SETTING TRAINING OBJECTIVES A systematically designed training programme must determine learning objectives incongruence with the objectives of organisation, learner and wainer. These objectives refer to qualitative statements describing expected modification of competence and behaviour in a learner after a learning experience. This modification does not occur elther in isolation or by chance or arbitrarily in the learner as is attempted in many taining Programmes. In the system approach to training intervention, every step is planned and well defined and the setting training objective, the most crucial component is no exception to this rule, Training objective, defined following the inputs provided by the stage of identification of training needs, serves as standard specification of an Output to which the including components parts as well as Procedures to determine them. TRAINING OBJECTIVE: Concept, Classification and Features Training or learning objective denotes Output of a training system which been given in terms of knowledge, skill and attitude, training objectives also tend to fall into three categories : knowledge, skill and attitude &lving rise to different terms such as Cognitive objective, conativesetting Training Objectives 81 objective and affective objective respectively. Although knowledge, skill and attitude are complementary and supplementary to cach other and are concerned with promoting and guiding learning in the learner which in turn develop confidence in him to apply learning in the job situation to achieve organisational objectives, they differ in degree on various counts So far as determination of their objectives is concerned. Here it is essential to point out the characteristic features of a training objective. First, itis capable of being expressed in behavioural terms. Second, it should specify criterion behaviour as far as possible which means deciding the work behaviour required of the learner at the end of his training. Third, it is the job rather than the person oriented as a result it is able to bring uniformity of job behaviour. Cognitive Objective Knowledge component of training is more educational in nature and develops perception and understanding in the learner. Hence determination of objective with reference to knowledge input may be called as cognitive objective which has its own characteristic features. Unpredictability of. ‘Behavioural Outcome : Cognitive objective seems to provide the learner with the basic knowledge and understanding of subjects, situations, procedures, etc., which are considered necessary to the performance of his jobs. But the learner interprets and applies this understanding in his own way to specific situations. From this itcan be inferred that cognitive objective is less amenable to behavioural terms and behavioural outcome is unpredictable. Therefore, it is expressed in general or abstract terms. Person Oriented : Cognitive objective stimulates personal development by increasing general awareness and understanding about the universe—jobs, organisation, society etc., and broaden mental horizon, enabling the learner to modify his behaviour in light of environmental factors. This means it is more person-oriented and less job-oriented. Longer Duration : Knowledge input normally takes a longer period of time to accomplish its objectives. Its period can be reduced only by reducing the items of knowledge inputs which may adversely affect the quality of inputs. Thus, a training cannot be tailor-made on the basis of Cognitive objectives. Conceptual and Theoretical : Knowledge contents of cognitive objective are more conceptual and theoretical in nature which may or82 Systems Approach to Training and Developmen, may not be very relevant and practical to the jobs. But conceptua} theoretical knowledge certainly broadens the outlook and men horizon of the learner and stimulates his analytical, critica) comprehending faculties. These materials also indirectly but favouraby influence the skill improvement process as well as help formation é positive attitude in the learner towards the job. Complex Nature ; Knowledge inputs to achieve cognitive objective are complex in nature. Since knowledge inputs like theories, principles gig are derived from different sources, they may reflect ambiguity and divergence of opinions which are more common specially in the field of social sciences, creating problems of uneven understanding ang adversely affect uniformity of job behaviour in the learner. Thus, despite certain limitations, cognitive objective serves useful purposes in differing degrees for the training of managerial personnel, Ii is highly useful for the top managers whose jobs are highly unstructured and require more of knowledge inputs of diverse fields like conceptual, behavioural, technical, analytical and communication and lesser degree of skills. However, middle managers, whose jobs are semi-structured, Tequire comparatively less knowledge and more skill inputs while supervisory managers require substantial skill inputs and comparatively - lesser knowledge because their jobs are highly structured. Therefore, cognitive objectives are more relevant for top managers and conative objectives are appropriate for middle and supervisory personnel of an organisation. Conative Objective 4 Skill component of training is basically concerned with the formation improvement of know-how, art of doing things or methods of job performance. Since skills are specific to a particular job whether — managerial or non-managerial requiring uniformity of job behaviour, it is essential to decide training