Introduction

Training and development

Training can be introduced simply as a process of
assisting a person for enhancing his efficiency and
effectiveness to a particular work area by getting more
knowledge and practices. Also training is important to
establish specific skills, abilities and knowledge to an
employee. For an organization, training and
development are important as well as organizational
growth, because the organizational growth and profit
are also dependent on the training. But the training is
not a core of organizational development. It is a
function of the organizational development.

Training is different form education; particularly formal

education. The education is concerned mainly with
enhancement of knowledge, but the aims of training
are increasing knowledge while changing attitudes and
competences in good manner. Basically the education
is formulated within the framework and to syllabus, but
the training is not formed in to the frame and as well
as syllabus. It may differ from one employee to
another, one group to another, even the group in the
same class. The reason for that can be mentioned as
difference of attitudes and skills from one person to
another. Even the situation is that, after good training
programme, all different type skilled one group of
employees can get in to similar capacity, similar skilled
group. That is an advantage of the trainings.

Objectives of Training and Development

In the field of Human Resources Management, Training
and Development is the field concern with
organizational activities which are aimed to bettering
individual and group performances in organizational
settings. It has been known by many names in the field
HRM, such as employee development, human
resources development, learning and development etc.
Training is really developing employees’ capacities
through learning and practicing.

Training and Development is the framework for helping

employees to develop their personal and organizational
skills, knowledge, and abilities. The focus of all aspects
of Human Resource Development is on developing the
most superior workforce so that the organization and
individual employees can accomplish their work goals
in service to customers.

All employees want to be valuable and remain

competitive in the labour market at all times, because
they make some demand for employees in the labour
market. This can only be achieved through employee
training and development. Hence employees have a
chance to negotiate as well as employer has a good
opportunity to select most suitable person for his
vacancy. Employees will always want to develop
career-enhancing skills, which will always lead to
employee motivation. There is no doubt that a well-
trained and developed staff will be a valuable asset to
the company and thereby increasing the chances of his
efficiency in discharging his or her duties.

Trainings in an organization can be mainly of two

types; Internal and External training sessions. Internal

Objectives of Training and Development

training involves when training is organized in-house
by the human resources department or training
department using either a senior staff or any talented
staff in the particular department as a resource
person.

On the other hand external training is normally

arranged outside the firm and is mostly organized by
training institutes or consultants. Whichever training, it
is very important for all staff and helps in building
career positioning and preparing staff for greater
challenges in developing world. How ever the training
is costly. Because of that, people who work at firms do
not receive external trainings most of times. The cost is
a major issue for the lack of training programmes in Sri
Lanka. But nowadays, a new concept has come with
these trainings which is “Trainers through trainees”.
While training their employees in large quantities,
many countries use that method in present days to
reduce their training costs. The theory of this is,
sending a little group or an individual for a training
programme under a bonding agreement or without a
bond. When they come back to work, the externally
trained employees train the employees who have not
participated for above training programme by internal
training programmes.

Employers of labour should enable employees to

pursue training and development in a direction that
they choose and are interested in, not just in company-
assigned directions. Companies should support
learning, in general, and not just in support of
knowledge needed for the employee's current or next
anticipated job. It should be noted that the key factor

Objectives of Training and Development

is keeping the employee interested, attending,
engaged, motivated and retained.

For every employee to perform well, especially

Supervisors and Managers, there is a need for constant
training and development. The right employee training,
development and education provides big payoffs for the
employer in increased productivity, knowledge, loyalty,
and contribution to general growth of the firm. In most
cases external trainings for instance provide
participants with the avenue to meet new set of people
in the same field and network. The meeting will give
them the chance to compare issues and find out what
is obtainable in each others environment. This for sure
will introduce positive changes where necessary.

It is not mentioned in any where that the employers,

managers and supervisors are not suitable for training
programmes. They also must be highly trained if they
are expected to do their best for the organization.
Through that they will have best abilities and
competencies to manage the organization. Training
employees not only creates a more positive corporate
culture, but also add a value to its key resources.

Raw human resources can make only limited

contribution to the organization to achieve its goals and
objectives. Hence the demands for the developed
employees are continuously increasing. Thus the
training is a kind of investment.

The objectives of training and development are not

limited to just increasing productivity and efficiency, but the
busy market and ceaselessly active competition of today,
demands much more than that from organizations. It’s all
Objectives of Training and Development
thanks to the conditions that a company faces and the race of
“growth” that has made the addition of new skills and
improvement of the existing skill-set, which is an extremely
important aspect of a business.

