Human Resource Learning and Development - Term Paper Example

Human Resource Learning and Development Introduction The world of cinematography has taken a new turn with the inception of high quality print available to the viewers either on DVDs or in the Cinema hall. But since DVDs are usually launched quite a while later and it fine print and high quality movie with a good atmosphere is only available to the audience only in the cinema, the stake of making a high quality print movie is higher now. The human resources hired by production agencies for the movies are basically the ones who work in the projection department and who have to deal with the slicing and the making of the films that are ultimately run in the cinema halls. Investigating their processes and knowledge is the basic ordeal and that has been decided to be done on a two fold basis, where first a face to face interview will be taken with two chosen projectionists who directly work in the projection room and deal themselves with the slicing of the films, and the second step would be the silent observation of how they work to get to know about mistakes that they are making which they themselves might not be aware of. (Lucas, 1994) Having an interest in this industry, I along with my group have chosen our topic (how to splice 35mm film) to explain that how the cinema’s employees are trained to do that job with their other responsibilities. From the outset a layman would believe that this is a very easy job however when a person actually involves oneself into it, the job doesn’t look easy anymore since any mistake will affect on the movies show. Therefore I believe this project requires more observation. In this workshop our group tried to see how the employees who are working in this field get their training. In this paper I will mention these employees by their names who work as projectionists. Theories of Training Before discussing the actual details of the training program that the projectionists will go through, the theories of training need to be discussed so that a proper comprehension of the case can be presented. First of all, let me discuss the content theories of training. The content theories stress on the vitality of such training which makes the trainee learn things based on the experience of the previous learners and the context in which they have worked. Obviously the context in which various trainees are trained is entirely different. Therefore, the context of the previous learners will not be taken into consideration. Only their knowledge and the experience that they share by the type of training they went through will be important and it will be applied to the new context of the new trainees. (Blake, 2003) The learner will be facilitated in a way which will help him relate the new knowledge being given by the knowledge that is already in his mind and then to have the process of unchanging by processing the old knowledge to become new knowledge and to be stored as such in the memory. There will even be material that the trainee can use even after the training is over and therefore, this will reinforce the learning habits which were taught in the training session and will stay with the trainee for a long time. (Keeps, 2002) The cognitive system that is studied under the content theories of training emphasizes on three factors which should be taken into consideration when a trainee is being trained. That kind of training which the projectionists’ individual should be equipped with long term memory about a certain subject that is, he should be able to have a perfect understanding in the long term for a particular subject, in our case, it is slicing films and dealing with films in the projection room. The processing skills of each individual, which is the extent to which they can use learning strategies to cope up with what they are being taught and to use the problem solving skills to apply them to specific problems that they face at work. In this case, they must know how to deal with the different kinds of films that they encounter. They should be able to make full and good use of the information that they learn in the training session. (Lucas, 1994) In addition to that, that kind of training I strongly believe is related to observational learning variables. According to Bandura (1977, 1986), observational or “social learning is governed by four component processes, which results in a person translating a modeled event into performance that is matched with the modal. A model can be either an actual person or symbolic, such as a book, television, or film character, a picture, demonstration, or a set of instructions”. In order important thing for people who learned from observation, they must first attend to the components of the behavior that is being modeled. Attention is influenced by a number of factors including the person’s sensory capacities, past reinforcements, the attributes of the modeled activities or the models themselves, and the nature of the interactions between individuals. Secondly, there are the process theories of training which are way more complex than the content theories and therefore, their use needs special training for the supervisor and he/she must be aware of the fact that process theories underlie many human needs and wants which should be thoroughly studied if training has to be successfully done using them. The process theories of training have more potential of actually motivating the individuals to learn what is being taught to them in the training session. The three basic process theories are expectancy theories, equity theories and goal setting theories. All these theories deal with the underlying needs of the human resources to be treated equally to each other, to be able to do a certain job because they expect they have the skills, knowledge and abilities and to be able to see a certain path and destination which will make things clearer for them. (Kirkpatrick, 1998) Documenting the Outcome of the Implementation The workshop that I designed with my group members who worked in the projection room consisted of an over head presentation, with the facilities of a hands-on training experience for the projectionists which would be further supported by a video of how to deal with the films in the projection room. The three factors combined are bound to make a better impact on the projectionists in terms of understanding of the film splicing process, an increase in their knowledge as to how to deal with different situations when it comes to splicing different kinds of films or how to handle different kinds of minor or major mishaps that might result with the film or in the projection room. Ultimately, the aim of all these three various factors in the training session was to that the projectionists learns how to splice 35mm film accurately on frame lines, without assistance in the projection room using standard splicer. (Lucas, 1994) The overhead presentation was very effective in clearing up the theoretical part with the projectionists as it explained to them in detail the dos and don’ts of dealing with delicate and sensitive films in the projection