objectives with reference to skill in behavioural terms which may be called as conative objectives. In organisational situation managerial and other personnel require 4 variety of skills to perform their jobs effectively such as managerial, behavioural, decision making, communication, analytical and. psychomotor or technical skills. It is comparatively easier to define conative objectives for such skills than imparting them to the leamer. - The characteristic features of conative objectives are as follows:settins Training Objectives 83 rob Centred + Conative objective specifies the work behaviour required the learner at the end of his training. Hence, it is highly job centred ther than person-oriented which usually implies uniformity of job paviour though its learning may be more difficult than the learning of knowledge inputs. ility of Behavioural Outcome : Like cognitive objective, it is not complex. It is also not subject to individual interpretation and application in his own way because it does not basically provide to the Jearner what OF knowledge part of a job but how or method, procedures, knowhow part of a job which may be standardised and similar behaviour can be expected of him after training. Thus, the behavioural outcome can be predicted. Tailor Made : Conative objes predictab ctives can be tailor-made to suit time and learning requirements of the learner and his organisation. Because it is comparatively easier to select items of skill formation or improvement on the basis of organisational and individual requirements as well as on the basis of priority, relevance and practicability of jobs. Thus, it facilitates to design a training programme of shorter duration to accomplish the objectives. Inbuilt Learning Interest: The learning contents of conative objective provides the learner with the relevant knowledge, skills, and attitude necessary to carry out specific work or tasks. It is geared directly to this end and is essentially practical and relevant to the job. Most of the learning materials such as work method, techniques, procedures and situations are derived from within the organisation and are modified in the light of improved methods and practices derived from tested sources, Since learning materials are clear, cohesive and relevant to the jobs, they create learning interest automatically in the learner making learning highly effective. Thus conative objectives of training are the secret of successful taining and are relevant for all managerial and non-managerial personnel of an organisation seeking training. However, it may be mentioned here that it is comparatively easier to decide conative Objectives in behavioural terms for the middle and supervisory managers but difficult for top managers. Another point that needs mention here is that there are certain subjects like laws and other statutes whose observance and compliance are & must in normal work processes of the organisation. These subjects are highly knowledge-84 Systems Approach to Training and Developmen, oriented rather than job or skill-oriented. In such cases also it is difficuly to decide behavioural objectives. Therefore, it is suggested to decide cognitive objectives not only in these cases but also in other cases where it is very difficult to specify behavioural objectives, Affective Objective In learning process, attitude of the learner plays a crucial role. Positive attitude is a pre-requisite for learning knowledge and skill. That is why developing or improving attitude is considered as one of the basic ingredients of training. A good training system emphasises development of positive attitude in the learner. Once learning interest is created in the learner the rest becomes easier. Attitude is a state of mind in an individual which is reflected by his likes or dislikes, interest or disinterest, positive or negative behaviour and such other behavioural phenomena. Since mind masters and monitors attitude and learning, it has to be influenced first. Therefore, deciding training objectives with reference to attitude to elicit desired behaviour may be termed as affective objective. Attitude is a subjective aspect and is formed in an individual on the basis of his knowledge, experience and his relationships with other people and the outer world. Although it is a complex phenomena, it is easier to develop attitude than improve knowledge and skill if some kind of positive motivation is provided to © the person. Affective objective has its own features like cognitive and conative objectives. Behaviour Orientation: Attitude, through state of mind, predisposes learners to action. Although, the relationship between attitude and action is not simple, certain, concepts explain the phenomena effectively. A person crosses several stages before he is convinced of any information. This conviction leads the person to behave in a ~ desirable manner. The first stage is of receiving, listening and responding to a variety of communication which enables a person to develop a sense of tolerance for different ideas and commit himself toa behaviour. Next, he values or senses worth in a behaviour and forms judgement about the significance of the behaviour making it a part of his value system. Finally, the link up between the significance of behaviour and his value system conditions his mind enabling him to behave consistently and revise judgements in light of new evidences and stimulus. Thus, behavioural outcome becomes predictable. Easy to Achieve Affective Objective: Affective Objective is easier 10 achieve than cognitive and conative objectives, because it does notSetting Training