An Assignment on Human
Resource Development
Contents
Introduction: .................................................................................................................................... 3
Task 1 .............................................................................................................................................. 3
1.1 Identifying and comparing different learning styles. ................................................................ 3
1.2 Explaining the role of learning curve & the importance of transferring learning to the workplace
......................................................................................................................................................... 4
1.3 Assessing the contribution of learning styles and theories when planning and designing a
learning event .................................................................................................................................. 5
Task 2: ............................................................................................................................................. 5
2.1 Comparing the training needed for staff at different levels in Sun Court Ltd ............. 5
2.2 Assessing the advantages and disadvantages of training methods used in at Sun Court
Ltd .................................................................................................................................................. 6
2.3 Using a systematic approach to plan training & development for training event. ...... 8
Task 3: ............................................................................................................................................. 9
3.1 Preparing an evaluation for a training event using suitable techniques ....................... 9
3.2 Carrying out an evaluation of a training event ............................................................... 12
3.3 Reviewing the success of the evaluation methods used ................................................ 13
Task 4 ............................................................................................................................................ 13
4.1 Explaining the role of government in training, development and lifelong learning . 13
4.2 Explaining how the development of the ................................................................................. 15
competency movement has impacted on the public and private sectors ...................................... 15
4.3 Assessing how contemporary training initiatives introduced by the UK government contribute
to human resources development for an organization. ................................................................. 16
Conclusion: ................................................................................................................................... 16
Introduction:
Human resource is the most important factor of any kind of organization. Developing these human
resources is also very essential issue for the firm. Though human resources are asset to firm,
unskilled and unqualified resources are liability. That’s why organization must provide necessary
training and development. As both internal and external environment changes rapidly, human
resources needed to be developed. Human resource development helps the firm to adapt with such
changes through the development of human resources in terms of skills and knowledge. Through
human resource development process, employees will fill committed to work and it leads to job
satisfaction. HR development provide proficient and competent employees to the firm. HR
development can provide employee that remain committed to the firm. for managing conflict,
culture, environment it seems to be useful. It also useful for change management. Sun Count
Residential Homes Limited is a firm that provide up a market care home for old people age over
60 years. They provide 50 rooms for the aged people.
Task 1
1.1 Identifying and comparing different learning styles.
Learning means changing behavior influenced by experience. Learning styles varies from person
to person. A particular person may follow a learning style that another person will not follow. Also
each person is not confined to or restricted to only one learning style but they may follow different
learning style. Few learning style is correspondent to specific situation therefore there are different
types of learning styles for different circumstances. Learning techniques are influenced by some
factors that distinguish one person from another (Fiol and Lyles ,1985).
From the company's induction training program to take into account different types of learning
styles are: pragmatists, activists, theoretic, reflector.
Pragmatists: In pragmatic style, both employer and employees try to run through practical
experience and tips. Some activities of pragmatists are paired discussion, self-analysis
questionnaires, observing activities, coaching etc.
Activists: in this learning style employee learn by doing things and participating in activities.
Some activities are brainstorming, problem solving, group discussion, competitions etc.
Theoretic: in this learning style employees and employers learn by understanding theories very
clearly and maintain them strictly. Some activates are case studies, problem solving etc.
Reflector: in this style employees learn by watching other and they think before act. They act like
opportunists and optimists (Curry,1983).
For developing human resource for Sun Count Residential Homes Limited, they use pragmatists
and activists learning style.
1.2 Explaining the role of learning curve & the importance of transferring
learning to the workplace
Learning curve is a graph that shows the relation between time spent on learning and the
progression of nous based on its level. Learning is presented in vertical axis and experience is
presented in horizontal axis. Learning curve basically state that if one learns more, he needs less
step to increase effort and experience. Only if the employees are motivated, there may be a
possibility of getting best utilization of learning. If there is none, there may be imbalance between
learning and ultimate performance (Spence, 1981).
Transfer of learning: Utilizing previous learning in the service of new learning can be called
transfer of learning. The ultimate aim of transferring learning into workplace is improving work
condition. Each organization need to make a system by which learning can be successfully be
transferred to implementation. Among different systems, training is very popular method of
relocating knowledge (Perkins and Salomon,1992).
