Influencing organisational behaviour through the application of learning theories

Abstract

Over the years, learning has been seen as an active and rewarding aspect of peoples' personal and collective experiences. Learning is a feature of all human activities and defines humanity. As the business environment continually changes, organisations increasingly need innovative ideas to stay ahead of competition. Learning therefore is viewed as the key factor that underpins organisational competitiveness. It enables organisations to achieve a better balance between long-term effectiveness and short-term efficiency; hence, a focus on capturing and sharing learning produces a wider range of solutions to organisational issues.  Renowned psychologists have identified learning theories that thoroughly analyse the effect of learning on behaviours. Learning theories have therefore influenced a range of people management best practices. This paper seeks to analyse how organisational behaviour can be influenced through the application of these learning theories.

Keywords: Learning, organisational behaviour, organisational learning, learning theories.