Objectives 85 require learning of various theories, principles etc., of one or more subjects nor does it require practice, competence and close supervision. It develops easily depending on the nature and quality of stimulus and motivation. Since attitude is formed through our relationships with other people, the concept of cognitive dissonance provides one explanation based on the premise that we like our attitudes to be in harmony with each other. Social comparison is another mechanism which helps in modifying attitude. Means and Not An End : Affective objective is an effective means to achieve behavioural ends of learning knowledge and skill. Due to this characteristic, attitude is always given high priority in learning of knowledge and skill though they also influence attitude substantially. This improvement in attitude because of new information leads to further learning, creating a chain of modifications in attitude enabling a person to change his behaviour constantly in the light of changes and thus become dynamic. Different Strategy to Change Attitude : Many times, if relationships are not worthwhile or new information is not meaningful or not in harmony with a person’s own objectives, it becomes difficult to change attitude. However, certain techniques like role play, group discussion, visit to successful institutions, problem centred and need-based group assignments €tc., have good bearing on improving attitude. This suggests that affective objective requires participative and experiential de at short duration. Training techniques techniques to change attitu which do not allow group interaction nor influence in,er-relationships are weak in changing attitude of the learner. Thus, attitude is a vital pre-requisite for learning. But no training emphasises stating of affective objectives. This is because knowledge and skill inputs provide enough stimulus for attitudinal change. However, it must be stated for exclusive attitude training. TRAINING OBJECTIVES AND TRAINING PROGRAMMES Training objectives classified into cognitive, conative and affective objectives denote three segments of training—knowledge, skill and attitude. Following these classifications of the training objective, four types of training programmes may be designed. First, cognitive objective with high priority of knowledge inputs will give basic management knowledge training programme. Second, conative objective concentrating on skill inputs will give rise to basic; 86 Systems Approach to Training and Development g. Third, affective objective dwelling on ts will produce basic management altitude ‘on of these three segments will generate a e. It may be pointed out that since attitude i “i into knowledge or skill segments of training, we may design Eaten of aint programmes — knowledge-based, skill- based and knowledge-cum-skill based. Since the ultimate objective of training is to effect behaviour modification, therefore, it is desirable to define training objectives in behavioural terms irrespective of the types of training. Skilled-based training is more amenable to behavioural objective and result-oriented. It is due to this reason that skill-oriented training is being advocated in this book — the approach which is still narrowly used for technical training in India. BEHAVIOURAL OBJECTIVES : Different Concepts A good training programme is designed on the basis of good training objectives. A good training objective is that which is defined in behavioural terms so that the outcome of a training programme can be matched with the predetermined objectives; hence, the concept of behavioural objectives. Defining training objectives in behavioural terms is nota difficult task because conative objective is synonymous to behavioural objective and cognitive objective with some exceptions can be expressed in behaviour terms, Behavioural objectives may be expressed in different terms to denote different phenomena of the outcome of training. 4 management skill trainin, attitude improvement inputs training. Fourth, a combinati composite training programm Criterion Behaviour The term ‘Criterion behaviour’ is used to define what the learner is expected to do at the end of the training. It specifies the tasks, procedures, techniques, and skills that he should be able to perform, the standard of performance required and the circumstances in which the work will be carried out?. Thus, this training objective gives clear cut parameters of behaviour to which the learner has to be trained. However, there are several situations such as management development programme for top managers, in which it is difficult to describe taining objectives in strict behavioural terms since it is more educational in nature. The specific behaviour required may not be known at the time of training or the possible behavioural outcomes may be too numerous to list. Next, some learning situation raises various issues and open-ended questions, the answer to which have to beseins Training Objectives 87 worked out when back on the job such as taining on management styles: leadership and decision making. In these situations, it is unrealistic to define criterion behaviour because the learner cannot immediatelY change his style after training. However, Gronlund suggested one solution for Such situations is to state the general objective first, and then to clarify it by listing a sample of the specific pehaviour which would be acceptable as evidence of the attainment of the objective’. Another alternative is to determine indicative activities such as demonstrating an interest in developing new inter-personal skills or