A Need for Every Business to Incorporate a Training and Development Strategies - Research Paper Example

Introduction Training involves a behaviour modification which is normally carried out in a formal and systematic manner. It is as a result of planned experience, instruction and education. Training and development plays a big role in achievement of organizational goals. Most of these goals are normally long term in nature. Training is part of the strategic framework of organizations. It produces a comprehensive and coherent plan that helps in developing employees and other stakeholders in organizations. When a business incorporates training and development therein, it acquires a competitive advantage over the other businesses. This is because the intellectual capital in the business is greatly developed. In fact employees in an organization get an opportunity to improve their skills in their areas of specialization. This paper will therefore expound on various aspects on the experiences of training. This includes reasons why this topic was chosen, why it attracts policy makers, agencies and stakeholders. It will also expound on concepts and theories that relate to training experiences. Hypotheses will be included. The paper will further show the methodology that was used for this study. The results will be presented, analysed and finally conclusion drawn. Why the topic? There are various reasons as to why this topic was chosen. One of the reasons is that training has been embraced in very many organisations in the global arena. Training is also known to have played a very big role in the success witnessed by very many organisations in the business sector. It is an aspect that has helped organisations that were on the verge of collapsing to have a competitive advantage over their competitors. (Baldwin, 1988) This topic was chosen because it touches across the board. The results of this research will play a very big role in helping many managers make strategic decisions that relate to training. It was quite important to carry out research on the experiences of training since the topic involves a complexity of factors that need to be critically analysed. (Bassi, 1999) Why it attracts the policy makers, agencies and stakeholders It has been noted with great concern that this topic highly attracts policy makers, agencies and stakeholders. One of the major reasons as to why all these stakeholders are attracted by this topic is the fact that it in one way or the other affects them. Policy makers within a nation are attracted by this topic because they need to structure policies that enhance training in organisations. (Alliger, 1989) They also want to ensure that the policies that they structure at the national levels are enabling both micro and macro business enterprises thrive in the market sector. One of the ways through which businesses thrive is when they carry out training of employees therein. Policy makers in organisations are also attracted by this topic because it plays a major role in economic development. (Hoberman and Mailick 1992) Policy makers also have to structure policies that will encourage training and development. This topic attracts various stakeholders in the business sector since they know that it is a core component to any successful organisation. These stakeholders include managers and even employees. Most of employees always look out for training opportunities since they know that they always in one way or the other play a very big role in their appraisal for promotions. (Bramley, 1996) Concepts and theories There are various concepts and theories that have been structured by different scholars that relate to training in organisations. One of this is Kirkpatrick’s model. Kirkpatrick’s model, there is the use of goal based evaluation approach which is actually based on levels of evaluation. The evaluation levels are four in number. (Alliger, 1989) These levels consist of learning, behaviour, reaction and results. In the reaction level there is the gathering of information and data on how participants react. This is done at the end of the training session. In the results level is where costs in relation to benefits are evaluated. (Bernthal, 1995) There is also the systems based approach that is also used for evaluating the cost of training. In this approach there is the use of various models. They include Input, Context, Training and Validation Systems (TVS) Approach, Product (CIPP) Model and Outcome (IPO) Model. System based models like TVS, IPO and CIPP are very essential in terms of their situation and overall context. (Beard and Wilson, 2002) The stakeholder approach of evaluating training is based on two theoretical roots. These include the stakeholder theory and contributions inducement view of organizations. These two theoretical perspectives are quite related in nature. In the stakeholder theory, there is the recognition all organizations involve investors, employees and customers. (Brooks, 1999) All these are multiple constituencies in organizations whether they are public, private, non profit or profit organizations. In this approach there is recognition of multiple constituencies. The measurement of the general success of an organization is in relation to how it serves its constituents better than its competitors. (Burgoyne, 1997) Hypotheses There are various hypotheses that were used in this research. They are as follows; Training has been incorporated in very many organisations in the global arena Training ventures have resulted in increased profits in many organisations Training is a costly activity for many organisations Organisations that carry out training usually evaluate its effects therein Methodology The methodologies incorporated in any research play a very big role in ensuring the entire success of the study. They help in enhancing maximum collection of imperative information that is related to the research topic. This research involved both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The amalgamation of these methodologies helped in collection of reliable information related to experiences of training. Primary data will be used in this study. In this research, various methods were used in the data collection process. One of the methods that were used is interview. An interview can be described as a one on one communication between two or more individuals. In the research fraternity, interviews are carried out with the aim of getting important information that is related to the research