Corporate Training under South African Context - Essay Example

Corporate Training under South African Context: Can it be a Crucial Developing Role Cover Sheet Corporate Training under South African Context: Can it be a Crucial Developing Role Table of Contents Cover sheet 1 Table contents 2 Abstract 3 Section 1Introduction 4 Section 2 Aims & Objectives 2.1 Aims 5 2.2 Objectives 6 Section 3 Literature Review 3.1 Need for Training 7 3.2 Leaderships 8 3.3 Issues Faced by Business Schools 8 3.4 Training Activities Undertaken by Multi National Corporate Entities 9 3.5 Training in Information and Communication Technology 9 3.6 Corporate Response to Employee Training Sessions on HIV/AIDS 9 3.7 Training from the Employees' stand point 10 Section 4 Research Design and Methods 4.1 Methodology 10 4.2 Desk Research 11 4.3 Research Methods 12 4.3.1 Qualitative Methods 12 4.3.2 Quantitative Method 12 Section 5Analysis and Findings 5.1 Findings 13 5.2 Analysis 14 Section 6 Conclusion Implications and Recommendations 6.1 Concluding Remarks 15 6.2 Implications 15 6.3 Recommendations 16 Bibliography 17 Corporate Training under South African Context: Can it be a Crucial Developing Role Abstract In the modern era of competitive business environment, it has been increasingly realized that the contribution by way of an efficient performance from the employees has a greater to play in accelerating and sustaining the growth of any business or industrial enterprise. This calls for a well laid out employee training and development programme. Having a wide range of advantages to offer the employer, the training of the employees has its own complexities, especially in a developing economy like that of South Africa. While training facilitates the employee motivation, it also reduces employee turnover and bolster the firm's public image. This paper presents a detailed research analysis in to the training practices prevalent in the South African entities and the effect of such training on the global competitiveness of the firms form the view point of the management and also the threats and opportunities the training poses form the employees' view point. Section 1 Introduction The biggest challenge for many companies is found in establishing a workforce that is enthusiastic and at the same time having a sense of belonging to the organization. Through research studies, this has been identified as a key element in ensuring the corporate success both in the short and long-term functioning of the firms. In the current business environment of increased labour attrition rates, employee retention has been the major task of the Human Resources Professional in many larger organizations. They are always on the look out for innovating techniques of increasing the job satisfaction and morale of the employees in order to keep the attrition rates low. One of the distinct ways of securing the employee retention is to impart periodic comprehensive training programmes on developing the skills of the employees so that they become more useful to the organization. The effects of such training on the employee motivation and improved performance has been proved many a times resulting in higher advantages to the employer. It is important to understand though the business employs the greatest business model in the world and the best of the systems, unless the employees have the strength and ability to handle such sophisticated corporate aids, it may not really help the firm to enjoy the benefits of such investments. The employee trainings may cover a wide range of corporate functional areas including developing the communication skills of the employees, improving the technical skills, training about quality concepts and interpersonal relationships. The different aspects of training and development has varying impact on the employers and employees in that the employers look at the training as a means of improving the employee morale and retention, whereas the employee views the training from a personal development perspective. However the training and development of employees includes several areas of intense consideration form the management's perspective like cost of the training, methods of imparting training, evaluation of the performance of the employees in the post-training period and also innovative training techniques that may be employed. All these aspects involve an in-depth study of the training needs of the employees. These different aspects involved in the employee training is so complex that it poses several problems and issues that need to be addressed by the management to make effective use of the training of the employees. The employees also would also have a mixed perspective of threats and opportunities offered by the training. These aspects have an enhanced impact on both the employers and employees in the contexts of the developing economies where the pressure from the business needs are excessive due to global competitiveness. In this paper I intend to examine the potential differences in the training methods, quality and amount of training being imparted at the corporate levels by different South African entities as compared to their counterparts in the developed nations. I also intend to make an analytical report on the on the different training methods, the technology being used in the training and evaluation of the training methods including the measures to analyse the performance of the employees after the training in the South African context. For a comprehensive and coherent presentation I divide the presentation of the paper into different sections. Section 1 represents the Introduction followed by section 2 that talks about the aims and objectives of the research. Section 3 incorporates the review of available literature. Under section 4 the paper discusses the research designs and methods employed to conduct this research and the analysis and findings of the research is discussed in Section 5 .A recapitulation of the issues covered under the paper are provided as concluding remarks together with the implications thereon and some recommendations for improvement are presented in section 6. Section 2 Aims and Objectives: This research study in to the Corporate Training in the South African entities is undertaken with specific aims and objectives as detailed below: 2.1 Aims: The aims of the research study can be expressed in the following lines: The study aims at making a comparative study of the effectiveness of the training methods adopted by the South African entities in comparison with their counterparts in the industrially advanced countries. Another aim of the study is to make an in-depth analysis of the technology being used for corporate training by the South African firms and the evaluation of such methods being adopted for training. The study was also directed to find out the possible issues that the employers in South Africa may have to address for taking advantage of the training to their employees and the threats and opportunities the training offers to the employees form their perspective. 