initiating new styles, Transfer Learning Objectives The concept of ‘Transfer learning objectives’ has been used to describe activities, the achievement of which would help young people to transfer their learning to unfamiliar situations, thereby helping them to cope with the changing pattern of employment‘. This concept is based on the premise of ownership or privatisation of skills: They are of such nature and learned in such a way that they do not become specific to one organisation or situation but become more of a permanent asset to the Jearner in finding different types of employment and using the skills in different organisations. Such objectives are likely to cover broad occupational families or categories such as managerial, administrative, financial and office services. Thus, the use of transfer learning objectives helps the young leammer cope effectively with new and unfamiliar situations in different organisations. This objective has emerged from the fact that learning from one job-specific training especially management training from one organisation’s point of view, may be applied partially if not fully in another organisation or situation. Terminal Behaviour The term ‘terminal behaviour’ is used to denote the trainee’s actual behaviour or abilities at the end of training. In other words, expected performance standards to which the leamer is to be trained is determined before training. But the learning takes place according to the capacity, interest and other individual factors of the leamer. Therefore, level of actual acquisition of knowledge or skills after taining may vary from person to person. The terminal behaviour is ascertained after he has demonstrated the actual performance in line With criterion behaviour. Any differences between the terminal and titerion behaviour indicate deficiencies in training”. .88 Systems Approach to Training and Developmen, SYSTEMS APPROACH TO TRAINING OBJECTIVES The review of various training objectives and their implications in the earlier sections reveal that they cannot be decided in isolation nor can they be imposed from top without the knowledge of training requirements of the learner. The systems approach emphasises that they should be determined through the collaborative efforts of organisation, learner and trainer and in this exercise trainer has to play a leading role, Organisational analysis, job-oriented training analysis and individual analysis reflect the team work resulting into training specifications dicussed in the preceding chapter. These training specifications are highly skill rather than knowledge oriented because of the emphasis given to skill in the training system. Now training objectives have to be determined on the basis of the training specifications. In this system design, two types of training objectives have been visualised—specific learning objective and overall learning objective. Specific Learning Objectives Inventory of training needs constituting training specifications denotes deficiencies of the prospective learner in terms of skills and knowledge which have to be overcome and his skills and knowledge have to be improved on a par with the ideal specifications of skills and knowledge required in a task through a training. Therefore, specific learning objective may be defined as a statement of ideal or standard specification of performance in line with each training specifications ‘ for which the learner will be trained. Thus, there will be a series of specific learning objectives depending on the number of items under training specifications. Each of these objectives acts as criterion behaviour in the learning process of the learner forcing the trainer to use this competence to facilitate learning in the learner so as to achieve the specific learning objectives. After the learning experience, the learner must be able to demonstrate standard performance as per specific learning objective and any differences will indicate deficiencies in the training. As the name suggests, these objectives should be specific, concrete, tangible and measurable facilitating time bound result, Next, they should be expressed in behavioural terms satisfying the criteria of writing a good objective like statement of performance, condition and standard which is discussed in succeeding sections. Deciding and defining specific learning objectives clearly in behavioural terms forSetting Training Objectives 89 skill inputs will not be a problem. However, knowledge and inter personal skills inputs may pose some problems. It is suggested shat expected behavioural change may be indicated for such items of Jearning which may be described as indicative behavioural objective. ‘ Key Learn ing Objective writing of specific learning objective denoting expected. behaviour modification in respect of each skill or task gives an exhaustive list of training objectives. But these objectives have to be expressed in precise forms and statements depicting nature, and purpose of a training programme so that people can know about it at a glance. It is also easy to insert it in training circulars or pamphlets for mailing to different clients enabling them to judge suitability and quality of the training programme. Thus, it becomes easy to sell the idea even by post. This necessitates defining overall objectives of a training. Overall learning objectives can be treated as key objectives and can be defined as overall results that a training programme tends to achieve. It may be considered as statements of major commitments, critical performance and overall outcome developed by synchronising specific learning