Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Intellectual ...

Eric Kong
As can be seen from Figure 1 above, individuals learn <strong>the</strong>ir perceived world through NLP
representation systems, whe<strong>the</strong>r it is visual, auditory or kinaes<strong>the</strong>tic. New knowledge is likely
developed, which will <strong>the</strong>n be internalised and/or utilised for organisational value creation. This value
creation, as a result <strong>of</strong> enhanced HC, assists organisations to be more competitive in <strong>the</strong>ir own
environment (Kong, 2010). As NLP allows an individual to create new knowledge through his/her own
learning style, <strong>the</strong> NLP approach is likely and arguably <strong>the</strong> most effective method to create learning
and knowledge, which helps to enhance HC in organisations.
Despite <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se promising findings from <strong>the</strong> literature, <strong>the</strong>re is a potential problem with NLP when it is
applied in developing HC. NLP presupposes that people are inherently creative and capable. As
Tosey and Mathison (2003) argue, ‘NLP in our experience concentrates on <strong>the</strong> intrapersonal,
intrapsychic processes <strong>of</strong> reality construction. It attends little, if at all, to <strong>the</strong> social context and
intersubjectivity. If it is a learning <strong>the</strong>ory, it is one that emphasises individual ra<strong>the</strong>r than social
learning’. As highlighted earlier, having organisational members to develop, internalise and utilise
knowledge individually is not sufficient for nurturing HC. It is <strong>the</strong> cumulative tacit knowledge along with
all o<strong>the</strong>r human resource elements that create most value to organisations. In o<strong>the</strong>r words, for NLP to
be effective to develop HC in organisations, it must be used carefully and strategically. Indeed, NLP
concentrates on how human beings go about making sense <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir experience and interacting with
o<strong>the</strong>rs (Pollitt, 2010). Techniques in NLP also involve <strong>the</strong> study <strong>of</strong> language patterns, patterns <strong>of</strong>
motivation, how rapport is built, and how individuals code data (Thompson et al., 2002). In o<strong>the</strong>r
words, <strong>the</strong>re is an in-built mechanism in NLP that allows interactions between individuals to occur and
tacit knowledge, skills and experience to be share. However, interactions are not shown explicitly in
<strong>the</strong> NLP approach in order to encourage members in an organisation to interact and share
experience, skills and knowledge with each o<strong>the</strong>r. Leaders and managers must have a very clear idea
<strong>of</strong> what <strong>the</strong>y would like to achieve. External consultations and pr<strong>of</strong>essional NLP trainers may need to
be brought in to emphasise <strong>the</strong> importance <strong>of</strong> sharing and creating knowledge for <strong>the</strong> organisation.
Only active interpersonal interactions allow <strong>the</strong> level <strong>of</strong> HC to increase dramatically. More research is
needed to reveal what strategies are required to develop HC through NLP in organisations.
4. Conclusion
NLP has endured for more than thirty years. As background on my own position and perspective, this
paper is based on <strong>the</strong> discipline <strong>of</strong> knowledge management and organisational learning. It is my hope
that <strong>the</strong> paper has enhanced our understanding <strong>of</strong> NLP and its potential for knowledge management
and organisational learning through scholarly enquiry. NLP aims to develop individuals’ skills in
relation to o<strong>the</strong>r people, by improving understanding <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir thought processes, behaviours and
language (Pollitt, 2010). It can help employees to develop skills, knowledge and confidence, which not
only improves pr<strong>of</strong>essional lives but also generalises into improving areas <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir personal lives
(Lavan, 2002). It is a field <strong>of</strong> practice and innovation with a wide range <strong>of</strong> tools and techniques that
learners and pr<strong>of</strong>essional trainers can apply within both formal and informal learning settings (Tosey
and Mathison, 2008). More research on strategies that foster <strong>the</strong> development <strong>of</strong> HC through NLP is
needed.
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