Main Objectives of Training and Development

Below are the 7 main objectives of training and development

that must be in your mind as business, especially HR student.

1. Increased Productivity
2. Quality Improvement
3. Learning time Reduction
4. Safety First
5. Labour Turnover Reduction
6. Keeping yourself Updated with Technology
7. Effective Management

Let’s discuss all of the above mentioned objectives in detail one

by one.

1. Increased Productivity

For any company, keeping the productivity at its peak is as

important as getting in new customers for business. Since even
a slightest of the disturbance can take the business to the brink
of huge losses. Moreover, to tackle with the immensely growing
competition in the target market, it is important for one to
increase the productivity of its workers while reducing the cost
of production of the products. So, that’s where the training
comes as a savior of the company, jumps in the scenario and
takes it out of the dangers bravely.

Training takes the current capabilities of the workers of a

brand, polishes it and makes them learn and devise new and
effective methods of doing the same thing, in a repeated
manner. In other words, the training, if done in a proper way,
Objectives of Training and Development
can give your business a whole new look with a much powerful
base as experienced workers at its core.

2. Quality Improvement

Improving the quality of the product is obviously one of the

main objectives of training and development since it’s not
like those times when customers weren’t such quality
conscious. Today’s customer knows what’s better for him and
what’s not. Simply said, those old methods of some sweet talk
and business won’t work for much long, because once they
know the reality behind the curtains through the services and
products quality, they will leave the company as it is without
giving it, even, a second thought.

Just think of it as if you and your competitor are competing for

the same service with some difference in quality but at the
same price, it is obvious that they will choose the one who is
better at handling the task without any quality degradation.
Even if your price is a little higher, then it is most likely the
case that most of the customers will come to you.

3. Learning time Reduction

Keeping an eye on the learning capabilities of employees, and

providing them the help which they need, can be highly
beneficial in longer runs. This capability of theirs’ is what that
determines how quickly an employee grabs the newly
discovered fact and so, shape the future products on this
discovery. The weaker the capability, the harder it is to learn.
But this scenario can also be supported by the usage of proper
learning material and experienced instructors who prefer real-
life experience than cramming. So, reducing the learning time
is also one of the main objectives of training and development.

4. Safety First

Objectives of Training and Development

Safety of anyone, either he is a worker, an officer or even a
customer, is not something that can be taken lightly, especially
in cases, where one knows that even a minute mistake can
even lead to life threats. Therefore, providing the knowledge,
for using the equipment in a proper way and creating the life-
friendly product, also belongs to one of the major objectives of
training and development. The higher, the employees are
better at handling equipment, the better it is both for the
company and for the workers.

5. Labor turnover Reduction

No business can flourish well while it is regularly turning over

its workforce since it is obvious that every new workforce will
require some time to understand the type of work, its principle
and safety precautions, which lead to decreased productivity.
Moreover, it also diminishes the feeling of self-confidence
among the workers, and this really isn’t a good thing.

On the contrary, training ensures that the company doesn’t

need to turn over its workforce again and again because it
prepares the employees to face any situation which proves
helpful in bringing in the feeling of workers. Therefore, the
workforce feels safe and secure at a particular job.

6. Keeping oneself Updated with Technology

Computers and mobile phones are the miracles of the past but
the world of today is far more advanced than that. It’s time for
latest technologies capable of connecting the world in just a
blink of an eye. Now, earthlings are trying to reach far off
planets to get information about the life force present there.
Newer technologies are rolling in and we could continue to list
it down but we haven’t got time for that.

Objectives of Training and Development

Training and education to the employees keep them updated
with the latest of the additions to the technologies, methods,
techniques and processes. Since it also opens a new gateway
for them to look for a way which is greater in productivity and
efficiency but decreases the need of manual work immensely.

For example, spraying of pesticides and herbicides to keep the

crop healthy and safe from invaders with the help of a hand
pump is a lot more tiresome work than it would be with the
help of a semi-automated machinery. But how can workers
know that such a type of machinery is available in a market,
which cuts the time needed in the matter of hours instead of
days, without any update on what’s going on around the
globe?

7. Effective Management

One of the primary objectives of training and development

process is to give rise to a new and improved management
which is capable of handling the planning and control without
any serious problem. With the knowledge and experience
gathered through training, acting as the guiding light for this
newly shaped management, it lets them handle the tough
decisions and confusing realities thus opening the way for
bigger and better opportunities for business for the cause of
the brand.

