Training and Development
Unit 1
Syllabus
Introduction to Training and Development – What is Training? Designing Effective Training,
Forces Influencing Working and Learning
Human resource management
HRM refers to the policies, practices, and systems that influence employees’
behaviour, attitudes, and performance.
Human resource practices
Human resource practices play a key role in attracting, motivating, rewarding, and
retaining employees. Other human resource management practices include recruiting
employees, selecting employees, designing work, compensating employees, and
developing good labour and employee relations
Human resource development
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Human resource development is the integrated use of:
o training and development,
o organizational development, and
o career development to improve individual, group, and organizational
effectiveness.
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Human resource development professionals involve in:
o job and task analysis,
o instructional systems design,
o on-the-job training, and
o individual performance improvement.
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Organizational development professionals focus on:
o training as well as team building,
o conflict avoidance,
o employee development, and
o change management.
Training and Development
Training
The goal of training and development is learning. Learning refers to employees
acquiring knowledge, skills, competencies, attitudes, or behaviours. It includes
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understanding why things happen and why some choices lead to outcomes. Learning
needs to demonstrate how it contributes to the company’s competitive advantage
through:
o improving employee performance,
o supporting the business strategy (such as growing the business), and
o contributing positively to business outcomes such as quality,
productivity, development of new products, and retaining key
employees
Training is the planned effort by a company to facilitate learning of job-related
competencies, knowledge, skills, and behaviours by employees and apply them to
their daily activities.
Development
Development refers to the formal education, job experiences, relationship, and
assessments of personality, skills, and abilities that help employees prepare for future
jobs or positions.
The Learning Organization
Many companies, recognizing the strategic importance of learning, have strived to
become learning organizations. A learning organization is a company that has an
enhanced capacity to learn (from failure and from successes), adapt, and change
Learning organization emphasizes that learning occurs at:
o the individual employee
o the group and organizational levels.
The learning organization emphasizes knowledge management
Key Features of a Learning Organization
1. Supportive Learning Environment
Employees feel safe expressing their thoughts about work, asking questions,
disagreeing with managers, and admitting mistakes. Different functional and cultural
perspectives are appreciated. Employees are encouraged to take risks, innovate, and
explore the untested and unknown, such as trying new processes and developing new
products and services. Thoughtful review of the company’s processes is encouraged.
2. Learning Processes and Practices
The learning processes and practices include:
• Knowledge creation, dissemination, sharing, and application.
• Developing systems for creating, capturing, and sharing knowledge.
3. Managers Reinforce Learning
Mangers reinforce learning thorough:
• Actively questioning and listening to employees, encouraging dialogue and
debate.
• Considering alternative points of view.
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Devoting time to problem identification, learning processes and practices, and
post-performance audits.
• Rewarding learning, promoting, and supporting.
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Focus of learning
Learning should be focussed on the intangible assets of the organization. Intangible
assets are responsible for a company’s competitive advantage. Any organization has
multiple intangible assets:
1. Human capital: Human capital includes the sum of the:
• attributes,
• life experiences,
• knowledge,
• inventiveness,
• energy, and
• enthusiasm
that the company’s employees invest in their work.
Human capital includes:
1. cognitive knowledge (know what),
2. advanced skills (know how),
3. system understanding and creativity (know why), and
4. self-motivated creativity (care why)
2. Intellectual capital It refers to the codified knowledge that exists in a company.
3. Social capital: This refers to relationships in the company.
4. Customer capital: This is the value of relationships with persons or other
organizations outside the company for accomplishing the goals of the company
(e.g., relationships with suppliers, customers, vendors, and government agencies).
Emphasis on learning
1. Learning to be effective has to be related to helping employee to improve
performance and help the company achieve its business goals. This helps ensure
that employees are motivated to learn and that the limited resources (time and
money) for learning are focused in areas that will directly help the business
succeed.
2. There is unpredictability in the business environment where organizations
operate. Since problems cannot be predicted in advance, learning needs to occur
continuously. Companies need to move beyond the classroom learning and use
job experiences, online learning, and mobile learning to help employees acquire
knowledge and skills while they focus on business problems.
