Managing, Evaluating and Developing Human Resources - Essay Example

Managing, Evaluating and Developing Human Resources al Affiliation Organisations, companies and industries all face competition in the market for their products. To compete favourably, each of them has to ensure that the employees are well equipped with knowledge and skills. The most challenging part is offering training to adapt to the dynamic world. However, with evolution of technology, training has become easier. This research tackles the issue of technological training of employees, advances in technology and their impact on training and subsequent performance of employees. Although there are various challenges encountered, technology has taken a stride and made training simpler. It has ensured that employees, no matter their level of experience, gain the necessary skills and get better opportunities for training. For improved employee performance, all employees should be computer literate and proper courses should be designed to enable them encounter technology as it evolves. Keywords: Organisations, Employees, Skills, Knowledge, Training, Employee Performance, Learning, Competition Introduction Training and development is a strategy aimed at developing and improving the skills of an employee. According to Pride, Hughes and Kapoor, “employee training is the process of teaching operations and technical employees how to do their present jobs more effectively and efficiently” (2011, p. 264). Companies which want to stand still in competition opt to provide constant training to their employees on any technical occurrence. Employee training has been eased with the introduction of internet based training, because it saves cost and time. Williams says that “during the late 1990s, the learning support organisation at Telcordia technologies... began to actively pursue online delivery of performance support materials for the software applications that they supported” (2004, p. 8). This shows that technological training has been a long time training strategy, but has been growing steadily and also evolving with the changes in technology. When analysing what to offer in training, employers have to consider what is needed for the training. What appears to be most essential in training is motivation. Training also varies depending on what the management considers most crucial. Some employees have to be trained on technological skills, but since training may be expensive, its advisable that the company classify what is most essential. Employee Training Most companies and organisations in developed countries spend much finance annually to train their employees. According to Heathcote (2004), the reasons are as follows: Training is important for employees so that they can be equipped with skills, attitude and knowledge required to do their job well. They are taught on how to interact with the customers and managers use this opportunity to motivate them. New employees often need to be oriented about the company so that they can blend well with other employees and they become effective easily. Older employees need training because of the constant changing technology. Products and jobs also change; therefore the existing employees need to be dynamic. The main reason for training is to improve in sales, have improved customer service, be reliable and offer better and quality products or services. Technology came due to man’s advanced learning and knowledge acquisition. The developed knowledge increased the technical skills on how to do things in a cheaper and convenient manner. Use of technology determines the survival rate of organisations and institutions (Dauda, n.d.). Human resource managers are therefore challenged by the fold of events and technology, as they are required to initiate, maintain and monitor the rate of change in technology for the sake of their employees. Changes in the technological industry have greatly affected most organisations and industries, as it is through technology that organizations can compete with one another. To counter this rapid technological change, organisations need to employ skilled and knowledgeable workers who can be able to adapt to the change. The level of technology of an organization determines the quality of its production and service delivery, which in turn determines profits, people’s performance, well-being and wealth. According to Rosenberg, “faced with the on-going challenges of constant change and an insatiable need for knowledge, organisations have embraced technology-enabled learning as a way to keep up with competition.” (2005, p. 11). In most cases, the targeted group are those who have either been employed or promoted. Many trainers have a hard task determining the type of technology to use during the training process. Technological Innovation There is a great relationship between human resource management, globalisation, technology, industrial competition and change; this is the interface that needs to be considered. In order for an organisation to manage globalisation, it has to adapt with employee relation strategies since globalization is the fruit of technological change. According to Dauda, “the objective is to use employee relation strategies to strengthen human resources innovative capability in order to manage technological, change and organisational competitiveness” (n.d., p. 3). Nowadays, information technology has dominated the world; machines have become very complicated and have transformed most industries by integrating the organisation and technology. The need to achieve better means of producing large amounts of goods and services for the people have forced scientists and engineers to be more creative each day (Dauda, n.d.). Since the inception of technology, human resources and organisational performance have improved. Many organisations provide some kind of training or orientation to