Business Environment: Impact of Training on Employee Performance - Essay Example

Research Proposal Business Environment: Impact of Training on Employee Performance of Dissertation This is a dissertation proposal consisting of a research that will be conducted on the Bank Muscat regarding the trends in the business environment prevailing in the organization. The subject of the proposal is business environment while the topic of study involves the study of the internal environment and the factors that affect them. The area of primary focus in this research will be the Impact of training on employee performance. This is an extensive research and it will involve a deep analysis of Bank Muscat’s work environment. Brief Overview of the Organization Bank Muscat is a front-runner in using technology to its customer advantage. With a market share of over 35% it is the largest bank in the Sultanate of Oman. With focus in areas of corporate, retail, investment banking and asset management, Bank Muscat has made forays into international markets including India, and Bahrain. Bank of Muscat pays special consideration to the employee welfare and it undertakes a number of training programs in order to build employee skills and to increase competence within its workforce. And this has been the core reason for selecting Bank Muscat as the organization to be researched. Introduction As a part of the study the factors that affect the effectiveness of the internal environment of a business setting a number of options of study were available to be analyzed. Out of the variety of the topics which included Performance Appraisal, Leadership Effectiveness and Team Building, the Impact of training on Employee performance was chosen as the topic of the research. The dissertation proposed basically focuses on the extent to which training the employees pays off in the context of the Job satisfaction, Employee Efficiency, Customer Satisfaction and ultimately Organizational performance. The theme of the dissertation would be analyzed on the basis of a research conducted over the internal environment of Bank Muscat. The findings of the research would then be utilized to test the theories developed in the past and to modify them so as to improve their application to the current business scenarios. Moreover the research would serve the purpose of key decision making to managers and would help in improving the understanding of key Human Resource Management concepts. Dissertation Goal The basic purpose of undertaking the dissertation is to analyze the effect of training on employee’s performance and ultimately on the organization’s success. The outcome of the research will be used deduce the extent of training that is being provided to the employees at Bank Muscat and its degree of effectiveness as perceived by them. The dissertation will also be used to find out the significance of maintaining the internal environment for an organization. Research Purpose Since the dawn of the 21st Century the race for global market leadership has taken an aggressive outlook. Competition is getting fierce and this world is pacing towards the conceived goal of a perfect global village. Under these circumstances organizations are analyzing every nook and corner of their operation and investing millions of dollars on improving their strategies in the pursuit of a competitive advantage. Employees are no longer mere workers but a core human resource which is being greatly invested upon. Trends in employee training have shown an upward shift in the past decade and a huge budget is being spent on it, in the meantime with the advent of increasingly sophisticated technology training is no longer a choice but a need. Following points summarize the objectives of the research To analyze the effectiveness of training methods in an organization that employees extensive training procedures. Contribution of employee training towards achievement of organizational goals To what extent does training fulfil employee’s satisfaction need? To test the validity of previously developed theories in the current business environment Conceptual Context The aftermath of the Second World War and the last 50 years of the twentieth century saw a lot of developments in the way businesses were previously operated. Business begun to be treated as a science rather a simple game of profit and loss. In this regard improvements to business environment, treatment of employees as a resource and the importance of customer satisfaction were at the heart of the modern commerce philosophy. Thus a lot of investigation has already been conducted about the topic of study on hand and in fact a number of popular theories were developed which are utilized and considered valid even today. In the meantime the theories developed in the past are in constant transition and various thinkers of the 21st century have been manipulating them in order to make them acceptable and adaptable for the current business setting. In this regard various journals and periodicals have been published and previous theories revisited for e.g. Employee Benefits Periodical by Centaur Communications Limited and Cambridge Business Review by Mesut Akdere, and Steven W Schmidt. The above stated literature was developed by keeping employee at the centre of the organizational structure in terms of importance and his welfare and development were highlighted as the methods improving his individual performance and the organizational performance as the whole. Each of the theories pressed on the organizations to concentrate on training their employees and to provide benefits and security to their workforce so as to reap the best out of them. Furthermore development of employee has been referred to as improvement the quality of work, building of skills and taking an employee higher up in ranks, at the same time denotes the need for training an employee for the eventual purpose of improving their performance. Employee Benefits Periodical by Centaur Communications Limited The Centaur Communications Limited of UK while studying the benefits of employee development and training have put forward the following theory: Training is increasingly being seen as a valuable benefit that not only helps to recruit and retain staff, but one which helps businesses to be better able to compete with the emerging economies1 The Article highlights the various advantages that training provides to the employees and to the organization as the whole. It stresses on the benefits of training in terms of four key aspects: Retention Recruitment Recognition Motivation The author believes that training helps in giving employee a belief that the employer thinks about him and thus protects him