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SYNOPSIS

On

“ Factors Affecting Transfer of Training”

UNDER GUIDENCE OF SUBMITTED BY


Mrs. Vijit Chaturvedi Deepti Joshi

09 MBA 017

SESSION 2009-11

LINGAYAS UNIVERSITY FARIDABAD


(HARYANA)
CONTENTS OF SYNOPSIS

 Introduction
 Significance of the study
 Objective of the study
 Literature review
 Research methodology
 References
INTRODUCTION
What is transfer of training?
“Positive transfer of training is defined as the degree to which trainees
effectively apply the knowledge, skills and attitudes gained in a training
context to the job (Newstrom 1984, Wexley and Latham 1981).
Transfer of training therefore, is more than a function of original learning in a
training program (Atkinson 1972, Fleishman 1953).For transfer to have
occurred, learned behaviour must be generalised to the job context and
maintained over a period of time on the job.”
It is useful to think about evaluation of training with two levels of outcome,
training outcomes and transfer outcomes. Baldwin and Ford (1988) define training
outcomes as the amount of original learning that occurs during a training program,
and the retention of that material after the training is competed. Training outcomes
are generally gathered during or immediately after training. Transfer outcomes
however, are typically assessed by measuring how trained skills have been
maintained and generalised by the trainee after being on the job for some time
(Baldwin and Ford 1988).
There has been much research and thinking in the area of ‘transfer of training’,
documented mainly in psychology and human resource management journals. In
addition, a number of comprehensive reviews of the topic have been published in
the past 10 to 15 years, including Salas and Cannon-Bowers (2001), Ford and
Weissbein (1997), Tannenbaum and Yukl (1992), and Baldwin and Ford (1988).
This body of knowledge has been particularly useful in exploring the potential
factors to affect transfer of training into the workplace.
SIGNIGICANCE OF THE STUDY
In today’s competitive era, every organization fights for its survival. Every
organization selects its employees in order to achieve some goals, the employees
of the organization should be capable enough so that they can achieve the goals
efficiently and effectively. To achieve this, organization adopts the tools of T&D
programmes so that they become capable and efficient for working of the
organization, when a company is investing so much amount of money in
providing training then they want to know whether the training is effective or not,
and if not upto the mark then what factors are behind the failure of training, so
the study of factors affecting training is significant universally.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY


 To know the reasons behind failure of training programmes.
 To know the various factors which affects transfer of training.
 To know whether these factors are controllable or not.
 To keep in consideration the factors affecting transfer of training for future
training purposes.
LITERATURE REVIEW

Factors affecting transfer of training

According to a broad range of literature, the factors that affect training transfer
outcomes can be grouped into three broad areas:
1. Training design
2. Individual trainee characteristics
3. Environment and context in which training and transfer takes place.
All three areas can influence transfer outcomes directly. The three areas will be
used as a broad structure, within which to context the details of the review, as
follows.

Training design
The training design affects transfer of training. After the rather ‘heavy’
psychological research into transfer of training, it was refreshing to see a more
simple and holistic set of guidelines for effective training design (Campbell 1988).
These guidelines include five elements:
 The instructional events that comprise the training method should be consistent
with the cognitive, physical or psychomotor processes that lead to mastery,
guiding the learner to the most appropriate encoding operations for storing
information in memory.
 The learner should be induced to produce the capability actively, ie practice
behaviours, recall information from memory, and apply principles when doing a
task.
 All available sources of relevant feedback should be used, and feedback should
be accurate, timely and constructive.
 The instructional processes should enhance trainee self-efficacy (the belief one
can perform specific tasks and behaviours) and trainee expectations that the
training will be successful, and lead to valued outcomes.
 Training methods should be adapted to differences in aptitudes and prior
knowledge.
Individual trainee characteristics
Numerous studies have found individual trainee differences can determine the
amount of information learned during training, and transferred to the job. These
effects have been shown to be independent from training design factors (Fleishman
and Mumford 1989). The following four individual characteristics are discussed
below:

Cognitive ability
Cognitive ability relates directly to general intelligence. A large body of research
(including Ree et al 1995, Ree and Earles 1991, Randel et al 1992) indicates that
cognitive ability is a strong predictor of learning and training performance.
Generally, the higher an individual’s cognitive ability, the more successful they
will be in learning and training. They have higher self-efficacy (see below) and
higher performance and skill acquisition.

Self-efficacy
Self-efficacy is an individual’s belief that they can perform specific tasks and
behaviours (Salas and Cannon-Bowers 2001).
Gist and Mitchell (1992) define it slightly differently, as an individual’s
expectations for their future level of performance on a task. It is well established
(including Cole and Latham 1997, Ford et al 1998, Mathieu et al 1993, Martocchio
1994, Quinones 1995) that self-efficacy enhances learning outcomes and
performance, whether an individual has it already, or acquires it during training.

Goal orientation
Recent studies have demonstrated goal orientation does influence learning
outcomes and performance. Mastery goal orientation was shown to be positively
related to self-efficacy (Phillips and Gully (1997), and to metacognitive activity in
training (Ford et al 1988). Also, Fisher and Ford (1998) found mastery to be a
strong predictor of knowledge-based learning outcomes.
Motivation
Motivation is typically defined as variability in behaviour not attributable to
individual differences or strong situational coercion, and can affect whether or not
a trainee chooses to attend training, expend effort during training, or apply trained
skills in the workplace (Baldwin and Ford, 1988). Mumford et al (1988) revealed
trainee characteristics such as aptitude and motivational levels were among the
most consistent predictors of trainee performance, stronger even than course
content variables.
Recently, several studies have confirmed that trainee’s motivation to attend
training and to learn, affects their level of skill acquisition, retention, and
willingness to transfer learning to the workplace (Martocchio and Webster 1992,
Mathieu et al 1992, Quinones 1995, Tannenbaum and Yukl 1992).

