The Impact of Professional Training among Workers in Lebanon - Research Paper Example

Outline Introduction Research paper and rationale 2. Structure of report Summary of purpose, rationale, and related literature 1. Purpose/rationale of the study 2. Clarity of research question 3. Conceptual foundations Research methodology and design 1. Methodology Research context Data collection methods Data analysis methods Sample size Ethical issues 2. Adaptability to research Main findings and implications 1. Main findings 2. Implications 3. Limitations Conclusion 1. Key points 2. Suitability of research Research review Dirani, Khalil. “Professional training as a strategy for staff development: a study in training transfer in the Lebanese context.” European Journal of Training and Development 36.3 (2012): 158-178. Print. Introduction This research paper evaluates the impact of professional training among workers in Lebanon. It is essential to highlight that professional training, in this context, is the Western mode of standard staff training. There are notable reasons for choosing this paper. To begin with, the paper evaluates the effectiveness of contemporary comprehensive staff training in the Eastern context. This infuses the element of cross-cultural issues in modern staff management (Philips 83). In addition, it highlights that staff training currently considers innumerable issues. Besides, the research considers both the quantitative and the qualitative aspects. This suggests that such investigation considers the multi-faceted nature of company issues such as staff training (Kimmel 123). Structure of the report The report will evaluate the methodologies of the research material. This regards factors such as the research design, methods of data collection, and the conceptual framework. In addition, the report tackles the content and findings of the research. This is essential in evaluating the effectiveness of the given research design in achieving objective results. The study aimed at exploring Summary of purpose, rational, and related literature The purpose/rationale of the study The study recognizes that there is limited investigation on the effectiveness of training job’s relevance on employee performance and highlights of the limited research that uncover the perceptions of employees about the overall effectiveness of such programs (Dirani 159). In essence, the research investigates the impact of Western professional training on employees’ skill development and investigates how cultural influences affect training effectiveness of Lebanese workers. The clarity of its research question It is essential to highlight that on evaluating the effectiveness of professional training program on the skills of workers, the research relied on employees’ perceptions on the same. This explains why all the four research questions center on employees’ perceptions. The questions are specific and measurable. For instance, the second question asks about the trainees’ perceptions about the impact of training activities on their self-development. In certain instances, the questions are not measurable but necessary (Carlin and Louis 102). For instance, the third question asks about trainees’ perceptions on work factors that might preempt training transfer. In this sense, the questions tackle four spheres of research that are necessary for its completion. Conceptual foundations The research occurs on the realization that modern management thinking presupposes human resource training as having significant positive effects upon the running of an organization. A considerable number of literature purports that employee training has considerable impacts upon employees thereby translating upon positive organizational results. It is essential to highlight that research engages a causal analysis onto the relationship between staff behavior and highlighted training. The research is concerned with the extent of transfer of training that occurs on employees’ reception of new skills and knowledge. This is because inadequate transfer of training renders training programs ineffective (Brown 52). Research methodology and design Methodology Research site/context The research utilized a Lebanese context in investigating the causal relationship between a given training program and relative impacts on employees. In the actual sense, the research utilized a large financial institution’s HR department by evaluating the impact of a human resource program on employees’ performance. This context was appropriate for evaluate the validity of transfer processes and discerning the interaction of certain training programs with the cultural influences of host countries. By highlighting Hofstede’s thoughts, the research paper argues that training programs developed in particular countries entail the cultural characteristics of related cultures. The Lebanese workers, in this sense, exist in the Eastern context while the training program emanate from American and European perspectives on employee behavior (Aamodt 67). Methods of data collection It is essential to highlight that the research mainly used questionnaires in investigating employees’ perspectives about given training programs they receive. This was beneficial for notable reasons. To begin with, a questionnaire befits a research that investigates opinions as a basis for defining a relationship between two or more variables. The concept of subjectivity recognizes that individuals are different. In this sense, two or more individuals are highly likely not to have the same perspective about the same subject (Gurung and Prieto 213). It pays to use a large sample of people in order to point out converging opinions about a given matter. Questionnaires also promote objectivity as individuals report, in the most personal sense, about their opinions on sensitive issues in given organizations (Weerahandi 31). This is unlike interviews whereby employees may feel the impulse to accord favorable perspectives about the activities of one’s organization. In addition, questionnaires would occur in large numbers because of the relative low costs in administering the same upon a sample of population (Carlin and Louis 143). In this sense, if certain questionnaires were not returned to the panel, the researchers would still access handful questionnaires to make comprehensive data analysis. The reviewer notes that the number of interviews was fewer than the number of questionnaires. Although this might have been due to the higher costs of conducting interviews, there should have been a higher number of interviews to corroborate the results from the questionnaires. Methods of data analysis The reviewer noted that the preparation towards data analysis started at the data collection stage. To begin with, the researchers utilized a Likert-scale questionnaire that would aid in assigning numbers to given degrees of satisfaction. By assigning degrees to satisfaction, the researchers would easily utilize descriptive statistics towards summarizing and analyzing the data. In addition, the researchers tested the instruments they used in collecting and analyzing data. In this sense, the researchers would attain the confidence values and the reliability measurements of the instruments. For instance, the DLOQ seven dimensions tested above 80 percent for reliability measurements. Besides, the researchers would calculate the variance, which signifies the deviation that may compromise on the validity of data. It is essential to highlight that they recognized subjectivity as both a hindrance and necessity in evaluating training programs. Descriptive statistics are a common way of analyzing and presenting data. This is because they are easier to calculate and present (Good 113). In addition, descriptive statistics are easier to understand and corroborate. In popular researches, descriptive statistics constitute measures of variance and measures of central tendency. Measures of central tendency comprise the mean, median, and the mode. On the other hand, measures of dispersion include standard deviation and variance. The