Organizational Behaviour Employee Training - Assignment Example

Organizational Behavior- Phase Individual Project 2 If we want to survive in this world of globalization then we will have to be well equipped to face the challenges thrown by cross cultural diversity and turn them into opportunities of growth. For this it is extremely important to train the current and future employees. The following topic areas would be covered in the training: 1) A lecture on the need to learn – Employees who have started their careers recently would take this training in their stride but those who are highly experienced might feel offended by the training. They would think that the management is putting them in the same platform as the younger and less experienced employees. To remove this kind of feelings from the minds of the senior employees it would be a good idea to begin the training session with a lecture on the need and benefits of lifelong learning. Dembkowski, Eldridge and Hunter rightly pointed out that “Executives are required to learn throughout their lives to keep abreast of changing situations and to acquire new knowledge.” (2007, p.16) Hence just designing a good training program is not sufficient. In order to make it a success one should ensure total cooperation from those it is meant for. 2) Introduction to the topic of the training – After the workforce is convinced with the need for the training and are mentally prepared to devote their total attention to it, the topic of cross cultural diversity can be introduced to them. They would be made aware of the extent of cross-cultural diversity in our organization and consequences if this highly important factor were ignored. They would be introduced to the opportunities that the organization can avail if this diversity is allowed to flourish with a positive mindset. 3) Importance of the right way of communication – Communication is the most important skill of excelling in one’s job. Since the workforce and customers of SWC belong to a wide range of culture and location, there is a great need of effective communication within the organization. Rees pointed out, “It is easy for members of distance teams to fall into the habit of little or no communication other than reports required by management…This leaves the team vulnerable to miscommunication, poor quality of work, missed deadlines, lack of cohesiveness, inefficiencies and disaffected team members.” (2001, p. 108) This module would deal in training the employees how to communicate with a diverse workforce, what to communicate, how often to communicate and what modes of communication to use in different situations. Since there are a variety of communication choices today, the workforce might get confused about their correct use. For example telephonic conversation seems very simple to people but if it is not used appropriately then it can leave a very negative impact. Since in the telephonic conversation there is no eye contact or facial expression there would be an extended lecture on the ways in which one should speak over phone. In-depth training would be imparted to specially those employees who deal with different members or customers of the organization regularly for e.g. the H R people, front office personnel and customer care personnel. Similarly e-mails, videoconferencing etc.have their own techniques, which would be covered at length in the training program. There would also be a lecture on simultaneous multi electronic communication and how to excel in face-to-face communication. Learning the techniques of face-to-face communication is important in an environment of cross-cultural diversity. In face-to-face communication spoken words form a small part of the total conversation while facial expression and body language form the rest of the conversation. Since body language differs from one culture to another it would be beneficial to train the staff to interpret the body language of the cultures to which the customers and employees of SWC belong. This would remove the awkwardness of communication in the multicultural setting. 4) Building listening skills – Listening is not as easy it appears to be. In a diverse workforce this becomes more of a problem. Training to be a good listener of not only contents but also intent would help in inculcating listening sophistication of the staff. This module would introduce tips of effective listening and emphasize on the skills of listening during telephonic conversation especially when one is speaking to a colleague or customer who is culturally apart. To brush up the listening skills audio CDs would be used in order to take the employees to the crux of the real scenario. 5) Introduction of not only formal but informal contact opportunities - To increase the level of comradeship amongst the employees, a culture of regular informal catch up system should be introduced. If there is only formal conversation then the members cannot have a feeling of togetherness especially when there is physical distance. According to Rees, “ Distance teams can keep in touch with a periodic, round robin letter in which each team member puts forth information, issues, ideas and questions. This should not be a formal “report,” but an informal correspondence.” (2001, p. 116) In the training session the staff can be trained about this aspect of communication. Informal doesn’t mean conversations irrelevant to work. In this module the staff would be trained how to go about with this new style of correspondence and how to indulge in informal correspondence yet avoid gossip or unnecessary transmission of personal information which is a wastage of time and energy and detrimental for the normal working of the organization. In fact semi formal is a more appropriate word for this type of correspondence. Since there are several departments of the organization, during the training program the trainer should sit separately with different groups and determine “the best methods to connect with one another and determine which avenues of communication are most apt to initiate teamwork, build trust, and facilitate team’s work” (Rees, 2001, p. 119) 6) The lesson of facilitation – In order to encourage the employees of a diverse workforce to work closely it is very important to train them to develop their facilitation skills. This module is meant mainly for the employees who are heading a group of staff. However, the staff in general too would be given a brief lecture about it. A more detailed version would be designed for the team leaders. It is very important to value the diversity of abilities and ideas. The training in facilitation skills would induce openness to others and their viewpoints. Just because some section of colleagues is different from us we cannot ignore their point of views and skills. A facilitative skill and behavior is generally inherent in one’s personality but still, through the training program an effort can be made to enhance it in people who lack it. This module would prove helpful in training them how to aim for consensus in an environment of diversity. In this training module the employees would be encouraged to speak up their reservations about people who are different from them and the trainer should remove all the misconceptions and myths from their minds. 