Objectives of Training and Development

 Training and Development Methods

1. Classroom Lecture Method:

This is the most commonly used, simple, cost effective
and conventional method. It is timesaving because it
covers maximum number of people in a short period of
time. It involves a speech by the instructor with very
limited discussions. Clear and direct methods of
presentation. Weaknesses of the method are that,
lecture time is more than the normal human attention
span of fifteen minutes and the contents of the lecture
could be easily forgotten. Since the method does not
provide for active participation on the part of the
trainees, the extent of take-home learning is not to be
known clearly. Moreover, lecture might be useful only if
the presentation is made skillfully. While lecture is a
useful method in so far as information dissemination is
the objective, it has not been highly successful in
modifying human behavior or in building commitments
in the audience’s minds. An improvisation of this
method is the lecture-cum-demonstration method in
which the lecturer reemphasizes a skill or information
by displaying the same in action.

2. Group Discussion Method:

It is a method used to knowledge and attitudinal
development of trainees. In this

Objectives of Training and Development

method, sets of people examine
several empirical studies to find out commonalities to
derive the underlying general principles. They then
combine their ideas and focus their attention on a
given problem at a time, speaking from multiple points
of view within a group. An instructor is optional, while a
leader is necessary in this method. The various
advantages of the method are that more ideas can be
generated from each session. Moreover each member
gets an opportunity to present one’s own ideas and get
feedback from members of the same group. Peer
pressure and commitments made to groups serve to
ensure adherence to decisions jointly taken in the
group. As a precaution, care must be taken to secure
the participation of all members and make sure that a
few members do not pre-determine the course of
discussions or dominate the whole proceedings.

3. Simulation Exercises Method:

Simulators are a group of training devices of varying
degrees of complexity that model the real world. They
range from simple paper mock-ups of mechanical
devices to computerized creations of total
environments. In fact, some argue that case-study,
roleplay and a host of other methods can be brought
under the category of simulation. The advantage of
simulation methods is that they improve the possibility
of learning without damaging the equipments or human
life or facing the numerous risks involved in actual
performance. For example, most of traffic rules, signals
Objectives of Training and Development
and procedures of driving could be taught in a park
that resembles main road or through a video game
featuring car or twowheeler driving. Piloting planes are
taught using more complex simulations. The methods
are indirect but could also be expensive. The method
calls for a certain level of grasp and information
processing capability and transfer of learning on the
part of the trainees.

4. Role Playing Method:

Role is a set of expectations around a given position
and is determined by the role partners. Roles are
always reciprocal and described in pairs such as
trainer-trainee, buyerseller, interviewer-interviewee
and so on. Playing roles would entail practical problems
like inter-role conflicts, intra-role dilemmas, role
overloads and role under loads. As a result of these
hurdles, role confusion ensues. In order to be trained
to perform roles, trainees must attain role clarity. This
may involve negotiation among the role senders and
role receivers with regard to their expectations with
counter expectations upon one another. Participants in
role-play method are required to respond to specific
problems and expectations of people that they might
actually encounter in their jobs. Role-playing is often
used to teach such skills as interviewing, negotiating,
grievance handling, performance appraisal, and buying
and selling and effective communication. It promotes
healthy human relations skills among people.
5. Case Study Method:
It is a written down, narrative description of a real
situation or incident relating to an organization and its
business, depicting any problem that participants could
face in their employment. Participant trainees are
Objectives of Training and Development
required to propose any number of viable solutions or
decisions that match the variables represented in the
case. Case study can be interest creating and thought
stimulating for the participants. It helps to develop
analytical, reasoning and problem-solving skills of the
participants. As it shows and reduces gaps in
understanding, a holistic understanding of reality is
made possible through case study method. It also
helps to reemphasize messages provided during
lectures, group discussions and other methods. The
disadvantage of the method might be the difficulty in
drawing adequate number of stimulating cases that
actually represent the real life situations of the
trainees.