Environment and context in which the transfer of training takes place


Much research and review surrounds the potential impact of environmental and
contextual factors on transfer of training. It is easy to become bogged down in the
literature, as a number of authors have presented slightly different theories in the
subject area, with many overlapping factors. The review below groups the
literature into following general areas:

Organisational climate
Organisational climate refers to a range of characteristics of an organisation, such
as policies, reward systems and managerial behaviour, to which employees attach
meaning on the basis of their own values, beliefs, needs and other individual
characteristics (Tracey et al 1995).
Schneider and Reichers (1983) define climate as perceptions of the environment
that evolve out of interaction among organisational members. An organisational
climate is said to exist when a group of individuals share a common perception of
the work context (Joyce and Slocum 1984).
Situational cues and consequences
The additional concept of organisational transfer climate was introduced by
Roullier and Goldstein (1993); defined as situations and consequences that
inhibited or helped trainees apply the skills gained in training to a job setting.
Roullier and Goldstein (1993) suggest the transfer climate consists of two
components, situational cues and consequences. Both cues and consequences act
as reminders for trainees to use their training on their return to the job. Situational
cues refer to the extent to which aspects of a situation encourage an employee to
use what has been learned in training.

Social support
According to Noe (1986) a supportive social context is one in which employees
believe others will provide them with the opportunities and reinforcement for
practicing skills and using knowledge acquired in training. Social support includes
all levels of management, supervisors, peers, subordinates and other trainees. It
plays a central role in transfer of training, in the form of situational cues and
consequences, and also in pre-training motivation. The more positive the social
interactions, the more likely it is that trainees will apply trained behaviours and
skills (Roullier and Goldstein 1993).

Organisational learning environment


In a small study, Tannenbaum (1997) examined the continuous learning
environments of seven companies, and found that the companies with the strongest
learning environment also exhibited the strongest overall organisational
performance.This is consistent with prior research demonstrating organisations that
apply more progressive human resource practices, are on average superior
performers (Kravetz 1988).
Opportunity to perform
The opportunity is the extent to which a trainee is provided with, or actively
obtains work experiences relevant to the tasks for which they were trained (Ford et
al 1992). Ford et al (1992) cited a review by Ford et al (1991), in which three
measures of opportunity to perform were identified. The most direct measure is
breadth, or the number of different trained tasks used on the job. The second
measure is activity level, or the number of times each trained task is used on the
job. This is useful as the more times a task is performed, the more likely it is that
performance will improve. The third is task type, or the difficulty of the trained
tasks performed on the job. Ford et al (1992) suggests these three measures provide
a multi-dimensional perspective to the opportunity to perform.
Ford et al (1992) also documents factors affecting opportunity to perform. These
are organisational, such as which department and function individuals are assigned
to, work context, and individual characteristics. Work context in particular links
closely to the organisational transfer climate elements discussed above, involving
supervisor attitudes, workgroup support, and the pace of work flow in the
workgroup.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Descriptive Research methodology

 Involves gathering data that describe events and then organizes, tabulates,
depicts, and describes the data.
 Uses description as a tool to organize data into patterns that emerge during
analysis.
 Often uses visual aids such as graphs and charts to aid the reader .

Data Collection Methods


PRIMARY DATA:-Questionnaire, Interview and survey.
SECONDARY DATA:- internet, books, journals.
References

 Arthur W, Bennett W, Stanush P, McNelly T (1998) Factors that influence


skill decay and retention: a quantitative review and analysis. ‘Human
Performance’ 11(1), 57-101.
 Bramley P (1996) ‘Evaluating Training Effectiveness (2nd edn).’ (McGraw-Hill
Publishing Company, England)

 Driskell J, Willis R, Copper C (1992) Effect of overlearning on retention.


‘Journal of Applied Psychology’ 77, 615-622
 Fisher S, Ford JK (1998) Differential effects of learner efforts and goal
orientation on two learning outcomes. ‘Personal Psychology’ 51, 397-420.

 Goldstein IL (1986) ‘Training in organisations: needs assessment,


development and evaluation’. (Monterey CA: Brooks/ Cole)
 Knowles M (1990) ‘The adult learner; a neglected species (4 th edn).’ (Gulf
Publishing Company, Houston)
 Mumford A (1993) Putting learning styles to work: an integrated approach.
In ‘Journal of European Industrial Training’ Vol 17, 10, 3-9.

 Noe R, Wilks S (1993) Investigation of the factors affecting that affect


employees’ participation in development activities. ‘Journal of Applied
Psychology’ 78, 291-302.
 Phillips J, Gully S (1997) Role of goal orientation, ability, need for
achievement, and locus of control in the self-efficacy and goal setting
process. ‘Journal of Applied Psychology’ 82, 792-802.
 Smith-Jentsch K, Salas E, Brannick M (2001) To transfer of not to transfer:
investigating the combined effects of trainee characteristics, team leader
support and team climate. ‘Journal of Applied Psychology’ Vol 86, 2, 279-
292.
 Wexley K, Thornton C (1972) Effect of verbal feedback of test results upon
learning. ‘Journal of Educational Research’ 66, 199-121.
 Yelon S, Ford JK (1999) Pursuing a multidimensional view of transfer.
‘Performance Improvement Quarterly’ Vol 12, 3, 58-78.

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