ETHICAL LEADERSHIP IN EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT 201do not want to learn they will not. So, you have to create the desire. That is very
important. So, we put quite a lot of effort into creating that desire. (Manager, Young
People Development)
Managers in the Group Training and Development Unit appeared to be most
comfortable when discussing how the training and development function
can assist the achievement of specified business objectives. The interviewees
rarely related employee development from the perspective of the employee.
Noticeably, when they did so, much of their accounts concerned employees’
failure to achieve management’s objectives. For example, difficulty in per-
suading employees to attend associate development centres (open learning
centres located on each company site) was explained by some as a result
of employees having had negative experiences of education during school
years and being uncomfortable with individualized learning approaches. Fur-
ther, some interviewees explained away the limited uptake of technology
tools for employee development as caused by ‘technophobia’. This condi-
tion, they suggested, was less prevalent in the company than it had been
in previous years because employees had new role models especially in the
home—seeing their children enthusiastically interacting with computer games
and videos.
Mixed attitudes were expressed on the role and significance of technology
tools for employee development. On the one hand, technology was presented
as having a positive role for employees who were not intimidated by associate
development centres. These employees were often seen as having a stronger
intrinsic interest and desire for learning. On the other hand, technology was
described as being of low worth, partly as a consequence of line managers’
reluctance to support higher utilization of open learning and partly due to
technology media’s tendency, in their experience, to produce isolated and
sporadic learning.
The development of employees was described by interviewees as belea-
guered by obstacles. Three commonly identified problems were that: line
managers often were uninterested in supporting employee development; only
a small proportion of the total employees were intrinsically motivated to learn
and use the associate development centres; and the technology tools suffered
serious limitations creating isolated instances of learning. Partial resolution of
these difficulties was presented as requiring an improvement in the status and
authority of HR compared to other business functions, in this way employees
may become more frequently released from their work tasks. Also, most of
the interviewees appeared to be optimistic for the future believing that young
people would be more amenable to technology training interventions through
being better educated than the current generation of employees and by being
more ‘technology literate’.