Professional and Technical Communication Report - Essay Example

Training and mentoring] Report Executive Summary: The problem at present is with the recurring complaints that are emanating from the senior members of the staff regarding the adaptability of the new graduates in the overall scheme of things. They do not seem to be very happy or effective in the work. In the following report one will recommend the application of training and mentoring programme to deal with the problem. I think these will be effective given their propensity to show quick results, come up with solutions in a quick manner, integrate employees, while promoting a stronger sense of the professional self. Introduction: The following report will come up with a training and management programme aimed at the dealing with employees of a business process outsourcing (BPO) unit based in Queensland, Australia. The current strength of the outfit stands at 2,000 people and about 0 new graduates are added every year to the organization. The name of the company at hand is Global BFSI Solutions, headed by the CEO, Mr. John Samuel Jacob. Some don’t understand what is required of them, and some have resigned after less than a year and gone to work elsewhere. The following report will look at this analysis keeping the problems of the trainees in mind and come up with the development of a training based solution package to the problem. Strategy: Integration, Strategic HRM Ideally, a strategic approach to the management of human resources would mean an integration of HR strategies and goals with the overall goals and results that the company hopes to achieve in the future (Schuller and Jackson, 2007). This would in turn help employees identify their purpose in the organization, help in the better understanding of individual roles and purposes that contribute to the overall health of the organization. The basic precepts of strategic human resource management have a natural affinity with the ‘resource based view’ of the competitive advantage in the strategy field (Barney, 1991). The idea is that sustained competitive advantage can arise from a firm’s resource base. This also means that decision making cannot be done in isolation but needs to be in line with the overall working culture of an organization. The system of feedback needs to be perfect.  There is, even now no tangible effort to ensure employee participation in the overall decision making process (Wright and McMahan, 1992). This is in fact a basic need for a strategic policy to the management of human resources. There should be an effort to: 1. Link Human Resource activities with competency based performance measures 2. Create a link between the human resource related activities within the organization and how this transpires to profit It is in the context of this aim of greater integration that one needs to outline the importance of the concepts of training and mentoring as they need to be implemented within the organization. Mentoring MENTORING contributes significantly to building a more confident, competent, and creative. Mentoring education is a broader, more inclusive, and strategic term than training. One of the basic pillars of the process of mentoring would be communication, which is one of the most debated upon and argued skills with respect to the functions in the modern corporate world. The best mentoring programs provide specific training for the ones being mentored. In the context of the organization the focus would be the creation of teams of 5 with one mentor and 4 mentored trainees. For the programme, the idea would be aimed at ensuring that each student starts understanding the nuances of the manner in which the organization functions, to focus also on the details of the competency creation. Training is an essential element of the success or the failure of modern organization, in terms of the fact that modern organizations often have to compete with each other on the basis of their capabilities. (Bohlander and Snell, 2009) state that the core sets of knowledge and expertise that give them an edge over their competitors, training is crucial in this respect because of the fact that it plays a central role in nurturing and strengthening the competencies of a firm and in this way has become part of the backbone of strategic management. Lawson (1997) defines training as a structured process that is conducted at the employee’s work area to provide the employee with the knowledge and skills to perform tasks. Benefits: Mentoring: The programme would aid the facilitation of a bond between the organization and the new comers, help in the development of a sense of responsibility fulfillment. Having one person that is your mentor also helps by way of the fact that in case of doubts the new comer knows who to consult, there are clear lines of authority and obedience along with a factoring in of the overall performance management of the ones that are new. Training: There is definitely an effort that has been made to ensure that employees feel like they are on board with projects; the steps being initiated even now are basically dictatorial. As is evident from the material that has been provided, the employees are basically now being informed about policy decisions that are being taken at the ownership and management levels.  The trainer needs to know the skills that are needed for a particular activity. Training therefore is a process that aids people in becoming qualified and proficient individuals that helps in the long term and short term fulfillment of personal targets. Budget: Week 1: Week 2: Week 3: Week 4: Training $2000 $1500 $1000 $500 Mentoring $3000 Conclusions: In Conclusion one could stated that both the processes of training and mentoring which are aimed in essence at the development of skill in the new recruit on one level and the promotion of greater integration of the individual within the organization in terms of culture and work ethics would be the few basic aims that the particular program would look at accomplishing. The idea would be aimed at ensuring that the new recruits are able to adjust better while ensuring a level of greater skill development within the recruits. Justifications Purposes: The first requirement with the induction of new trainees in the environment of a new workplace would be the integration of these trainees in the overall fabric of the organization. There have been numerous instances where deals have fallen through and teams have splintered because of the inadequacies that characterized the communication abilities of a manager, or the person that in common modern parlance is referred to as the corporate leader. In order to be the most effective, a successful manager has to be a good communicator who can condition and lead their team in the right direction, giving and taking up slack when needed. They recognize that the communication process itself is influential and that the more active they become in it, the more they could influence the manner in which the recipient responds. It is the development of these skills in the context of the larger requirement of the organization that the training and mentoring programmes would be aimed at. According to Alred and Garvey (2010, p128) the process of mentoring itself is a learning relationship between two people. It requires a range of human qualities such as trust, commitment and emotional engagement. It also involves a range of skills including listening, questioning, and challenges. One has to only look around at the large contemporary corporate honchos to recognize the fact that it is strategic man management and not screaming bosses that attain large a scale success. It must also be understood that much of the modern corporate communication takes place in the context of the human-technology interaction wherein e-mails and online chats play a big role in redefining communication within an organization (Lee and Pantelli, 2010). Despite this according to the opinions by Prasad and Akhilesh, 2002, p103), face-to-face (FTF)communication is a common form of interaction