2.2 Objectives: As a corollary to the aims the broad objectives of the research study includes the following objectives: The foremost objective of the study is to bring out the effectiveness of the training being provided by the South African firms to their employees to the extent it contributes to the improvement in the overall performance of the companies. By undertaking this research study a comparative and critical analysis of the training methods of the South African entities is proposed to be brought out. Secondly the research is made to analyse and report on the technology being used by the South African firms for providing training to their employees to judge the currency of the techniques and technology and the effectiveness thereof to provide the employees with the latest knowledge and skill sets required to discharge their functions efficiently. The objective is to make a judgment as to how far these techniques are modern in their approach and in line with those employed by the firms in advanced countries. Finally the study was made to understand and appreciate the problems and issues connected with the provision of training to the employees faced by the employers in terms of the cost and time involved and also to assess whether such trainings will create the necessary impact on the employees in terms of improvement in their performance as well as the overall performance and growth of the company. The study also looks in to the strengths and opportunities that are derived by the employee out of the training. Section 3 Literature Review This section provides a broad view of the various aspects of employee training in South Africa undertaken by the business entities to promote the development of the skills and expertise of their employees so that they can remain competitive in the international arena. 3.1 Need for Training: "Skills training in general has been a problem in South Africa" reports Diego Iturralde (2002) Much emphasis was placed on the academic endeavours and hence the need for any training was given only a back seat. There was a clear demarcation between theory and practice and getting the necessary practical training in any particular area was the lookout for the individual and the employer concerned. In addition to this the opportunities of higher education and the chances of getting qualified were the privilege of a particular section of the community, thanks to the legacy of the discriminatory practices prevalent in the country. Because of these reasons the general level of education in South Africa did not meet the international standards that would help in getting more chances of employment. After getting declared as independent in the year 1994, South Africa was made to face a number of challenges in terms of the economic changes allover the world whereby the competitiveness with respect to skills, technology and economic prospects was demanding a greater degree of excellence. This also called for an improved efficiency of the organizations within South Africa and also in order to remain flexible they were to become multitask oriented. Such a requirement on the part of the institutions necessitated the development of various skills of individuals in those areas where they didn't possess the required skills previously. Diego Iturralde (2002) comments that "employees therefore have to be multi-skilled in order to perform a variety of tasks. Employees should be able to move between components inside an organisation as well as taking their skills from one organisation to another as well as from one sector to another." 3.2 Learnerships: One of the key requirements for the economic development of the country South Africa is identified as the Skills Development. In order to develop the skills required in various areas the Skills Development Act 1998 was enacted to provide a legislative framework for the development of skills at workplace. "The Act makes provision for skills development by means of a levy-grant scheme, and the establishment of 27 sector-specific Sector Education and Training Authorities - or Setas - to administer the scheme's funds, and manage the skills development process." (Doing Business) The 'setas' established in the year 2000 govern the training levies payable by all employer in the country. Setas has replaced the historical training boards and the training programmes under setas are accredited by South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) With a view to promote the training and development at the business levels incentive based training programmes in the form of 'learnerships' have been established in 140 key areas starting from the basic entry level to professional levels. The agreement to impart training programmes under lerarnerships makes the employers eligible for a grant of tax deduction from their assessable income. The Act and other provisions are made exclusively keeping in view the need for an intensive training at all levels. 3.3 Issues faced by Business Schools: The problems in the matter of professional skills start from the position of the business schools functioning in South Africa. The problems of these schools in providing a quality business education are caused by: Lack of sufficient funds due to cuts in government grants - leading to poor maintenance and upkeep of facilities and no provision for replacing the old technologies. Insufficient number of faculty positions caused by low remuneration levels and also the inability to draw quality academicians to train the business aspirants Though the courses are competitive due to weak currency the salary levels are not comparable to international standards to attract best talents from the international pool. Another serious problem is the creation of racial diversity in the faculty composition due to dearth of black professionals and the exorbitant salary the available black academics demand. 