Training Professionals Have a Leading Role in Innovation and Change - Assignment Example

Training Professionals have a Leading Role in Innovation and Change Name Course Name and Code Instructor’s Name Date Training Professionals have a Leading Role in Innovation and Change In the contemporary world, innovation and change are very critical challenges and not just words. How these two words are handled by the leaders and business managers makes a great difference between failure and success (Looise and Riemsdijk, 2004). Innovation is the upgrading of organizations services and products to maintain their competitiveness in the market. On the other hand, change entails human behaviour which is directly influenced by such forces as personal as well as business relationships, work routines, performance appraisal, culture and organizational structures. To achieve the desired innovation and change, organizations should aim at training their professionals to provide the right exposure, frameworks and opportunities for development as well as networking (Looise and Riemsdijk, 2004). This essay seeks to describe the role of training professionals in today’s business and discussing how professionals approach development programs. In addition, the essay will describe how some Australian organizations have developed innovation in their training as well as development programs. Lastly the essay will differentiate the different organization’s approach to training for innovation. The role of training professionals in today’s businesses, to deliver innovation. According to Clark (1993), human resource issues are of paramount when it comes to managing technical change. It is evident from a research carried out in the 1990s that the most important personnel issues relevant for the technological change introduction irrespective of who champions the issues are organization design, personnel issues from a narrow sense perspective and work structuring. Clark (1993) highlights that organizations should allow their employees to exercise their full strengths in their line of duty since this way they can be able to provide a significant contribution to innovation and change. In addition, he pointed out that reward, selection, appraisal and development were important in bringing technological change. Of great priority, however, according to Clark (1993), is the selection of the right staff as well as the training of the employees to work efficiently with the introduced technology to bring about the desired innovation and change. Chung (1997) while discussing the importance of human resource in enhancing technological innovation has pointed out a number of practices that contribute to innovation and change. This includes the presence of a high level management personnel who completely understands the new change as well as consistently supports it, employee involvement in the planning, restructuring of the workforce to allow for more integrated teams as well as the application of technological projects that allows other employees to train their fellow employees, empowerment of the technological employees. This entails the change of decision making to the lowest level reinforced by the data as a result of technology. According to Chung (1997), empirical research however, in the early stage of employee empowerment, the introduction of new technology could lead to negative results due to the unstable state of the manufacturing system. Moreover, Chung (1997) points out that only when the system is fully established does employee empowerment provide benefit organizations. According to a Beaufort project case study by Bondarouk and Looise (2005), carried out in Medinet in 2000, training professionals is very vital to innovation and change. The Beaufort project researched on the users of new information technology on two departments. The introduction of new technology was aimed at enhancing the efficiency personnel administration by reorganizing human resource management practices. The notion was that managers could input the personnel information direct in to the system and share the information with all other departments. The project was headed by four managers. Three of them had experience on software and one was selected to lead the training of users. Of all the four none had experience in human resource work. This posed a big obstacle to their operations since the new jobs they were supposed to perform were not operationalized as well as defined. Later they got relevant trainings and this way they were able to solve the challenges they had been facing to realize their goals. How training professionals approach the design and delivery of training and development programs Training professionals approach the design and delivery of training and development programs by creating training programs that specifically focus on a specific audience, particular topic and one that aims at bringing the desired change and innovation to the organization (Klein and Sorra, 1996). Organizations use different process or approach to design, develop as well as deliver. The approach an organization settles on depends on the specifications of that organization. According to studies most organizations base their approach on the fact that an individual is the most important asset to any organization (Looise and Riemsdijk, 2004). In addition, most organizations work closely with their clients and employees to design and develop a budget, work plan as well as timelines for delivery of the development programs in a way that suits the organizations change. It is apparent that most training professionals use the latest techniques that are designed to the preferences of a specific audience. Ideally the programs include realistic scenarios, reading material as well as exercises that ensure the kind of training is of importance and is applicable to