LEARNING IS THE LIFETIME PROCESS ENHANCE OUR LIFESTYLE AND BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT.

INTRODUCTION :  When a person joins an organisation besides salary , he is also interested in enhancing his mental skills . His knowledge , skills , abilities, role perceptions are largely affected , over a period of time , by what he learning an organisation . This further affects his behaviour on the job . Learning , thus significantly influence individual behaviour. Not only an individual it also promotes organisation's capacity to acquire and utilize knowledge on a continuous basis which promotes knowledge management and learning organisation.

      "Cultivating a learning culture in which organisational members systematically gather knowledge and share it with others in the organisation to achieve better performance is knowledge management . " 

       Learning organisation is the one that has developed the capacity to continuously learn , adapt , and change . People continually expand their capacity to create the results they truely desire , where new and expensive patterns are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free and where people are continually learning how to learn together . Learning organisation use double - loop learning as against single-loop learning used by other organisations. In single - loop learning when errors are detected , they are corrected according to past routines and present policies. In double - loop learning , when errors are detected , their correction involves change in organisation's objective , policies and standard routines. Double loop learning challenges old assumptions and norms and provide opportunities for alternative solutions to problems leading to dramatic improvement in the organisation structures and designs.

MEANING OF LEARNING : Learning is a psychological process which promotes permanent change in the behaviour of a person resulting out of experience , education , training or practice . The change in behaviour should be long - lasting and not a short - lived change. It involves change in thought process , attitudes and behaviour of a person which becomes part of his personality . All his future actions should be guided by the new behaviour and old behaviour should be discarded.

         "Learning is a relatively enduring change in behaviour brought about as a consequence of experience " . Through learning is attributed to change in the behaviour towards a positive direction , it may actually occur in both the directions ; good or bad. People can learn bad habits from their peer group and develop negative attitude towards the management - coming to office late , entering into argument , not giving up easily etc. Such behaviour usually is not lasting behaviour as management will take steps to change it in the right direction .

FEATURES OF LEARNING : 

    Learning is characterised by the following factures :

1. It involves change in behaviour through practice , training or experience.

2. The change may be for good or bad from the organisation's point of view .

3. It involves change in potential behaviour of a person and not necessarily change in behaviour. A person becomes capable to exhibit new behaviour because of learning new thought processes and attitudes. He may not actually change his behaviour as the new behaviour is not accompanied with incentives.

4. Change should be long - lasting or relatively permanent . Short lived changes arising out of change in mood or fatigue do not constitute learning.

5.  The change in behaviour should not result out of physical maturity . These are natural changes which occur in everybody , in all conditions - favourable or unfavourable , upto the age of 20-25 years and normally do not result in change in behaviour . Change because of learning result in change in behaviour backed by some form of motivation - financial or non financial . Learning can be possible throughout the life of a person.

    " Learning can be defined as relatively permanent change in behaviour potentiality that results from reinforced practice or experience."

FACTORS AFFECTING LEARNING : 

Learning can be acquired and , therefore , managers organise learning programmes to result in changed behaviour have a lasting impact. The following factors affect learning.

1. MOTIVATION : Learning resulting in changed behaviour is affected by motivation. Motivation prompts a person to learn new concepts and initiates him to continue to perform them . If learning results in positive behaviour , it is followed by rewards and if learning results is negative behaviour , it is followed by negative motivation, that is punishment. To avoid punishment , the person would try to convert negative behaviour in positive behaviour. Motivation , thus , results in repeated behaviour.

2. MENTAL SET : Learning does not happen on its own. A person should have the mental set to learn new things in order to change his behaviour in a new direction.

3. NATURE OF LEARNING : Learning is affected by its nature , whether what one has to learn is easy or complex , whether the learner is familiar with those concepts or not. Easy and familiar concepts of learning make learning easy.

4. PRACTICE : Practice makes a man perfect . The more one practices new skills and concept the more he learns them. Driving skills , computer skills etc can be learnt and made permanent through practice.

5. ENVIRONMENT : The environment is which one learns strongly affects the learning process. Learning in an environment of stress and threats will be less affective than learning in a supportive and motivated environment . Though both negative and positive environment result in learning positive environment affects the psychology of a person . He integrates himself with his organisation and subordinates his self interest.

Thanking you.