research mainly utilized the mean and the variance. In the end, it failed to include equally essential measurements such as kurtosis and skewness. Skewness, would for instance, give an instant impression of how the data leans. The reviewer notes that the regression analysis would have best suited the data. This is because the data sought out causal relationships between various forms of variables. The problem would have existed in the fact that training is a discrete datum. In this sense, either training exists or it does not exist. In advanced analysis, multivariate and binary analysis assigns dummy variables for ANOVA regression. In this perspective, it still becomes possible to view the relationship between discrete variables such as satisfaction and training. It is commendable that the researchers did not engage in aggregate analysis of data. This means they recognized the multiple relationships that the research questions imposed. It was essential to examine the details that the results entailed. For instance, in terms of relevance of training, the researchers found out that the mean was 4.12. The mean signifies the degree of satisfaction. In this case, the least figure satisfaction was 1 while the highest degree of satisfaction was connoted by 5. The mean, 4.12, tended towards the highest value. The researchers calculated a standard deviation of 0.72. This figure was essential in connoting how different levels of satisfaction dispersed from the mean. Besides, the researchers calculated how training programs correlated with professional development. In this calculation, the mean was 4.10 while the standard deviation was 0.73. It revealed that data analysis was a subtle regression analysis that measured how training programs influenced different measurements of training transfer. In other cases, the research utilized the Pearson coefficient in measuring the strength of relationship between two given variables. This tool of measurement neither accords a causal relationship nor highlights the dependent and the independent variables. In essence, it seeks out the relationship between two modest variables. For instance, the researchers assigned a Pearson coefficient between culture and organizational commitment. Both of these variables are complex elements that should not necessarily possess a causal relationship. In another sense, the researchers meant that there must always be culture in an organization. Similarly, there must be always a degree of commitment to the organization. This is unlike that training that can be introduced and withdrawn. In a practical life, measuring culture is empirically difficult. Sample size The study utilized a sizeable sample in the questionnaires while it utilized a smaller sample in the interview. It is crucial to highlight that the study did not engage methodical sampling methods such as random sampling and stratified sampling. Instead, it identified a group of employees that had been in a given training program in their organization. Such a sampling method befitted the study since it specifically identified the ideal group for investigation (Lee and Wang 34). It is crucial to note that the population comprised service employees of the financial institution. In the end, the researchers chose 120 participants who would answer questionnaires and respond to interviews. The sample size was effective in case a section of the employees did not return their questionnaires. In addition, the large sample size would be beneficial in achieving objectivity since a small sample size may accord related answers about the same questions (Roff 190). In such a study, diversity is essential in identifying accurate aggregate results. Ethical issues The researcher noted that subjectivity wads inevitable in the study. This is because the research relied on employees’ perceptions as measures of the real impact that given training programs had on employees. In addition, the research would not reveal the identities of participants (Lo 48). Revelation of identities, for instance, would jeopardize the relationship between the employees and their supervisors. This leverage would encourage openness and objectivity from the participants (Ramsey and Schafer 79). Adaptation There are significant things that the reviewer would adapt from this research. To begin with, the reviewer would employ a mixed-methods design in articulating a comprehensive research. In the organizational setting, the use of quantitative aspects is crucial towards understanding the empirical scenarios of different elements. On the other hand, qualitative analysis helps towards theorizing and organizing information in a conceptual form. The use of interviews and questionnaires would be adaptable for future research that concerns analyzing perceptions about issues. Main findings and implications The researchers summarized the findings in four segments. In the individual factors’ segment, the researcher found out that such factors are either enablers or barriers to transfer of training. Factors such as locus of control and cognitive abilities affect the likelihood of transferring skills and knowledge. In terms of educational factors, the research found out that this could not be a simple process. Instead, it should occur through modification, integration, and questioning that fit Western practices within given unique cultural contexts. In terms of institutional factors, the research recognized that an organization should establish a culture that makes learning a seamless process. Lastly, the research found out that environmental factors such as an organization’s incentives and politics of organization can either encourage or impede the transfer of learning. This implies that professional training actually impacts positively on the employees and the organization. However, this is not a seamless process. This is because contemporary professional training entails Western elements that require integration with unique cultural contexts such as Lebanon (Richard, Emener, and Hutchison 39). In addition, organizations need to set up proper political climates and cultures for facilitating transfer of training. The study, however, recognizes the subjectivity that the research entailed. Assessing an impact of a training program entails collecting the individual perceptions and opinions of employees about the same. In essence, individuals may perceive issues according to unique factors that affect them (Kusluvan 9). Conclusion The study highlights that current organizational literature praise professional training as granting both significant self and organizational benefits. The study used a mixed methods design in investigating this general perception. It utilized a sample of 120 participants, from employees undergoing training in a Lebanese financial institution, in order to investigate their various perspectives about the training program. In the end, the study employed descriptive statistics in analyzing and summarizing the data into comprehensible form (Longnecker 46). It emerged that different factors, such as involvement of multiple cultures in a training program, affect the transfer of training. Transfer of training, in this context, refers to the likelihood of an employee under training to transmit one’s skills and knowledge to other employees (Sims 206). This design is highly suitable for the reviewer’s research. To begin with, it uses a mixed methods design in investigating an issue. The quantitative and qualitative aspects serve in analyzing the relevance of modern professional training on employees. The use of questionnaires and interviews is the ideal method of investigating opinions and perspectives. Works cited Aamodt, Michael G. Industrial/organizational psychology: an applied approach. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning, 2013. Print. Brown, Ronald. East Asian labor and employment law: international and comparative context. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2012. Print. Carlin, Bradley, and Thomas Louis. 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