Printer Friendly Version

Book: HR: A South Asian Perspective

© 2007 Cengage Learning Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this work may by reproduced or used in any 
form or by any means - graphic, electronic, or mechanical, or in any other manner - without the written 
permission of the copyright holder.

Chapter 5 : Training and Developing Employees
 (pp. 130-143)
Training and Developing Employees: Chapter Overview

Courtesy Banner Personnel Service

P. 130

“Train people to the point where you may lose them, and then you won't lose them”

—General Manager, Marks & Spencer

Opening Case: Training of Gram Panchayat

Through an initiative of the Government of Rajasthan, all the panchayat members of Rajasthan were imparted
training on basic management skills by a training institute located in Uttar Pradesh in January, 2008. The trainees
constituted both female and male all of whom were elected panchayat members. In India through 73rd
constitutional amendment, one-third reservation for women came into effect to enhance women's participation in
the electoral system. As a result of which substantial number of women, under their traditional ghunghat (a
headscarf worn by women to cover their faces) participated in the training program initiated by the Rajasthan
Government. The content of the training program included some aspects of finance, corporate governance,
communication and decision-making skill. This two week training program was run in all the 36 districts of
Rajasthan. Faculty members of Uttar Pradesh came to Rajasthan to impart this training. Hindi being the national
language of the country, the training content was delivered in Hindi primarily using lecture method. After the
training program completed, the government also wanted to know the effectiveness of the program. After 8 months
of the training delivery, another management institute located in Udaipur was assigned the task to evaluate training
effectiveness of this 2 week long program. This study team generated a huge survey form that requested
participants to fill up their responses on various aspects of the training program (e.g., training facility, training
content, faculty members’ effectiveness, etc.) on a 5-point scale. The study team visited all the 36 districts where
the training was imparted to collect the participant's response data. They also made individual interactions with
some of the program participants and realized that there was huge

P. 131

enthusiasm amongst all about this program. While collecting the survey responses, the study team observed many
of the participants (particularly women) had to take the help of others to fill up their survey responses since they
were unable to read or write. Individual interactions with some of these trainees revealed they could not follow the
training content much since many of them were not proficient in Hindi language in which this program was
imparted. The study team now needs to give their recommendation to the government for future training programs.
What should it recommend?

Think It Over

1. Should the women folk be given separate training program from their male counterparts?
2. Should the training program be imparted in local language and for this trainers from Uttar Pradesh be
trained the local Rajasthani language?
3. Ideally what should be the most relevant training content and training method for the gram panchayat?
What should be ideal duration of the training program?

In this chapter we discuss the methods, models and theories of training the new employees so that they can
perform their jobs most effectively.

P. 132

Training and Developing Employees: Chapter Objectives
Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter you should be able to:

5-1 Describe how organizations train and develop new employees to better enable them to perform effectively

5-2 Discuss the various learning theories

P. 131

5-1 Training and Development
Once new employees have been hired, HR managers must take steps to ensure that they can perform to their full
potential as soon as possible. This generally involves training and development. Training and development, then,
represent a fundamental investment in the employees who work for an organization, with the overall goal of
improving their ability to make contributions to the firm's effectiveness. Employee training can be defined as a
planned attempt by an organization to facilitate employee learning of job-related knowledge, skills, and behaviors.
Development , on the other hand, usually refers to teaching managers and professionals the skills needed for both
present and future jobs. Thus, each has a slightly different orientation, but both have the goal of increasing an
employee's potential contributions.

© mirana/Shutterstock
Training usually involves teaching operational or technical employees how to do their jobs more effectively and/or
more efficiently. Teaching telephone operators to help customers more efficiently, showing machinists the proper
way to handle certain kinds of tools, and demonstrating for short-order cooks how to prepare food orders
systematically are all part of training, and all these activities are aimed at helping the organization function more
effectively.

Rather than focusing on specific job-related skills, development is more generally aimed at helping managers
better understand and solve problems, make decisions, and capitalize on opportunities.1 For example, some
management development programs have a component dealing with effective time management. Other
management development programs may help managers better understand how to motivate employees (for
example, how to get the employees discussed above to exert extra effort). Thus, managers do not necessarily return
from development programs with a specific new operational method for doing their job more effectively. Instead,
they may return with new skills that may be relevant to them in a general sense at some point in the future. They
may have a better understanding of how to work more effectively, how to better motivate their employees, and
how to make better decisions. They may possess a more complete understanding of how the overall organization
functions and their role within it. Development is considered a human resource function in most organizations, but
because of its strategic nature and importance, one or more senior executives are usually given specific
responsibility to ensure that management development is approached systematically and comprehensively.

5-1a Learning, Training, Development, and Education
Training, development, and education—all are targeted at some forms of learning. Learning, training,
development, and education sound synonymous to many, however, theoretically there are certain differences as
shown in Table 5.1.