topic. Interviews normally involve one on one forums where interviewer asks the interviewee questions that pertain to the research. (Easterby, 1997) In this research, managers from various organisations that carried out training were used as interviewees. Research assistants had questions that were prepared beforehand that interviewees were asked. Some of the employees in the chosen organisations were also interviewed. This method has its strengths and weaknesses. The strengths of this method are that it will help in accruing first hand information. It is also very easy to get clarification on issues that the researcher does not understand. (Alliger, 1989) Since it is a one on one basis, the interviewees can also inquire on what exactly the interviewer means. This method therefore helps in accruing accurate information. This method also has its weaknesses. One of them is that it takes a lot of time and this makes interviewers shun away since most of them are busy. This method can turn out to be a situation where there are reversed roles between the interviewer and interviewees. This results in collecting very little information relevant to the research. (Fowler, 1993) Questionnaires were also incorporated in this research. They usually consist of research questions that are related to the research area or topic chosen. Questionnaires can either be given directly to respondents or posted to them. In this study, they were formulated and administered to the target group of people. These were managers and employees in relevant organisations. (Hoberman and Mailick 1992) Observation method was also used in collecting data related to experiences of training in organisations. In this method, different research assistants were chosen and trained on aspects that they need to observe during and after training in their respective organisations. This played a very great role in accruing first hand information. This method has its own strengths and weaknesses. The strengths include the fact that there can be easy future reference. Respondents don’t have to leave their work places. It is therefore time conscious. This is considering the fact that the questionnaires can be kept and referred to later. The weakness of this method is the fact that one can read in between the lines and have wrong conclusions on the research topic. There are always high chances of many respondents failing to answer the question or submitting the answers. It can be quite costly when many questionnaires have to be prepared. After collecting the data, it was later compared and contrasted with secondary data from books and journals. The data from this study was compiled into excel spreadsheets. The information that was collected from primary sources was later analysed using comparative analysis method. (Kaufman, 1996) Samples In this study, a random sample was carried out. This is also normally referred to as fish bowl method. In this study various organisations that had carried out training were listed down. They were twenty in number. Papers that had names of the organisations were folded and put in bowl. They were mixed by shaking the bowl. Ten people were asked to pick one paper each. These then constituted the organisations that were used in this research. (Fowler, 1993) Employees and managers in the chosen organisations were then used as respondents for this study. The following organisations were chosen; Vodafone Company, Colgate Palmolive company, Barclays Bank (U.K), Sony Company, General motors company, Toyota Company, Ford Company, Coca Cola Company, Nokia Company, LG Company. Methodological problems There were various methodological problems that were encountered in this study. Observation method had challenges whereby the research respondents were employees and also management in the chosen organisations. It was very challenging for them because they had their own responsibilities to carry out. This meant that they had very little or no time to keenly observe aspects that they were required to. This was overcome by enlightening them that they could carry out observation concurrently with their day to day activities. The response rate for this research was ninety two percent. This played a great role in the overall success. (Fowler, 1993) Interviews were very challenging in the sense that they really took a lot of time. Initially it was quite difficult to get respondents from work in order to interview them. This challenge was overcome by talking to respondents to avail themselves after work for interviews. This worked very well and the respondents were in a position to give all the information that they had. Problems were also encountered with the questionnaire method. In the initial stages, questionnaires were given to the respondents and it was required that they post after answering the questions. It was noted after a week that they were not being sent back. This problem was eliminated by giving other questionnaires which were collected on the same date of issuing by one of the research assistants. The respondents who could not make it to fill the questionnaires the same day were asked to email the answers to the respondent the following day. This worked so well and all the information needed was collected. Presentation of results The following results were collected in the ten companies that had training. These results show that after training was carried out, all the companies were able to experience increased profits. Table 1 Graph 2 The graph below shows the sales in units, demand rate and financial expenditure in Toyota Company. This was in the year 2007. Training was carried out in the first three months. Pie chart 3 The pie chart illustrated below shows the effects of training on employees in general motors Company. The management noted the changes after carrying out training and development for three months. This was in the year two thousand and six. The numbers illustrated in the chart represent the following; 1-Job satisfaction 2-Time management 3-Sales per employee 4-Customer care service Analysis Table 1 The first table illustrated above shows the effects of training on sales in each of the companies. It is quite evident that after training was carried out, each of the companies experienced increased sales. This automatically positively affected the profits in each of the companies in that period of time. It is however noted that the changes are not the same in all the organisations. There are some organisations that had very high changes while some experienced