3. Since tacit knowledge is difficult to acquire in training programs, companies need
to support informal learning that occurs through mentoring, social networks, and
job experiences.
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4. Learning need to be physical, technical and psychological. The company work
environment needs to support learning, and managers and peers need to
encourage learning and help employees find ways to obtain learning on the job.
5. Managers need to understand employees’ interests and career goals to help them
find suitable development activities that will prepare them to be successful in other
positions in the company or deal with expansion of their current job.
Learning strategy
As companies recognize the value of training and development and view them as part
of a broader learning strategy, seven key capabilities are needed. These capabilities
are part of the strategic training and development process:
1. Alignment of learning goals to business goals
2. Measurement of the overall business impact of the learning function
3. Movement of learning outside the company to include customers, vendors, and
suppliers
4. A focus on developing competencies for the most critical jobs
5. Integration of learning with other human resource functions, such as
knowledge management, performance support, and talent management
6. Delivery approaches that include classroom training as well as e-learning
7. Design and delivery of leadership development courses
Possible Business Goals from Training
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Productivity
Increased customer satisfaction
Reduced operational risks and accidents due to employee carelessness
Increased employee satisfaction and retention
Increased time and value-producing goods
Better management decisions
Increased development of human capital
Succession planning needed for competitive advantage and growth.
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Unit 2
Strategic Training
Introduction, Evolution of Training Role, The Strategic Training and Development Process,
Characteristics that Influence Training
Strategic training and development initiatives
Strategic training and development initiatives are learning-related actions that a
company should take to help it achieve its business strategy. It varies by company
depending on the industry, goals, resources, and capabilities. The initiatives are based
on the:
• business environment,
• an understanding of the company’s goals and resources, and
• the training and development options.
They also show how the training function will help the company reach its goals. To
contribute to a company’s business strategy, it is important that the training function
understand and support it and provide value to its customers. Linking training plans
to business plans is important because business plans describe company priorities and
describes:
• who will be involved,
• how it might affect the plan,
• how the plan will be carried out, and
• the decisions, including training and development.
The Strategic Training and Development Process
Business Strategy Formulation and Identification
Five major components are part of developing a new business strategy or changing an
existing one
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1. Company mission:
 It is a statement of the company’s reason for existing.
 It includes:
o information on the customers served,
o why the company exists,
o what the company does,
o the value received by the customers, and
o the technology used.
The mission statement is often accompanied by a statement of the company’s vision
or values.
 Vision is the picture of the future the company wants to achieve
 Values are what the company stands for.
2. Company goals:
 What the company hopes to achieve in the medium to long term
 They reflect how the mission will be carried out.
3. External analysis
 This involves examining the operating environment to identify opportunities
and threats
o Opportunities include customers and markets not being served,
technology that can help the company, and unused or underutilized
potential sources of talented employees.
o Threats might include changes in the economy, talent, and leadership
shortages, new competitors, and changes in legislation that can
adversely affect the company.
4. Internal analysis
 This attempts to identify the company’s strength and weaknesses.
 It focuses on examining the available quantity and quality of financial,
physical, and human capital.
5. Strategic choice
 The strategic choice represents the best alternative to achieve the company
goals
The strategic training and development initiatives vary by company depending on a
company’s industry, goals, resources, and capabilities.
The initiatives are based on the business environment, an understanding of the
company’s goals and resources, and insight regarding potential training and
development options.
They provide the company with a road map to guide specific training and
development activities.
They also show how the training function will help the company reach its goals (and
in doing so, show how the training function will add value).