P. 132

TABLE 5.1 Comparison of Learning, Training, Development and Education
Comparison  Learning Training Development Education 
factor (Formal)
Focus On values, attitudes, On knowledge, On individual potential and future On structured
innovation, and skills, ability, and role in workplace development of
outcome job performance individual
accomplishment
Clarity of Can be vague and Can be specified Stated in general terms Stated in general
objective difficult to identify clearly terms
Time scale Continuous Short term Long term Specified period
Outcomes of Individuals learn how Skilled Improved problem solving, Externally specified
process to learn and create performance of decision making, outcomes
own solutions tasks which make intrapersonal/interpersonal
up job competence
Process of Continuous evaluation Evaluation Evaluation of skills and Evaluation in terms
evaluation against specific effectiveness of pass/fail levels
job performance
standards
Role of To facilitate and guide To instruct, Guide, instruct, coach, counsel, Acts as an expert,
professional demonstrate, and and mentor instruct, facilitate,
trainer guide and guide to
learning resources
Payback to Immediate and Almost Medium to long-term payback in Long term
organization ongoing immediately in terms of increased potential
terms of skilled
performance
Adapted from Thomas N. Garavan, (1997)2

TABLE 5.1 Comparison of Learning, Training, Development and Education Adapted from Thomas N.

Garavan, (1997)2

IBM helps develop its new first-line managers with an extensive 9-month training program called Basic Blue,
which covers such topics as people management, HR policies, and leadership development. Program participants
complete 6 months of online e-learning before traveling to this Learning Center next door to headquarters in
Armonk, New York, for the continuation of the program. Almost 20,000 IBM managers worldwide have attended
the program since its inception in 1999. Similarly, Halliburton provides six weeks of development annually for its
top executives under its Presidential Leadership Seminar program.

5-1b Learning and Development as a Source of Competitive Advantage
Jack Welch once mentioned, “An organization's ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is
the ultimate competitive advantage.” In the face of rapid change, organizations that can rapidly learn and develop
are the ones who are going to excel. Google could outweigh many earlier search engines because as an
organization it constantly upgrades itself and focuses on new learning3 . Similar is the case with Apple which
encourages employee innovation through continuous learning. When organizations move into different markets or
product bases, new capability building can take place mainly through learning and development. HR can play a
vital role in organizational learning and development by creating forum for knowledge sharing.

Several basic steps in the design of any training or development program are illustrated in Figure 5.1. The process
should begin with a needs analysis where human resource managers responsible for training and development
determine the organization's true needs vis-à-vis training. This analysis generally focuses on two issues: the
organization's job-related needs and the capabilities of its current workforce. The organization's needs are
determined by the nature of the work that the organization performs—that is, what knowledge, skills, and abilities
must the organization's workforce have to perform the organization's work most effectively?

As part of this analysis, the manager must carefully assess the company's strategy, the resources it has available for
training, and its general philosophy regarding employee training and development. By “philosophy,” we mean the
extent to which the organization views training as a true investment in human resources or simply as a necessity to
alter or change a specific outcome or criterion measure. Workforce analysis involves a careful assessment of the
capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses characterizing the organization's current workforce. That is, it is important
to understand the extent to which the organization's workforce is skilled or unskilled, motivated or unmotivated,
committed to the organization or not, and so forth. Furthermore, it is important that the organization decide
whether it wishes to train employees for the present or more proactively train them for what is expected in the
future.

Once these needs are assessed, whether through direct observation, or some type of survey or interview process,
the organization must determine its goals for training and development. Unless a manager knows what to expect
from the training it is difficult (if not impossible) to determine how effective any training or development activity
has been. For example, consider the case of an insurance claims office. Assume that claims adjusters are
processing insurance claims at an average rate of 6 business days per claim. Responses and feedback suggest that
some customers are becoming unhappy because they would like to have their claims processed more

P. 133

FIG 
5.1 Assessing Training and Development Needs © Cengage Learning

quickly. Using this information and other relevant data, the human resource manager—working in conjunction
with operating managers—might decide that an appropriate and reasonable goal would be to cut the average
processing time from 6 to 4 days. Thus, a “4-day processing average” becomes the goal of this particular training
endeavor.

The next step in the process is to decide between in-house versus outsourced training. Many larger organizations
such as Texas Instruments and Exxon Mobil have large training staffs and assume the responsibility for training
and developing their employees, thus assuring that the content of its training and development efforts are precisely
and specifically tailored to fit the organization's needs. Alternatively, outsourcing training activities enables a firm
to draw upon expertise not available inside, in order to maximize training effectiveness. But outsourced programs
tend to be more general and even generic, and thus have less applicability and direct relevance to the organization's
needs.

Finally, once the organization has decided on whether to conduct training and development in-house or through
outsourcing, it must decide upon the specific techniques to be used. For some situations, organizations might
prefer to rely upon various work-based programs . Work-based programs tie the training and development
activities directly to performance of the tasks. The most common method of work-based training is on-the-job
training. This approach to training can help an organization achieve a return on the labor cost of the employee
almost immediately, assuming that the individual is capable of performing at a minimal level of competency. Also,
direct training costs may be lower because the organization may not need to hire dedicated trainers or send
employees to training programs. Two other types of work-based training are apprenticeship programs and vestibule
training. Apprenticeships involve a combination of on-the-job training and classroom instruction. Vestibule
training involves a work-simulation situation in which the job is performed under a condition that closely
simulates the real work environment.