6. Sensitivity Training or T Group Training or Laboratory

training Method:
It is a set of experiences in unstructured agenda-less
groups designed to make people aware of themselves
(self-insight), their immediate situation and their own
impact on others. Unlike many other programs, T-
groups are concerned with the real problems existing
within the group itself. People are helped to become
more responsive to others’ sensitivities and work more
harmoniously and responsibly together by encouraging
them to interact freely and actively. The members are
enabled to recognize group dynamics and diagnose
human relationship problems. The participants are
encouraged to communicate thoughts and feelings with
each other in an open, unstructured, warm and honest
manner than is typically done in the usual work or
social situation. A beneficial outcome of the method is
that participants find better means of behavior for
effective interpersonal relationships without the aid of

Objectives of Training and Development

power or authority over others. The method has to be
used carefully as people may resent negative feedback
and show anger in response. People have to be first
prepared well to accept criticism in a constructive
manner so that conflicts could be managed properly.

7. Management Games Method:

Games are used as a training tool, than as mere
pastimes or amusement. Trainees are divided into
teams and are given common tasks on which they
would be competing to arrive at decisions, and then
jointly implementing and evaluating the decisions taken
with regard to the games. For example, blocks of wood
would be supplied to every team and one of the
members would be blind-folded with a piece of cloth.
The person would have to arrange the blocks one
above the other, as per the instructions and guidance
of the other members. As they set on to reach greater
target heights, the rewards would also grow
exponentially. This game is used to bring out the
nuances of teamwork, leadership styles and
communication patterns exhibited by the members
while playing the game. The demerits of the method
are that, at times, games might result in lack of
seriousness in some trainees and that the learning is
indirect and slow. But it helps to convey messages in a
non-threatening and fun-filled manner.

8. Outward Bound Training (OBT) Method:

As part of OBT, managers and other staff members
meet and cohabitate as teams at unfamiliar wilderness
out of the workplace and away from the hustles and
bustles of daily life, where they would live in cabins or

Objectives of Training and Development

tents for a certain number of days. They test their
survival skills and learn about their own personality
and hidden potentials for creativity, cooperation and
leadership. Participants get opportunities to learn their
limits and capabilities. Participants irrespective of their
official position and seniority would have to learn to be
natural in their behavior and get rid of masks worn in
an office situation. It is an expensive method and the
learning might not be transferable to others or to other
situations.

9. In -basket Training (IBT) Method:

IBT is a method where the trainee is required to
examine a basket full of papers and files relating to his
area of work and make recommendations on problems
contained in them. This method is meant for trainees in
a managerial level to improve their decision-making
and problem-solving abilities. This is a form of
simulation training designed around day to- day
business situations and hence is transferable to the job
experiences. The participant is usually asked to
establish priorities for and then handle a number of
office papers, such as memoranda, reports, telephone
messages and emails that would typically cross a
manager’s desk. The method has at least two main
stages. At the outset, the participant starts by working
through the case within a specified time limit all by
himself without discussing the details with anyone.
Subsequently, other participants analyze and discuss
the questions of who’s, which’s, how’s, what’s, where’s,
why’s and when’s of each decision or step. The merits
of this method include the best of traditional case study
at the same time combining the refinements to allow
greater flexibility, realism and involvement.

Objectives of Training and Development

The emphasis here is to understand things thoroughly,
which is an opportunity too rarely presented during
busy working days. It is done in a permissive
atmosphere of experimenting and learning, rather than
within the confines of a boss subordinate relationship.

10. Vestibule Training Method:

This kind of training takes place away from the
production area on equipment that closely resembles
the actual ones used on the job. It is a type of off-the-
job training in which employees get training in a
realistic job setting but in a location different from the
one in which they would be working. For example, a
group of lathes may be located in a training center
where the trainees will be instructed in their use. The
method is used frequently for training typists and bank
tellers, among others. The word ‘vestibule’ means
entrance. Thus vestibule training serves to facilitate
full-fledged entry into job. A primary advantage of
vestibule training is that it removes the employee from
the pressure of having to produce while learning.
Disturbance of production or supervisor during training
is minimized. The disadvantages include the extra
investment on equipment and additional persons to be
employed as trainers.

11. Apprenticeship Training Method:

It combines classroom instructions with on-the-job
training. It is a method in which trainees at a novice
stage called ‘apprentices’, work under the guidance of
skilled, licensed instructor and receive lower pay than
workers. The method is a combination of education and
employment and is aimed at preparing workforce with

Objectives of Training and Development

certain levels of qualification to meet the growing
needs of the industry. The method develops special
skills like mechanical, electronic, tailoring, etc.
Apprenticeship is traditionally used in skilled jobs, such
as those of plumber, carpenter, machinist and printer.
The extensive nature of the training assures quality
outputs, though time consumed is long. Employees
recruited from the apprenticeship program are
expected to hit the ground running, implying that they
would have to start performing with efficiency. But
uniform duration of apprenticeship training does not
permit slow learners to reach the levels of mastery like
others.

