Application of Concepts – by Charles Parnell

There is increased focus on individual and team performance in organizations. Employees are encouraged to participate in training and development activities. This occurs inside and outside the organization. There are numerous attempts to measure the value of these activities. This is measured to stakeholders using the balanced scorecard as well. Organizations set strategic goals and depend on employees to attain them. The attainment of these goals determines their survival in the competitive marketplace.

The challenge for employees is to apply the concepts, theories and principles they learned in training and development activities to their jobs. The goal is to add value to their job functions and the overall organization. During this century and beyond, organizations will be faced with the following challenges:

• Changing demographics and a diverse workforce
• Aging workforce
• Generational differences
• Employee attraction and retention
• Creative problem-solving
• Globalization
• Legal Issues
• Ethical Issues
• Team Dynamics
• Virtual Teams
• High Performance Work Systems

It will be critical that employees learn and apply the principles, theories and concepts in the aforementioned areas. In this application process, they must test the applications in actual case scenarios to determine the impact and outcomes. They must identify practical examples that clarify and anchor these dynamics. Employees must communicate clearly and effectively with their management and team members regarding their applications to maximize their desired outcomes.

The discourse and goal of training and development must be to learn concepts, theories and principles and apply them to add value – what difference will the applications make? All the difference in whether the investment of time, money and other resources made in training and development have been worthwhile.

What outcomes is your organization obtaining through your investment in training and development?