Instructional-based programs are also quite common, especially the lecture or discussion approach. In these
situations, a trainer presents the material to those attending the program in a lecture format; although lectures
continue to play a role in most training programs, there is evidence that their use has been declining, and they are
being replaced with training outside the classroom, primarily using electronic technologies.

Another instructional-based program for training and development is computer-assisted instruction. In this
situation, a trainee sits at a personal computer and operates software that has been developed specifically to
impart certain material to the individual. The major advantage of this method is that it allows self-paced learning,
and immediate feedback can be given to the trainee.4

Another method that involves basic instruction as a training device is programmed instruction. In recent years,
these activities have become computerized but remain self-paced, with self-assessment. Also in recent years, all of
these approaches have been affected by changes in training technology. Video teleconferencing allows a trainer in
a centralized location to deliver material live via satellite hookup to multiple remote sites; the training can thus be
delivered effectively but without the travel costs necessary in transporting people to a common training site.
Interactive videos involve presenting information on a monitor from a central serving mechanism, DVD, CD-
ROM, or Web site. The trainee interacts with the system via a mouse and keyboard. Feedback can be provided
when inadequate responses or improper answers are given, and the trainee can skip material that has already been
learned.

5-1c Mentoring/Coaching
In both coaching and mentoring, one-on-one guidance is provided to a trainee by an expert. While we use the term
coaching and mentoring interchangeably, academicians make a fine line of distinction between the two. While
coaching is more skill focused, mentoring is more focused on attitude. Generally, coaching is short term, whereas
mentoring is long term. Mentoring usually applies to employees of managerial cadre; however, it can equally be
applicable to lower level employees. The difference between coaching and traditional on the job training (OJT) is
that coach/mentor is like a friend whom the trainee approaches without hesitation whenever they are in need to talk
about any

P. 134

© Konstantin Chagin/Shutterstock

skill deficit. Whereas in traditional OJT, new employee or less trained individuals are trained by trainers (e.g.,
experienced peers, or supervisors) who remain in their role as superiors and may not come down to the level of a
friend. Skills required for becoming a good coach or mentor are the same. A mentor/coach should possess good
listening skill. Also mentee/person to be coached should be able to identify with the coach/mentor. But this
identification process should be done in a careful manner. The idea of mentoring/coaching is not to create
dependencies of such nature where the trainee loses his/her own self-identity and sense of independence. Usually,
organizations prefer the mentees to choose their mentors with whom they can identify with. Both coaching and
mentoring are useful methods for developing employees. Many times mentors may act as career sponsor for their
mentees, where s/he gives special assignments or critical feedback to their mentees so that they can move in the
higher echelon of corporate hierarchy. For succession planning, mentoring by senior personnel becomes extremely
critical.

5-1d Management Development
The training and development issues discussed thus far are applicable to both standard training programs and
development programs. However, some specialized issues and techniques come into play in management
development. This process involves more generalized training for future managerial roles and positions rather than
training that is specific to an immediately relevant task. As a result, managerial training usually involves attending
a series of training programs over a period of time rather than attending a single program.

Techniques may be more or less applicable to management development as opposed to more traditional training.
For example, the lecture method may not be very well suited for this type of training, since it is critical that that the
learner be an active participant in any development program. On the other hand, techniques such as the in-basket
and leaderless group may be more appropriate for management development. In an in-basket exercise, the
participant is confronted with a hypothetical in-basket full of letters, memos, reports, phone messages, and e-mail
messages associated with a particular manager. The trainee must then play the role of the manager by reading and
evaluating each of the materials, noting how he or she would handle each one and prioritizing them. Useful
feedback can then be provided to the trainee concerning the best responses as well as time management and
priorities. The leaderless group exercise, on the other hand, places a group of trainees in a setting where they are
told to make a decision or solve some type of problem. No individual, however, is assigned the role of leader or
chair. It is up to the group to decide they need a leader, then identify and select a member who must function in
that role.

5-1e Organizational Development
Technically, learning is a process that only occurs at the level of the individual, and so it may make little sense to
talk about change or learning at any other level. But, in fact, there are processes that occur at the organizational
level that are related to learning and development. Even though the actual changes that might take place occur at
the level of the individual, collections of individuals can change in such a way that it actually does make sense to
talk about organizational development and learning.

Organizational development (OD) is a system-wide effort, managed from the top of the organization, to increase
the organization's overall performance through planned interventions. The technique relies heavily upon behavioral
science technology and, although the development activities target the individual, the purpose is to ultimately
change the way the entire organization operates. Also, OD assumes that people have a need to grow and develop,
as well as a desire to be accepted by other members of the organization. As a result, collaboration between
managers and employees is necessary to take advantage of the skills and abilities of the employees and to
eliminate aspects of the organization that limit employee growth, development, and group acceptance. Most such
programs also involve an OD consultant to implement and manage the program.

Different OD techniques are widely used. Survey feedback involves having employees respond to questionnaires
about attitudes and perceptions of leadership styles, then sharing the results of the survey with everyone involved,
including managers and supervisors. The purpose is to change the behavior of managers or supervisors by making
them aware of how everyone perceives them. Following the feedback are usually workshops designed to help
managers evaluate the feedback and suggest constructive changes.