3.4 Training Activities Undertaken by Multi National Corporate Entities: To overcome the problem of identifying a proper mix of the required professional employees the multinational corporations undertake different training programmes on their volition to solve the problem of non-availability of trained employees. Some of the instances are: Billiton, a mining company and a member of the Global Mining Initiative runs a youth scheme known as BDT Cadets that offers two - year employment and on the job training for South African Youngsters. Company Afrox has built a full pledged Nurses' training college to provide skilled nurses for hospitals. Diageo for development of employment and skills training has opened Learning Centers near the factories to support employment opportunities through training. "It also runs the Training and Development Foundation which encourages the development of vocational skills for the rural young." (ESRC Working Paper) 3.5 Training in Information and Communication Technology: There is a considerable shortage of skills in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in South Africa. The shortage of skills is present in two ways; one is the non-availability of skills and the other is the gaps in the skill sets of those who are already in employment. The cases for such shortage may be found in the swift changes in the technology that the employees are not able to keep abreast of, changes in the service quality expectations of the customers globally which the South African firms are not able to meet due to lack of up to-date skills and constant changes in the product market strategy of the enterprises. These aspects call for the necessity of intensive training of employees in ICT area by the corporate entities concerned. 3.6 Corporate Response to Employee Training Sessions on HIV/AIDS An article in The Wall Street Journal on August 16th 2006 reported that the brewing company SAB Miller has identified the potential danger of the dreaded disease that would affect at least 15 percent of its otherwise difficult to replace South African employees by the year 2008 unless the employees are made aware of the consequences. "This might pose serious economic consequences for the company. "Before its discovery in 2001, SABMiller had already been operating a largely unsuccessful HIV prevention program aimed at encouraging employees to get treatment. It was paying for antiretroviral treatment for HIV positive employees, was handing out free condoms in bathrooms, and was showing AIDS prevention videos at employee training sessions. Despite all this however, over 75% its staff would not be tested for HIV, rendering the company's treatment program useless." (Ethics World) This is one important aspect of the training of the employees for the safety of their health that not only promotes the employees' personal health issues but also prevents the adverse economic consequences of the menace to the employers. However the results of the training session are not encouraging in that the rate of employees contacting HIV/AIDS was not showing any decline. 3.7 Training from the Employees' stand point: While a section of the employees may welcome the training being provided some of the employees may not really be keen to take up the training. The employees un-desirous of taking the training may think that by taking more training they may be asked to delver more work at the same level of pay. Such feeling of complacency can not be altogether ruled out, especially in a developing country like South Africa where the cultural diversities are more it may create a sense of jealous among the employees who are not provided with the training and this may affect the morale of the employees. The employers have to consider the racial differences while designing the training programmes as it will make the whole programme complicated with the faculty as well as the individuals attending the training programmes. Section 4 Research Design and Methods This section details the research methodology adopted for the preparation of this paper on the 'employee training in South African entities'... 4.1 Methodology: Different research methods can be made use of to collect the information required to complete the study and make the report thereof. While collecting information and data it is important to use both secondary and primary sources of information to achieve the aims and objectives of the study. Overall, the inductive research method is to be used because it is more appropriate for the purpose of the research study. Jill and Johnson (2002) write that induction is the "construction of explanations and theories about what has been observed learning by reflecting upon particular past experiences and through the formulation of abstract concepts, theories and generalisations that explain past and predict future, experience". Due to the practical nature of the topic, induction is more suitable since it is easier to first collect information and data, observe, analyse and only then present the findings and conclusions. Additionally, qualitative rather than quantitative research methods will be used because the aim of the project is not to analyse figures or statistics but to observe, interpret and make recommendations. The general belief of business research is often thought of as collecting data, constructing questionnaires and analysing data. But it also includes identifying the problem and how to proceed solving it (Ghauri et al., 1995). Data sources can be described as the carriers of data (information). There are to types of data sources (Ghauri et al., 1995) 1. Primary data (field) is collected specifically for the research project. This will be in form observations and interviews. 2. Secondary data (desk) is collected by others. These include academic and non-academic sources. 