Training Impact on an Organization

Introduction

Training is defined as the improvement and modification of the knowledge and experience of existing staff in an organization. In today’s contemporary world, knowledge has become the vehicle that drives organizations to success. Many organizations are increasingly faced with difficult economic, political and social challenges that usually determine their industry performance. As a result, training sessions, workshops, seminars and programs are regularly organized to ensure that employees not only attain relevant levels of learning but also become technically qualified and competent to make critical decisions on behalf of the organization. (Naukrihub.com 2007)

This research paper synthesizes the benefits of training in an organization as an important aspect of management. In the highly volatile economic environment, employees need to think fast and react in the same manner if success is to be realized. In order to achieve this, training must be top in the organization’s strategic plans. This explains why some firms in certain industries are always yards away in performance. (Naukrihub.com 2007)

Statement of the problem

Limited knowledge has always led to poor organizational performance. The result is that the available workforce becomes incompetent and unwilling to venture into risky but strategic business activities. This causes massive losses and may at times lead to firms being outperformed by rivals within the industry. An organization with an insufficient knowledge base will never be innovative. This implies that no new product designs would be invented, no new marketing strategies, no strategic leadership is adopted, no new services among many other things would be introduced. In this case, a firm may find itself in a big dilemma. (Naukrihub.com 2007)

Purpose

The purpose of this research paper is to provide readers with an understanding of the benefits of training in an organization. It also explores the different techniques and approaches of training and how they influence employees. The responsibility of human resources managers is to introduce effective and reliable training systems that will provide employees with appropriate and necessary skills to match the changes in the economic world. (McNamara1997)

Significance

Training is an important aspect of management within an organization. Analyzing different forms and approaches of training will provide managers with an opportunity to determine the best and applicable methods of training that an organization can adopt. It also enlightens the management on the benefits of training and how it can be implemented effectively. As has been discussed, training is a critical tool especially where an organization is operating in a very delicate situation characterized by strong competition. In this case, the organization needs to sharpen the skills and knowledge of the existing employees in order to establish a strong competitive advantage. (McNamara 1997)

Hypotheses

• Training makes organizations to be innovative.
• There is a positive correlation between training and conflict reduction within an organization.
• Training increases staff motivation.
• Training is a secret behind success.
• Multiple training techniques are desirable. (McNamara1997).

Aims and Objectives

• To investigate the impact of training on employees.
• To find out if training leads to increased staff morale or not.
• To determine whether training can reduce conflict in an organization or not.
• To investigate the general impact of training on an organization’s performance.
• To evaluate the benefits of multiple training techniques.
• To find out whether traditional training techniques are still applicable in the current economic environment. (Stredwick 2000, p.315).

Literature Review

In any situation, effective training is only achieved if the training models and designs are relevant to the learner (Businessball.com n.d). Organizations usually spend a lot of money and resources to sponsor training programs and therefore corresponding benefits need to be derived from the process in order to compensate to prove the ability and potentials of the training personnel involved. Superior modern individual development and assessment broadens past the observable skills and knowledge vital for the job or organization or prerequisite. Successful individual development must also reflect on individual potential (normal abilities habitually veiled or concealed); personal learning techniques; and entire personal growth. (Businessball.com n.d)

In cases where learning technique seeks to develop people, (somewhat simply paying attention to specific requirements or talents) the growth must be directed on a more stretchy and personal foundation than in conventional manner (strict, arranged) techniques of plan, delivery and trying. These doctrines can be applied in coaching and developing youthful employees as well, which interestingly brings some practical information for training in the workplace for growth and assessment. (Businessball.com n.d)

The quality of good training personnel is determined by the ability to identify the perceived training needs and its commitment to personal confidence mentality that learning practice is much more achievable. There is a general consensus that employees give back what is given to them. Studies show that if an employer only shows his employees their negative side they only end up giving negative results. (Rae 2000, p.158).