When OD is undertaken to solve a specific problem, such as interpersonal conflict, techniques such as third-party
peacemaking

P. 135

might be used. Here a neutral third party, often an OD consultant from outside the organization, hears both sides in
a conflict. He or she then helps the parties develop satisfactory solutions or compromises so that everyone can win
(also known as integrative bargaining). Active listening—where a person pays attention to both verbal and
nonverbal information—is extremely valuable in these settings.

Finally, in process consultation the OD consultant observes managers in the organization to develop an
understanding of their communication patterns, decision-making and leadership processes, and methods of
cooperation and conflict resolution. The consultant then provides feedback and recommendations to the managers
about how to improve these procedures. It is worth noting that, although there is evidence that such interventions
are successful in improving communications, there seems to be a real question about whether there is any
improvement in organizational effectiveness as a result.55
At some point, when change begins to spread throughout the organization, we can actually talk about
“organizational learning ” taking place. This topic, as well as the related topic of organizational memory, will be
discussed in the next chapter. These two topics go beyond the traditional boundaries of either training or
development, and are more closely related to managing the knowledge function in organizations, which is
discussed in Chapter 8.

5-1f Donald Kirpatrick's Model of Training Effectiveness Evaluation
According to Kirptrick model, training evaluations can be done at four levels—reaction, learning, behavior, and
outcome.

Reaction

What participants felt and thought about the training program can be captured immediately after the training
program gets over. Usually, a feedback form is given to participants just after the training program to gauge their
overall satisfaction with respect to the program.

Learning

To capture what participants have learned out of the program, participants can be tested how much they have
retained the knowledge imparted in the program. End term exams conducted after a particular course gets over is
one such learning evaluation exercise.

Behavior

Behavioral changes take time and hence much after the training program (usually 3–6 months after the training)
this can be tested. Superiors or peers are the good sources to recognize whether in the trainees any behavioral
change has happened after attending the training.

Result

Organizations send trainees to attend training program so that it can have ultimate impact on the bottom line of the
organization. Hence, organization will be interested to know after attending the training what the impact is on
profitability of the organization. If union representatives were sent for a particular program so that the industrial
harmony can be upheld then after the trainees come back, the organization will like to see what the impact of the
training is on number of strikes that took place.

5-1g Evaluating Training and Development
There is a long tradition of evaluation for training and development activities—much longer than for most areas of
human resource management. This is because it is easier to evaluate these activities than some other practices. The
purpose of training and development is to enact fundamental change in individual performance behavior (or other
outcomes), and it is relatively easy to quantify such changes, making evaluation more straightforward. For
example, sales training should result in increased sales; training of repair persons should result in greater customer
satisfaction and fewer call backs; and safety training should result in fewer accidents.

This type of evaluation might be relatively simple, but that doesn't mean there are no issues to consider. The most
important is to determine if there is an actual change in the behavior being targeted. That is, we hope the trained
salesperson will sell more than he or she had sold before. This requires some type of pretraining measure to make
sure that there has generally been change. Also, we want to be sure that any changes we observe are really due to
the training program, not just the passage of time (i.e., the employee could just get better with more time on the
job). Therefore, it is often useful to have a “control group” of employees who work on the same job, but do not
receive the training. In this way, it would be possible to assess the change in the performance of the trained
employees, not only relative to their performance before training, but also relative to a similar group of employees
who did not receive any training.

Evaluating management development programs is a bit more problematic because the training is really geared
 © Jeff Greenberg/PhotoEdit

P. 136

at helping managers to prepare for future jobs. Therefore, it may require a longer period of time and outcome
measurement to evaluate these programs. Also, management development programs tend to target more complex
type of behaviors that are to be changed. The fact that the evaluation of management development programs is
more difficult is not an excuse for not conducting an evaluation. Since these programs tend to be more expensive
and involve higher levels employees, it is even more important that an organization knows if the programs are
effective.

5-2 Learning Theories
Knowing learning theories help trainers to understand the trainees in a better manner and impart training
effectively. Since the process of learning cannot be directly observed, rather experienced, hence it becomes
difficult to define learning. Oxford dictionary defines learning as “The acquisition of knowledge or skills through
study, experience, or being taught.” There are two predominant thoughts on learning: cognitive theory and
behavioral theory of learning. Cognitive theorists posit that though learning can be inferred through behavioral
outcomes, yet learning is not behavior per se; learning and behavior are two separate entities. Cognitive theorists’
primary focus area is how information gets processed during the process of learning. Behavioral theorists focus on
the behaviors influenced by learning. Three important learning theories have been described below: (1) Jean
Piaget's Theory, (2) Albert Bandura's Social Learning Theory, and (3) Learning Style Theory of David Kolb.