only slight differences. An example is Barclays bank that experienced very high sales increased. (Cherrington, 1994) Analysis in this company shows that it had very good plans for training. Employees were specifically trained on how they maximise their potential. The management team was also trained on how to handle employees and encourage them to improve their performance. (McNamara, 2001) Other companies like Colgate Palmolive only experienced slight changes in their sales. Further research in this company showed that the management did not invest much time and resources in the entire training. It was only carried out for three hours and it was started by criticising employees. On the other hand, Barclays bank carried out training for a week. The training kicked off by acknowledging the employees input in the company. Best performers were also rewarded in the meeting. This motivated other employees. Graph 2 Graph two represents the effects of training on Toyota Company in the year 2007 Training was carried out in the first three months. These are January, February and March. It was noted during this period that the company had very high financial expenditures. This means that training is quite a costly venture for many organisations. That would explain why some organisations don’t take a long period of time in carrying out the same. It is therefore quite important that managers in organisations plan for training within their companies so that they can be in a position to cater for the financial requirements. Customer demand for the company’s products was low in the early months. It was however noted that after the training, customers started demanding for automobiles for automobile from Toyota Company. This illustrates that training worked well towards improving customer perception in the company’s products. This shows that the training carried out in this company was positive and quite productive in nature. (Warr, 1978) The sales in Toyota Company were quite low in the first three months when training and development was being carried out. This indicates that managers need to know seasons when employees need training. The Company’s sales however increased sharply in the months of June, July and August. It is quite imperative for managers to carry out evaluation of the Company after carrying out training. This helps in improving areas that have negative implications (Beard and Wilson, 2002) Pie chart 3 The pie chart shows the effects of training on General Motors Company. It was noted in the previous annual general meeting in the Company that employees did not like their jobs. After training and development they had improved job satisfaction. Another effect of training on GM Company was time management. Employees learnt to manage their time very well. It was also noted that sales per employee also improved a great deal. This resulted from an improved customer care service within this Company. (Warr, 1978) Comparison with secondary data The results of this research were compared and contrasted with secondary data from books and journals. It was noted that this research was confirmatory in relation to secondary data in the books and journals. It is quite clear that training results in many positive aspects in organisations. This includes improved profits, improved customer care services and increased job satisfaction among employees. All these factors play a big role in enhancing these organisations’s competitive advantage. Validity and reliability The results of this research are quite sound and valid. They can be used in encouraging managers to carry out training and development in their respective organisations. This research contains very reliable information since it is a primary research and methods used in analysis are very accurate. Representativeness and generalisability As illustrated earlier on, the research was carried out in various organisations in U.K and U.S. They are ten in number. These organisations fall in different industries. These results were generalised to represent all the other organisations in U.S and U.K. It was noted that this information could represent all the organisations that carry out training found in U.K and U.S. Implications There are positive implications of this research. It can be used as a guideline by managers as they plan for training in their organisations. Further research is needed in relation to calculating of ROI Return On Investment after carrying training in organisations. Conclusion It is quite imperative for every business organization to incorporate a training and development strategies. This helps in modifying employee’s behaviours. Organizational goals are easily achieved when training and development is well implemented. It was noted in this study that training and development has very positive effects in organisations. One of this is increased sales and profits. The degree of change experienced in organisations is however determined by strategies used in the training. Other effects of training included improved time management, improved customer service and also job satisfaction. It is quite evident though that training is an expensive venture for many organisations. That is why it is quite important that managers carry out planning before hand in order to be in a position to meet the financial requirements. Training must always have the support of stakeholders or key constituency groups. There must be a strike of balance between training, needs and stakeholders in an organization. When a business incorporates training and development therein, it acquires a competitive advantage over the other businesses. Appendices Below is an example of questionnaire used for this research. 1. Was training carried out in your organisation?(Tick the appropriate answer) Yes No 2. Was training carried out in your organisation positive or negative? Positive Negative 3. What were the behavioural effects of training on employees? Explain 4. Did training have any effects on sales and company profits? If yes or no explain. 5. How did training affect customer service within your organisation 6. Was the training worth its cost? 7. What areas need to be improved on in relation to training in your organisation? Table 1 Company Sales before training Sales after training Vodafone 45% 55% Colgate Palmolive 30% 32% Barclays bank 62% 85% Sony Company 39% 50% General Motors 56% 62% Toyota Company 47% 60% Ford Company 40% 50% Coca Cola 52% 55% Nokia Company 33% 43% LG Company 54% 59% Graph 2 Pie chart 3 Read More