It is not possible to find a perfect training but a desirable result can be achieved if the primary objective of an organization is to produce the most innovative and competent workforce. As Leslie Rae puts it, many trainers/organizations use training evaluation lengthily. When more specific and penetrating questions are asked, it is often the case that many professional trainers and training departments are found to use only reactionaries. (Rae 2000, p. 159)

Organizations are not the same in terms of resources allocation, client base and workforce. This implies that the training and evaluation technique adopted should be reduced down to the size of the available resources. Resource allocation and time are two areas where even the most successful managers have had difficulties. According to Kirkpatrick, the following questions are important for any effective training and learning to be achieved:

• At the end of the training period, the human resources department should be able to determine the extent to which the training meets objectives achieved by the program.
• The degree to which the learner’s objectives achieved.
• The specific knowledge and skills that learners got from the program.
• How committed the learner is to the training.
• The success of training personnel in action implementation.
• The degree of support the training personnel were accorded by the organization.
• The resulting benefits on the entire organization. (Kirkpatrick 1994).

The only way that an organization can be assured of effectively functioning learning systems is through evaluation and the fact that many training models have not been successful in many organizations. In fact, a research study carried out in UK’s British Learning Association on behalf of Kirkpatrick Learning and Evaluation Model May 2006 revealed shocking results. The research cites that 72% of the surveyed population of the UK’s highly credited professionals consider that learning and training conducted in recent times do not lead to change. (Kirkpatrick 1994).

If the British Learning Association is the UK’s center of expertise that produces best practice examples, identifies trends and disseminates information on both innovative and well-established techniques and technologies for learning whose aim is to synthesize existing knowledge, develop original solutions and disseminate this to a wide cross-sector membership, then training techniques really need a rethink (Kirkpatrick 1994). According to Rae, the human resources department should design a training team that consists of the senior manager, the trainer, line management, the training manager, and the trainee where each person is charged with a specific responsibility. (Rae 2000, p.160)

The responsibility of the management is to ensure that there is awareness on the need and value of training to the organization, provide knowledge and support of the training, determine the necessity of involving the training manager in senior management meetings where strategic decisions are made and finally to compile comprehensive report on the training program conducted. The responsibility of the trainer is to identify the training needs of the employees before the commencement of the session, provide training and learning resources, and monitor and control the training activities. (Kirkpatrick 1994)

Research Methodology

This research work has been made possible through collection of data mainly from electronic media. The research has relied heavily on contributions of Leslie Rae 2006, Kirkpatrick, and Businessball.com 2009. These publications consist of literary works on training and evaluation as an important aspect of management. Remember that the main objective of this paper is to provide the reader with a comprehensive understanding of research methodology by critically demonstrating constructive application of knowledge derived from coursework and research materials. The paper has typically chosen to explore training as an important area of study in management. (Businessball.com n.d)

The data obtained is synthesized to provide the reader with complete knowledge for the benefit of further academic works that is the primary objective for any research study. Applying the different research theories, one is able to make a conclusion based on the various attributes and techniques of training especially in contemporary management. These sources include Kirkpatrick’s model, X-Theory management, Conscious Competence learning stages theory, and many others. (Kirkpatrick 1994)

Literature Table indicating similarities and differences of training in an organization

Limitations of the research

• The research may not be able to provide the reader with complete information as it relies heavily on secondary data. This data is subject to manipulation and may be corrupted or modified to suit the owner’s own understanding and interest in the subject matter that may be contrary to the researcher’s objectives.
• The research may fail to comply with the standards of accuracy set by the researcher, as the data obtained could be highly inaccurate in terms of presentations, scope and recordings. This may impair the integrity and independence being sought by the researcher.
• The research requires adequate financial support in order to compensate for the human effort and materials used. This is a common challenge that many professionals often face in their attempts to carry out such research works. With the current economic climate, many individuals find themselves in very tricky situations especially when spending decisions have to be made. This can substantially curtail the scales of this research work. (Buckley & Caple1990)

Analysis and Discussions

From the literature review, the following can be deduced:

Findings

Training and learning without evaluation is nothing. Organizations need to design a system of training supported by proper evaluation criteria. This is the only way that the training personnel can be evaluated on their good or bad job. The management can also be certain that there is a value for their money in sponsoring training programs for their staff.