5-2a Jaen Piaget's Theory6 
Jean Piaget mentioned two important cognitive processes for learning to occur: assimilation and accommodation.
Assimilation is the process of integration of new experiences in our existing mental categories. Accommodation
happens through creation of a new category in our mental map. For example, for a child, the first lady s/he meets
in his/her life is the mother who is perceived as nurturing and caring. Child creates a new category in the mind
which is the “mother” category. Next the child meets the grandmother, playschool teacher who are all ladies and if
they show characteristics or traits almost like the child's mother there will be no need for the child to create
another category, s/he will fit other ladies in the same category called “mother”. But the moment the child meets
with animal world and sees, lion, tigers or elephants, now the child is forced to create another category called
“animals” with four legs, very different from the category created by him/her earlier called the “mother” category.
The process of creation of new categories, such as “mother”, “animals” is called the process of accommodation.
The process of fitting in similar natured objects (e.g., grandmother, playschool teacher in the existing category of
“mother”) is called the process of assimilation. The process of accommodation requires more individual effort than
the process of assimilation since accommodation requires creation of an altogether new category inside the mental
map. This explains why at time trainers face difficulties in training middle managers who are comfortable with the
old system of working. New training requires them to create an altogether new way of dealing with things (new
category creation in their mental map).

5-2b Social Learning Theory
The main premise of Bandura's social learning theory is that individuals learn through observation of others’
behavior, attitudes, and consequences of such behavior. Individuals who are observed are called models. These
models can be parents, teachers, colleagues, television personalities or anybody. Bandura conceptualized that there
is a continual reciprocal interaction between cognition, behavior, and environmental factors as shown in Figure
5.2.
Most of the behaviors are learned observationally through the process of modeling, such as by observing others,
individuals form ideas of how behaviors are to be performed and at a later stage this guides individuals’ actions.
For effective modeling, four conditions are necessary: (1) attention, (2) retention, (3) reproduction, and (4)
motivation.

Attention

Learning process of an individual starts with this stage. Amongst multitude of objects around us, we pay selective
attention to few, based on their distinctiveness and relevance. In order to make a training program successful, a
trainer's first job is to grab the attention of the trainees. While delivering training content, a trainer can use voice
modulation, use interesting presentations to get trainees’ attention.

Retention

After attention comes the stage of retention where some of the observed phenomena will get lost and some will be
retained in the memory. Bandura mentions human beings just do not respond to stimuli, rather

FIG 5.2 
Reciprocal Interaction between Cognition, Behavior, and Environmental Factors

P. 137

they interpret those. Individuals use visual images and verbal codes to store external events in the memory. To
ensure retention, learners need to rehearse learned material through the process of symbolic rehearsal, which will
involve imagination and visualization. Trainers can facilitate the retention by asking trainees different usage of the
learning material which will involve participants to visualize different applications of learned content and thereby
retaining it in the mind.

Reproduction

Practice of the observed behavior leads to skill enhancement and eventually perfecting the behavior. Behavioral
reproduction has both cognitive and environmental elements. Initially, an individual's cognitive process triggers a
behavior, and then the behavior occurs in the environment and becomes a part of the environment.

Motivation

Motivation has been discussed in detail in a later chapter. Here it is sufficient to mention that for learning to take
place, individuals need to have an inner drive. At times, the consequences of behavior determine whether an
individual will engage in a particular behavior or not. Anticipatory learning happens when an individual learns
consequences of a behavior simply by observing the act being performed by others, without getting actually
engaged in the behavior.
5-2c Kolb's Model on Learning Style of Individuals 7 
Psychologist David Kolb's model of learning is one of the most recognized learning style theories. According to
Kolb, individual's genetic dispositions, life experiences, and the present environment play a vital role in their
learning styles. Kolb is the proponent of four different learning styles, a theory of experiential learning and a
learning style inventory.

Experiential learning has been viewed by Kolb as four stage cycle as shown in Figure 5.3.

1. Concrete Experience (Feeling). Under this first stage, learners get involved in learning by relying on their
own feelings.
2. Reflective Observation (Watching). At this stage, learners step back and reflect what they have
experienced at the first stage.
3. Abstract Conceptualization (Thinking). Under this stage, learners try to make sense of what has
happened and starts interpreting events and their relationships.
4. Active Experimentation (Doing). At this last stage of the experiential learning, learners attempt to put
their training into practice.

To support different learning stages different teaching approaches may be adopted. For example, while for
concrete experience laboratory sessions work well; to ensure abstract conceptualization, lecture will be a
preferable method of training. For reflective observation, participants may be encouraged to build learning
diaries/logs and for active experimentation field work may be a supportive method.

Experiential learning theory (ELT) developed six propositions.

1. Learning is a process rather than an outcome.

2. All learning is re-learning.
3. Learning requires resolution of conflicting views, differences, and disagreements. Learner moves back and
forth on reflection, action, feeling, and thinking.
4. Learning is just not cognition; it involves thinking, feeling, perceiving, and behaving of the learner.
5. Learning results from synergetic interactions between person and environment.
6. Learning is the process of creating knowledge rather than mere transmission of existing fixed ideas.

Learning style inventory captures the degree to which individuals display the different learning styles. The four
learning styles that emerge are shown in Figure 5.3.

1. Diverger. Diverger can bring many different perspectives while solving a problem and learns through
observation rather than by actions. This
 FIG 5.3 Experimental Learning Cycle

P. 138

type of learners enjoys interactions with people from different cultural backgrounds.
2. Assimilator. Assimilator can put different observations and thoughts together to create models and
theories. They like abstract conceptualization of ideas and thoughts.
3. Converger. Converger learns better through practical application of ideas. At times they may be perceived
as unemotional by others.
4. Accommodator. This type of learners prefers trial and error method of learning rather than thought and
reflection while solving a problem. They like to solve problems intuitively.