12. Work shadowing Method:

This training method is chosen while preparing a
second-line leader to take up the role of the headship,
in which case, the candidate could not benefit by
sending them to any other formal training program.
The best way to be trained for a future executive
position would be through direct participant
observation of the crucial events that take place in the
present incumbent’s work life. The trainees are made
to remain in the company of the role model whose
work is to be learnt by the trainees. Trainees learn the
intricacies of a job of high level, by physically being in
the presence of the job-holder. Closely following the
styles of working permits greater degree of learning
besides helping the trainee to imbibe the values and
principles adhered to by the model. Yet, care needs to
be taken to avoid situations wherein trainees are not
warmly welcomed and are seen by supervisors in the
department as obstacles to their routines.

Objectives of Training and Development

13. Programmed Instruction Method (PIM):

PIM provides instruction without the face-to-face

intervention of an instructor. To ensure a sequential
approach to learning, instructions are designed in such
a way that all future learning depends on acquisition
and retention of previous learning. With this method,
information is broken down into small portions called
‘frames’. The learner reads each frame in sequence and
responds to questions designed to verify learning.
Based on the answers given by the trainees they are
provided with immediate feedback on response
accuracy. If the learners have got all the answers right,
they proceed to the next frame. If not they repeat the
frame. Primary features of this approach are immediate
reinforcement and the ability of learners to proceed at
their own pace. Programmed instructions may be
presented in a book or in computers.

14. Large Scale Interactive Events (LSIE) Method:

The method has a lot of unique advantages when
compared to other methods. First, this method stresses
upon the sharing of expertise by all the participants,
unlike other methods where the instructor supplies
most of the inputs and might even look down upon
trainees as people who are ignorant or unskilled in the
topic being covered. LSIE is based on the belief that all
the participants, by virtue of being in their job for a
certain period of time, possess some degree of
expertise that need to be shared and combined with
that of others.
Second advantage is that this method transcends the
limitation of other methods in terms of the number of

Objectives of Training and Development

people who could be trained per batch. The major
advantage of this method is that a group as large as
300 – 400 members could be trained simultaneously
without losing the effectiveness of other training
methods. The third advantage is the use of group
processes. While the trainer limits his role with a brief
but inspiring presentation to stimulate thinking of the
participant, the methods paves way for active
involvement of all the participants who are assigned
various roles such as sub-group leader, recorder,
summarizer, presenter etc. A fourth advantage of the
LSIE is that the group emphasizes on extensive on-the-
spot documentation of viewpoints expressed by people.
Finally, the method culminates in the entire large group
addressing to the common issues. At this stage,
priority is to be set on areas of intervention and a plan
of action is drawn and accepted based on voting by
members, thereby building commitment of all the
participants to implement the agreed upon plans. A
disadvantage of the method could be that it requires a
lot of volunteers to assist the proceedings.

15. Personal Coaching Method:

It is an on-the-job approach in which a manager has
the opportunity to teach an employee, usually his
immediate subordinate, on a one-to-one basis.
Coaching is helping self and others gain new
perspectives their intentions and behaviors, to
understand what’s possible and how to access inner
resources such as motivation, commitment, passion,
etc. as a coach, the supervisor gently confronts
employees with their shortcomings and makes
suggestions for corrective actions. The supervisor is
also alert to encouraging good performance. Coaching

Objectives of Training and Development

is considered to be one of the most effective
management development techniques. Constant
guidance makes the trainee learn quickly.

16. Mentoring Method:

Mentoring is an on-the-job approach to training in
which the trainee is given an opportunity to learn on a
one-to-one basis from more experienced members of
the organization. The mentor is usually an older,
experienced executive who serves as a host, friend,
confidant and advisor to a new member of the firm.
The mentor is given the charge of protecting and
responsibility of helping the new employee. The
relationship may be formally planned or it may develop
informally. For mentoring to be productive, the parties’
interests must be compatible and they must
understand each other’s learning styles and
personalities. If mentors form overly strong bonds with
trainees, unwarranted favoritism might result. A highly
successful mentor-protégé relationship might create
feelings of jealousy among other colleagues who are
not able to show equally good results out of the
mentoring process.