their new employees; this has been a practice for most of the companies who are subjected to a highly competitive industrial setup. They take weeks and months to train the employees on their culture and practice. Knowledge Management Many companies have raised the significance of learning and its related activities; they see them as potential sources of sustaining competition, while gaining advantage over the competitors. According to Jackson, Schuler and Werner, “knowledge management is about making sure that knowledge from employees, teams and units in an organisation is captured, remembered, stored and shared with others” (2008, p. 273). Through the knowledge management scheme, people are able to share knowledge by means of electronics; the knowledge can be transmitted as a soft data. Employees are able to learn how to use software to store knowledge and are then made to easily search through keying in the key words that resemble the day to day language. One of the conditions of knowledge management technology is that for it to facilitate learning, the employees should be willing to share knowledge together with their experiences, such that the shared ideas and knowledge would be good for all. Agencies need to consider integrating design training and development programs with other training strategies, so as to face the emerging demands. In some instances, performance can be enhanced through wide interventions. Technology Based Learning This is a learning method that constitutes training using electronic technology such as the internet, satellite broadcasts, audio and video files and many other technological methods. It also enables one to access online and web based learning, all these being confined to learning through a computer. Technology based learning has been almost overtaken by E-learning, but it holds substantive transformation of the way learning is conducted. The advantage of technology based learning is its accessibility; learning can take place anytime, anywhere. Koller, Harvey and Magnotta further say that “it is readily scalable to both large and small groups since it can accommodate large numbers of learners” (n.d., p. iii). Technology based training offers wide applications that have well been witnessed in government, industries and organizations. As an example by Koller, Harvey and Magnotta (n.d.), in the year 1997 in the US, the department of defence introduced advanced distributed learning (ADL); it was a comprehensive plan to integrate technology with other departmental trainings. Technological Training Systems Instructional system design Training can be carefully planned and offered in a manner that the workers will know how to do their work. Instructional system design is in such a way that the traditional way of relying on the experienced employee to offer training to the new recruit is avoided. It ensures that effective training is done by beginning with the analysis stage. The learners are incorporated and the working conditions in which the work shall be carried out is considered. According to Rothwell et al., “instructional system design means approaching training in a systematic way with a view toward improving worker performance” (2010, p. 4). The most crucial stage for the success of training is the analysis stage; its results are expected to take the form of an analysis document, such that it can communicate the results. It helps identify the kind of technology to be used and also does the work of controlling the scope. Analysis has a step referred to as the “clarifying the purpose and training goals” whose main function is to describe the purpose, training goals and how the learners will be receiving the training programme (Rothwell et al., 2010, p. 12). There is also a purpose statement that always supersedes the training goals. The needs of the trainee should be clarified; this can be achieved through analysis. Each learner has his own preference in terms of learning style, available time, attitude and corporate culture (Rothwell et al., 2010) therefore it is essential to determine what the learners will do on the work afterwards. When handling a technological training during the analysis process, a worthy attention is required. Electronic performance support system This is a new technological system that has been developed to provide performance support training to workers on real time training. According to Rothwell et al., “an employee performance support system provides just-in-time knowledge and training to complete job tasks at hand. Some support systems may also incorporate case-based learning in their structure” (2010, p. 30). Needless to say, this system has sufficient instruction to offer to the trainees within convenient time for use. The learner can access the internet so as to view the available case studies of their fellow workers, and apply them either during the present or future time. The introduction of computers and the internet has transformed instruction from being restricted with time and place to a timeless and anywhere instruction. In support of the electronic performance support system, Platt had this to say: “an electronic performance support system (EPSS) must contain all of the knowledge learners will need and be available 24 hours a day” (2008, p. 5). The suggestion tends to support the fact that an electronic system is in some way like a teacher, as it provides the same assistance. This is one of the perfect methods of providing instructions to employees in an organisation because EPSS itself can be able to provide an interactive training. An expert can also be involved for further directives; otherwise through this method, the employees can achieve effective training. Watkins and Leigh advice that the electronic performance support system be provided to the novices so that it can assist them with a quick access, and their learning too shall be