4.2 Desk Research: Desk research refers to identifying and scrutinising secondary data which can be obtained from books, journals, the Internet and company materials. Desk research is an essential element of the project process since it has a range of advantages. First of all, it is much easier and faster to find secondary then primary sources of information. Secondly, a researcher can identify different points of view and consider an issue from different perspectives. Primary analysis in this respect may not be free from subjective judgment. Thirdly, a researcher can take his time and analyse issues thoroughly whereas he usually does not have much time to concentrate on an issue in the course of interviews, which are an integral part of primary research. One has to use all available secondary sources on the topic but has to be careful to identify bias. In this regard, Bryman and Bell (2003) provide a detailed framework as to how to achieve it. Since the study involves the issues relating to employee training in the South African entities there are plenty of resources available to provide the necessary secondary data which will substantiate the points to be dealt in this report. Hence there is no need for the collection of any primary data and the conduct of any interviews or surveys has been dispensed with. 4.3 Research Methods: As mentioned earlier, several methods of collection of data for this research were considered. It was necessary to arrive at a specific method that will be appropriate to attain the objectives of the research; which depended on the subject under study. For that, information and data is to be collected using both the available data collection approaches and carefully analysed the difference between the two major data collection approaches (i.e. the qualitative and quantitative research methods). 4.3.1 Qualitative Methods: The qualitative method is 'one of the two major approaches to research methodology in social science', which involves 'investigating participant's opinions, behaviours and experiences from the informants' points of view'. In contrast with the quantitative research method, the qualitative research method 'does not rely on quantitative measurement and mathematical models, but instead uses logical deductions to decipher gathered data dealing with the human element'. The difficulty in using this research method is that it is more expensive, has smaller sample sizes and is hard to measure. 4.3.2 Quantitative Method: Quantitative method is a research method which depends less on subjective methods but is more focused on the collection and analysis of numerical data. Quantitative research involves analysis of numerical data. According to Burns and Grove, Quantitative research is: "a formal, objective, systematic process in which numerical data are utilised to obtain information about the research question" (Burns and Grove) Quantitative research uses the methods which are designed to ensure objectivity and reliability. In this method the researcher is considered external to the actual research, and results are expected to be the same, no matter who conducts the research. The strength of the quantitative method is that, it produces quantifiable and reliable data. Section 5 Analysis and Findings 5.1 Findings: Out of the research study conducted on the provision of training facilities to employees by South African entities the following findings can be summarized: There is the inherent problem associated with the development of adequately trained professional due to the system of education prevailing in the country. Since the academic studies and the technical training are considered as two different modules of curriculum, the professional development of the individuals becomes one's own responsibility or that of the employer. Since the provision of quality education in higher studies is made available only to select strata of the people there is always the dearth of the trained employees who meet the international standards. This definitely acts as a handicap for the business firms to compete globally. As a part of the initiative from the government for facilitating the provision of training by the business and industrial establishments the government has passed the Skills Development Act 1998 followed by various schemes like 'learners' which provide a legislative framework for the provision of training facilities to individuals and also offer tax incentives to companies offering training to different people. The business schools providing education in the business management studies also suffer from several problems the important of which is the cut in the grants by the government. The lack of funds creates serious problems of maintaining the quality of the education being provided by these schools as they are unable to attract best talents due to poor salary structures that are being offered. Maintaining the racial diversity in the faculty of the business schools is another issue that creates issues concerning getting talented black faculty. Moreover due to less number of faculties available in black community they demand huge salaries which the schools are unable to offer. In order to develop the required manpower with the requisite training various multinational companies undertake training programmes as a part of their development of social capital activities. These include on the job training programmes and the provision of training under 'learners' programme. Information and communication technology is an area where there are various opportunities available for training and development of the people. Call Centers in South Africa is another sector where there is scope for improvement in the training and development of the people on a large scale. A major area of concern is to educate the blue collar workers on the evils of the dreadful diseases of HIV/AIDS. In spite of the training sessions being undertaken by the companies the awareness among the employees is not showing an increasing trend. 