17. Job Rotation Method:

This method of training involves the shifting of trainees
from one job to another so as to widen their exposure
and enable them to obtain a general understanding of
the totality of the organization. Besides helping them to
overcome boredom, job rotation permits direct
interaction with a large number of individuals within
the organization, thereby facilitating future working
relationships. The method should be used at sufficient

Objectives of Training and Development

gaps to permit the development of a strong degree of
expertise in the trainee in an assigned position. Care
should be taken by the organization to ensure that
work efficiency does not suffer when a few trainees are
rotate into new jobs where they would be taking time
to learn and perform. There could be some
disadvantages of using the method of Job Rotation.
Trainees have to be prepared to face contrasting styles
of operation and standards that vary according to
superiors. Some trainees might feel more like visiting
casual observers in the departments than being a part
of the workforce, which would negate the purpose of
job rotation. Employees who are looking for more
challenging assignments might feel frustrated when
asked to perform different kinds of simple jobs at the
same level.

18. Computer-Based Training (CBT) Method:

CBT is a technology-driven training method that takes
full advantage of the speed, memory and data
manipulation capabilities of the computer for greater
flexibility of instruction. It involves the trainee sitting in
front of a computer terminal rather than listening to an
instructor. Learning is enhanced through presentations
combining automation, stereophonic sound, full motion
video and graphics. Increased speed and decreased
dependence on instructor are the strengths of this
method. Computer-Managed Instructions (CMI) is a
system that automatically generates and scores tests,
tracks trainees’ performance and prescribes activities
for students. An orderly, step-by-step manner is
possible by using this method. As additional
advantages, CBT allows reuse of the program for any

Objectives of Training and Development

number of time and allows for varying time for fast and
slow learners.
But CBT method cannot reduce the learner’s anxiety
and fear, which can be done only by a trained
instructor. CBT is well suited for teaching facts but is
less useful for teaching human skills or changing
attitudes.
19. Behavior Modeling Method:
This method involves emulation of behavior from a
reference group or a role model whose behavior is
shown live before the trainees or by using videotapes
or Compact discs (VCD). The method entails recording
and producing events or situations with clear
descriptions in order to cover certain subjects. The
footage could be viewed, reviewed and discussed to
enhance learning quality. The advantages of using this
method are many. Many events and discussions can be
put on one tape or CD. It is a handy method for small
firms that cannot afford more expensive approaches. It
is particularly helpful for first-line supervisors.
Observing a powerful model in the audiovisual form
could help learn activities like mediating during conflict
situations, handling customer complaints and
grievances. The challenges involved in using the
method include the high level of one-time production
costs in the initial stage. Moreover, projectors and
other expensive gadgets would be required along with
continuous power supply.

20. Internship Method:

Internships involve placing young college and
university students in temporary jobs in which they can
earn while they learn, with no obligations towards any

Objectives of Training and Development

regular employment from the side of the employer or
from the trainee. Such an arrangement enables to
provide a fresher the much-needed exposure to an
organization and also to determine the person
organization fit. Students divide their attention
between academic activities and practical work
assignments, which help them to internalize the theory
and practices. However, care must be taken to prevent
the whole process from getting reduced to the
fulfillment of merely an academic requirement rather
than being treated as a stepping-stone towards an
illustrious career.

21. Development Centre Method:

This method is designed based on the structure, styles
and contents of assessment centres used to assess the
potential of an individual to meet the demands of a
higher-level managerial position. Multiple facilitators
observe the members performing multiple tasks
according to multiple criteria, using multiple methods.
However, the difference in development centers is that
they focus their attention on helping to improve the
potential of the persons participating in the sessions.
This method of training is found effective in building
leadership, decision-making, goal setting and
counseling skills in experienced trainees.