enhanced (2009). Computer based training Organizations are continually dependent on new technology as a daily business tool. Although in many ways the workers have tried to exploit the use of technology, in many cases “new functionality goes unexploited in terms of productivity payoff” (Clark, 2011, p. 7). Many industries have invested on knowledge based workforce to provide knowledge service and safety. Computer based training provides such knowledge to employees as it provides an aligned operation alignment to business strategy, as well as improves the work environment. Training has an important role to play in any business entity for the purpose of yielding success. Organisations need skilled, knowledgeable employees and at the same time, it’s very important to have a skill building program. Rosenberg suggests that “the future of learning technology is full of promise” (2005, p. 12). Since the introduction of e-learning, there has been an increasingly competitive information rich marketplace with the introduction of new technologies providing greater abilities to do things in the right way. It is argued that “a poor economy (global, national or industry specific) is not a time to cut back; rather, it is an opportunity to retool, relearn, and start fresh” (Rosenberg, 2005, p. 17). E-learning is arguably more efficient and can be easily accessed. Various researches have it that there has been an upward growth in development due to increased corporate training, revitalised business skills, and increased training in information technology. As such, information technology has increased creativity, delivery and tool management. For a very long period of time and since history, many organizations have embraced training and development so as to boost their businesses. Technological training ensures that employees are well equipped with enough skills and necessary knowledge that ensures that they tackle their jobs faster and better. Again, in recent moments, many roles and duties have become more complicated and challenging and this calls for specialized knowledge. “Some organizations are adopting more sophisticated and nuanced approach to training and development. They’re looking to harness information technology and adopt a more agile and flexible framework for skill building and knowledge sharing” (“Using the Latest Technology,” 2013). Training the Disabled In many organisations where disabled persons are present, they often struggle while working due their physical limitations; performance is their priority, but the challenges are many. However, the new technology has ensured that such people face justified level of competition as the rest of the employees. There are specialised new training technologies for the physically challenged. Western Europe for example has put in place effective mechanisms needed to train the blind (Hunt and Merkowitz, 1992). Countries in Western Europe have introduced valuable training programmes that have served both the private and the public sectors. The result was that the different models of providing that training appeared to have met the required training. Employers do all they can to ensure that their employees, regardless of their physical state, are well prepared to provide the necessary level of proficiency. In some countries like France, there has been provision of adaptive technology, as well as the Versa Braille and computers which are aimed at helping improve the performance of the blind (Hunt and Merkowitz, 1992). In Copenhagen, the Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired has a department that provides new technological training and a provision of technical assistance, as well as training programmes for the non-students. The training majors on the specific programmes needed in an employment environment. Training the Illiterate Employees are of different categories and classes. Some are knowledgeable, while others are illiterate, but all have to meet the organisational target. The challenge to the illiterate employees has been the introduction and evolvement of new technology. Though a kind of setback to them, once embraced by all, the technology is bound to raise the success of the organisation. Technological training provides an intelligent basis for redefining illiteracy while making an opportunity to thousands of present and potential employees, whose contribution to organisational growth would have otherwise not been achieved. According to Schneier, “a new form of instructional design enables employers to train these so-called functional illiterates to handle new technology” (1994, p. 333). Current studies ensure that basic skills are integrated with technological skills for speed and efficiency of students once they get employment. New technology has contributed to the rise in the level of productivity that has been achieved in recent years, though it has often been introduced without proper training. Jackson, Schuler and Werner tell of an event where health workers had an upgraded data processing system (2008). They needed to raise their skills so as to make use of the new system; they again had to attend some numerous training sessions whereby they were given the technological training as well as the benefits that would be achieved with the new system. Indeed, the improved technology and its consequent training led to customer satisfaction. Technological training ensures that employees are trained to understand their customers; they develop a customer oriented culture. Instructional Delivery for Technology Assisted Training Training can be executed through instruction based technologies whereby presentations are made depending on the type of tools to be used for training. Having noted down what the learner is required to have, the right delivery method is then applied. Rothwell et al. (2010) have an example which explains that for the case where a