LESSON 7

EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT

1. What are the current trends in using formal education for development? Briefly discuss
them.

There are many approaches or techniques that the company can apply in the action plan for
the development planning process. Providing formal education to the employees is one of them.
This method of development is either giving on-site education which is training with the higher-
level management and experts in the position or off-site education which is sending the
employees to the universities and colleges to finish their master's degree or even higher level of
education.

In the on-site formal education, the company would train the employees to develop their
skills through the help of the experts in that job. Experience is one way to obtain knowledge
about the job. Thus, senior employees who are working on the high-level management could
help in training the employees to prepare them for their next level position. Some companies also
recruit experts in the field to bring a new way of thinking to the company because people who
work in the company for so long tend to have the same mindset or way of thinking as the co-
employees. The company should always have a brand-new idea or innovative idea to survive in
the competitive environment in the industry. An advantage of this kind of education is it allows
the company to align the content of the education with the company’s goals and objectives.
However, it limits the company with the same mindset due to the costly recruiting of experts in
the field.

If the company really want to flow a different way of thinking, they can send to an offset
formal education the employees. This kind of education of the company uses universities and
colleges. There are companies that give scholarships to the employees to finish their master’s
degrees or even doctorate degrees. Some companies have a high budget with the development
process to send their employees to prestigious schools abroad to ensure the quality of education.
An advantage of off-site education is it allows the employee to impart knowledge that is different
in the mindset in the company. If the company deploys their employee to the schools abroad, the
employee has the chance to have enough knowledge about globalization and can go with the
career abroad. Although it gives some advantages for the company and the employees, this kind
of education does not align with the strategic goals and objectives of the company. In addition,
the company needs to ensure that the knowledge transfer is the knowledge needed for the job.

2.