Training and development - Essay Example

Training and development Introduction According to Coulter (2009 p.120), training and development is a field in businesspractice that involves the various aspect of instilling knowledge, skills, and techniques to individuals, staff, and employees. It aims at improving the performance of individuals and groups in the business organization set up. It is a vital activity because of technological change and advancement in the market demand change; therefore, employees have to change to meet the current trends of effective production.

Methods and approaches for effective training Ideally training and development can be categorize into two broad division; general and specific skills development. According to Goldstein (2006 p.340), General skill development encompasses general computer skills application and programming, customer relation, personal growth and managerial skills. Specific skill development includes change management, facilitation and presentation skills, customer education, team building, leadership, product knowledge, creativity, and the cultural diversity aspect especially the French language, tradition, and custom.

There are two mostly practiced approaches towards training and developing an individual in a business entity namely; Traditional and Modern approach. It is very important that the management should train employees on these approaches. Even though most organizations use techno-based, it is worth training on all aspects including traditional approaches, since it assist where possible especially culturally as described by John (2005 p.75). Traditional methods of training encompass mentoring and coaching- this involves experts and employees working together, the expert provides knowledge, support and encouragement; manuals and lectures.

Modern methods include e learning, podcast, and teleconferencing. Acquisition of these methodological skills is very important since it creates confidence in employees. As a summary, the following methods can be taken be used to effectively developed objective based outcomes: Coaching- it is the process whereby a leader and specifically manager of group leader takes the initiative of providing guidance, opinion and suggestion, control and as well as critics. Coaching would be very much successful if the leader or coach is of competent and intellectual character as enumerated by Landale (1999 p.120). Understudy assignment-this whereby the manager delegate the roles and duties to the minor individual in the organization, the minor would in turn exercise the leadership.

It is an aspect of providing an individual to exercise the ability to work in order to gain a practical experience. Job rotation- this method revolves around various individuals working on the same assignment but at different time of the specification. Ford & Kozlowski (1997) explains that, this helps to expand and broaden individual skills and capacity in the work environment. It is done through the development of programmed schedule, and a situation whereby the prior skills are no longer in need.

Prerequisite for effective training and development Reason for training and development practice-Management is required to foster the positive trend of the company. It is important to ensure that the reason for training is well- understood by the providers and the recipient. Undertaking training without proper analysis of the need will result to waste of resources. Employees should figure out the link between training and the job in itself. Relevance and objectivity of training and development Training and development should be connected to the area of employee line of duty or specialization.

Goals and objectives should be SMART-Specific, Measurable, Achievable, and Realistic and of Timeframe. An employee would consider the undertaking of training, and or development session as a waste of time. Motivation and appreciation of employees- Craig (1994) argues that, it is very important to reward employees upon successfully undertaking the training and development session. This can be done through awarding them with the certificates (certificate of merit, certificate of recognition and certificate of attendance).

Conclusion Training and development of individuals should not only be taken for profit-oriented purposes but also for personal development. Training and development providers should take into consideration the nature of complexities of a human being and more specifically the organization behavior. Generally, training is not a static activity; it keeps changing with time and environment. References Coulter, R 2009, Management, Pearson education: Upper saddle River, New Jersey. Craig, E1994, The Training and Development Sourcebook, Human Resource Development Publisher: Amberst, Massachusetts.

Ford K, J., & Kozlowski, W 1997, Improving training effectiveness in work organizations, Routledge Publishers: Leeds, UK. Goldstein, L 2006, Training in organizations: needs assessment, development, and evaluation, Brooks/Cole Pub. Co.: Indiana University. John P, W 2005, Human Resource Development, Kogan Page Publishers: Oxford, UK. Landale, A 1999, Handbook of Training and Development, Gower Publishers Ltd: Aldershot, England.