Effective Training and Development Always Leads to Organizational Effectiveness - Example

Effective Training and Development Always Leads to Organizational Effectiveness Student’s Name Institution Affiliation Executive Summary This report focuses on the assertion that training and development leads to organizational effectiveness. It analyses literature on issues pertaining to training and development. Besides that, it seeks to determine whether training and development influences the effectiveness of an organization. Arguments for and against the assertion have been made with the relevant references to literature concerning the subject matter. The report analyzes critically the views concerning the role played by training and development in influencing the effectiveness of an organization. The major sections in the report are those dealing with the argument for and against the statement that training and development leads to effectiveness in an organization. Eventually, having weighed the argument for and against the subject matter, this report concludes that it is true that training and development of employees leads to a more effective organization. The effectiveness is because, through training and development, qualities in individual employees and work-teams are improved hence leading to better output. The improvement in output results in increased efficiency in the organization. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Introduction 4 Arguments For 5 Arguments Against 11 Conclusion 14 References 15 Introduction The focus will be the role played by effective training and development towards effectiveness in an organization. The need for effectiveness in the modern day workplace because of the value placed on time calls for efficient employees (Noe, 2001). Due to different abilities of people in any organization, there is always an inherent need for training in a bid to ensure that the energies and focus of workplace teams are in harmony. Without such training, efficiency will be minimal because everyone will be focusing on doing things their way. Development, on the other hand is the ultimate aim of any individual. It is mainly because of learning from experiences. However, training offers a faster and more assured way of personal development hence the two are interrelated (Cross & White, 2002). Without development, the morale of the personnel in any workplace drops and this is a major impediment on how the operations of a particular organization are carried out and definitely, it affects the effectiveness of the workplace. As such, for effectiveness to be achieved in the workplace, the management cannot afford to overlook the role played by training and development. Hence, the focus of this report on whether effective training and development always leads to organization’s effectiveness. Arguments For Training and development is a very effective way in which an organization can empower its employees. In fact, Tang (2011) argues that the emergence of today’s employee as the most importance resource in organizations calls for the need to focus constantly an entity’s priorities on its human resource. Through training and development, the personnel are empowered since their abilities to perform their duties in the workplace are improved. Through training, people get to extend the scope of their skills making them more marketable besides enabling them to be effective in the performance of their duties. The productivity of an organizations workforce greatly influences their effectiveness in carrying out the operations of that particular organization. According to Matlay (2007), with time, the marginal productivity of employees diminishes hence the need to replenish it through constant training and development opportunities. Through such trainings for instance holding workshops, the employees obtain new insights on how to perform their duties better. Besides, such opportunities gives them a break from the normal routine of their workdays while at the same time ensuring that later on their return, they will be better equipped to handle their responsibilities. As such, enhancing the productivity of an organization's workforce through training and development can lead to an increase in their effectiveness. In most organizations, teamwork is a very prized asset. Through it, targets and milestones are made and met. Thus, effectiveness in such organizations is almost entirely dependent on the quality of individuals in workplace teams. This dependency is because the quality of output from these teams is proportional to the quality of input from the individuals (Baird & Scneier, 2010). They further note that in order to ensure quality output, organizations have no other option rather than incorporating training and development for their employees. Naman (2007) also observes that this in turn builds their skills and then confidence hence boosting their effectiveness in the workplace. Such effectiveness is manifested in the quality of output, the ability to meet deadlines besides being able to achieve the maximum results using the minimum resources. For any effectiveness to be achieved in the face of ever-changing demands and aspirations in organizations, there is a need to maintain an informed workforce. This need is because, through a constant learning, employees can better understand their work environment and thus be more effective in their duties. Blume (2013) writes that the best way to ensure an up to date work-team is by constantly facilitating their training and development. Such training keeps employees informed on job-related issues hence making them more effective and better equipped to perform their duties. The effectiveness of an organization greatly depends on how it adapts to the changing technology. This dependency is mainly because technology is becoming more varied and thus effective in facilitating workplace tasks. For employees to tap into the added benefits of new technology, they will need to be conversant with that particular technology (Noe, 2001). As such, this calls for training and development in order for the workplace to learn how to use the technology. Eventually, through the process of training, employees get to improve their skills besides getting additional exposure and this translates into enhanced effectiveness. The effectiveness of an organization has a direct relation to the innovativeness of its workforce. Hence, the more innovative the employees are, for instance in product development or even dealing with competitors, the greater the efficiency of that organization. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (2003) claims that a sure way of inducing innovativeness in employees is through training and development. Through this training, employees are empowered to think beyond the obvious and to stretch their imagination in a bid to provide solutions to emerging issues in the workplace. Hence, innovation, which results from training and development, will lead to faster and better ways of doing things hence ensuring effectiveness in the organization. In many organizations, especially those with highly mechanized workstations, the lack of safety for employees is a major hindrance to their effectiveness (Hutchings & Doe, 2007). It results into accidents hence tampering with the capacity of employees to perform their duties besides costing the organization through increased insurance premiums. These costs, both in lost time and increased premiums play a major role in reducing the effectiveness of an organization. However, through constant training and development on safety measures, organizations can minimize such accidents, and this minimization helps them to maintain or even increase the effectiveness of their operations. In the global business society, one measure of the effectiveness of an organization’s policies is its ability to venture into new markets. This venturing is very challenging due to the additional risks that the organization is exposed to for instance, the risks of competition from pre-existing players in that market. The National Association of Workforce Development (NAWD) (2007) observes that in order to promote the effectiveness of an organization’s expansionist policies, training, and development of employees is necessary. Such training enables the employees to learn about the new market besides developing their capacity to formulate strategies on how to approach these challenges. Hence, training and development provides a workforce that has the capacity to deal with the challenges of a new market in a proper and effective manner. The effectiveness of an organization in its operations can be manifested in the way it manages to comply with the rules and regulations pertaining to its operating environment. Hence, effective organizations can comply with these rules with little or no effort at all as compared to ineffective organizations. Therefore, this effectiveness eliminates the likelihood of fines or even penalties to that organization. Baird and Scneier (2010) state that a sure way to ensure compliance with the constantly changing rules and regulations is through the training and development of employees. As such, it is understood that effectiveness in an organization can be enhanced through training and development of employees. Training and development is a major source of replacements for employees who discontinue their services (Blume, 2013). As such, due to increasing labor mobility caused by factors like search for better working conditions, training becomes necessary. He further argues that through this training and development, the effectiveness of an organization is preserved since there is always a pool of trainees to choose from in case an experienced employee quits. This further goes into proving that training and development play a big role in ensuring that the organization is effective in its operations. The types of production processes in an organization are a major determinant on the effectiveness of the operations of that particular organization. In addition, the degree of employee’s knowledge of such processes has a direct influence on the effectiveness of such processes in both time and resources (Peter, 2002). As such, there is a need to improve the extent of employees’ knowledge of the organizations continually in order to improve the effectiveness. This observation is quite true since the more knowledgeable the workers, the less wastage of time and resources at the workplace. Such knowledge is only attainable through effective training and development processes. Hutchings and Doe (2007) observe that job satisfaction has a major influence on the effectiveness of employees in the workplace. They further note that this satisfaction is best-attained by use of effective training and development methods as well as better working conditions. This assertion is a clear reflection of reality due to the growing preferences for personal development in the modern workplace. As such, it is evident that effective training and development of employees increases their effectiveness, and this leads to a cumulative increase in the effectiveness of an organization. Workplace risks are a major impediment to the effectiveness of an organization. The National Association of Workforce Development lists such risks as including sexual harassment, workplace bullying among others. Such risks greatly compromise the ability of an employee to be effective in their duties, and this eventually affects the organization’s effectiveness. However, proper and effective training provides an antidote to this problem since it informs potential victims of their rights and how to handle such