Training and Development - 2 | Commerce & Accountancy Optional Notes for UPSC PDF Download

Steps in Training Programme

Training programs are both costly and time-consuming, demanding careful planning. Typically, the organization of training programs involves the following steps:

• Identifying training needs
• Job preparation
• Learner preparation
• Operation and knowledge presentation
• Performance trial
• Follow-up and program evaluation

Training Methods 

There are various methods employed for training operative and supervisory personnel, categorized into "on-the-job" and "off-the-job" training methods.

A. On-the-Job Training Methods

These methods involve the worker mastering operations on the actual job under the supervision of their immediate boss. The focus is on effective service delivery rather than just learning the job.

1. On Specific Job:
   (a) Experience: The oldest method where learning occurs through doing the job. However, it's time-consuming and often inefficient without additional training methods.
   (b) Coaching: The supervisor provides feedback to the trainee, offering suggestions for improvement. It fosters communication but may limit the trainee's freedom to express ideas.
   (c) Understudy: The trainee works as an assistant to the current job holder, learning through observation and imitation.
2. Position Rotation: Trainees move from one job to another, broadening their background within the organization. While it helps understand different job dynamics, it can disrupt productivity due to frequent changes.
3. Special Projects: Flexible training involving special assignments that help trainees learn work procedures and acquire knowledge while working with others.
4. Selective Readings: Individuals enhance knowledge through selective reading of professional journals and books. Executives may find it challenging to allocate time for extensive reading.
5. Apprenticeship: Originating from medieval times, this method involves binding oneself to a master craftsman to learn trade skills through hands-on work. It is crucial for training skilled craftsmen in various industries.
6. Vestibule Schools: These schools simulate shop conditions, providing a preliminary experience before actual shop work. Commonly used for training in clerical, office, and factory production jobs, it can be relatively expensive but justified for large-scale, high-standard training programs.

B. Off-the-job Training Methods

Off-the-job training methods require trainees to leave their workplace and dedicate their entire time to developmental objectives. In these methods, the development of trainees is the primary focus, with any work produced during training considered secondary. Since trainees are not bound by job requirements, they can concentrate fully on learning the job rather than spending time performing it, providing them with the opportunity for freedom of expression.
The off-the-job training methods include:

1. Special Courses and Lectures:

• Lecturing, a traditional formal training method, is employed in special courses and lectures organized by organizations as part of their development programs.
• Organizations may establish courses taught by their members, assign regular instructors to training and development departments, or collaborate with universities or institutes to establish courses taught by external instructors.
• Courses are organized for short periods, ranging from 2-3 days to a few weeks.

2. Conferences:

• Conferences, an old yet favored training method, involve guided-discussion sessions to overcome the limitations of straight lecturing.
• Participants pool their ideas and experiences to arrive at improved methods of addressing common problems, and conferences may include buzz sessions dividing participants into small groups for intensive discussion.

3. Case Studies:

• Developed and popularized by the Harvard Business School, case studies involve written accounts seeking to describe actual situations.
• Widely used in various programs, case studies increase the trainee’s power of observation, promoting better questioning and a broader range of problem identification.
• Well-chosen cases may stimulate objective discussion, though the lack of emotional involvement may make it challenging to bring about basic changes in trainees' behavior and attitude.

4. Brainstorming:

• A method developed by Alex Osborn to stimulate trainees' creative thinking, brainstorming reduces inhibiting forces by encouraging maximum group participation and minimal criticism.
• A problem is posed, and ideas are sought with a primary focus on quantity rather than quality.
• Ideas are encouraged, criticism is discouraged, and a chain reaction from idea to idea is often developed before critically examining the ideas.

5. Laboratory Training:

• Laboratory training, enhancing conventional training, provides situations for trainees to experience through their own interaction.
• More focused on changing individual behavior and attitude, laboratory training is generally more successful in changing job performance compared to conventional training methods.

Two methods of laboratory training are simulation and sensitivity training.

