1991) if they are tied more explicitly to the path in which the firm is heading that is, to its strategic vision (1993; 1992).


 


Learning Theory: Outdoor Development


Learning is actually both a product and a process. It is a product as it can lead to a change of behavior; like an end product of a process. Learning can be recognized or seen. This element of learning is highlighting its crucial aspect which is change. However, not all changes in behavior resulting from experience involve learning. It would seem fair to expect that if we are to say that learning has taken place, experience should have been used in some way.  For most theorists, learning is centred on gaining knowledge or ability through the use of experience (1999).


In employee training, specifically with the use of Outdoor development programs, it is important that the trainer must be able to identify the needs of the employees. In this regard, the adaptive competency approach to needs analysis is based upon  (1984) Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) which allows one to view the person (employee) and job in commensurate terms. The cornerstone of this approach is that learning, adaptation, and problem-solving processes are similar and that all jobs involve each of these processes. Therefore, if one describes both the person’s adaptive skills and job requirements in learning terms, then one can identify and describe the adaptive or interactive processes that occur in the work setting.


ELT conceptualizes the learning process in such a way that differences in learner styles and corresponding learning environments can be identified. The application of the adaptive competency approach accepts the premise that typical needs analysis at the employee level portrays jobs in one set of terms (i.e., job specifications), and employees are thought of in another set of terms (person-trait characteristics).


Using ELT in outdoor development, the trainer will be able to determine the specific needs of the employees based on their learning styles. Through this, the outdoor development program will ensure that the employees are learning things within their potentialities and their capacities. Through this also, the trainer or the company will also be able to identify which outdoor development program will be suitable for both the needs of the employee and the needs of the employer or the company. For example, when a company needs an employee which will be effective in different setting or workplace, the trainer will be able to provide outdoor training which enhances the skills of the employee in accordance with the needs of the workplace. This is important so as to maximise learning and minimise cost for outdoor development programmes.


The opportunity to learn through action and experience has a number of advantages to the learner. In our case, this allowed us to apply what we have learned during training. Being able to apply our learning promoted knowledge retention and skill enhancement. These advantages had been more prevalent whenever we encountered problems at the store. Whenever we have to deal with customer concerns, the staffs is more confident and capable of handling them through the learning application. In turn, the experience helped in making us into more dependable and responsible employees.


Aside from knowledge retention and skill enhancement, the learning experience brought about by change in the company has also been beneficial as it made the employees more resourceful and analytical. Rather than depending on their managers to handle certain store issues, the staff employees can manage on their own. Through their experiences at the store and with the change project of the company, the staff had become more dependent on their own capabilities and potentials. This in turn enabled them to hone their newfound skills as well as enhance their known abilities. For the managers, this experience increased their belief and confidence in their employees; the workload for them has also lessened. In this way, they had more time to spend on more pressing issues of the business.


Understanding the contents and aspects given during the training period also became more comprehensible for the employees when applied in action. Through hands-on experience, the employees were able to determine the exact approach they should apply in order to communicate effectively. This also enabled them to learn how to budget their time and schedule their respective tasks for the day ( 2000). Experience also encouraged them to identify their individual strengths and weaknesses. Naturally, if they were able to perform well on a particular duty, they will remember how things should be done properly. On the other hand, committing mistakes or errors while at work will help in developing their selves better. Recognizing and correcting their mistakes while on duty results to a greater impact as well as faster response for improvement. This turn out also encouraged the employees to practice good work practices while change inappropriate ones.


 


Advantages of Outdoor Development


According to  (1999), the typical reasons for training employees would include the need for performance improvement as indicated by performance appraisals. Basically, a dip in performance of employees produces results which may be detrimental to the operation of the company. This could translate to loss in both profits and in production. Employee training is also used to develop employees and to test a new performance management system.  An application of a new system definitely would require new furthermore, companies and organizations who will undergo changes train employees to be able to adapt to the changes adopted by the companies (1999).


The concept of outdoor development is considered to be one of the most important approaches in the 1950s. Outdoor activities are usually preceded by briefing sessions so as to achieve the goal of the training and why such outdoor method is considered. Outdoor training and development method is important because it enables the employees to enhance not only their interpersonal skills but also their social skills, physical skills and psychological skills. All employees need interpersonal relationship skills in order to have a smooth relationship within the organisation. Interpersonal relations skill is the ability to effectively interact with other people. It is the ability to work with and through others. With high a good interaction skills, employees will be able to properly coordinate their efforts with the hard work of others in the organisation ( 1990).  


In outdoor development programs, there are give elements which can be learned by the human resources. Such elements include self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills. Awareness of self is closely linked to the ability to read the behaviour of others, construct courses of action and deliver an effective performance. People who have a high level of self-awareness understand how their own values, beliefs and subjective theories influence what they see and do. This awareness offers them the possibility of taking account of known biases to reappraise first impressions and rehearse alternative ways of behaving. Self-awareness enables an employee to recognise his or her internal states and personal abilities.


During outdoor development activities, the employees are being taught about having efficient social skills. These skills are diverse skills which are used to induce desirable responses with other people especially when dealing with teams and group tasks. This is helpful especially when the employee will be transferred to a new work place in which he/she will encounter diverse people. Because of the outdoor development trainings, the employee learned to communicate effectively among team-mates. In addition, the employees are also developed to become a potential leader with the ability to influence others. Furthermore, human resources may also have the potential to work and interact harmoniously with their co-workers as well as their clients.


 


Issues Facing Outdoor Development


The previous discussion shows the advantages of outdoor training and development. However, there are certain issues that affect the efficiency of using outdoor development.


