Outline an organizational strategic learning plan in a 10-12 slide presentation with presentation notes that could be presented to the leadership team.
At a time when our internal and external environments are being influenced by powerful technological changes, organizations must look at the entirety of their operation. The needs of the organization will require us all to become lifelong learners, and the logical next step is to develop and implement the organization’s broad plan for learning. Ultimately, we need to integrate learning and development activities into a plan that aligns with the organization’s objectives. Whatever the organization’s principal objectives, a learning strategy that reflects human capital needs is essential.
HR Challenge
Dr. Thompson, a senior leader in CapraTek, has asked that you guide the preparation of a strategic learning plan for the organization. There are a number of areas at CapraTek that represent strengths and other areas that need attention. Some areas provide unique opportunities to enhance organizational productivity and others to sustain the current demands.
You are an HR professional for CapraTek with a specialty in learning and development. Use the information in the scenario above to prepare an organizational strategic learning plan for CapraTek. Remember: while there are multiple communities of practice in every organization, this assessment focuses on the information technology and marketing community of practice only.
Below is a list of organizational goals, general information about the direction of the company, and recommendations from the communities of practice within the company. Please use this data to create an organizational strategic learning plan.
CapraTek Organizational Goals
- Enhance the company’s capability to adapt to changing technological advances.
- Nurture an environment of innovation that will disrupt the markets we compete in.
- Significantly improve responsiveness to changes in customer demands and expectations.
- Develop new approaches to shorten time to market for all current and future product offerings.
CapraTek Information
- CapraTek is deeply involved in a new innovation and product development effort that introduced very new technology that was merged into the organization and will be combined with technology everyone at CapraTek uses every day. The research and development program is a major component of the company’s strategy. Both information technology and marketing influence the organization’s strategy. These new conditions require new learning strategy to support organizational objectives.
Community of Practice Information
Communities of practice are very active at CapraTek. Individuals from similar roles meet as a COP at least monthly to share common learning opportunities, discuss issues and innovations, and provide recommendations to the larger organization.
Recently, the following recommendations were collected from all of the COPs in the company and delivered to the HR department:
- Custom learning and development plans will be required for IT pros and marketing professionals in the organization.
- The community of practice lead for Information Technology (priority) has said that company information technology professionals will need learning and development opportunities in two areas:
- New CLOUD provider certifications.
- Software development content knowledge and development skills.
- The community of practice lead for marketing has indicated that the marketing team at CapraTek could benefit from:
- Marketing certification.
- Digital marketing content knowledge and development skills.
Instructions
Outline an organizational strategic learning plan in a 10–12 slide presentation with presentation notes that could be presented to the leadership team. Include the following in your presentation:
- Consider the background information above in the HR Challenge. This assessment requires learners to weigh the material presented in the introduction, the CapraTek Organizational Goals, CapraTek information, and the Community of Practice information, and present a plan outline that integrates this information to form an effective strategic learning plan.
- In the introduction, discuss the importance of the strategic learning plan and the contributions it makes to the organization and its membership.
- What are the implications for learning and development?
- Outline your strategic learning plan, including these minimum requirements:
- Explain strategic learning plan alignment to organizational goals that will drive strategy.
- Define the scope of learning:
- What is covered by the strategic learning plan?
- What are the highlights of the plan without getting too far into the details?
- Prioritize community of practice requirements, considering information technology is the primary focus of this assessment.
- Describe the learning approaches:
- What learning capabilities are needed to support the learning (Moon & Ruona, 2015)?
- Explain how the company will support learners working toward the five-year goals:
- What is the coordination with the supervisors and the resource allocation?
- Set periods of evaluation for five-year plan:
- Ensure evaluation is conducted from both employee and management perspectives (Neal, 2012).
- Consider how the learning function has impacts across other staff and programs (Leahy, Wegmann, & Nolen, 2016).
- Learners are encouraged to use scholarly research to add to the template.
- Prepare a 10–12 slide PowerPoint presentation with slide notes that describes the organizational strategic learning plan as if you were presenting to the organizational leadership team. Use headlines, graphic organizers, or images to make your slides look professional.
- Length of presentation:10–12 slides with slide notes, not including one slide for resources.
- Organization:Make sure that your writing is well-organized, using headings and subheadings to organize content for the reader.
- Font and font-size:Times New Roman, 12-point.
- Number of resources:A minimum of four course resources.
- Evidence:Support your thoughts and ideas with data and/or in-text citations. Use current APA format for in-text citations and create a reference list at the end of your documents.
- APA formatting:Resources and in-text citations are formatted according to current APA Style and Format.
- Written communication:
- Convey purpose, in an appropriate tone and style, incorporating supporting evidence and adhering to organizational, professional, and scholarly writing standards.
- Write for a specific audience, using the vernacular of the profession.
- Use spell-check and other tools to ensure correct spelling and grammar
Additional Requirements
The deliverable for this assessment applies professional skills in Human Resources Management (HRM) to workplace situations which you will likely encounter in your day-to-day work in HRM. As part of your learning, we focus on the development of effective professional communication skills for the workplace.
Competencies Measured
- Competency 1: Analyze the strategic role of human resource development to create an agile and innovative workforce.
- Explain alignment of the strategic learning plan goals to organizational goals that will drive strategy.
- Competency 3: Evaluate approaches for the design, development, and implementation of programs which support learning needs in the workplace.
- Describe the learning approaches that will be used to address the needs of the communities of practice.
- Evaluate how the company will support learners and the impact of the learning and development function on the company.
- Explain how evaluation is conducted from both employee and management perspectives over the course of the five year plan.
- Competency 4: Develop approaches to support learning, career development, and mobility of individual contributors, managers, and leaders.
- Define the scope of the strategic learning plan.
- Competency 5: Communicate clearly, accurately, and professionally for the HR field.
- Create a 10–12 slide presentation with presentation notes to explain the analysis of the strategic learning plan.
- Convey purpose, in an appropriate tone and style, incorporating supporting evidence and adhering to organizational, professional, and scholarly writing standards.
References
Donaire, L. (2014). Enable business goals through L&D. Training, 51(4), 12–13.
Leahy, S. K., Wegmann, S., & Nolen, L. (2016). Through the looking glass: Foundation evaluation and learning and the quest for strategic learning. The Foundation Review, 8(5), 23–37.
Macpherson, A., & Antonacopoulou, E. (2013). Translating strategy into practice: The role of communities of practice. Journal of Strategy and Management, 6(3), 265–285.
Moon, H., & Ruona, W. (2015). Towards a deeper understanding of strategic learning. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 36(6), 657–674.
Neal, B. (2012). Designing and implementing a learning strategy plan. T + D, 66(6), 76–77.