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Strategy impacts training with a strong influence on determining:
• The amount of training devoted to current or future job skills
• The extent to which training is customized for:
– the particular needs of an employee,
– or developed based on the needs of a team, unit, or division
It should be assessed whether training is:
• restricted to specific groups of employees or open to all employees
• planned and systematically administered,
• provided only when problems occur,
• spontaneously as a reaction to what competitors are doing
• The importance placed on training compared to other human resource
management practices such as selection and compensation
Evolution of training’s role
Evolution of Training’s Role: Learning
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The acquisition of knowledge by individuals, employees, or groups of
employees
Willing to apply that knowledge in their jobs in making decisions and
accomplishing tasks for the company
Evolution of Training’s Role: Knowledge
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Human and Social Knowledge:
– What individuals or teams of employees know or know how to do
Structured Knowledge:
– Company rules, processes, tools, and routines
Explicit Knowledge:
– Knowledge that can be formalized, codified, and communicated
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Tacit Knowledge:
– Personal knowledge based on individual experience
– Difficult to explain to others
Organizational Characteristics That Influence Training
The amount and type of training, as well as the organization of the training function
in a company, are influenced by:
1. Employee and manager roles
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The roles that employees and managers have in a company influence the focus
of training, development, and learning activity
With the emphasis on the creation of intellectual capital and the movement
toward high-performance work systems using teams, employees perform
many roles once reserved for management
Companies now need teams to manufacture goods and provide services, as
such team members need training in interpersonal problem solving and team
skills
As employees are responsible for the quality of products and services, they
need to be trained to use data to make decisions, which involves training in
statistical process control techniques.
Managers are expected to do the following:
– Manage individual and team performance
– Develop employees and encourage continuous learning
– Plan and allocate resources
– Coordinate activities and interdependent teams
– Manage group performance
– Facilitating decision-making process
– Creating and maintaining
– Represent one’s work unit
2. Top management support for training
The top management plays a key role in determining the importance of training and
learning through:
 Setting a clear direction for learning (vision)
 Encouragement, resources, and commitment for strategic learning
(sponsoring)
 Taking an active role in governing learning, including reviewing goals and
objectives and providing insight on how to measure training effectiveness
(governing)
 Developing new learning programs for the company (subject-matter expert)
 Teaching programs or providing resources online (faculty)
 Serving as a role model for learning for the entire company and demonstrating
a willingness to learn constantly (learner)
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Promoting the company’s commitment to learning in all documents (marketing
agent)
3. The company’s degree of integration of business units
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This is the degree to which a company’s units or businesses integration affects
the kind of training.
In a highly integrated business, employees need to understand other units,
services, and products in the company.
It also includes rotating employees between jobs in different businesses so they
can gain an understanding of the whole business.
Business conditions
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When unemployment is low and businesses grow at a high rate they need more
employees.
In such situations companies find it:
o difficult to attract new employees,
o find employees with necessary skills, and
o retain current employees.
In a knowledge-based economy, product and service development depends on
employees’ specialized skills.
Losing a key employee may cause a project to be delayed or hinder a company’s
taking on new projects.
In such situations training plays a key role in:
o preparing employees to be productive,
o motivating and
o retaining current employees.
Studies on factors that influence employee retention suggest that employees rate the
following as top reasons for staying with a company.
 working with good colleagues,
 having challenging job assignments, and
 getting opportunities for career growth and development.
Further, irrespective of industries, companies increasingly rely on training and
development to attract and retain employees.
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Unit 3
Training Evaluation, Reasons for Evaluating Training, Formative and Summative
Evaluation, Evaluation Designs
Training effectiveness
Training effectiveness is the benefits the company and the trainees receive.
 Benefits for trainees may include learning new skills or behaviors.
 Benefits for the company may include increased sales and more satisfied
customers.
A training evaluation measures specific outcomes or criteria to determine the
program's benefits. Training outcomes or criteria are the measures the trainer and the
company uses to evaluate training programs. To determine the effectiveness of
training, an evaluation needs to occur.
Training evaluation
Training evaluation refers to the process of collecting the outcomes needed to
determine whether training is effective.
 It involves collecting information—including what, when, how, and from
whom—that will be used to determine the effectiveness of the training
program.
 Any organization that evaluates training has to be confident that training is
responsible for changes in the outcomes.
Training evaluation involves both formative and summative evaluation
Formative evaluation
Formative evaluation is the evaluation of training during program design and
development. It ensures that:
(1) the training program is well organized and runs smoothly, and
(2) trainees learn and are satisfied with the program.
Formative evaluation provides information about improving the program and
involves collecting qualitative data. Qualitative data include:
 opinions,
 beliefs, and
 feelings about the program.