Learning curve effect: individual’s performance reflected in learning curve. It helps to share
knowledge, skills and experience between employee and employer. Sun Count Residential Homes
Limited trains the worker for achieving the goal of the firm. The administration also facilitates
every requirement regarding this fact.
1.3 Assessing the contribution of learning styles and theories when planning
and designing a learning event
Knowledge is important for any type of business. If knowledge of employers is not being shared
with employees, then that knowledge has little value for the firm. So, to gain success or to achieve
competency, knowledge has to be shared. Learning theory and learning style help the firm to share
this knowledge effectively across the firm. but choosing learning style is quite a critical factor for
the manager as it depends on employees who will adopt with it. Time period of transferring
knowledge is also important factor. It is very important to select correct learning style and theories
to transfer knowledge (Coenen and others ,2006).
Moreover, single style of learning may not be appropriate for each program. Manager must use
multiple or combination of different learning style to disseminate knowledge to the employees.
Trainer need to observe the behavior of different employee and he also need to observe different
learning style then he has to decide which learning event he will set. Learning theories offer
different type of learning style and nature of human behavior. By learning theories trainer can
easily understand the nature of employee and their requited learning event (Curry,1983).
Task 2:
2.1 Comparing the training needed for staff at different levels in Sun
Court Ltd
The need for training varies from level to level in an organization. People who are hired in the firm
lacks different types of knowledge that is important for carry out daily activities. The employees
of management level require some kind of knowledge whereas operational level employees require
other type of knowledge. Organization need to provide employees with training when and where
required. Training provide skillful employees to the firm that are essential for achieving
organizational goal (Goldstein, 1980).
The need for training in different level of organization is given below:
Management level: Manager take different type of strategic decision for the firm. Training
provide them with skill and competency by which they can make decision efficiently and
effectively. The future of the firm depends on the strategic decision of the managers. If manager
fails to make effective decision, the firm will fail to achieve its goal.
Customer level: Training is needed for this level for making good communication with the
customer. If organization fails to communicate with customers, they will eventually lose them.
Operational level: Training is needed specially for this level. Because these level employees
actually work for the firm. Direct training is given by line manager or the first level manager
(Kotey & Slade, 2005)
2.2 Assessing the advantages and disadvantages of training methods used
in at Sun Court Ltd
Employees need to qualified enough and more dedicated to work to remain in the firm. So, Sun
Court Ltd provide employees with training method and development opportunities. Training
methods are the systems by which employer provide training to the employees. Organization use
multiple method of training to train the employees at different level. Training methods are of
actually two types, one is on job training and another is off job training (Beckhard, R.,1969).
Training methods have both advantages and disadvantages and they are given below:
Training
Advantages
Disadvantages
method
Performance
Recognize
performance
of
the It is very difficult to measure performance
Appraisal
employee and provide training for skill with standard, Some time employee
development
Discussion
become demotivated
Manager share organizational goal and Different point of view some time creates
values and Employees can share skills conflict.
and knowledge and set their own goal
If both parties don’t participate , wrong
goal may be set by them.
Workshop
Practical
experience
can
improve It is costlier than other training methods
efficiency and expertise.
and less people participate in it
Effective in nature.
Coaching
It is used to improve efficiency of the Coach Biasness may occur which results
employee.
in inefficient training.
Employees gain practical knowledge
and can develop their week areas.
Role paying
Understand the different job context Some being confused with different
and gain knowledge about different responsibility.
responsibility.
Expensive in nature
Reluctant to switch role (Koike, K., 1997)
2.3 Using a systematic approach to plan training & development for
training event.