objectives. Thus overall training objectives constitute expected results of a training inits totality or entirety and specific learning objectives constitute expected outcome of its various components with mutual dependence. NEED TO DEFINE TRAINING OBJECTIVES specific and key learning objectives—serve artners of a training — training programme, beneficiary organisation, and learner. nates from several considerations. Training objectives — useful purposes to various pi trainer, training institution, Usefulness of stating objectives em: Preparation of Training Design facilitate in developing, preparing and planning training and sessions design of a training. Clarity of learning objectives helps in selecting suitable and relevant subject matters, training techniques, equipments, audio-visual aids, production of training materials and allocation of time and resources required in effective learning. Thus, they guard a training programme against possible deviations and arbitrary efforts of training design. Congruence of Objectives s Different partners of taining — trainer, sponsoring organisation and leamer—may have different objectives ‘and expectations from @ Both the training objectives90 Systems Approach to Training and Development training. But once training objectives are determined they all know in advance the outcome of a training and can adjust their objectives and aspirations. If the objectives have been decided ina cooperative manner by all the three constituents, it does not create any divergence. But in case any of the partners was not consulted in setting objectives, he has to adjust his objectives in line with the decisions or can withdraw himself, Thus. congruence of objectives is achieved easily which is one of the prerequisites of a successful training. Preparation of Lesson Plan The quality of interaction between a trainer and a learner in classroom training is another prerequisite of effective learning. This quality heavily depends on the quality of lesson plan or session guides prepared by a trainer. Training objectives help the trainer to prepare his lesson plans in line with the learning objectives in advance with step-by-step instructions regulating the interface between the trainer and the learner in the classroom. Thus, the deliberations and interactions between the two remain always on the right track because both are clear as to what they have to achieve at the end of the session. Thus, learning objectives prevent both of them from going berserk. Targeting Learners Training objective helps in deciding the target population of training. Although sponsoring organisations may have different policies and practices for selecting and nominating their empolyees for different training programmes, training objectives serve important criteria for such purposes. Training institutions on these basis prescribe eligibility criteria, like educational background, job responsibilities, experience, benefits from the programme etc., for admission in a training programme. These eligibility conditions enable beneficiary organisations to select suitable training programmes for their different categories of personnel. It saves organisations from arbitrary sponsorship of candidates for a training and thus, wastage of resources is checked which is good not only for the organisation but also for the learner because unsuitable training does more harm than good to him. Evaluation of Trainer’s Performance Specific training objective. enables the trainer to evaluate his performance or effectiveness in facilitating learning in the class-room situation. These learning objectives serve as yardsticks against which heSetting Training Objectives 91 measures his performance. For this purpose, he tries to obtain feed-back from the learners on different parameters like his grasp of the subjects, clarity 10 presentation and delivery of subjects, selection and use of training techniques and equipments, communication skill, behavioural pattern and achievement of learning objective in respect of each of his sessions. On the feed-back, he tries to ascertain his deficiencies or degree of his effectiveness and accordingly to take up suitable measures for further improvement. Thus, it keeps the trainer always vigilant and flexible. Evaluation of Training Effectiveness Stating training objective is important but more important is its achievement. The Training institution may say that the programme has achieved its objectives but that is not enough. The statement may suffer from self-complacency and people may mistake it for self-praise. In fact, effectiveness of a training is judged from different angles, two of which are very crucial: after training intervention how much learning has been acquired by the learners and how much of those learning objectives have they put into practice on their jobs and with what results to their organisations? Thus, measuring learning just after completion of training and impact study of training on the job are important aspects to substantiate effectiveness of a training. In both the cases the specific and key learning objectives serve as contexts, or yardsticks to measure behaviour modifications in the learners after training. All this logic and reasoning substantiates that training objectives should be determined with utmost care, realistic vision and through systematic exercises and arbitrary approach should be avoided. Trainer, learner and beneficiary organisation must use their knowledge, expertise and wisdom in stating training objectives clearly, objectively and in line with the specifications of writing a good objective.