HR in the 21st Century
Different Training Initiatives in India The most significant change in the last few years has been tying up
training initiatives with strategic planning in India. Today it is not unusual to have learning and development team
at the strategic discussion forum who would think, plan, and discuss how changing strategy would translate into
additional training requirements for certain employees.

© moodboard/Thinkstock
The focus on e-learning has ensured consistent delivery of training program across geographically dispersed
workforce with a considerably reduced cost8 . Many companies have reduced classroom lecturing and have shifted
to mobile apps, which can be used anywhere anytime by employees at any level. Companies are becoming more
innovative in providing training programs. For example, in order to inculcate vision and values of the company to
its young employees Aditya Birla group has come up with an interesting game based solution that can be
downloaded on the mobile9 . During this hour long game, players are presented different scenarios which they can
deal with keeping in mind certain values, and vision, and mission of the company. In order to enhance customer
interaction of employees at ICICI Bank, employees spend Saturday afternoons watching films on soft skills. Many
large organizations have their dedicated in-house training facilities and are tying up with training vendors. For
example, Accenture has tied up with XLRI Jamshedpur for providing diploma in human resource management.
ICICI Bank has set up a number of academies for different functional areas and has certification processes for
different roles. Tata Management and Training Centre of Tatas, Bodhi Vriksha of Mahindra Group, Gyanodaya of
AV Birla Group, etc., are a few examples of superior training facilities provided to employees for skill
enhancement.

Multinational organizations operating in India are tapping in global training system for training their top talents in
India. Hindustan Unilever's Talent Excel-Rator is an example of one such program where high performing
managers of South Asia gets global exposure in cross cultural trainee groups. Cisco has Short Term Rotation
(STIR) program where people from different countries take up jobs on a rotational basis. To address gender related
issues, many organizations (e.g., IBM, HDFC, Standard Chartered Bank, Accenture) have different training
programs in place. For retention of BPO employees, companies like Infosys BPO are providing higher educational
opportunities to their employees. This program in a way has resulted in less percentage of attrition amongst BPO
employees. On the job training, coaching, mentoring, counseling, like always also take important roles in corporate
India.

With over 12 million new entrants in the labor market, India has the world's youngest workforce, but it is short on
employability skill. To address this concern like China and Germany, a Vocational Training Act10 is going to be
introduced in India soon to provide a legal framework for providing quality skill building training to youths to
make them employable. Corporate India is also doing their share of corporate social responsibility to ensure
employability of certain segments of individuals. For example, a month after initiating voluntary retirement
scheme, Nokia India at Chennai came up with Bridge program11 through which employees who had put in at least
5 years of service in the company and had to face job loss are given special training on different career avenues.
Training programs are imparted on MS Office/Tally, commissioning of solar units, desktop publishing, beauty
treatment courses, garment making, etc. to ensure employability of these ex-employees.

Think It Over

1. Can you think over what more innovative, creative before, during and after training solutions can be
offered in the training front by corporate India so that effective transfer of learning takes place in the
workplace?
2. In order to ensure employability of youth which training pedagogy will you suggest to the Government of
India?

P. 139

Training and Developing Employees: Closing Cases
1. Training Program at Abc Cement
Mr. Sunil Varughese of a large cement manufacturing organization is contemplating on how to improve training
programs at ABC Cement. ABC Cement has a yearly mandate of imparting training to all its staff members and
officers. There are currently three different training programs running in the company: (1) SAP training for all, (2)
attitudinal/behavioral training for those whose managers have identified such training need on the basis of annual
performance feedback, and (3) induction training for the new employees. Each of these training programs has their
unique set of challenges.
 © Wavebreak Media

Unlike its competitors who have implemented SAP modules 6 years back, ABC Cement has recently implemented
the SAP system. Earlier there was another ERP system which was working fine in the organization. Despite a
dedicated internal team member who tried to customize ERP system for the organization, there is a huge problem
going on with respect to different modules of SAP. Users are complaining that the SAP system has doubled their
workload since now they are supposed to do both data entry in the SAP, and keep manual records, in the fear of
losing relevant data. In ABC computer proficiency of users largely varies. There are managers who do not know
how to write their e-mails and dictate their secretaries to type their e-mails on their behalf. Again there are a few
new generation employees who are having reasonable computer proficiency. However, this new breed of managers
do not have the patience to share their knowledge with the old generation, and feels old generation managers are
not receptive to learn new things.

For attitudinal training, ABC has recently signed an MOU with XYZ Management Institute, an eminent institute in
Northern India. Business managers have many times complained earlier that transfer of learning does not take
place once the trainees come back to ABC Cement after attending week long training programs. Mr. Sunil
Varughese needs to concretely come with a plan on what all, before, during, and after training, initiatives need to
be put in place so that effective transfer of training happens at the workplace.

ABC Cement puts great emphasis on induction program of new employees who are handpicked from different
management campuses across India. ABC organizes two week induction program for the new employees at its
training centre at Pune. Many senior executives come and deliver lectures on companies’ vision, mission and
business imperatives to the trainees. Of late Mr. Varghuese is observing that the participants’ attention span has
reduced substantially. Despite repeated requests many participants bring i-phones in the lecture rooms and almost
in every session phones would keep on ringing every now and then. Some of the participants also start texting
messages during the sessions. Mr. Varghuese was wondering how to control the mobile phone usage in the
classroom.

