TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT: WHAT IS IT?

Training has defined as one of the methods that organisations can consider encouraging learning in the organisation out of many methods that should encourage learning (Renolds, et al., 2002). Further training is considering as a formal method that organisations can consider implanting required new knowledge and skills among the employees by the organisation (Armstrong, 2009). Training facilitates learning process of knowledge, skills, competencies, and behaviours which required to conduct the job-related assignments which such trainings should planned efforts of the organisation (Noe, et al., 2012). Further they argue that focus of training is to master such required knowledge, skills, and behaviours of the employees which accentuated through training and apply such in the day-to-day activities of the employees as well as the future activities that required and demand by the organisation (Noe, et al., 2012). Thus, the arguments by many schoolers emphasis that training is the main tool that the organisations should provide new knowledge, skills, and competencies for the employees which leads to a continues learning process that leads for the development of the employees which development is the process that gaining ability to perform better in current job assignments as well as future assignments that will held responsible by the employee. Though training helps for the development process there are many differences between training and human resource development (Fleisher, 2004) mainly in the focus, time orientation and even in measures of effectiveness. The focus of training is to demonstrate processes and techniques to learn practices, actions, and behaviours whereas development focus on expanding capacities of the employees while expanding skills in which training is a short-term process while development considered as a long-term process. Further the effectiveness measures of training are through appraisals, certifications, getting through exams, and cost benefit analysis whereas effectiveness measures of development are competitive advantages which are based on human resources, availability of required skills within an organisation at needed, and ability to assign higher authorities to the existing employees or to promote employees for higher grades without recruiting or seeking skills from outside (Mathis & Jackson, 2008). Further the researchers have clearly identified differences between the training and learning whereas learning is a process which help the individuals to implant new knowledge, process, capabilities, and skills whereas training is one of the methods that facilitate learning (Renolds, et al., 2002). Further learning lies on the side of the employee whereas training lies on the side of the organisation which organisation provides training to enhance the learning process of the individual employee (Sloman, 2003). Thus, today organisations provide training to facilitate learning process of the employees which further focus and help to develop the employees. Therefore, organisations should identify the development needs of the employees to perform their current duties as well as the future needs of the organisation and encourage learning through providing proper and planed trainings. Further it was stated that learning culture will enforce a better learning among the members in the said culture where organisations should have a learning culture in which learning culture is defined as medium which provide growth to the employees and promote positive behaviour among the employees including learning (Renolds, 2004). Further he stated that such cultures have empowerment, self-managed learning, long-term capacity construction instead of supervision, instruction, and shot period fixes (Renolds, 2004). Thus, it has become very important for the companies to consider providing opportunities for the employees to conduct an own commitment as well as provide sufficient support for learning (Renolds, 2004).

It has become very important process that designing of trainings for the employees since such should encourage the learning process of the employees and their development as required by the organisation. The training design process has defined as a systematic process which develop required training programs (Noe, et al., 2012) and Instructional System Design (ISD) and ADDIE model (analysis, design, development, implementation, evaluation) can consider in developing proper trainings (Noe, 2010). Even though Noe, et al. (2012) argued that said two processes which mostly consider can be further developed and introduced a process that consisting with six steps that can consider in developing trainings. Need assessment is the first step that consist with assessing and determining the training needs of the organisation whereas such can identify through analysing the skills gaps and training needs of the organisation, each individual, and the tasks of the organisation where the organisation will be able to understand the competency needs of the organisation, the available competencies of the employees and their development requirement as well as the skills which need to perform each task of the organisation. The second step consisting with ensuring the readiness and the motivation of the employees for training where the development is mainly depending on the learning process of the employees, and it is important or the employees to have a higher motivation for own learnings and training only can support the process were ensuring motivation of the employees for trainings will create a higher success in the process which learning culture of the organisation will support the process. Creating an environment for learning is the third step which they discussed whereas this focus on the factors which are necessary for the training as well as learning. Further, such will include objective identification and training outcomes, materials, practices, feedbacks, observations, and coordination and administration of training programs. The fourth step in the application of trainings by the trainees which indicates the learning effectiveness and behavioural effectiveness of the trainees where in the step it is important to introduce self-management strategies as well as peer and manager support for the trainees to increase their learning process.  The fifth step is selecting proper training method that includes selecting the best method out of group methods, hands on methods, and presentational methods. The sixth and final step is evaluating training programs which includes cost benefit analysis as well as outcomes of the trainings.

References

Armstrong, M., 2009. Armstrong’s Handbook of Human Resources Management Practice. 11th ed. London: Kogan Page.

Fleisher, C. S., 2004. Competitive Intelligence Education: Competencies, Sources, and Trends. Information Management Journal, 38(2), pp. 56-64.

Mathis, R. L. & Jackson, J. H., 2008. Human Resource Management. 12th ed. Mason: Thomson Southr-Western.

Noe, R., 2010. Employee Training and Development. 5th ed. New Tork: McGraw-Hill.

Noe, R. A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart , B. & Wright, P. M., 2012. Human Resource Management: Gaining a Competitive Adavantage. 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Renolds, J., 2004. Helping People Learn. London: CIPM.

Renolds, J., Caley, L. & Mason, R., 2002. How Do People Learn. London: CIPM.

Sloman, M., 2003. E-learning: stepping up the learning curve. Impact,, Volume January, pp. 16-17.