 


Health and Safety Issues


The safety and health aspect of the company pertains to the efforts related to the prevention of work-related injuries and health diseases. Since outdoor training is usually done away from the company’s premise, another disadvantage of this is in terms of ensuring health and safety of the employees. The goal of the training is to develop physical, mental, psychological, and social skills of employees. However, there are outdoor trainings which are difficult for some employees and in return cause sickness and stress (1999). Furthermore, some outdoor training requires full potentials of the employees and not all employees will meet these standards. In return, instead of enhancing the employee’s potential, their health tends to suffer which may affect both their physical and psychological capacities. The problem with outdoor training is that it may cause severe damage for employees if unwanted incidents occur (1997)


 In addition, safety is another consequence of considering outdoor training. There are training programmes which are not safe for employees. However, since the company focuses on development of the employees, they are not giving emphasis on the effect of these training to the safety of the employees.


In addition, other issues include the inability of the trainer to meet the psychological needs of the employees. There is an existing premise that the trainer must be able to balance the development needs of individual employees with regards to physical and psychological needs. In a way, some outdoor development programme may be physically suitable for some employees but the whole concept is psychologically imbalance or vice versa (1998).


This statement means that the part of the obligation of the trainer is to be able to determine the needs of the individual employees to become both physically and psychologically capable while ensuring their health and safety. 


In this manner, the trainer should be able to provide training programs that considers both of these needs. If the outdoor development program given do not adheres to these needs, then this may lead to an ineffective training which is not healthy of outdoor development assessment.


 


Possible Discrimination on Gender, Disability, and Ethnicity


Another important issue to be considered in outdoor development is the existence of racial discrimination on gender, disability, and ethnicity. There are companies that offers outdoor development programmes for different organisations. Some of these companies offer different activities to different employees. However, there are times that these activities or programmes do not guarantee that all employees may join the particular activity. With this, not all employees are given the chance to enhance their potentials provided by the activity ( 1997).


In outdoor development programmes, there are activities which are given to male or female only. With this, the aim of equal development among genders is affected. This may cause internal problems for both the employees and employer. Moreover, there are also activities which may have effect in terms of the ethnicity and race of an employee which may result to conflict and other problems. The outdoor programmes that must be considered by the company must also ensure that disabled employees will be given a chance. The issue of discrimination in outdoor development programme may affect the whole purpose of training. In this regard, those individuals who have not been trained because of discrimination may not be given equal chances for individual growth and development.


 


Cost and Possible elitism Charges


Aside from the above mentioned issues another issue to be considered is in terms of costing. To estimate return of investment, cost values must be assigned to changes generated by the outdoor training.  Sometimes, the company are spending more than expected without knowing whether the outdoor development program adheres to the company needs. In addition, there are employees who are given the opportunity to be trained but don’t actually takes the training or program seriously. Hence, the company have only wasted some important budgets (2000). In addition, there are organisations which offers high price but does not provide the needs of the company and employees as well. Or there are organisations which offers low price program but also incapable of providing the needs of the companies which is to enhance the interpersonal and intrapersonal skills of the employees. In which case, the management of the company are the ones which will be affected negatively (2002).


Furthermore, other than costs, the company may have a problem in terms of elitism is also considered. There are outdoor development programs which are for general learners or trainers. In this case, companies may have a problem in terms of restrictions for some employees who did not meet the requirements to become part of the development program. Some organisations which provide outdoor development programs may not be able to train all the employees of organisations due to some restrictions which may result to conflicts among employees. This conflict may hinder the organisational goal of developing and enhancing employees through outdoor development approach.


 


Transferability to Work Situation


Companies may also have problems in terms of transferability of employees. There are times that the company that provides outdoor training is not sure whether the employee has been improved or not. With this, the company will also face the challenge for employee transfers. Companies may not be able to evaluate whether outdoor training has improved the employee. Sensitivity to organizational values and perceptions has been a continuing source of re-entry or transferability problems. In this regard, some of the trainees are forced to reject or modify the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) inculcated during an outdoor development activities (1997). Therefore HRM specialists must ensure that, where possible, outdoor development and training assessments are initiated only in organizational situations where the assessors have knowledge of the value system of the organization, so that material gained during the assessment phase can be based on actual, rather than assumed, expectations given for the trainees. For this issue, those who are providing outdoor development program must ensure that the activities provided are compatible and transferable in actual working situations so as to ensure that organisational goal will be achieved.


 


Conclusion


Organisations could not be able to attain its mission, objective and vision, if it does not have employees that will deliver all the functions for ensuring competitive and developmental organisation. With training, the employees are able to interact with their customers effectively and in a sensitive manner. This approach helps the employee to have better commitment on the things that they do and motivate their employees to do even more of what they are expected to do.  Training is an attempt to improve employee performance on a currently held job or one related to it. This usually will lead to changes in specific knowledge, skills, attitudes, or behaviours.  These changes can result to long-term productivity.


Outdoor training and development approach probably is one of the most influential phenomenons in the human resource development context. Its impact worldwide has been tremendous, and perhaps, maybe even contagious. Companies from all over are trying to integrate the concept of outdoor training and development as part of their management system and business practice. Indeed, many studies and published documents have noted significant aspects on the real meaning of outdoor training and development and how it helps different organisation to have a more productive and effective human resources to compete in the work environment.


Analysis shows that although outdoor developments have some advantages, there are also some issues which should be given upon its implementation. With the result of this analysis, it is recommended that organisations must consider the implementation of outdoor training and development within their organisation as part of their human resource development strategy. With the given advantages of this method, the company that will implement this ensures that they are having human resources which are effective and efficient for the benefit of the organisation.


 


 



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