MGT 301

Chapter 8: Training and Development

FEIHAN AHSAN
BRAC University
Sep 21 , 2013
 Topic
• Training

• Important Concepts and Meanings

• Training as an Open System

• The Training Development Process

• Opportunities and Challenges for Training

 What is Training?
• Training is a process that provides employees with the knowledge
and skills to perform their jobs more effectively
• Done for 2 reasons:-
– To make employees meet current job requirements (reactive
training)
– To prepare them for future job requirements (proactive training)
• Training methods include:
 Lectures and Demonstrations
 Case Studies and Role-playing
 On-the job and Off-the-job training
 Coaching and Mentoring
 Apprenticeship
 What is Training?( Contd.)
• Training does not always lead to Learning

• Learning depends upon

– The Design and Implementation of Training, whether it is good or bad
– The Motivation and Learning ability of the Trainees
– The Learning climate of the Organization, i.e. whether it encourages or
discourages learning and the facilitation of training

• Training is also a strategic tool for a firm to gain a competitive

advantage

• Ex- 50 employees have to be trained in using the new software, so

that they will make on average 30 less mistakes per day, increasing
productivity by 15%, leading to a 5% increase in market share over the
next five years.
 Important Concepts & Meanings
 Some Key concepts related to Training & Development:-
 1. Learning
Refers to a relatively permanent change in cognition (understanding & thinking) resulting from
experiences obtained and that is directly observable in behaviour

 2. KSA : (Knowledge, Skills, Attitudes)

K- Knowledge, an organized body of facts, principles, procedures and information acquired over
time

S- Skills, a proficiency at doing something; the capacities needed to perform a set of tasks that are
acquired through training and experience
Two types of skill acquisition
Compilation (lower level)
Automaticity (higher level)

In the beginning, all skills gained are in the compilation stage, then through practice and repetition,
they become skills in the automaticity stage.

Ex- Playing Tennis. Beginners learn to play a ball on the forehand or backhand depending on the
ball bounce (Compilation stage) As you become good at it, the adjustments become automatic and
you no longer have to think about it (Automaticity stage)
 Important Concepts & Meanings (Contd.)
A- Attitudes are employee beliefs and opinions that influence
their behaviour
For example, if an employee likes his boss, he will most
probably like the job too, regardless of the activities involved.
Whereas, if an employee hates his boss, he will most probably
hate the job too, even if it is a comparatively good job. (low
pressure, fewer hours etc.) All because of attitude

Training needs to create positive attitudes among employees,

because when they have positive attitudes, they are more
motivated, and learn quickly (training is faster)
 Important Concepts & Meanings (Contd.)
 3. Competencies:
Are a set of KSA’s that are required to do a job successfully. For
example, to be a carpenter you need:
Knowledge- knowledge about different wood types, tools and their uses;
types of finishing that can be applied to wood
Skills- skills such as cutting, shaping, joining, finishing etc.
Attitude- love for working with wood, making things out of wood,
designing wood etc.

Trainers need to know how to spot competencies in employees and

develop the ones that are lacking.

Thus, training can improve both knowledge, skills and attitudes in

employees.
 Training is an Open System
• An open system is a system which interacts with it’s
environment. A closed system does not interact with
it’s environment
• Training is an open system because it receives new
inputs each time from the environment
• The Training System:-
 Inputs- Inefficiency, slow work, poor attitude, lack
of knowledge
 Process- Delivery of training using different
methods such as coaching, mentoring etc.
 Outputs- Increased Knowledge, Higher skills,
Better attitude, Improved Job Performance
 The Training Development Process
• Expected Organizational Performance (EOP) is the targeted
performance that the firm aims to achieve
• Actual Organizational Performance (AOP) is the performance
that actually occurs
• The need for training arises when AOP<EOP
• When this happens, it is called a triggering event

• Example- If expected sales figures for a certain month are

30,000 units and actual sales are in fact 25,000 units, there is a
performance gap. This is a triggering event and gives cause for
training. Perhaps the salesman were poorly trained in selling
or did not know how to persuade customers to buy. Therefore,
the solution is improved sales training for the marketing staff.
 The Training Development Process (Contd.)

• The Training process is developed in 5 stages:-

– 1. Analysis Phase
Here, expected organizational performance is compared to
actual organizational performance to find performance gaps.
There can be two types of performance gaps:
 Current Performance Gap- something which is a problem
right now and needs to be fixed. Ex- Low sales in February

 Future Performance Gap- something which will become a

problem in the future and needs to be addressed. Ex-
Installation of new machinery next year. Employees have
to be trained to use it, otherwise work will be stopped.
 Training Needs Assessment
Training Needs Assessment (TNA):
• “A systematic method for determining what caused
performance to be less than expected or required”

• It is done to find out the reasons for poor performance, and

hence, the need for training

Chapter 4 11
Levels of Needs Assessment
 Reasons for doing Training Needs Analysis

• A training program should always be designed after doing a training

needs analysis. Why?