the job (Klein and Sorra, 1996). Furthermore, the approach requires the provision of the right resources through web based technologies, individual work reflection as well as development of evaluation tools to help obtain information on course reactions, employee job behaviour as well as the overall potential result. Through this, the training professionals are able to steer organization’s improvements and performance (Tanya and Jan, 2005). Australian organizations have developed innovation in their training and development programs How two Australian organizations have developed innovation in their training and development programs Community sector banking The community sector banking is the first and only Australian’s specialist bank that does not offer services for profit organizations. The bank was established in 2002 by a consortium of 20 not for profit organization and Bendigo. Other than the bank providing banking services, it also invests its profits to the community sector. In addition it also enhances the development of more effective government, business and community partnerships to ensure the support of its stakeholders (Bendigo Bank, 2011). Community sector banking has a better understanding of their customers and this makes them unique from other banks. As a result of these, the bank has been able to find new ways that they can better their services to their customers. This they have done by introducing new banking technologies that improve their service delivery. This has been a success due to the fact that they are able to train their employees on the use of the introduced technology tailored to their goals and objectives. In addition, the bank strives at improving personal development by ensuring that they allow their employees to perform their best as well as contribute new ideas that will help improve the performance of the bank (Bendigo Bank, 2011). Cole supermarket Cole Supermarket, established in 1914 as a variety store, is an Australian second largest chain supermarket in terms of market share (35%) behind Woolworth’s supermarket with a market share of 40% (Coles, 2006). The supermarket is owned by Wesfarmers and it has employed over 100,000 employees. The first Cole supermarket was opened in 1960 in Melbourne. Coles has 741 stores throughout Australia incorporating 45 BI-LO supermarkets which also stock and sell Coles private label brands. The success of Cole supermarket is linked to technological factors which have assisted the firm to engage in online marketing strategies. This online presence has offered Cole an extension in revenue generation, sales and profits increase and minimization on operational costs (Coles, 2006). The firm has integrated IT in its business operations which have contributed greatly in its marketing, and shopping activities. This has been a success due to the fact that Cole has a strong human resource. In addition Cole ensures that it offers training to its professionals on any new technology. Further it allows the employees to contribute to the growth of the supermarket through their creation. Comparison between the two organizations It is evident that the two organizations use almost the same approach to design and deliver training and development programs. The organizations use an approach that prioritizes their customers. They work closely with their clients and employees to deliver and attain their set goals. In addition they these organizations ensure that they design, develop and deliver the development programs in a way that suits the organization and contributes significantly to their success. However the two organizations differ in their approach in that Cole does not use web based technologies to obtain information on course reactions. Conclusion The essay has discussed the roles of training professionals in today’s businesses, to deliver innovation, based on three writers who argued that professional training is of paramount to deliver innovation. However, Chung (1997), highlighted that in the early stage of employee empowerment, the organization could experience negative effects due to the instability of the systems. Furthermore, the essay explains training professionals approach the design and delivery of training and development programs. It is apparent that the approach is based on the customer as the important asset of the organizations. In addition the essay has also described how Australian’s Cole supermarket and community sector bank have developed innovation in their training and development programs to improve their performance. In conclusion, organizations should ensure that they adopt the right approach which is in favour of them to ensure that they remain being competitive and that their customer’s satisfaction is attained. References Bendigo Bank. 2011. Community Sector Banking, retrieved on September 12, 2011, http://www.bendigobank.com.au/public/community/community_sector_banking.asp Chung, C.A. 1997. Human issues influencing the successful implementation of advanced manufacturing technology. Journal of Engineering and Technology Management, vol. 13, pp. 283–299. Clark, J. 1993. Managing people in a time of technical change: conclusions and implications. In Clark, J. (ed.), Human Resource Management & Technical Change SAGE Publications. pp. 212–223. Klein, K.J. and Sorra, J.S. 1996. The challenge of innovation implementation. Academy of Management Review, vol. 21, pp. 1055–1080. Looise, J.C. and Riemsdijk, M. V. 2004. Innovating organizations and HRM: a conceptual framework. Management Revue, vol. 15, pp. 277–288. Tanya, B. and Jan, K. 2005. HR Contribution to IT Innovation Implementation: Results of Three Case Studies. Journal of creativity and management, 14 Coles, 2006, Coles Healthy Living. Accessed September 16, 2011 http://wwwcoles.com.au/healthyliving/nutrition_notes/natural_selection.asp Read More