Think It Over

1. What suggestions would you like to offer to Mr. Varughese for (1) SAP training, (2) attitudinal/behavioral
training, and (3) induction training program for the new employees?

2. Career Counseling on Competing Offers
Arnav is working in a renowned conglomerate. Three years back his company sponsored his MBA for which he
had to sign a special bond of serving the company for 2 years just after completion of his degree. The bond period
will end after 6 months from now. In the meanwhile, just after he joined back his duty, he has been given a fast
track promotion. His peers and juniors who earlier used to consider him as a role model sarts behaving in a very
different manner just after his promotion. Things have become so unbearable that Arnav thinks of quitting the
organization. He starts looking for alterative job offers and also has given a written test and interview to join a PhD
Program of a renowned foreign university.

Within a span of 2 weeks he has received two offers. One offer is from a competing firm with a compensation
package higher than his current compensation with an offer of foreign posting. Arnav's wife Snigdha likes this
offer since this offer will enable them to provide the best educational facilities for their kids in a foreign school.
The second one is from the foreign university for which Arnav gave the exam. It will take 4 years to complete this
PhD program. The term of the PhD will start in the next month and Arnav will have to give them firm
confirmation within 15days if he desires to join the program.

Think It Over

1. Arnav is completely confused about the four options: (a) Should he quit his job and join PhD program? (b)
Should he confront his colleagues and continue with his present organization? (c) Should he join the
competing firm? (d) Should he continue with his present organization without going in any form of
confrontation? Can you counsel Arnav on what should he do?
 2. Have you ever faced any similar competing career choice options?
3. In case you were Arnav, what would you have done? What factors led you to choose one option over the
others?

P. 140

Training and Developing Employees: Multiple Choice Questions
1. The Hu Dong Zhong Hua Shipbuilding Group of Shanghai offers its line workers courses tailored to specific job
skills. Hu Dong Zhong Hua is offering

(a) motivation.

(b) learning theory.

(c) development.

(d) training.

2. Which of the following would NOT be considered a traditional development activity?

(a) Teaching a problem-solving seminar for managers

(b) Requiring managers to take a time-management course

(c) Meeting with managers to inform them about overall organizational functions and strategies

(d) Teaching managers how to use a new management information system being implemented

3. Ruth has been put in charge of assessing her firm's training and development needs. Which activity would NOT
be a part of Ruth's job?

(a) Conducting a needs analysis

(b) Doing a workforce analysis

(c) Setting training program goals

(d) Choosing to conduct training in-house or through outsourcing

4. Which mechanism is typically used to assess the organization's job-related needs and the capabilities of its
current workforce?

(a) Needs analysis

(b) Training assessment

(c) Utilization review

(d) Strategic analysis

5. Needs analysis information may be effectively gathered from all of the following sources EXCEPT

(a) work-related accident reports.

(b) availability of outsourced training programs.

(c) employees’ assessment of their own strengths and weaknesses.

(d) customers providing input about employee training needs.

6. Futurekids is a Los Angeles-based educational technology firm that provides professional development training
for teachers. What is a benefit that Futurekids’ clients are likely to experience?

(a) The trainers will be very familiar with the firm and its work environment.

(b) Course content is developed to meet the specific needs of the individual client.
(c) Professional trainers are skilled and highly qualified, providing a high-quality product.

(d) Outsourced training is likely to be much less expensive than comparable in-house training.

7. What is the MOST common form of work-based training?

(a) On-the job training

(b) Apprenticeship training

(c) Vestibule training

(d) Job rotation

8. In describing the preparation done by individuals who desire to become a professional plumber, one website
says,“It is 90% on-the-job and 10% classroom training.” What type of program is this website describing?

(a) Vestibule training

(b) Instructional-based program

(c) Job rotation

(d) Apprenticeship training

9. Which training method involves performing a job in a situation closely simulating the actual work environment?

(a) Job rotation

(b) Vestibule training

(c) Apprenticeship training

(d) On-the-job training

10. At Ernst & Young professional services firm, accountants undergo hundreds of hours of training. One form of
training is material that is presented online as part of a virtual “booklet” with self-assessments conducted by the
trainee at his or her own pace. This type of training is called

(a) lecture or discussion training.

(b) computer-assisted instruction.

(c) programmed instruction.

(d) on-the-job training.

11. Generally coaching is____________, whereas mentoring is____________.

(a) long term, short term

(b) short term, long term

(c) Long term, medium term

(d) Medium term, long term

12. According to Jean Piaget____________is the process of putting in new experiences in our existing mental
categories.

(a) Integration

(b) Abstraction

(c) Accommodation

(d) Assimilation

13. Most prevalent form of evaluating training effectiveness for management development participants, is
evaluating:
(a) results

(b) reactions

(c) behavior

(d) learning

P. 141

14. Often clarity of objective for____________can be vague and difficult to identify.

(a) training

(b) education

(c) learning

(d) development

15. ____________is a comparatively short term process.