5.2 Analysis: An analysis of the above finding lead to the following commentary: The basic necessity of the country of South Africa in the sphere of training and development of the employees are concerned is a complete review of the education system to provide a practice oriented education system. A careful and well designed merger of the academic system with the basic training on the skills is the necessity of the day to drastically improve the technical skills of the upcoming youth so that they can be of use to the business and commercial entities to remain globally competitive. Because of the colonial legacies the country is still not able to get the advantage of converting its natural resources for the economic development due to the lack of technical skills which is required to make the economy competitive in the global environment. Though some steps have been taken by the government in this direction such steps seem inadequate to attract any foreign investment as the essential prerequisite for attracting the foreign firms is the availability of cheap and trained labour. Though some of the multinationals are taking efforts for the provision of the training to cater to their own needs this will not go a long way to improve the economic conditions of the country by the creation of more employment opportunities. The knowledge and skills of the people have not been kept up to-date with the international standards due to the issues faced by the professional schools to attract best international tents. This is a distinct disadvantage to the country from the point of view of the economic development as the country's basic need is the skilled technicians. This poses a major problem for the qualified engineers for handling sophisticated modern machinery and equipments as all the foreign companies would not be willing to spend time and money on the development of the nationals of a third country where the firms have just opened their shops to earn profits. The technical uplift of the youth of South Africa is not the look out of the Multinational corporations. Fighting against the major health hazards of HIV and AIDS is another important problem being faced by the firms. Day by Day it is becoming increasingly difficult for the companies to increase their budget for training and education of the employees on the HIV/AIDS awareness and most of these training sessions do not yield the desired results. Section 6 Conclusion Implications and Recommendations 6.1 Concluding Remarks: This paper provided a basic idea about the necessity for taking up training programmes for the employees in the business entities in South Africa. While identifying the initiatives of the government in encouraging the training needs and the provision thereof by the companies, the paper also made a study on the opportunities available in the information and communication technology sector for the development of the economy. On the basis of the research undertaken the shortcomings of the education system prevalent in the country which were the main causes for the non-availability of skilled employees was highlighted. The paper made an attempt to present the efforts being taken by some of the multinational companies for the provision of training to the individuals; the adverse effects of diseases like HIV/AIDS on the economic advancement of the companies as well as the country were also a part of the paper. The research faced a limitation in the area of comparable expenditure on training of the employees in South Africa as compared that in the advanced countries. In fact retrospectively I consider that this objective was a difficult one for the research to achieve as the number of fields and the methods of providing to training to the employees cannot be generalized and compared. This is a serious limitation of the study. 6.2 Implications: Lack of trained professionals has a serious implication on the ability of the business entities in accelerating and sustaining the profitability and growth of them over the long term. It places a ceiling on the expansion plans of the different multinational companies that are operating from South Africa. The non-availability of technically trained people also limits the use of advanced technologies and the modern machinery available for import from the industrially advanced countries. On the economy of the country as a whole such lack of training have its own implications. The trade and commerce in the international markets cannot be furthered due to the shortcoming that the country will be left behind in technological advancements and it may not really be possible for the country to compete with the other developing nations who are technically equipped. The society will also feel the adverse effect of the low economic development in the form of increased unemployment and lack of opportunities to get the professional development on an individual basis. The trade opportunities which could be easily seized from the economic globalization would not be available to South Africa which is a distinct disadvantage from the society's point of view. 6.3 Recommendations: With a view to advance the professional skills of the individuals in South Africa and make them fit to enter in to the stream of the employments in Multinational corporations the following suggestions may be helpful: 1. The establishment of a number of Polytechnic Universities with curriculum based on international standards would provide a strong base for the development of a generation of engineers with appropriate technical skills. Of course this needs a commitment from the government to provide for the necessary infrastructure and the funds required to establish these institutes in sufficient number. 2. By legislative framework the government may insist on all the local companies to cater to the training needs of the youth by compulsory vocational training programmers by the companies having turnover or profits above certain limit. However there should be close monitoring of such schemes to ensure that they are conduced just to satisfy the legal requirements. 3. Educative and innovative training modules may be provided by the multinational corporations to students from the school final level by identifying their talents and adopting them so that they become their social capital when they complete their graduation. 4. The government may enhance the existing benefits like tax savings to a greater extent to induce the companies to undertake training programmers voluntarily. Word count: 4805 Bibliography Bryman, A and Bell, E. (2003). Business research methods pp44-45. 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