The CEO of Sun Court Ltd. Thought Human Resource Management department impractical. But
his thinking about HRD changes with time. At first he thought training employee cost is
unnecessary which should be kept minimum. But due to central government pressure about his
business and after attending a seminar his thinking has been changed, He now wants to train up
the employee to survive in the competitive and challenging market. Most of the employees of his
company lack long term commitment with the job. They also lack work related skill and for this
company is facing challenges day by day. For this reason, CEO has hired a HR consultancy firm
to look out these matters. A systematic approach to plan a training and development program for
the event includes some steps like (Bartonand Delbridge ,2004)
Employees join in
a group discussion
come up again
after corrected
situation
Performance
observe and
correction
Figure 1: Process of Training Event
Problems
identified and
presented
Solution is given
by Top
management
Employees join in a group discussion: in this level all employees join in a discussion, then they
talk about work and different work related activities. There may be present a trainer for employee.
Problems identified and presented: After starting discussion, there may arise few problems. In
this level problems are identified and presented to the superiors.
Solution given: after identifying problem: top management discuss the problem and they
provide solution to that problem.
Performance observe and correction: in this step performance of employee after giving solution
is analyzed and if there is any more problem in employee’s activities, they are corrected.
Come up again after corrected situation: after corrected situation employees work accordingly.
If some arise new problem, then they again call a discussion.
Task 3:
3.1 Preparing an evaluation for a training event using suitable techniques
To know the effectiveness of training program, evaluation of training is very essential. We need
to answer few question to know about these aspects. Top management want to know how effective
the training event is, they also want to evaluate different factors and components. I used Five
tiered approach defined by Jacob f. (1988) to analyze whether the training program conducted
was required or not required.
Need
assesment
program
impact
Monitoring and
Accountability
progress
program
clarification
Figure 5: Evaluation of training event
Need Assessment: Here the need for program is identified and develop program to meet that
demand. This is first step of evaluating training event.
Monitoring and accountability: in this step participants are monitored by concerned individual.
Program Clarification: it states the evaluation of program at various level and then clarifying it.
Progress: Overall progress of the participants are measured in this steps.
Program Impact: long and short term impact of program is measured and identified (Ridder, G.,
1986).
Methods of evaluation:
Observation: Organization needs to observe employee to evaluate their performance after training
has been finished. By observing organization gets information about employee and their
performance level and effectiveness of training.
Feedback: Feedback is received both from trainer and trainee. Feedback is actually of two types.
Positive feedback and negative feedback. If trainer and trainee give positive feedback, then training
program is successful.
Comparison: the work of trainee after training is compared with other employee to find out the
effectiveness of the training program.
Customer Comment: The success of training program lies on whether the employee can use it in
his workplace or not. If customer comment is positive about service, then training has
accomplished its goal (Kirkpatrick, 1967).
3.2 Carrying out an evaluation of a training event
Evaluation of training program means estimating the progress and effectiveness of training
program that has been conducted to improve the quality and skill of the employees. Evaluation can
be done by four ways: reaction, learning, behavior, result.
Reaction: At this level, the organization looks the reaction of the participants in a training session.
The reaction of the employees of the sun court ltd was positive toward training. They were eager
to learn new things. By training they seems to get motivated.
Learning: In this level, it is measured whether they are learning or not. In the case of Sun Court
Ltd, viewing the feedback of trainer and trainee, they seem to learning. They have interest for
learning for new things, new kills, new knowledge.
Behavior: Behavior of employee tells us the effectiveness of training. If their behavior is positive,
then the training program is fruitful.
Result: Results are the practical performance of the employee after training. If they are doing their
work according to policy and regulations, training program can be said to be successful (Phillips,
and Phillip., 2016)
3.3 Reviewing the success of the evaluation methods used
To determine the need of the training event, the five tier approach has been used. We need to
answer many questions to identify the need of training event. In Sun Court ltd case, the induction
program was conducted to instruct the new employees about their vision and mission, the policy
of the company, the structure of the company. This induction program has also increased their
working skill. The program was successful effectively training their employee.
By feedback, observation and comparison we can understand the effectiveness of the training. The
feedback from trainer and trainee and customer was positive. that’s mean the induction program
was successful (Brinkerhoff, 2005.)