(a) training

(b) education

(c) learning

(d) development

Training and Developing Employees: Conceptual Questions
1. What is the fundamental goal of training and development? Explain how training helps organizations to
achieve that goal. Explain how development aids in achieving that goal.
2. Briefly describe learning theory of Jean Piaget.
3. What are the characteristics/traits of a good trainer?
4. Explain the four stages of Donald Kirpatrick's Model of Training Effectiveness Evaluation.
5. What are the drawbacks of on-the job training (OJT)?

P. 142

Training and Developing Employees: In Review: Chapter Summary

Courtesy Banner Personnel Service

Learning Objectives
5-1 Describe how organizations train and develop new employees to better enable them to perform effectively.

5-2 Discuss the various learning theories.

Once the new employees are hired, it is common for organizations to submit them to training and development
activities, deigned to improve their performance on the job. Training is more concerned with short term and
specific job skills, while development activities focus on les specific and longer term managerial skills.
Organizational development is aimed at improving the functioning of the entire organization and so we can discuss
organizational learning as a process where these developmental activities become part of the entire organization.

Knowing learning theories helps trainers to understand the trainees in a better manner and impart training
effectively. Main premise of Bandura's Social Learning Theory is that individuals learn through observation of
others’ behavior, attitudes, and consequences of such behavior. According to Kolb, individual's genetic
dispositions, life experiences, and the present environment play a vital role in their learning styles.

Training and Developing Employees: In Review: Key Terms
• Apprenticeships apprenticeships involve a combination of on-the-job training and classroom instruction.
• Development development refers to teaching managers and professionals the skills needed for both
present and future jobs.
• Education education refers to the formal classroom training an individual has received in public or
private schools and in a college, university, or technical school.
• Learning the acquisition of knowledge or skills through study, experience, or being taught
• On-the-job training on-the-job training involves having employees learn the job while they are actually
performing it.
• Organizational development organizational development is a systemwide effort, managed from the top of
the organization, to increase the organization's overall performance through planned interventions.
• Organizational learning organizational learning refers to the process by which an organization “learns”
from past mistakes and adapts to its environment.
• Training training is a planned attempt by an organization to facilitate employee learning of job-related
knowledge, skills, and behaviors.
• Vestibule training vestibule training involves a work-simulation situation in which the job is performed
under a condition that closely simulates the real work environment.
• Work-based programs work-based programs tie training and development activities directly to
performance of the tasks.
• Work simulations (or work samples) work simulations (or work samples) involve asking the prospective
employee to perform tasks or job-related activities that simulate or represent the actual work for which the
person is being considered.

Training and Developing Employees: In Review: Key Points for Future Managers
• Training activities are aimed at improving specific job skills of employees so they can perform their jobs
more effectively.
• Development activities usually involve managers and are focused on more broadly defined managerial
skills which will help the manager in the long run.
• Organizational learning refers to the process by which these developmental activities are spread throughout
the company and everyone learns new ways of doing their jobs.

Footnotes
1 See Chapter 1 in Charles R. Greer, Strategy and Human Resources (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall,
1995), for an overview of the importance of training and development.
2 N. G., Thomas (1997), “Training, development, education and learning: different or the same?” Journal of
European Industrial Training, 21(2), pp. 39–50.
3 J. Bersin, “How Corporate Learning Drives Competitive advantage,” Forbes, March 20, 2013,
http://www.forbes.com/sites/joshbersin/2013/03/20/how-corporate-learning-drives-competitive-advantage/.
4 Jane Webster and Joseph J. Martocchio, “The Differential Effects of Software Training Previews on Training
Outcomes,” Journal of Management, 1995, Vol. 21, No. 4, pp. 757–787.
5 Jack Stack, “The Training Myth,” Inc., August 1998, pp. 41–42.
6 P. N., Blanchard and J. W. Thacker, Effective Training, Systems, Strategies, and Practices, 3rd Edition. (Pearson
Education, 2009).
7 Sugarman, L. (1985). Kolb's Model of Experiential Learning: Touchstone for Trainers, Students, Counselors, and
Clients, Journal of Counseling & Development. 64 (4), pp. 264.
8 Roy, S., “IT companies learn new tricks to cut training costs,” The Economic Times, March 11, 2014,
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-03-11/news/48118011_1_training-programme-training-costs-
freshers on (access date).
9 Sangani, P., “Companies race to enable employees to upgrade themselves,” The Economic Times, November 4,
2011, http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-11-04/news/30359651_1_development-programmes-
training-programmes-infosys-bpo on (access date).
10 Seth Sharma, Y., “India's Vocational Training Act to provide legal framework for Skill India programme,” The
Economic Times, August 13, 2014, http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-08-
13/news/52767945_1_skill-india-tata-sons-labour-market on (access date).
11 Sivaramakrishnan, “V., Nokia India implements ‘Bridge’ programme to help former employees of Chennai
plant,” The Economic Times, June 18, 2014, http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-06-
18/news/50678933_1_nokia-india-chennai-plant-chennai-factory on (access date).

P. 143
© 2007 Cengage Learning Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this work may by reproduced or used in any 
form or by any means - graphic, electronic, or mechanical, or in any other manner - without the written 
permission of the copyright holder.