Literature Review – Employee Training and Development

Objectives of Training and Development

Introduction
Human resources are considered by many to be the most
important asset of an organization, yet very few employers are
able to harness the full potential from their employees
(Radcliffe, 2005). Human resource is a productive resource
consisting of the talents and skills of human beings that
contribute to the production of goods and services (Kelly,
2001). Lado and Wilson (1994) define human resource system
as a set of distinct but interrelated activities, functions, and
processes that are directed at attracting, developing, and
maintaining a firm’s human resources. According to Gomez-
Mejia, Luis R., David B. Balkin and Robert L. Cardy, (2008), it is
the process of ensuring that the organization has the right kind
of people in the right places at the right time. The objective of
Human Resources is to maximize the return on investment
from the organization’s human capital and minimize financial
risk. It is the responsibility of human resource managers to
conduct these activities in an effective, legal, fair, and
consistent manner (Huselid, 1995).
Employee Training and Development
Training and development is a subsystem of an organization
that emanate from two independent yet interdependent words
training and development. Training is often interpreted as the
activity when an expert and learner work together to effectively
transfer information from the expert to the learner (to enhance a
learner’s knowledge, attitudes or skills) so the learner can
better perform a current task or job. Training activity is both
focused upon, and evaluated against, the job that an individual
currently holds (Learner R., 1986). On the other hand
development is often viewed as a broad, ongoing multi-faceted
set of activities (training activities among them) to bring
someone or an organization up to another threshold of
performance. This development often includes a wide variety of
methods, e.g., orienting about a role, training in a wide variety
of areas, ongoing training on the job, coaching, mentoring and
Objectives of Training and Development
forms of self-development. Some view development as a life-
long goal and experience. Development focuses upon the
activities that the organization employing the individual, or that
the individual is part of, may partake in the future, and is almost
impossible to evaluate (Nadler Leonard, 1984).
Training and development ensures that randomness is reduced
and learning or behavioral change takes place in structured
format. In the field of human resource management, training
and development is the field concerned with organizational
activity aimed at bettering the performance of individuals and
groups in organizational settings. It has been known by several
names, including employee development, human resource
development, and learning and development (Harrison
Rosemary, 2005).
As the generator of new knowledge, employee training and
development is placed within a broader strategic context of
human resources management, i.e. global organizational
management, as a planned staff education and development,
both individual and group, with the goal to benefit both the
organization and employees. To preserve its obtained positions
and increase competitive advantage, the organization needs to
be able to create new knowledge, and not only to rely solely on
utilization of the existing (Vemic, 2007). Thus, the continuous
employee training and development has a significant role in the
development of individual and organizational performance. The
strategic procedure of employee training and development
needs to encourage creativity, ensure inventiveness and shape
the entire organizational knowledge that provides the
organization with uniqueness and differentiates it from the
others.
The Value of Training and Development
According to Beardwell& Holden (1997) human resource
management has emerged as a set of prescriptions for
managing people at work. Its central claim is that by matching

Objectives of Training and Development

the size and skills of the workforce to the productive
requirements of the organization, and by raising the quality of
individual employee contributions to production, organizations
can make significant improvements on their performance.
The environment of an organization refers to the sum total of
the factors or variables that may influence the present and
future survival of an organization (Armstrong, 1998). The
factors may be internal or external to the organization. Cascio
W. F, (1995), uses the terms societal environment to define the
varying trends and general forces that do not relate directly to
the company but could impact indirectly on the company at
some point in time. Four of these forces are identified as
economic, technological, legal and political and socio-cultural
and demographic forces. The second type of environment is
the task environment that comprises elements directly
influencing the operations and strategy of the organization.
These may include the labour market, trade unions, competition
and product markets comprising customers, suppliers and
creditors. The task environment elements are directly linked to
the company and are influenced by the societal environment.
However, variables in the task, competitive or operative
environment as they are variously referred to, affect
organizations in a specific industry and it is possible to control
them to some extent. As such, environmental change, whether
remote or task, disrupts the equilibrium that exists between the
organization’s strategy and structure, necessitating adjustment
to change. Pfeffer (1998) proposes that there is evidence
demonstrating that effectively managed people can produce
substantially enhanced economic performance. Pfeffer
extracted from various studies, related literature, and personal
observation and experience a set of seven dimensions that
seem to characterize most if not all of the systems producing
profits through people. He named them the seven practices of
successful organizations and they are: employment security,
selective hiring of new personnel, self-managed teams and