video clip is to be played, then the delivery method is taken to be a TV, the web, or broadcasts made through satellite. How Technological Training Enhances Performance Trainers or trainees may be scattered at various points around the globe. In such a case, it is not possible to offer training in a centralised place. However, through technology based training, effective training can be achieved. Distance learning can achieve the one time different place type of learning. The distant training uses videos, satellite broadcasts and teleconferencing. In a business work place, the most appropriate method is through internet applications such as enabling one person to view the other’s work demonstration and presentation. When the trainees are in one place but available at different times, the most appropriate method is the use of a library where equipment is available for a specific material. Advantages Streamlined and effective learning delivery Through the course developers, it can be learnt that learning content can be streamlined, therefore reducing the overall training time for the employees. Cognitive psychology has it that technology based learning has an advantage of ensuring that learning is retained. The active involvement during the learning process enhances the rate at which knowledge is achieved and content delivered to others (Koller, Harvey and Magnotta, n.d.) Accessibility Accessibility of technology based learning is a major benefit to training programmes, since employees don’t need to wait for a specific time to access training. According to Koller, Harvey and Magnotta, “the flexibility holds particular promise for working adults and parents whose life schedules are not compatible with the time of the day a particular course is offered” (n.d., p. 8). Due to this feature of accessibility and flexibility, less time is wasted and the trainers can get training while maintaining their daily duties. At the end of the day, performance is achieved. Dimension of technological change There is a possibility of relating the upcoming capabilities so as to automate technological changes in the sector of employment. Some specific group of employees need automated technology though they depend on how the programming of the technology has been done. Implementation can be done depending on the following factors as suggested by the United States Congress and Office of Technology Assessment (1983): The rate at which the technology changes. The nature of the change. The technological order with which the technology has been automated. These factors are crucial in determining the effects of the new technology and the impact it has on employees. The rate at which technology changes depends on two factors; these are the rate at which technology is formed and the way users adapt to the use of the technology. Firms resolve to adopt the use of technology to meet their individual needs. There is evidence about the way technology has spread; this has prompted engineers to improve on their skills. An analysis of an economic impact of programmable automation has quite proved that it has had an influence in the economy. Depending on the organisation, employees encounter different types of technology. In the case of industrial technology, the United States Congress and Office of Technology Assessment have it that “process technologies are technologies of production while product technologies pertain to the attributes of a finished product” (1983, p. 6). Reference List Clark, R. C. (2011). Developing Technical Training: A Structured Approach for Developing Classroom and Computer-Based Instructional Materials. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Dauda, Y. A. (n.d.). Technological Innovation and Organisational Performance: Employee Relations Strategies. Retrieved from http://www.ilo.org/public/english/iira/documents/congresses/regional/lagos2011/1stparallel/session1b/technologyinnovation.pdf. Heathcote, P.M. (2004). A2 ICT. Ipswich: Payne Gallway. Hunt, H. A. and Berkowitz, M. (1992). New Technologies and the Employment of Disabled Persons, Part 63. Geneva: International Labour Organization. Jackson, S., Schuler, R. and Werner, S. (2008). Managing Human Resources. Hampshire: Cengage Learning. Koller, V., Harvey, S, and Magnotta, M. (n.d). Technology-Based Learning Strategies. Retrieved from http://www.doleta.gov/reports/papers/tbl_paper_final.pdf. Pride, W., Hughes, R. and Kapoor, J. (2011). Business. Hampshire: Cengage Learning. Platt, J. L. (2008). The Efficacy of an Electronic Performance Support System as a Training Tool for Online Faculty. Michigan: ProQuest. Rosenberg, Marc J. (2005). Beyond e-Learning: Approaches and Technologies to Enhance Organisational Knowledge, Learning and Performance. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Rothwell, W. J. et al. (2010). The Handbook of Training Technologies: An Introduction Guide to Facilitating Learning with Technology from Planning through Evaluation. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Schneier, C. E. (1994). The Training and Development Sourcebook. Massachusetts: Human Resource Development Press, Inc. United States Congress and Office of Technology Assessment. (1983). Automation and the Workplace: Selected Labour, Education, and Training Issues. Washington DC: United States Printing office. Using the Latest Technology to Bolster Employee Training. (2013). Retrieved from http://one.aon.com/using-latest-technology-bolster-employee-training. Watkins, R. and Leigh, D. (2009). Handbook of Improving Performance in the Workplace, The Handbook of Selecting and Implementing Performance Interventions. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Williams, J. R. (2004). Developing Performance Support for Computer Systems: A Strategy for Maximizing Usability and Learnability. Florida: CRC Press. 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