2. Introduction
The process of learning is constant and ever-changing. Learning may occur as part of formal and
or informal education, personal development, professional development, or training. It may be, both
positive and negative, and may be aided by motivation or trial and error. There are several types of
learning some examples that are listed below:
Observational Learning - Personal repetition of an observed behavior. (Ex. Dancing)
Habituation - Progressive regression of behavioral response probability with repetition stimulus. (Ex.
How animal first responds to a stimulus, but if it is neither rewarding nor harmful the animal reduces
subsequent responses.)
Play – A behavior which has no particular end in itself, but improves performance in similar situations in
the future. (Ex. Animals- lion cubs playing to learn to hunt)
Formal - Learning that takes place within a teacher-student relationship. (Ex. A school system.)
Informal – learning that occurs through the experience of day-to-day situations. (Ex. We have learned to
pay attention while driving to avoid crashes.)
Non-formal learning and combined approaches - The educational system may use a combination of
formal, informal, and non-formal learning methods. In some schools students can get points that count
in the formal-learning systems if they get work done in informal-learning circuits. (Ex. High school
students getting college credits.)
One of the roles of HRD is to promote learning that facilitates personal and growth in a mutually
beneficial form. Learning is vital to HRD and the success of an organization. Our textbook states that
many companies have taken learning so seriously that they have formulated a new position called Chief
Learning Officer. Additionally, a new Certification has been created within HRD called Certified
Professional Learning Professional.
Often times HRD is said to be the management of resources. The most important resource of an
organization is it employees. As stated in our text on page 67, our goal as HRD professionals is to change
behavior, knowledge or attitudes through learning.
This paper as well as Chapter 3 of our textbook and will serve to identify and clarify the learning
principles of HRD, categories that should be considered when learning and teaching, and personal
characteristics that effect opportunities to learn
3. Learning and HRD by Definition
Learning (defined in our textbook) a relatively permanent change in behavior, cognition or affect that
occurs as a result of one’s interaction with the environment. (p 67)
Wikipedia states that learning is acquiring new, or modifying and reinforcing, existing knowledge,
behaviors, skills, values, or preferences and may involve synthesizing different types of information. The
ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals and some machines. Progress over time tends to follow
learning curves. Learning is not compulsory; it is contextual. It does not happen all at once, but builds
upon and is shaped by what we already know. To that end, learning may be viewed as a process, rather
than a collection of factual and procedural knowledge. Learning produces changes in the organism and
the changes produced are relatively permanent
HRD, as defined in Wikipedia,as a theoryis a framework for the expansion of human capital within an
organization through the development of both the organization and the individual to achieve
performance improvement.
Wikipedia also stated that Human Resource Development is the integrated use of training,
organization, and career development efforts to improve individual, group and organizational
effectiveness. HRD develops the key competencies that enable individuals in organizations to perform
current and future jobs through planned learning activities. Groups within organizations use HRD to
initiate and manage change. Also, HRD ensures a match between individual and organizational needs.
4. Bibliography
Werner, Jon M. and DeSimone, Randy l.(2012, 2009, 2006) Human Resources Development, 6th
edition,South-Western Cengage Learning USA
http://www.slideshare.net/awe2885/learning-and-hrd
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_resource_development
Langa, Claudiu, (2013) Management of Time Resources for Learning through Individual Study in Higher
Education, ScienceDirect Journal 76 (2013)pages13-18