(a) Simulation:

• An increasingly popular management development technique involves simulating performance instead of taking participants into the field, and this simulation occurs during the training session itself.
• Simulation presents real organizational situations in the training session, covering varying complexities and roles for participants.
• It creates an entire organizational field, assigns key roles to participants, and requires them to deal with specific situations similar to those encountered in real life.
• There are two common simulation methods: role-playing and business games.
  (i) Role-playing: Role-playing is a laboratory technique that serves as a convenient supplement to traditional training methods. Its primary objective is to enhance the skills of trainees in interpersonal interactions. While commonly utilized in human relations training, it also finds application in sales training. This method involves spontaneous enactment of realistic scenarios with two or more individuals in a classroom setting. Dialogues naturally emerge as trainees respond to the situation. Fellow trainees in the group take on the roles of observers or critics. Given that people engage in various roles daily, they possess some familiarity with the practice and can employ imagination to assume roles beyond their own. Through role-playing, trainees can diversify their experiences by experimenting with different approaches. Despite some drawbacks such as being time-consuming and costly, and requiring skilled trainers to prevent potential issues, these limitations do not overshadow the method's inherent strengths.
  (ii) Gaming: Gaming is a devised method aimed at simulating the challenges associated with managing a company or specific departments. Its applications span a variety of training objectives, covering areas like investment strategy, collective bargaining techniques, and even the morale of clerical personnel. This approach is implemented across all organizational levels, from top executives to production supervisors. Gaming, categorized as a laboratory method, incorporates elements of role-playing, but its distinctiveness lies in its emphasis on administrative issues rather than interpersonal interactions. The process involves multiple teams, each assigned a firm to operate for a specified period, typically a short duration, such as one year. During each period, teams make decisions on various aspects like pricing, production levels, and inventory. Given the competitive nature, where each team competes with others, the decisions made by one firm impact the outcomes for all. These decisions are fed into a computer programmed to mimic a real market scenario. The computer generates results, and the team accumulating the largest profit emerges as the winner. Subsequently, the strengths and weaknesses of the decisions are carefully analyzed in light of the outcomes.

(b) Sensitivity Training:

• Sensitivity training stands out as a controversial laboratory training approach, drawing fervent support from its advocates, who often express an almost religious zeal for the group experience it provides. 
• Conversely, critics match this fervor with strong opposition to the technique. In response to both criticism and accumulated experience, a revised approach, often referred to as "team development" training, has emerged. 
• Initially introduced by the National Training Laboratories in Bethal, USA, this training involves groups known as T-Groups. 
• Sensitivity training unfolds within small groups, subjecting participants to stress in an unstructured encounter group, fostering sensitivity to each other's feelings to facilitate constructive group activity. 
• Key features of T-Groups include their small size, typically ranging from ten to twenty members, an absence of a formal agenda at the start of group activities, and a primary role for the trainer to periodically draw attention to the ongoing processes within the group. 
• The procedure aims to foster introspection and self-examination, engaging participants emotionally. The training objectives encompass cultivating concern for others, enhancing tolerance for individual differences, reducing ethnic prejudice, fostering an understanding of group processes, improving listening skills, and promoting increased trust and support.

Causes for Failure of Training 

Training endeavors often face setbacks within organizations due to weaknesses in policies, procedures, and practices related to training activities.
Some notable causes contributing to the general failure of training include:

• Top Management Skepticism: Lack of complete faith in Human Resource Development (HRD) philosophy by top management, coupled with limited confidence in training as a crucial method for human resources development.
• Unclear Training Objectives: Lack of clear, specific, and universally understood training objectives.
• Ambiguous Training Policy: Lack of clarity, comprehensiveness, and proper linkage with other HRD policies in the training policy.
• Inadequate Organizational Arrangements: Insufficient organizational arrangements, budgetary allocations, staff resources, and aids for training.
• Coordination Issues: Lack of coordination among training staff and other personnel within the organization.
• Procedural Formality: Inadequate seriousness in various aspects of training, such as needs identification, trainee selection, sponsorship for training, and on-the-job utilization of trainees. Procedures are often seen as mere formalities.
• Limited Trainee Involvement: Lack of seriousness in involving trainees in the learning process during training activities. Additionally, a shortage of expertise in using methods, aids, and resources hampers desired results.
• Utilization Challenges: Insufficient efforts to enhance the utilization of trained individuals and an unfavorable environment for them to apply their improved abilities and receive recognition for enhanced performance.
• Lack of Evaluation: Absence of evaluation efforts at various stages of training, resulting in the failure to monitor the outcomes of training programs.