7) Imparting knowledge about the organizational culture – In a cross-cultural organization the environment and culture is different from general organizations. To function effectively it is important for the workforce to be abreast of the motto, organizational values, operating principles, organization’s environment, history, direction etc. of the organization and also its take on dealing with the cross cultural colleagues and customers. A lecture on this would be especially helpful to those employees who are working in a multicultural setting for the first time. 8) The lesson to value the customers – To excel, an organization should have a thorough understanding of its consumer behavior. A company that is doing global business knowing about the consumers and their consumption pattern, expectation levels etc. is all the more essential as there is no place of assumptions in such settings. Since the consumers are coming from a variety of cultures one cannot expect them to speak or act in the similar manner. Therefore a module on this topic would help in not only understanding the different kinds of consumers but also provide inputs in how to react and respond to customers of different origins. This module would be especially helpful to those who have to directly deal with the customers. All the above-mentioned topic areas of the training are important because they would provide the key to deal with people of cross-cultural origins. Whether it is the colleagues or the customers if we are not able to interact with them properly then it would be difficult to work as a team and build a strong market for our organization. There are different ways in which training would be provided to current employees, new employees and as refresher training. The topic areas would also differ from the training meant for the current employees and new employees. For example the module on organizational culture would be covered in detail for the training meant for the new employees while it may not be used as the training material for the current employees as by now they are well abreast of the culture of SWC. Not only this there would be difference in the training for different levels of employees based on the nature of their jobs. The following methods would be used for the training of the new employees: 1) Vestibule training – For this a special working area would have to be designed within the training hall. This special working area is known as vestibule. A skilled person or the trainer would then teach the new employees how to communicate with a customer or colleague belonging to a different culture. According to Rue and Byars, “ The primary advantage of this method is that the trainer can stress theory and use of proper techniques rather than output…” (1992, p. 333) This method is very helpful for employees in front office jobs or the employees in the marketing section who have to deal with the customers on a regular basis. 2) Classroom training - This kind of training means making the employees aware of theories, principals, concepts and actual work scenario. It is mostly used for training those employees who have been recruited in the managerial or technical positions. The entire topic areas discussed above can be covered in this method of training. However the topic for each employee would be decided on the level of his expertise and the position he is holding. 3) Equipment based training – In this kind of training the employees would me made to hear certain audio material and allowed to make out what is being said. They would not only make out the contents of the voiceover but also provide the appropriate reactions or next step of action. Based on their answers the trainer would tell them whether their response and understanding of the audio contents is appropriate or not. This type of training would be meant partially for all levels of employees but in more detail for the employees who deal directly with the customers. Since SWC is dealing with people from different nationalities. There would be separate programs for employees dealing with customers of different nations. For the training of current employees the use of the terms like management development program, employee development program, skills enhancement program etc. would be more appropriate. At this stage the idea of development or enhancement of their skills should challenge the current employees to participate wholeheartedly. For them the following methods can be used: 1) Understudy assignments – The employees who are being promoted to a higher level or who are being considered to be relocated to another country would be the likely candidates for this kind of program. This program is to enhance the capabilities for a higher position or for working in a foreign country. 2) Coaching – This means that the more experienced employees would develop the skills of his subordinates. This method of training can be used to train the new employees also. This method is however used to help solve the problems that are being faced in the current job. So if the employee has just joined the organization he cannot be trained by this method. According to Rue and Byars, “The idea behind coaching should be to allow the trainees to develop their own approaches to management with the counsel of a more experienced person.” (1992, p. 338) 3) Class room training – This means giving lectures on all the major topic areas of training discussed above. 4) Case studies – This can be an extension of class room lectures To make these more interesting, video clippings related to cross-cultural issues can be shown and then each employee can be asked to present his own viewpoint or solution. The trainer can then analyze each viewpoint and present the best advisable action. Apart from this there can also be techniques like role-playing in which the employees would enact a problem situation, which they face. The trainer can then guide them in the best way to deal with the problem. Videotaping this might be more helpful. 4) In basket techniques – In this the trainer would have to prepare a mail and telephone call for each level or position of employee and present before them realistically. For example he might make them take a call from an angry customer or an uncooperative colleague working in a distant location. Then the employees would be asked to handle the problem situation keeping in mind the cultural differences. The manner in which they handle the situation would then be evaluated to teach them the correct way of dealing. For refresher training the best method is to use programmed or computer assisted programs. The employee would be given a reading material on their computer screens and would be asked to answer questions based on that. If they fail to get a specific number of correct answers they would be made to study the material once again. If they do well then they would be promoted to a more advanced level. This would be a very effective way of brushing up the already imparted knowledge. Time required per class would differ from one method of training to another. The aptitude of the employees is also a great deciding factor as to how much time a particular lecture or module would take. The best option would be reserve a couple of days for the training program. The trainer would be compelled to finish the entire training within that period to ensure that his training has been a success. This way there will be no pressure on the time allotted for each lecture or session. The criteria should be to cover everything. Good books on issues of cross-cultural diversity, case studies of multinational companies that deal with similar situations as that of SWC, video and audio taped material meant for imparting training in the area of cross cultural diversity and a list of internet sites dealing with this subject would be good reference material for the proposed training program. Word count: 2496 References Dembkowski, S., Eldridge, F., Hunter, I. (2007). The seven steps of Effective Executive Coaching. London: Thorogood Publishers Limited. Rees, F. (2001). How to Lead Work Teams. USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Rue, L.W., Byars, L.L. (6 Ed.). (1992). Management Skills And Application. USA: IRWIN. Read More