Learning and Development Assignment 2014"What can performance management offer to learning and development practices within an organization?" The objective of this report is to determine whether a successful performance management system can offer anything to an organization's learning and development process. The report will examine performance management concepts and the implications it has on learning and development. It will focus on key issues relating to the learning and development process and outline the contributions that performance management has to offer. Introduction Organizations around the world are facing new challenges due to increasing globalization, business complexity and uncertainty in the economic climate. As the business environment is increasingly knowledge-based, we now see organizations in a different light. They are now knowledge-driven institutes that focus on performance and continuous improvement, placing greater importance on human resources, their knowledge and capabilities. Singh (2013). More emphasis is now being placed on performance management systems as it is considered an important and critical HR activity. However, performance management is not a simple, uniform process, it is a complex and time-consuming process that requires total commitment from all levels of the organization. Learning and development contains many different forms. When strategically aligned with effective performance management systems, learning and development can improve productivity, performance and increase staff commitment and loyalty. This is of considerable importance given Ireland's commitment to a knowledge-based economy; strategic training, learning and development have become even more essential… half of the paper… learning happens at every stage of the performance management cycle. Performance management is concerned with the development of individual employees, while learning and development is primarily concerned with the development of the organization as a whole. Conclusion In conclusion we have looked at the contributing factors that performance management systems have to offer to the learning and development process. We discussed the concepts of performance management and the implications it has on learning and development. In the current climate, it is essential that organizations link performance management and learning and development processes together. By aligning these two structures, organizations can thrive by achieving high levels of performance, with the certainty of having a highly motivated and engaged workforce, a significant competitive advantage in the global market.