Addressing these weaknesses through concerted efforts can contribute to improving the overall effectiveness of training within an organization.

Evaluation of Training

Evaluation is a crucial aspect of training programs, and a desirable characteristic is the inclusion of provisions for assessment to determine the achievement of training objectives.
Several dimensions of evaluation contribute to a comprehensive understanding:

• Evaluation of Contextual Factors: The effectiveness of training is influenced not only by activities during the training but also by pre-training and post-training factors. Therefore, both pre-training and post-training evaluations of contextual factors are essential.
• Evaluation of Training Inputs: This involves assessing various components such as the training curriculum, its sequencing, the capabilities of trainers, facilities, and the resources and aids used during the training.
• Evaluation of Training Process: Key elements of the training process, including the organizational climate, participant-trainee relationships, trainer attitudes and approaches, training methods, and trainer involvement in learning, should be evaluated to gauge effectiveness.
• Evaluation of Training Outcomes: This involves measuring the results of the training program in terms of the achievements attributed to the training. The outcomes of training may be intangible, gradual, and not immediately identifiable with specific activities, making it important to assess the overall impact.

By addressing these dimensions, organizations can gain a comprehensive understanding of the effectiveness of their training programs and make informed decisions for improvement.

In evaluation of outcomes, four categories of outcomes can be measured: 

1. Reaction: This involves evaluating the trainees' reactions to the training program, gaining insights into their responses, satisfaction, and overall perception of the training experience.
2. Learning: The evaluation of what trainees have learned during the training program, assessing the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies as intended by the training curriculum.
3. Behavior: This category focuses on evaluating any observable changes in the behavior of trainees resulting from the training. It examines whether the training has influenced their actions, attitudes, or approaches in the workplace.
4. Results: This entails assessing the tangible outcomes and impacts achieved as a direct result of the training. Evaluation may cover various areas, including improvements in production, human resource utilization, performance tests, general job and organizational environment, and the cost-value relationship.

By systematically evaluating these four categories of outcomes, organizations can gain a comprehensive understanding of the effectiveness and impact of their training programs on individual trainees and overall organizational performance.

Principles of Training Evaluation  

• For evaluation to be effective, it should adhere to the following principles:
• Planning: Evaluation needs to be well-planned, determining what will be evaluated, when, why, by what means, and by whom. These aspects must be decided in advance.
• Objectivity: Evaluation should maintain objectivity and not serve as a mere formality or for appearances. It should provide a genuine and unbiased assessment.
• Verifiability: Results of the evaluation should be verifiable, allowing for comparisons using the same or different methods to ensure reliability.
• Cooperation: Evaluation should be a cooperative process involving all those who are part of or affected by the training program. It is not a contest between the evaluator and the subject of evaluation.
• Continuity: Evaluation should be continuous, ensuring effectiveness at every step rather than being a one-time event.
• Specificity: Evaluation must be specific, identifying strengths and weaknesses for further improvement without resorting to vague statements or generalizations.
• Quantification: Evaluation should be quantitative, aiming to measure changes in different performance variables with precision.
• Feasibility: Evaluation must be administratively manageable, considering practicality and ease of implementation.
• Cost-Effectiveness: Evaluation should be cost-effective, ensuring that the results obtained justify the costs incurred in the evaluation process.

Conclusion 

• Every organization requires skilled and knowledgeable individuals to carry out essential tasks. Training is the essential process that equips employees with the necessary skills for their assigned roles. In a dynamic and evolving society, employee training and development become crucial activities. Regardless of the job type, training is essential for the efficient performance of duties, making it imperative for both new and existing employees to undergo training or retraining.
• The objectives and requirements of a training program vary based on the organizational level. Different groups of people may find certain training programs more suitable for their needs. Additionally, even within a specific group, individuals may benefit from different training approaches based on their organizational level and unique personality traits. The determining factors for selecting appropriate training programs include an individual's position in the organization and their specific personality characteristics.