Objectives of Training and Development

decentralization of decision making as the basic principles of
organizational design, comparatively high compensation
contingent on organizational performance, extensive training,
reduced status distinctions and barriers, including dress,
language, office arrangements, and wage differences across
levels, and extensive sharing of financial and performance
information throughout the organization.
Effect of Training and Development on Employee Productivity
McGhee (1997) stated that an organization should commit its
resources to a training activity only if, in the best judgment of
managers, the training can be expected to achieve some
results other than modifying employee behaviour. It must
support some organizational goals, such as more efficient
production or distribution of goods and services, product
operating costs, improved quality or more efficient personal
relations is the modification of employees behaviour affected
through training should be aimed at supporting organization
objectives.
Effect of Training and Development on Employee Motivation
Motivation is concerned with the factors that influence people to
behave in certain ways. Arnold etal (1991), have listed the
components as being, direction-what a person is trying to do,
effort- how hard a person is trying to and persistence- how long
a person keeps on trying. Motivating other people is about
getting them to move in the direction you want them to go in
order to achieve a result, well motivated people are those with
clearly defined goals who take action that they expect will
achieve those goals. Motivation at work can take place in two
ways. First, people can motivate themselves by seeking, finding
and carrying out that which satisfies their needs or at least
leads them to expect that their goals will be achieved.
Secondly, management can motivate people through such
methods as pay, promotion, praise and training (Synderman
1957). The organization as a whole can provide the context

Objectives of Training and Development

within which high levels of motivation can be achieved training
the employees in areas of their job performance.
Effect of Training and Development on Competitive Advantage
Competitive advantage is the essence of competitive strategy.
It encompasses those capabilities, resources, relationships,
and decisions, which permits an organization to capitalize on
opportunities in the marketplace and to avoid threats to its
desired position, (Lengnick-Hall 1990). Boxall and Purcell
(1992) suggest that ‘human resource advantage can be traced
to better people employed in organizations with better
processes.’ This echoes the resource based view of the firm,
which states that ‘distinctive human resource practices help to
create the unique competences that determine how firms
compete’ (Capelli and Crocker- Hefter, 1996). Intellectual
capital is the source of competitive advantage for organizations.
The challenge is to ensure that firms have the ability to find,
assimilate, compensate, and retain human capital in shape of
talented individual who can drive a global organization that both
responsive to its customer and ‘the burgeoning opportunities of
technology’ (Armstrong, 2005)
Effect of Training and Development on Customer Relations
William Edward Deming, one of the quality Gurus defines
quality as a predictable degree of uniformity and dependability
at low costs and suitable to the market, he advises that an
organization should focus on the improvement of the process
as the system rather than the work is the cause of production
variation (Gale 1994). Many service organizations have
embraced this approach of quality assurance by checking on
the systems and processes used to deliver the end product to
the consumer. Essentially this checks on; pre-sale activities
which encompass the advice and guidance given to a
prospective client, customer communications ( how well the
customers are informed of the products and services, whether
there are any consultancy services provided to help the

Objectives of Training and Development

 customers assess their needs and any help line available for
ease of access to information on products), the speed of
handling a client’s transactions and processing of claims, the
speed of handling customers calls and the number of calls
abandoned or not answered, on the selling point of
Products/Services a customer would be interested to know
about the opening hours of the organization, the convenience
of the location and such issues (Gale 1994). This is only
possible when employees are well trained and developed to
ensure sustainability of the same.
References
 Armstrong, M (1998): Human Resource Management:
Strategy and Action, Irwin, Boston
 Betcherman, G., K. McMullen and K. Davidman (1998),
Training for the New Economy: A Synthesis Report, Canadian
Policy Research Network, Ottawa, pp. 117
 Cascio, W. F. (1995). Whither industrial and organizational
psychology in a changing world of work?American
Psychologist, 50, 928–939
 Harrison Rosemary (2005). Learning and Development.CIPD
Publishing. pp. 5
 Huselid, M. A. (1995) The impact of human resource
management practices on turnover, productivity and
corporate financial performance, Academy of Management
Journal, 38(3), 635-672
 Kelly D, (2001), Dual Perceptions of HRD: Issues for Policy:
SME’s, Other Constituencies, and the Contested Definitions
of Human Resource Development,
 Lado, A., & Wilson, M. (1994) Human resource systems and
sustained competitive advantage: A competency-based
perspective, Academy of Management Journal, 19(4), 699-
727
 Learner, R. (1986).Concepts and Theories of Human
Development (2nd ed.). New York: Random House).

Objectives of Training and Development

 Nadler, Leonard (1984). The Handbook of Human Resource
Development (Glossary). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
 Pfeffer J., (1998), The Human Equation; Building Profits by
Putting People First, HBS press, Boston
 Tessema, M. and Soeters, J. (2006) Challenges and
prospects of HRM in developing countries: testing the HRM-
performance link in Eritrean civil service, International Journal
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