We are all born unique with a certain level of potentials embedded in us. The ability to discover those potentials such as skills, talents, knowledge, etc. can be sometimes difficult especially if one is not allowed to explore them. People can be naturally talented in specific areas of human endeavor. But can also avail themselves to learn from others. Through a process called social learning, which according to Albert Bangura (1986) described as how people learn behavior by observing others behave. He further stated that social learning is different from other types of learning because it allows for creativity in addition to learning something from others.
It is important to know that since an individual can learn the behaviors of others, some circumstances might hinder its progress, such as cross-cultural differences but, if well dealt with, it can create synergy in an inclusive organization.
That said, in a social learning environment, individuals particularly, growing children, will like to imitate someone as his or her role model by listening, observing, and practicing what that person does. It can have a positive or negative impact on the learner. According to Marilyn Prince- Mitchell, role models show young people how to live with integrity, optimism, hope, determination, and compassion. For this process to effectively occurs, it requires four-steps.
That is ‘’attention’’, the ability of the learner to focus on what he or she is trying to learn is important, and any distraction might affect the learning process. The ability to ”recollect” what has been stored in the observed behavior in the brain goes a long way to keep the individual social learning process being successful. But if it is brain-damaged, that can affect how one can reproduce the behaviors that have been stored. Concussion and traumatic brain injury are conditions that affect how the brain function and as such can affect how an injured person communicate, think, act, behave, reason and can sometimes be suicidal. According to Headway (n.d), the cognitive effects of a brain injury affect the way a person thinks, learns, and remembers. The third step is ”reproduction”, which involves the actual physical performance of a behavior. That requires the learner to be creative in dealing with issues that might, at first sight, seems impossible but, with creativity such action might be accomplished. The final step is ”motivation”, the desire or passion a person has to reproduce a behavior. An organization needs a leader who is motivational and charismatic enough to encourage and inspire its members to make sure the impossible is possible. For instance, for a first-time distance learner especially, during this covid-19 pandemic where most schools have closed, in-person learning is a challenge for the students, mostly children. But, the motivation and encouragement from parents, peers, and those who have already familiarized themselves with computer schooling have encouraged and inspires these kids to live up to the task. Bandura (1986) indicated that the environment, respect, and peer learning are ways to increased motivation. It is important to emphasize that motivation is a tool that can be used to accomplish organizational objectives.
However, one obstacle that can prevent the smooth social learning process is cross-cultural differences. Cross-cultural differences in the way in which one culture perceives the other cultures. Cross-cultural is a communication tool that described how people of different cultures communicate and interact with each other in different ways among themselves. In a social learning environment, the individual is learning behavior that requires him or her to understand what he or she is trying to learn or imitate. But due to cross-cultural differences, different words, signs, or body language can mean different meanings to different people. If this happened, the probability that whatever behavior is being learned or modeled can be done wrongly and therefore, will not serve the intended purpose. For example, in my culture (Ghana), using your left hand to greet, or eat is considered taboo or abominable. But, doing a similar thing in the U.S is not. If a situation like this arises, it can mislead a behavior in its context in an organization, and that can create tension and confusion.
But once these cultural differences are solved through cross-cultural knowledge and awareness, the social learning processes will be upheld, resulting in creating synergy in an organization. Cultural, synergy is a cooperative or combined action and occurs when diverse or disparate individuals or groups collaborate for a common cause. The objective is to increase effectiveness by sharing perceptions and experiences, insights, and knowledge. (Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2014, p. 266). Where member’s social learned, skills, knowledge, talents can be put together for the organization to achieve its optimal level. To get the best of synergy for its organization, one has to break the cross-cultural differences by the willingness to learn about others’ cultures and having trust and respect for members (Sullivan (1996). Though, there might be some social learning that does not conflict with cross-cultural differences. It is, however, important to point it out, especially culture ”within” an organization is more likely to succeed in a social learning environment than cultural ”between”.
It is important to know that an organization needs to maintain its cultural variability. That refers to the conditions of stability within the organization. If the organization is unstable, it requires a lot of work from the leader to curb such a situation from escalating to the point that will affect the organizational objectives. According to Schmidt (2006), when such a situation occurs, the leadership needs a strong internal structure to manage change, open communication channels, and decentralized decision-making with local experts to respond.
In conclusion, for the social learning process to succeed, there is the need to break the barrier of cross-cultural differences, which might act as a hindrance for full attainment of the social learning scope. It is then that the synergy can impact positively an organization.
References:
Headway (n.p).Cognitive effects of brain injury. Retrieved on 18 February 2021 from, https://www.headway.org.uk/about-brain-injury/individuals/effects-of-brain-injury/cognitive-effects/
Penn State. (n.d).Lesson 05: learning and change in a global setting.Retrieved on 18 February 2021 from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2103357/modules/items/30942193
Marilyn Price-Mitchell. (4 December 2017). What is a role model? five qualities that matter to youth. Retrieved on 18 February 2021 from, https://www.rootsofaction.com/role-model/
Synergy Center. (n.d). How synergy’s important to organizational development and maintenance. Retrieved on 12 February from https://organizational-synergy.com/how-synergys-important-to-organizational-development-and-maintenance/
Schmidt. (22 December 2006).The concept of cultural synergy and global organization. Retrieved on 12 February 2021 from, https://uk.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-assets/14116_book_item_14116.pdf
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.