Task 4
4.1 Explaining the role of government in training, development and
lifelong learning
UK government is playing a significant role in training and developing human assets both in public
and private sector. The government is providing facilities conducted by specialists and experts
regarding human resource development. These expert trainers provide proper knowledge to the
employee of the firm. the ultimate of the government of the UK is to provide minimum basic skill
and knowledge about work in their workplace. Sun Court ltd is a company that has a bright future
in the economy. So the need government assistance to conduct business more successfully so that
they can contribute more to the economy of the country. The government may provide them
national apprenticeship. By apprenticeship, government helps the companies to train up apprentice
by many training program.
Lifelong learning is another important factor for providing knowledge. It educates the employees
at every step to improve their skill. It supports the employers to invest in developing the efficiency
and excellency of the employees. The aim of lifelong learning is to increase the participation of
employers and employees in training. Lifelong learning is responsible for development of learning,
further education, higher education etc. lifelong learning has some strategic goal. One is to develop
learning and skill solutions. Second is encouraging the employer to invest more in the training
sector. Third is providing respected labor market to the employer and the final one is enhancing
the quality of learning programs (longworth.1986)
4.2 Explaining how the development of the
competency movement has impacted on the public and private sectors
If we observe closely we will see the development of competency movement around the world
including UK. Competency movement means getting competitive advantage in doing business
over others. This competency movement forces the company or organizations to train up their
employee in terms of skills and knowledge. There are some factors that accelerates the competency
movement. These factors make the employee of the company to become competent in the market.
Now a day’s firms are investing more and more to avoid competitive disadvantage and to gain
skill and to improve service quality. Proper job description allows the company’s employees to
learn and their job and their responsibility. Overall explanation of job and duties is described in
job description. Before conducting training, training need analysis need to be done. When
recruiting employees, organization need to evaluate their skill regarding the job. It is the duty of
the company to develop social skill for the employees. Private sector is facing more competition
now-a-days as there are a lot of substitute product or service available in the market. That’s why
private sector wants to invest more to develop skills so that they can survive in the market. A
private company like Sun Court Ltd invest hugely to gain competitive advantage. Investing in
HRD makes individual competent and increase company’s performance as well. They take
customer complains. reviews them and then develop the employees as requirement. Sun Court Ltd
maintains friendly and attached relationship with employees. It acts like motivation. For this
reason, employees feel coworkers as family. Improved performance increases job satisfaction.
Along with private sector, public sector is getting involved in developing human resource. Without
doing this they cannot keep pace with the competitive market. They are making high performance
and consistent improvement. This never ending process of learning drives to higher success of
organizations (Horton,2000).
4.3 Assessing how contemporary training initiatives introduced by the UK
government contribute to human resources development for an organization.
UK government has taken many initiatives for small and medium organizations to improve the
performance of the employee. They provide programs including National Vocational
Qualification, Apprenticeship, Train to gain, Investors in people.
National Vocational qualification: the company that acts according to the standard, national
vocational qualification gives them award.
Apprenticeship: Apprenticeship is the training program for the fresher conducted by different
organizations
Train to gain: government funded program to train up employee in UK based organizations
Investors in people: Investors in people is a framework that set a standard for the training
management
These programs of UK government train the employee of the firm for increasing performance
which will eventually contribute to the national income. The ultimate aim of these various program
conducted by government is to give the employee minimum working standard. By providing
proper training, productivity of UK employees increases (Hill and Stewart,2000).
Conclusion:
Different people adopt different types of learning method. The training event for the employee
based on the behavior of the employee and their learning style. Training event is a planned process
that needed to be done effectively to get maximum result. Organizations use various method to
train up the employee. Training events depends on training need which manager should analysis
before training. The effectiveness of training program is evaluated by feedback, observation and
performance check. As environment is unpredictable, organizations must keep their employees up
to date with every knowledge so that in hard time they can serve efficiently. To cope with changing
environment organization should develop skills and knowledge of employee. Human resource
development program acts as motivation for the employee. This motivation eventually increases
job performance which leads to job satisfaction. If employee knows what his responsibility is, he
can perform his duties more effectively.it is only possible through human resource development
program.
Human resource development also used for managing conflict, increasing labor
management decision and developing organizational health and sound culture.
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