Formative evaluations ask:
 customers,
 employees,
 managers, and
 subject-matter experts (SMEs)
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their opinions on the description of the training content and objectives and the
program design.
They also evaluate the clarity and ease of use of the training program.
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The formative evaluation is conducted individually or in groups before the
program is made available.
Trainers may also be involved in measuring the time requirements of the
program.
As a result of the formative evaluation, training content may be changed to be:
 more accurate,
 easier to understand, or
 more appealing.
Summative evaluation
Summative evaluation determines the extent to which trainees have changed due to
participating in the training program. It examines whether the trainees acquired:
 knowledge,
 skills,
 attitudes,
 behavior, or
 other outcomes identified in the training objectives.
Summative evaluation may also include measuring the monetary benefits that the
company receives from the program.
Summative evaluation usually involves collecting quantitative data through:
 tests,
 ratings of behavior, or
 objective measures of performance such as:
(1) volume of sales,
(2) accidents, or
(3) patents.
A training program should be evaluated:
1. To identify the program’s strengths and weaknesses. This includes determining
if the program is meeting:
 the learning objectives,
 if the quality of the learning environment is satisfactory, and
 if the transfer of training to the job is occurring.
2. To assess whether the program's content, organization, and administration—
including the schedule, accommodations, trainers, and materials—contribute
to learning and the use of training content on the job.
3. To identify which trainees benefit most or least from the program.
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4. To assist in marketing programs by collecting information from participants
about whether they would recommend the program to others, why they
attended it, and their level of satisfaction with it.
5. To determine the financial benefits and costs of the program.
6. To choose the best program, compare the costs and benefits of different training
programs.
The Evaluation Process
Need analysis
The evaluation process begins with determining training needs.
It helps identify what knowledge, skills, behavior, or other learned capabilities are
needed.
It also helps identify where the training is expected to have an impact.
It helps focus the evaluation by identifying the program's:
 purpose,
 the resources needed (human, financial, and company), and
 the outcomes that help to know that the program has been effective.
Develop specific, measurable training objectives
The objectives should be able to identify relevant outcomes for the evaluation. For this,
the objectives should be:
 specific and
 measurable.
Develop outcome measures
Outcome measures must consider the expectations of those who support the program.
They include stakeholders like trainees, managers, and trainers. If the needs
assessment is done well, the stakeholders’ interests will overlap considerably with the
learning and program objectives.
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Based on the learning objectives and analysis of the transfer of training, outcome
measures are designed to assess the extent to which learning and transfer have
occurred.
Choose an evaluation strategy
Once the outcomes have been identified, the next step is to determine an evaluation
strategy. Factors like:
 expertise,
 how quickly the information is needed,
 change potential, and
 the organizational culture should be considered in choosing an evaluation
strategy.
Plan and execute the evaluation
Planning and executing the evaluation involves:
 previewing the program (formative evaluation) and
 collecting training outcomes based on the evaluation design.
The evaluation results can be used to:
 modify,
 market, or
 gain additional support for the program.
The evaluation results should also be used to encourage all stakeholders in the
training process to design or choose the training that helps the company meet its
business strategy and helps managers and employees meet their goals.
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Unit 4
Training and Development Methods, Introduction, Presentation Methods, Hands-on Methods
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Training methods could be traditional, which require an instructor or facilitator
and involve face-to-face interaction between trainees, or
Modern methods like online, virtual reality, mobile learning, or other new
training technologies.
For example, a classroom lecture can occur face-to-face with trainees (traditional
training) or be delivered through a virtual classroom, where the instructor is not in
the same room as the trainees.
 An instruction can be real-time or time-delayed.
 A lecture can be attended live or videotaped, and the trainees can view the
lecture at their convenience.
It can take the form of:
 web-based training,
 e-learning,
 virtual reality, and
 social media.
The increased use of technology-based training for the delivery of instruction is
occurring because of the potential increases in learning effectiveness and the
reductions in training costs. Many training programs use a combination of methods
to make use of each method’s strengths for learning and transfer.
The traditional training methods can be:
 Presentation methods: These are methods in which trainees are passive
recipients of the information. This information may include facts, processes,
and problem-solving methods. Lectures and audiovisual techniques are
presentation methods.