from seeking other jobs and at the same time motivates the employees to give it their best shot. In the meantime traditional benefit of pension schemes and other perks and even salaries have been replaced by the motivation for the young employees to be able to develop themselves. The article highlights the fact that employees feel recognized by their employer and is hence motivated to perform better which ultimately helps the organization to grow. Finally the author advises the European organizations to broaden their training base in order to be able to effectively compete with the growing economies of China and India as he feels that these countries are incorporating these strategies are doing real good. Cambridge Business Review by Mesut Akdere, and Steven W Schmidt Authors of the Cambridge Business Review while analyzing the aspect of training within the organizations highlighted the following theory: The most important goal of any given training effort is to achieve learning at the individual, group/team, and organization2 The authors highlighted the fact that training should provided to the employees in all quarters of organizational structure. They stressed the issue that an employee should be trained when he is recruited, promoted or even when a transition occurs in his/her role. Moreover the article concentrates on the significance of employees’ perception about the training to the success of a training program. In this regard a survey was conducted and it was proved that whenever an employee training program is not perceived beneficial by the employees its success rate is minimal. Finally the authors instruct the manager to design programs that are acceptable to the employee and are considered competitive so as to reap competitive advantage through the training program. Alderfer’s ERG Theory On the hand Clayton Alderfer developed an alternative theory of human needs and identified that fulfilment of these needs would motivate an employee to work and improve his/her performance. The three basic needs acknowledged by Alderfer are needs for Existence (E), Relatedness (R) and Growth (G).3 Alderfer identifies that a failure to acknowledge and fulfil these needs may frustrate an employee and affect his/her performance. The theory emphasizes on recognition of employees through performance appraisal and then an appropriate intrinsic reward or training system that would help an employee feel that he is a part of the organization. Moreover the aspect of training an employee has been highlighted here as well when talking about growth of an employee, for e.g. Albert had been working as a typist for 18 years, the replacement of typewriters with desktops pc’s means he is no longer ft for the job. Albert’s existence and affiliation needs are aroused and if the organization values his services and trains him to operate word processor he will feel recognized and encouraged to work harder. At the same time growth needs of Albert will be fulfilled as well as he would now have a talent he did not possess previously. Herzberg’s two factor theory Fredrick Herzberg another master of initial business environment spots another theory based on two factors which he advocates, direct the motivation of an employee. He identifies these factors as Hygiene Factors: Factors that do not motivate an employee but prevent dissatisfaction these are the basic rights of an employee on job for e.g. salary and job Motivating Factors: these factors are required to motivate an employee, these factors result from internal generators in employees. For e.g. achievement, training, growth, promotion.4 Even Herzberg’s model suggests that training serves as a motivating factor for an employee to work hard and perform better as he/she sees greater prospects ahead, conformity with the system and being valued by the organization. Methodology The focus of this section is to determine how the data would be collected, gathered and analyzed. The research involves extensive effort and a series of options were available to choose from to serve the purpose of data collection for use for inference. The research methodology utilised will be a combination of primary and secondary research. The aim of the investigation is to achieve the point of view with respect to the topic from all the responsible personnel these include the employees, the lower management and higher management. A study, of the historical trends of organizational performance and training facility to employees, will also be conducted to statistically support the data. Reference to the established material including Journals, Almanacs, Articles and Books will also be made to assist in analysis and final deduction Secondary Research The initial phases of the research will involve searching through the established material to get an insight of the literature to be well prepared to formulate questions and to be prepared for starting up with the research. A fair amount of Secondary research through the Journals and books has already been conducted in order to design this draft. This is the part of the library research the remaining research will be conducted throughout the period of research. A SWOT analysis will be undertaken of the records of Bank Muscat’s financial performance in the past 10 years. At the same time records will be obtained from the bank authorities of the employees who have been send for training in that particular and their respective performance. The IT department of the bank has been contacted and permission has been attained to have access to company database which would assist us to have access to the valid data available directly from the source. Alternatively, the analysis could have been borrowed from internet websites and published material instead of directly conducting it, but it would not serve the purpose of the originality which is to be based on originality and ground reality. Moreover the effort behind the formulation of this dissertation is to design a draft which is unique in its nature and can serve a number of populations in one stint. It should be useful for the bank management, Business environment experts and at the same time students pursuing careers in Organizational Behaviour. For the maximum appropriateness and to eliminate the biasness associated to the judgment of data, the initial data gathering shall be through publications published electronically as well as in forms of magazines, and web links. The findings from this literature shall be merged with the data collected from other sources primarily to eliminate biasness of opinion and to add credibility to the findings. Primary Research Primary research would provide us with the main content of the dissertation as