• Training is not a one-man responsibility. The training should constitute the line managers, trainers and the trainees with each person playing a specific responsibility. This is the case if an effective training is to be achieved.
• Different training methods are desirable especially where an organization is large and has a number of employees. This is because different employees have different learning methods. It is therefore the responsibility of the training personnel to identify the different training needs required and therefore use the best applicable training models for relevant employees.
• That for successful training and learning to materialize, the trainer needs to get a maximum support from the organization in terms of resource allocation, time, and clear objective setting. Many training programs have failed for lack of adequate resources or poor allocation criteria. The training should be squeezed to match the scarcely available economic as well as natural resources.
• A well-trained employee is competent and qualified. This is the secret behind high-performance organizations. Trained employees can be trusted with critical portfolios in an organization especially in times of change. Many business gurus of the world are professionals who possess different academic and professional qualifications, are experienced and technical.
• The different methods of training employees include; induction training, on-the-job training, and off-the-job training. It is therefore upon the management to choose which method best suits the circumstances in the organization as well as the specific training needs identified for a particular employee. (Kirkpatrick 1994)

Benefits of training in an organization

• Training provides employees with innovative skills and knowledge that will make an organization stay ahead of its rivals especially in a competitive environment where events and circumstances change day by day.
• Training increases staff morale, where employees acquire skills that can enable them perform certain unique tasks faster, they become motivated and want to continue working all the time. This is important in the sense that the production units will increase and hence rise in revenue.
• Training and learning can be used to inculcate a culture of positive behavior through better communication techniques. This can reduce the possibility of confusion and misunderstanding arising between employees and the management and hence reduces cases of conflicts.
• Training is economical for an organization more so where it involves introduction of new methods of production to employees. The production increases against a reduction in cost and hence efficiency. In today’s modern world, many managers are more focused on cost reduction decisions than anything in the organization. Training can therefore be used as a tool to achieve cost efficiency as a competitive advantage. (McNamara1997)

Conclusion

There are different techniques and models of training that an organization can use for its workforce. However, not all may be applicable in every situation. Individuals, teams and groups possess different training needs. The responsibility of a trainer is to ensure that a suitable training technique is used. A strong financial infrastructure, time and human resources should back good training in order to realize success. Numerous ways can be used to assess and evaluate training and learning. As has been discussed, evaluation should be for both the trainer and the trainee, many managers fail because they tend to base the evaluation on the trainee alone.

Response and examination results assist the learner to identify his or her position in the training, and unswervingly distress the trainee’s confidence and willpower to continue with the improvement. Fundamental to bettering training is the idea of bringing additional sense and rationale to employee’s lives away from simply concentrating on knowledge and other training and development programs in the workplace. Learning and training facilitate affirmative revolution and improvement for both employees and employers. When individual’s work is allied with an employee’s life, their learning characters can only be effective if the training itself is effective and appropriate.

At the end of the day, an organization should ask itself; did the learners get any specific knowledge and skills from the program? How are the learners committed to the program? What are the resulting benefits to the entire organization? Does the training have any tangible success in action implementation? Lastly, the research should seek to answer this important question, does the training meet objectives achieved by the program? These would be important questions for organizations and trainers alike to ask themselves to assess the effectiveness of training programs.

References List

Buckley, R, & Caple, J 1990. The Theory and Practice of Training, 5^th Ed, Kogan Page publishers, pp. 116-134.

Businessball. Training Programme Evaluation. Web.

Kirkpatrick, L.Donald 1994. Kirkpatrick’s learning and training evaluation theory. Web.

McNamara, C. 1997. Employee Training and Development: Reasons and Benefits. Web.

Naukrihub. 2007. Introduction of training. Web.

Rae, L 2000. Effective planning in training and development, Ed, Kogan page publishers, pp.157-216.

Stredwick, J 2000. An introduction to human resource management, Ed, Elsevier.pp 315-316.