incidences. Thus, it is quite true to say that effective training and development of employees for instance, on such risks preserves their effectiveness hence affecting the cumulative effectiveness of the organization. The training and developing of employees on matters pertaining to conflicts in the workplace impacts on their effectiveness. Buick writes that the modern day workplace is rife with conflicts and in some cases; employees are even divided into factions hence affecting the productivity. However, if effective training on workplace conflicts were conducted on such employees, their handling of such situations would improve (Stone, 2013). This improvement will ultimately lead to increased efficiency among individuals and in the end; it will contribute to an improvement of the cumulative effectiveness of the organization. Effective training and development reinforces the value that an organization places on its employees. Blume (2013) observes that most organizations that stress on intensive training also offer attractive remuneration to their employees. As such, effective training encourages employees to be loyalty to their organizations besides being more efficient. Increased employee efficiency translates into an improvement in the overall effectiveness of the organization. Effective training and development promotes entrepreneurship in the organization. It equips the employees with to skills to take a risk hence the probability of engagement into new ventures in the workplace, a concept that Baird and Scneier (2010) refer to as intrapreneurship. In addition, through effective training and development activities, workers can contribute in the decision-making in the organization as well as and this increases their productivity since they feel appreciated. This increase in productivity eventually translates into organizational effectiveness since it involves proper use of the organization’s resources. Blume (2013) argues that effective training and development is just another way in which organizations give back to their employees. He further opines that such training ought to be considered alongside the likes of corporate social responsibility because eventually, the trained employee ends up in the outside world, a better person. This observation is quite reasonable since employees are able to develop their skills, which influences the quality of their work. High-quality work is a measure of effectiveness by the employee and its improvement translates into cumulative increase in the organization’s effectiveness. Lombard (2001) notes that one of the determinants of effectiveness in an organization is the quality of staff on its payroll. Due to this, many organizations are turning to effective training and development strategies in a bid to recruit top talent. He further argues that research has shown that training and development of employees leads to an improvement of their effectiveness in the performance of the organization’s duties. As a result, this influences positively on the effectiveness of the organization hence the truth in the assertion that training and development enhances organization effectiveness. Arguments Against However, though much emphasis has been dedicated to the how training and development influences positively on the effectiveness of an organization, there are concerns that training and development of employees is overrated. For instance, Peter (2002) argues that training and development processes are just a disruption of production activities in an organization. He further observes that the education process has equipped workers with the necessary skills to meet the demands of the workplace. In addition, he states that this ability is achievable without being burdened with constant need to attend training retreats where all people do is to listen to speeches from the facilitators (Stone, 2013). This cannot be further from the truth since any employee who duly qualified for their position should be able to cooperate with others in finding solutions to workplace challenges without any need for training. The constant training and development activities being undertaken in various organizations are just exercises in futility. Tang (2011) states that such training is unnecessary in that maintaining effectiveness in an organization goes beyond organizing seminars and retreats in a bid to train already trained people. This view is quite plausible especially when considering the observation that better working conditions are a more realistic and reasonable way to improve the effectiveness of people in any organization. Noe (2001) observes that it does not matter how much training and development activities are dedicated to the employees. He however adds that what matters is that as long as the workplace remains a restrictive, then effectiveness in the organization will remain as an illusion. Training processes in the workplace are changing and becoming more expensive by the day. Many organizations are spending significant portions of their resources on training. However, the futility of such exercises is evidenced by the fact that such operations are repeated year after year. If these resources could be channeled towards rewarding good performance at the workplace, then there would be an improvement in the effectiveness. Lombard (2001) notes that modern day employees are capable of making it on their own in the workplace without being necessarily bothered by constant requirements for training in things that they already know. Hence, if there is to be an improvement of the effectiveness in organizations, then the policy makers should concentrate on rewarding those who are effective. These rewards will spur others to follow suit hence ensuring that that particular entity becomes effective in its operations. The assertion that effective training and