By David van Diggelen and Henk du Plessis
(HR Future - June 2003 Edition)

As academics look back at the last few years in the technologically advanced countries of the West, you can guarantee that these roller coaster times will be synonymous with the "e" enablement of almost everything related to business. In some cases the addition of the ubiquitous prefix was little more than marketing currency, however in other situations the e-change was a substantial shift from the traditional and heralded a totally new way of doing business. Ironically one of the most striking examples of this was in the arena traditionally reserved for a more human approach. e-Learning has been touted as the "next big thing" and has created numerous converts in the ranks of the usually more systems-focused managers.

e-Learning refers to the use of technology to replace traditional classroom training. Computer or Web Based training, which allows learners to study independently and remotely, are the most common manifestations. Distance Learning tools now allow individuals to "interact" with other students without having to move from their desks. At the top of the e-Learning hierarchy are Learning Management Systems which are applications that store all organizational and curriculum information in a database, providing learners with customized content specific to their role. On-line Universities that manage the entire learning experience and integrate multiple forms of learning are good examples.

It is undeniable that e-Learning has ushered in significant advances in learning theory and more practically in learning development and dissemination. The impact on the bottom line is now more tangible than ever and accounts for those growing converts to a field that was usually a hard sell for an HR department in the 80's. Before we are swept away by this Learning revolution though, it might be worthwhile to recall other great business revolutions - starting with the Industrial and how it resulted in the mechanistic view of resources (or human beings as we used to be known). Technology has us so enamored that we might be losing sight of our original intentions and audiences and allowing the e-tail to wag the dog.

The implementation of sophisticated Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems in a country like South Africa has provided an interesting perspective on this rush to embrace technological advances.

Worlds collide

South Africa is a fascinating dichotomy of first world business operating in a third world developing economy. The challenge is obvious - how to manage a world class business with a Third-World workforce? How do you train employees in an ERP package like SAP when the majority of them are functionally illiterate? The solution applied in South Africa might just shed some light on some Change and Learning principles that have been pushed aside by technologically advanced countries of the West.

Teaching through Play

Traditionally play theory has been restricted to the fields of child therapy and team building. Lately there has been some inroads into incorporating play theory into learning theory, but frankly it's viewed with suspicion by managers, dread by participants, time consuming by developers and anachronistic by technology gurus (unless related to computer simulations). In South Africa in order to bridge the gap in skills and requirements it's viewed as a necessity!

Teaching through play or theatre productions in the business world is known as Corporate or Industrial Theatre. This methodology is applied in businesses in Australasia, the UK, the USA usually for team building, role plays, soft skills training workshops or product launches.

Due to the unique circumstances in South Africa, Industrial Theatre is viewed in a broader sense - a play or theatre production put on in an industrial or corporate environment with the intention of achieving business related goals. Industrial Theatre is used as a transformation mechanism that creates learning on an emotional level and therefore dramatically reduces resistance to change. It also influences mindsets, beliefs and behavior patterns. Industrial Theatre serves as an excellent communication tool to convey complex issues in an entertaining and understandable manner.

Keeping it Simple and Real

The original intention of Industrial Theatre was to reach an illiterate audience brought up in an oral tradition. It was a way of showing people what change would be coming without having to resort to Power Point and e-Learning technologies. In the highly literate, sophisticated, e-Business world, what relevance does this have? At its most basic Industrial Theatre acts as reminder that Change and Learning is about people, actual human beings who respond to emotion far more readily than to facts and figures. It also forces us to view change at its most simple, instead of using endless slides of jargon and "project speak", you are forced to distill your message into its most basic components and communicate the essence. A glance at any document sitting on your desk or your last training doorstop manual will provide ample evidence of how far from this ideal we have slipped.

Why does the Power of the Play (p-learning) have such resonance?

Theatre is one of the few tools that are able to surface, depict and dramatize mindsets and beliefs, and can show the impact of applying the appropriate or inappropriate mindset and belief systems. Actors on stage are able to verbalize and act out the thoughts, assumptions and beliefs of the characters they represent - and that is powerful learning for the audience. Theatre is about storytelling, and if a typical business scenario (or analogy) is performed that explains the bigger picture and how different elements fit together, then employees often see the light of system or process thinking.

The essence of the theatre (or drama) discipline has to do with the expression of emotions through storytelling. Emotional learning is created because these emotions are depicted on stage, and employees can identify where they are at in the change process (awareness) and can then identify what they can, or must, do to move successfully through these phases.

This explanation is not that surprising – however, what is surprising is that most hold true for not only the intended illiterate audiences but for the more "sophisticated" literate audiences as well. What started as a means to reach a non-literate audience has opened up new and longer lasting learning opportunities amongst middle and upper management. The play is still the thing to catch the king.

Before we all jump on the new Broadway approach to training its important to mention that the time and cost of training and educating in this manner may be significant. The benefits however are real and the true power of seeing things from this South African ERP implementation perspective is that maybe for a moment we can remove the technology, cynically tinted glasses from our eyes and get back to training and change basics.

Theatre (tales of the triumphs, trials and tribulations of people and their emotions) is the grandparent of learning and communication. e-Learning is viewed as the future of training and development although it is maybe still in its baby shoes? When these two meet in synergy – the old and the young - powerful learning is the result. Let’s not throw out the grandparent with e-ease.

Article provided with permission from –

Osgard Media, the competitive knowledge company, distributes knowledge to the SA workplace through it’s:
- hardcopy publication, HR Future, South Africa's independent human resources magazine;
- online service, www.osgard.co.za and events division, HR Future Events.