 Hands-on methods: Hands-on methods are training methods that require the
trainee to be actively involved in learning. These methods include OJT,
simulations, case studies, business games, roleplaying, and behavior
modeling.
 group building methods.
Lecture
In a lecture, trainers communicate through spoken words what they want the trainees
to learn. The communication of learned capabilities is primarily one-way—from the
trainer to the audience. Despite new technologies such as interactive video and
computer-assisted instruction, instructor-led classroom presentation remains a
popular training method.
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Lectures have several uses and advantages. It is an inexpensive, least timeconsuming ways to present a large amount of information efficiently and in an
organized manner to groups of trainees. Lectures are helpful when the instructor is
the main knowledge holder, and it is the most efficient and direct way to provide
learners with that knowledge. A lecture can also demonstrate a subject-matter expert’s
passion and enthusiasm for a topic.
Audiovisual Techniques
Audiovisual instruction includes overheads, slides, and video. Video improves
communication, interviewing, and customer service skills and illustrates how
procedures should be followed. Video is usually used with lectures to show trainees
real-life experiences and examples.
The use of video in training has several advantages:
 Trainers can review, slow down, or speed up the lesson, allowing them
flexibility in customizing the session depending on trainees’ expertise.
 Trainees can watch the video multiple times if they can access it during and
after the training session, giving them control over their learning.
 Trainees are provided with consistent instruction. Program content is not
affected by the interests and goals of a particular trainer.
 Videotaping trainees allows them to see and hear their performance without
the interpretation of the trainer.
Hands-on methods:
Hands-on methods are ideal for developing specific skills, understanding how skills
and behaviors can be transferred to the job, experiencing all aspects of completing a
task, or dealing with interpersonal issues.
1. On-the-job training (OJT) refers to new or inexperienced employees learning
by seeing peers or managers performing the job in the work setting. OJT is
useful for training newly hired employees, upgrading experienced employees’
skills when new technology is introduced, cross-training employees within a
department or work unit, and orienting transferred or promoted employees to
their new jobs.
2. Simulation: A simulation is a training method that represents a real-life
situation, with trainees’ decisions resulting in outcomes that mirror what
would happen if they were on the job. A common example of simulators for
training is flight simulators for pilots. Simulations, which allow trainees to see
the impact of their decisions in an artificial, risk-free environment, are used to
teach production and process skills and management.
3. Case study: A case study describes how employees or an organization deals
with a difficult situation. Trainees must analyze and critique the actions taken,
indicating the appropriate actions and suggesting what might have been done
differently. Cases may be appropriate for developing higher-order intellectual
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skills such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Managers, physicians, and
other professional employees often require these skills.
4. Business Games: Business games require trainees to gather information,
analyze it, and make decisions. Business games are primarily used for
management skill development. Games stimulate learning because
participants are actively involved and because games mimic the competitive
nature of business. The types of decisions that participants make in games
include all aspects of management practices like labor relations, ethics,
marketing, and finance. They are similar to simulations in that they can be used
for training that otherwise would involve risk of injury, accidents, or would be
too costly.
5. Role-Plays: Role-plays refer to experiences in which trainees take on a role such
as a manager, client, or disgruntled employee, and explore what is involved in
the role. Role-plays are usually included in training programs involving
interpersonal skills such as communications, sales, providing performance
feedback, coaching, leadership, and team building. Role-plays can be
completed in small groups of two to three persons in which all trainees
complete the role-play.
Team Training
Team training is training that is designed to improve team effectiveness. There are
many different types of teams in companies, including production teams, service
teams, committees, project teams, and management teams. Regardless of the type of
team, successful team performance depends on the knowledge, attitudes, and
behaviors of its members.
Action Learning
Action learning gives teams or work groups an actual problem. They have to work on
solving it and committing to an action plan, and then holds them accountable for
carrying out the plan. Companies use action learning to solve important problems,
develop leaders, quickly build high-performance teams, and transform the
organizational culture. Several types of problems are addressed in action learning,
including:
 how to change the business,
 better use technology,
 remove barriers between the customer and company, and
 develop global leaders.
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