• A training needs analysis can pinpoint the causes of poor

performance and hence, determine if training is actually required

• Sometimes, the causes of poor performance is insufficient KSA’s and

therefore training is required.

• But other times, the causes can be environmental or personality-

related, and training will not solve them (non-training solution
required)

• Ex- lacking in machinery, tools or other physical equipment 13

 Reasons for doing Training Needs Analysis

• A training needs analysis can tell you the level of KSA and performance of
employees before the training program.

• And after the training program, you can use these values to compare
performance (i.e. how much was there and how much has improved)

• Therefore, training needs analysis can provide a performance benchmark

• Using this, you can calculate how much cost the training program has saved
the company (After the training program, you can show this to your
supervisor)

• Ex- If, as a result of training, there are 50 less defects/day in a factory.

What is the value of the training program? (Selling price = $75)
Ans. 50 * Selling Price of the product = 50 * 75 = 3750 dollars 14
 Reasons for doing Training Needs Analysis

• Also, as a result of training needs analysis, only those who need training will
attend the training program.

• Compare this with a situation where training needs analysis was not done,
and the manager sends everyone to the training program

• These people will not take the training seriously, and distract the people who
actually need it

• By doing a training needs analysis, you are ensuring that training is given on
the KSA’s which are actually lacking (and not irrelevant KSA’s)

• Lastly, Training is a strategic tool. TNA finds out what KSA’s employees
currently have, and training gives them these KSA’s. All of this has the
objective of achieving the firm’s long term plans (in a certain industry or
15
market etc.)
 Is Training Needs Analysis always required?

• There are situations in which training needs analysis might not be required.

• For example, for a very important issue such as “sexual harassment”, you
don’t need to do a training needs analysis because there is no doubt you
need it. Everyone should receive training on avoiding sexual harassment and
be aware of it, so there is no question of doing a needs analysis

• Secondly, for training related to general workplace skills such as improving

teamwork, improving communication skills etc. there is no need to do a
needs analysis because it is already clear that everyone would benefit from
it

• For all other types of training, doing a training needs analysis is useful and
will improve the quality and effectiveness of the training program

16
 Outputs of Training Needs Analysis (TNA)
Here, the outcomes of TNA are analyzed, i.e. how much performance gap there is, what TNA
approach is required, and whether the solution is training or something other than training.

As mentioned earlier, there can be a performance gap right now, or there can be an anticipated
performance gap, i.e. a performance gap in the coming future.
These require different TNA approaches…..

• Reactive TNA- Focuses on current performance problems, i.e. the performance gap exists
right now
• Proactive TNA- Focuses on performance problems that will happen in the future, i.e. there
will be a future performance gap (AOP will be < EOP)

Also, in the output phase, we have to decide whether a training or a non-training

solution is required. Because a performance gap can happen for a number of
reasons, (lack of KSA’s is only one of the reasons). So, if the reason for the
performance gap is non-KSA related, then training is not the solution and some other
method has to be applied.

So, training can only fix performance gaps which are KSA-related 17
The Training Development Process (Contd.)

– 2. Design Phase
Uses inputs from the analysis phase. Here, a training program is
designed to fill the needs identified in the analysis phase. Also
the best method of delivery. All methods will not work for
everyone. For example, if a person has a disability (such as hard
of hearing, or uses a wheelchair) then special accommodation
has to made. These are all decisions of the design phase

Another important output from the design phase is training

objectives- what should be trained and how.
 The Training Development Process (Contd.)

– 3. Development Phase
Here, the actual training materials (manuals, lectures,
demonstrations, handouts etc.) are made. Inputs in this stage
are the outputs of the design stage, i.e. instructional methods
and ways of delivery. An instructional strategy is formed,
consisting of the order, timing and combination of methods
and elements to be used in the training program.

– Outputs in this stage are the hard-copy training materials

to be used in the next phase
The Training Development Process (Contd.)

– 4. Implementation Phase
Here, the training program is run in real life. All of the design,
analysis and development is put into practice to see how the
training program performs in an organizational context.

 However, there can be errors in the design and

implementation

 To ensure this, a dry run (or test) of the training program is

conducted before the full one is launched
The Training Development Process (Contd.)

– 5. Evaluation Phase
Here, the training program is evaluated to see whether it has
actually helped the organization achieve its improvement
objectives.

Two kinds of evaluation:-

A. Process Evaluation- evaluation of the training process itself,
i.e. whether the training followed the curriculum originally set
out.
Ex- whether a teacher followed the course outline
throughout the course
The Training Development Process (Contd.)

B. Outcome Evaluation
Whether the training resulted in any real benefits or
improvements for the firm. Here, the results of training are
compared with the original objectives of the training program to
see whether there are any improvements in performance. If yes,
the training program is a success. If no, then it is not worth it.

Also, organizational constraints affect training. Even if a training

program is successful, it might not be feasible if it involves a lot of
time, is very expensive, or requires extreme involvement from the
employees. All these might not be possible in a tight, competitive
business environment.
 Kirkpatrick’s Four-Level Training Evaluation Model

Four Levels of Training Evaluation

Thank You!