the purpose of the research is to highlight ground reality and to make deductions with the help of the obtained through it. A number of options were available in conducting the primary research Questionnaires Observation Focus Group Telephone Service Mail Services Sample Survey; and Personal Interview With all the above options available filling of questionnaires, Telephone service and personal interviews were chosen as appropriate methods of data collection. The rationale behind not going for the alternatives was first and foremost the case of time wastage for e.g. in the case mail order service, trying to get data through this procedure would consume a lot of time, something which is unaffordable as a part of the dissertation with limitations with respect to time. Secondly option such as observation is inappropriate in the present case as it refers to the matter of opinion and it is extremely difficult to deduce opinion through a person’s body language. Moreover focus groups of employees would be extremely difficult to conduct keeping in view the busy schedule of the bank, the permission has not been granted. Thus the available options are personal interview for higher level employees, Questionnaires to be filled by the randomly selected sample of lower level employees. These questionnaires will be completely open ended as it involves gathering point of view of the people. Moreover once the draft of questions will be ready it will be tested on a pilot sample of students of Masters Level to check the appropriateness of the questions once through this stage any corrections if required would be made. This will be followed up with the random sampling of employees who will be asked to fill the form, the result obtained would be quantified, arranged and analysed. Personal interview will also be based on the set of open ended questions designed with the managerial standard in view. Three managers will be subjected to an interview of half an hour each. Plan for Work It has been already been realized that to conduct a survey and then to make up a dissertation in such a short span of time will pose a lot of difficulties if not properly planned. In this regard a draft has already been set up that highlights the manner in which the entire the survey would be carried out. Time would be a critical factor and it is quite possible that the entire scope of the dissertation may not be covered. Date Task 1st September Synopsis Submission Secondary Research: 2nd – 4th September 1. Standard Texts 5th – 8th September 2. Academic Journals 9th – 12th September 3. Published Articles 13th – 15th September 4. Published Journals 16th – 20th September 5. Magazines 21st – 24th September 6. Internet Resources 25th September – 5th October 2007 7. Online Databases 6th – 10th October 2007 8. CD ROM Databases 11th – 18th October 2007 Write up findings 19th – 30th October 2007 Research methods of data collection 31st October – 5th November 2007 Published Data Review 6th – 15th November 2007 SWOT Analysis 16th – 19th November 2007 Review of all the secondary Collected data to design the Questionnaire 20th– 22nd November 2007 Complete questions tested on pilot sample 23rd-25th November 2007 Corrections to the Questionnaire 26th – 30th November 2007 Questionnaire certified by the lecturer 1st December 2007 Selection Of sample 2nd – 16th December 2007 Filling of questionnaire 17th -20th December 2007 Analysis of questionnaire 21st December 2007 – 5th January 2008 Interviews with the Management results collected and analyzed 6th – 25th January 2008 Complete collection of data and analysis 26th Jan – 15th February 2008 Drafting of Information 16th February 2008 Submission of Dissertation Resources Required The compilation and completion of this dissertation is an extensive task that will require the utilization of a number of resources. The primary resources would include the use of Laptop, a Cellular Phone, PC, Access to the Internet and a letter of Authorization from the University. Arrangements for the above items have been and a personal Laptop and pc will be utilized throughout the research for the storing of data and information. The Program Office has been contacted for the issuance of a letter of authorization to be submitted to the Bank of Muscat for ease in research and to authorize the work. An application has also been submitted to the CEO of Bank Muscat and interview dates are being finalized with him. Apart from the above stated resources a number of skills will also be required in formulating the dissertation that is due after view months. These skills comprise of analytical, calculation and statistical skills, evaluative thinking, reviewing and critical analysis of different literature, managing discussion and time management skills. I possess the skills of analysis, evaluative thinking and different literature analysis, but I feel I will need training in statistical and discussion management skills. For this purpose ill be attending a few lectures of Introductory Statistics and will conduct a discussion with the lecturer of Mass Communication to gain an insight of these skills. Bibliography Web pages 1. Herzberg, F. 12manage: Two Factor Theory Retrieved on 29th June 2007 from: www.12message.com 2. Communication, Centaur (May 12 2007). Employee Benefits. London Periodical , Retrieved 9th July 2007, from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1231416911&sid=12&Fmt=3&clientId=25727&RQT=309&VName 3. Akdere, M. & Schmidt, S (Summer 2007) Cambridge Business Review. Vol. 8, Iss. 1; pg. 172, 6 pgs Retrieved 9th July 2007 from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1292526441&sid=20&Fmt=4&clientId=25727&RQT=309&VName= Books 4. Kreitner & Kinicki (2004) Organizational Behavior 6th Edition Journals 5. Becker, T & Billings R.(Apr., 1996) Foci and Bases of Employee Commitment: Implications for Job Performance The Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 39, No. 2, pp. 464-482 6. Delaney, J. & Huselid, M. (Aug., 1996) The Impact of Human Resource Management Practices on Perceptions of Organizational Performance The Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 39, No. 4, pp. 949-969 7. Kessler L. &Lülfesmann, C. (2006) The Theory of Human Capital Revisited: on the Interaction of General and Specific Investments* The Economic Journal 116 (514), 903–923 Articles 8. Linlin, J. & Toropainen, M. (2006), In Search of Linkages – Examining the Relationships between Employee Attitudes, Customer Satisfaction and Business Performance, Göteborg, Graduate Business School 9. Dearden, L & VanReenen, J(August 2006) Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Volume 68, Number 4, pp. 397-421(25) Blackwell Publishing Read More