development leads to efficiency in organizations is very general. Hence, it does not effectively reflect the reality. For instance, most workplaces’ training programs tend to focus on the needs of work-teams at the expense of the individual worker. The National Association of Workforce Development (2005) observes that organization effectiveness is best-seen when looked from the perspective of the individual employee since they are the most basic component of work-teams. This opinion is very reasonable since no matter the team training, its outcome is solely dependent on the input of individual members. Hence, the effectiveness of such members has a direct bearing on the efficiency of the organization. As such, anyone bent on improving the effectiveness of their organization is better off shunning training and development in favor of processes that motivate and recognize individual effectiveness. The ability of off the job training to improve the effectiveness of an organization is a farce. Trainer (2002) observes that in many cases, off-the-job training is affected by distractions in the new environment. Besides that, he notes that such training usually composes of unproductive activities for instance pertaining to team building. Such things that are learnt during the formative years in the education system hence, which are beneath the scope of the trainees. He further observes that such activities are just a distraction from routine work lives of employees. This statement is plausible given the observation that much is achievable in terms of re-energizing employees by giving them time off to be with their families rather claiming to train them on things that are, usually common knowledge (Warren, 2000). The claim that training and development of employees increases the effectiveness of an organization cannot be further from the truth. This claim is evidenced by variance in reasons for training. Some organizations aim training at promoting compliance, which is not directly related to the effectiveness of the organization (Sellin, 2013). As such, this assertion does not put into consideration the various factors that may be behind workplace training efforts. Matlay (2007) argues that the effectiveness of an organization cannot be hinged on training and development of employees. This argument is true considering that factors like the capital intensiveness of an organization coupled with the strategies that are in the play, play a major role in influencing the effectiveness of an organization. As such, any policy maker bent on improving their organization’s effectiveness ought to look more into other factors rather than training and development (Murdick, 2000). Narman (2007) opines that training and development is, usually misinterpreted to mean instant improvement in the effectiveness of an organization. He further opines that such a misconception tends to affect an employee in that once no sudden results are achieved, and such an outcome is blamed on the employee. This can negatively affect their productivity hence causing a decrease in the effectiveness of an organization. Hutchings and Doe (2007) further support this view by suggesting that in such a case, the management is bound to victimize some employees hence attributing a failure in a process as an individual failure. As such, this goes into showing that training and development does not always lead to increased organization effectiveness. Conclusion In summary, though there are a number of reasonable and realistic arguments against the assertion that training and development improves the organizational effectiveness, the weight of such arguments cannot hold against those in favor. This view is because the aspect of training is in itself aimed at first improving the qualities in individual workers, which later translates into improved input from the employees. Thus, all the efforts that organizations channel to train and develop employees, though they may have various reasons like motivation and improvement of compliance, the bottom line is on improving productivity. It is illogical to ignore the truth in the assertion that training and development leads to organization effectiveness. This lack of logic is because training results into a better-informed workforce, a motivated workforce, as well as an entity that is compliant with the rules and regulations governing it. Besides that, training enhances the use of technology, promotes teamwork as well as empowering employees through widening the scope of their abilities. Hence, in the light of the above reasons, it goes without saying that training and development leads to an improvement in the effectiveness of an organization in its operations. References Baird, L., & Schneier, C. E. (2010). The training and development of workforce. Journal of Human Resource, 30(12), 45-48. Blume, S. (2013). The development and current dilemmas of postgraduate education. European Journal of Education, 21(3), 217-222. Buick, I. (2005). An investigation of the current practices of in-house employee training and development within hotels in Scotland. Service Industries Journal, 17(4), 16-17 Cross, E. Y., & White, M. B. (2002). The diversity factor: Capturing the competitive advantage of a changing workforce. Chicago: Irwin Professional Pub. Hutchings, K., & Doe, C. H. (2007). International human resource management. Journal of Human Resource, 22(10), 41-44. Lombard, K. (2001). Public administration and development. 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Development, charity and poverty: The appropriate development perspective. International Journal of Social Economics, 29(6), 30-33. Warren, H. (2000). Equal opportunities in education and training: Managing common problems in different contexts. European Journal of Education: Research, Development and Policies, 34(4), 6-9. Read More