wherein those involved attend in person to complete joint tasks, and it is perceived as the best communication medium. Audience Mentors find support within a network of peers at their mentoring course as they work with new recruits. Their training also includes an overview of the portfolio assessment process and strategies to assist recruits in the demonstration of skills that create their place in the overall domain of the organization. For the purpose of the programmes to be effective, it is essential that the audience recognizes the fact these would offer the sales-force a valuable tool for training and socializing sales representatives. Message Of the better analysis of the manner in which the message aimed at training should be drafted gas been explained by Stephenson (2009), who states that in the light of the volatility of the global business market, it is essential that business leaders start the process of continuously trying to attain the correct equilibrium and a sense of right between the many choices available in terms of the near-term efficiency and sustainable effectiveness. This in a more simplified manner would mean that the need of the hour is for one to make a choice between short-term quick fixes and the longer, more difficult process of trying to choose the correct from the incorrect.  This was in fact reinforced by Lorange (2009) who stated that most commercial ventures function in the recurring manner and function so as to in essence reflect the absence of balance between supply and demand as one of the basic work forces in any given business at any given point in time. The two most important decisions that the manager makes in times of cyclical change the ‘in/out’ decision and the ‘long/short’. There should be an effort made on part of the organization to make decisions regarding organization and performances within the organization keeping mind global, national and local environments and related factors (Das and Waqar, 2007). A basic review of an idea human resource management system in a given organization would mean three basic things: 1. Use of in service training methods and tools with a healthy system of promotion that ensures employee job satisfaction and growth within the working environment. 2. The recruitment process needs to be carefully devised and should be based on merit and suitability to the post 3. Management and motivation of employees by using the basic principles of strategic human resource management. In this context the first significant role of the manager in the human resource context would be to allow for correct recruitment.     Benefits: Halim and Ali (2008) state that an alteration or deficit in any of the given phases of the process would have its ramifications to the whole training operation leaving it incomplete and inefficient. It would therefore be required that the given trainer, has a proper understanding about all phases and steps of the training process. In the larger sense of the term, there are essentially three phases of a training process: planning, implementation, and evaluation. The planning process is made up of the ideas of identification and curriculum development. Peterson (1998) records that the curriculum specifies what will be taught and how it will be taught. It provides the framework and foundation of training. It determines the lessons to be taught and the content of the process. Implementation would mean the selection of the program, the instructor and the methods of instruction itself. A number of training methods are available but not all of these applicable in any given situation. The selection of the correct method and the correct time frame forms the crux of the implementation phase. Finally, the last point of the training process is that of training evaluation/ assessment. This is done so that the effectiveness of the training process could be determined and a fair evaluation can be made with respect to whether or not the goals and aims of the training process have been met.  In addition to this, there are rapidly changing technological advancements that companies would have to deal with on a day-to-day basis, which would require employees to continuously hone their knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) through the process of continuous learning.   It has been found that in the absence of structured training programmes, employees consulted their coworkers and procedure to learn what they needed to do. Without a planned approach, instructions and procedures are not standardized, and trainees often pick up bad practices from the seniors. This haphazard approach often results in a greater number of errors, lower productivity and increased employee frustration.  Training and Development are key interventions that are made in order to address skill issues and add value to the human capital. There is thus a need for flexible and creative employees whose knowledge and skill levels can be increased and developed through training. Training is a big part of strategizing the HR process as would help in not just better employees but it would help in loyal employees with a clear vision of their jobs and the roles that are expected out of them. Objections: The problem that the programme would face in the long run would be related, primarily to the issue dealing with the fact that the creation of a structured mentoring program requires a solid understanding of mentoring dynamics. There are myriad examples of mentoring programs that failed because organizations mistakenly believed they fully understood mentoring. Rather than create a successful program, they negatively impacted the careers of both the ones that are providing the training and the ones that are getting trained. Typically, such programs have put people together without clear guidelines, offered no training about mentoring relationships, lacked internal support, paired employees with the bosses of the employees’ immediate supervisors, and violated other fundamentals of mentoring. Conclusion: While the process of training will be a continuous one, that of mentoring would require specific time and resource allocation for it to reach the correct pinnacle of success. The idea is that while training as a process will have to continue over the course of the trainee’s interaction with the organization that of mentoring requires that the mentor sets some time aside to interact with the ones that they are mentoring. All mentors and mentees must set aside one hour a week to meet in person at a coffee shop or some other location for coffee and to discuss problems and solutions. There must also be a system so that mentees were able to email their mentors with problems or questions they might have. References: Halim, A., and Ali, M., M., (2008). Training and professional development. Retrieved February 8, 2011,   Peterson, R., (1998). Training needs assessment: meeting the training needs for quality performance. Kogan page. p78 Lee, J. Y., and Pantelli, N., (2010). ‘Business strategic conflict in computer-mediated communication’. European Journal ofCommunication Management. Vol.19. pp196-208 Prasad, K., and Akhilesh, K., (2002). ‘Global virtual teams: what impacts their design and performance’. Team Performance Management.  8(5/6). pp102–112 Gee, M. V., and Nystrom. P. C., (1999). ‘Strategic fit between skills training and levels of quality management: an empirical study of American manufacturing plants’. Journal of Human Resource Planning. 22(13). p32. Snell, S. A., and Dean. J. W., (1992). ‘Integrated Manufacturing and human resource management: A human capital perspective’.Academy of Management Journal. Vol.37. pp1109-1140. Lawson, K., (1997). Improving on-the-job training and coaching. ASTD Publications. p3  Charvatova, D., and Veer, C., G., (2006). Communication and Human Resource Management and its Compliance with Culture. International Journal of Social Science. 1(1).  pp14-18  Das, H. and Wagar, T., (2007). Canadian Human Resource Management: A Strategic Approach (8th Ed.). McGraw-Hill Ryerson: Toronto, pp31-48  Read More