room. This presentation was consisted a detailed description of how to handle film correctly; locate frame lines and make secure joins. In the direct observation, it was being seen that the classmates were making many mistakes in handling the film. These same mistakes were reinforced in the projectionists so that, they can easily get to know where their faults lied in handling the film. The don’ts side of the presentation told them not to that before cutting film they had to check for frame lines; cutting cannot be made haphazardly; when handling film, they should not be touched, rather they should be held by the edges with their finger tips and that joining tape should not be applied to one side of the film. (Kirkpatrick, 1998) The second part of the workshop included the hands on training on how the film should be handled. Here, the projectionists will be helped practically in performing their task and therefore, any loopholes that the presentation might have left in increasing their understanding will be fulfilled by the practical hands on training. The effectiveness of this part of the workshop was very high as it cleared any misconceptions that each projectionist might carry in dealing with the film as they practically did it in front of the trainers, who will be present there to help and assist them in a friendly and non-critical manner. (Keeps, 2002) The third part of the workshop consisted of the video that will show the dealing of the films. It included expert projectionists who work in the projection room with the film and the expertise and delicacy with which they handle the films will be the point which was being tried to send to the trainee projectionists. The projectionists realized totally that the way they were handling the films were not right and the way it was being shown in the video was the appropriate manner to do it. (Kroehnert, 1994) Evaluation of the Effectiveness This workshop design was specifically for the training session of the projectionists who work in the projection room and who have to deal with delicate and sensitive films on a daily basis. But having an effective workshop means that it should be designed in an efficient manner and it should be looked after till its implementation stage so that no loopholes are left open and the workshop reaches its aims. This was done by explaining the training’s method throughout the particular course which involved observation theories such as behavior production. This theory has processes involve translating the observational learning in to performance. Assuming that individual have the physical capabilities to respond appropriately, they compare their actions to the symbols retained from a modeling experience and undergo a rehearsal process whereby they gradually adjust their behavior based on self observation and self–correction until acceptable match with model is achieved. (Gibson, 2004) In addition to that, an effective workshop was designed and prepared to let the students participate with us, and use the equipment which we brought from the company. The feedback from colleagues was excellent which I believe was because they got a chance to see a practical workshop. I also got some comments from the students and lecturer regarding the improvements that should be made and these comments are well respected and I believe these will give me more knowledge that I can use in the future as it comes from people who are in the same field. Suggesting Improvements for the Workshop There can be many more improvements that could be added to the workshop. Here are some comments which we got from the students and lecturer: - The first is that we did not mention the learning style which we had used The second thing we have not applied some theories which related to the style which we have chosen. The third suggestion was no consecution in our presentation. The last suggestion was no references in the topic. In addition to that there was some delegation after the presentation with my classmates which I got some helpful comments such as the subject need more information and which style we used and how long was the training period. In my point of view, another improvement that I want to improve upon as a group is that the group should learn how to work in teams. Working with confidence individually is another thing whereas working in teams gives a better sense of accomplishment when every individual in the team brings his strengths to a single task and eliminates his weakness from it. In short, the workshop has done a lot of good in a great manner and a training style was suitable for this sort of training as my colleagues and lecturer said in their feedback. Also I learned a lot from this workshop and from the notes which I got and I hope that will help me in my workplace when I return back to my country. Conclusion Organizational training is a very important aspect for the development and growth of organizations in general. This is because times are changing so rapidly, new technologies will continue to evolve and the trends will keep on changing. In such a dynamic environment, it is necessary for the organizations to adapt to the environment at present or else they might lose the competitive edge to some other company who is careful about the environment and its changes. When such changes have to be brought, effective change management has to be performed in order for the human resources to be made to feel at ease even after the change is brought. Therefore, old knowledge will have to be unlearned and new knowledge will have to be taught. In such critical situations, organizational training shows its real importance as it helps the employees to acquaint themselves with what is new and equip themselves with the required knowledge. (Kirkpatrick, 1998) In this paper I have gathered information about our workshop in the field of movies particular in Movies Theater (How to splice 35mm film). As a group we have been using that subject to present our knowledge based on this workshop and also the learning style which is important in this course to show there are many styles in learning or training. We integrated that as practical presentation. The theories which were involved in the workshop have been addressed such as observational learning and social cognitive theory. I explained how we documented the workshop outcomes and how we implemented it to reach the aim of this course. There some suggestions on the workshop that will be transferred to new courses to improve my self and to become a good human recourse manger in the future. Works Cited 1. Blake, Daniel. Training That Works: Lessons from California’s Employment Training Panel Program. 2003 2. Pryor, Karen. Don’t Shoot the Dog: the New Art of Teaching and Training. 2002 3. Thorne, Kaye. World Class Training: Providing Training Excellence. 2000 4. Pike, Robert. Creative Training Techniques Handbook. 2002 5. Kroehnert, Gary. 100 Training Games. 1994 6. Kirkpatrick, Donald. Evaluating Training Programs. 1998 7. Lucas, Robert. Training Skills for Supervisors. 1994 8. Keeps, Erica. Telling Aint Training. 2002 9. Functional Content Theory. 3 June 2008 Read More