The Factors for Effective Human Resource Development - Research Paper Example

?Running head: training and development A research study on Training and Development Table of Contents Introduction …………………………………………………….. 3 2. Literature review………………………………………………… 3 2. a. Case study 1: Angry trainee……………………………… 4 2. b. Case study 2: Talkative trainee…………………………... 4 3. Implications……………………………………………………… 5 4. Conclusions……………………………………………………… 7 1. Introduction: Training and development have become the quintessential factors for effective human resource development in contemporary organizations, and therefore are the value-adding factors for organizational growth and sustenance. Instead of the conventional theoretical approach to learning, training is adopted to impart learning in organizations, which Lall and Sharma define as “a systematic procedure or technique by which a skill is developed in a person/employee of an organization,” (2009, p.444). The main components of any training include trainer, trainee, training methods, and time and resources. Trainer refers to the individual that imparts learning through various activities and with the use of his/her knowledge, understanding, experience of the topic to be learned and about the individuals that are interested in learning a specific topic; these individuals that seek learning through involvement, action and commitment are referred to as the trainees. The trainees’ characteristics, skills, and motivations help the trainer in determining the training method to be used to deliver the training. Trainer will have to adopt specific approaches to handle different types of trainees and to address any behavioural issues that can affect the training execution and effectiveness. Based on teachings from literature and case studies, an analysis will be performed to understand the implications of trainee personalities on their own learning and on the other trainees as well as the impact of these personalities on the training effectiveness. Finally, conclusions will be drawn based on key findings and analysis. 2. Literature review: Effectiveness of any training can be seen only when the trainees are able to apply the knowledge, skills and attitudes acquired through the training course to work areas or real-time situations (Nijman et al., 2006). This requires optimum commitment from both trainees and trainers; however, studies identify a number of reasons for training ineffectiveness one of which includes disruptive trainee behavior, such as anger and talkativeness as seen in following case studies. 2.a. Case study 1: Angry Trainee Hara (2010b) explains about a case where controversial subjects are taught to about 20-25 students in order to make them understand about the possible existence of different perspectives to a subject. One such subject related to the position of women in the U.S culture, which thwarted a student, Tina, resulting in a furious reaction refusing to read such topics as it challenged her belief about the status of women in the U.S culture. If such a thing was to happen in a training course related to organizational development, the trainees and the organizations will be affected. When the trainees express their anger during a training session, it will certainly affect the motivation and morale of the rest of the trainees. In this case, misunderstanding and misinterpretation will increase between the trainees coming from different cultural backgrounds. 2.b. Case study 2: Talkative Trainee Hara (2010a) describes the case of talkative Nancy and how this behavior disrupts the concentration and morale of other members in the session. Quoting an example of a student in a classroom, the author refers to Nancy as the ‘know it all-Nancy,’ who always tries to give all the information that she has related to the subject being discussed and goes beyond the subject topic to give information. Hara (2010a) explains that Nancy puts in great efforts to gather information related to the subject beforehand, and her information is usually precise as well as insightful; however, such behavior can be intimidating to other students in the class. In my view, such individuals tend to constantly focus on recollecting the information instead of paying attention to the teachings; this self-absorptive behavior will certainly cause the talkative trainee to learn and absorb less from the training. Moreover, these talkative trainees tend to focus on gaining attention of the rest of the class through their constant interruptions, which can be frustrating for other trainees thereby reducing their learning potential too. 3. Implications: Grzyb explains that traditional theoretical learning is no longer effective as this form of learning does not guarantee behavior change, does not focus on the individual’s abilities, and does not engage the individual in intended learning (Flores, 2012). Modern learning focuses on the trainee characteristics and literature identifies various types of trainee personalities. The angry trainee is the one that does not wish to be a part of the training for some reason that may not be obvious and can disrupt the training session with their aggressive and arrogant behavior, and/or no participation and cooperation. Whereas, the talkative trainee is the one that wants to answer all questions, and/or tends to talk to the trainer on every point he/she can relate to, thereby deviating from the topic and disrupting the training session. Both these types of trainees can affect the training outcomes as seen in two cases identified from literature. Flores (2012) underpins the point that process of training itself involves much interaction between the trainer and the trainees as well as among the trainees, and that all participants’ behaviors, attitudes, skills and knowledge have a profound impact on the overall training effectiveness, both negatively and positively. It becomes the trainer’s responsibility to manage these personalities in a manner that enhances teamwork, trust, commitment, and empathy from both trainers and trainees in order to achieve intended training outcomes (Lather & Sharma, 2008). The extent of interaction from each participant depends upon the participant’s personality, which also impacts training effectiveness. Studies indicate that a trainee’s pre-training motivation and learning outcomes have an impact on training transfer and work outcomes (Nijman et al, 2006). The trainees’ expectations from the training also have an impact on the trainees’ perceptions of the training session after completion. Through their empirical study, Dhamodaran, Daniel and Ambuli (2010) found that training can be effective only when it meets the requirements of the trainees. The reasons that cause anger are usually related to aspects that challenge the trainees’ status quo, and can be related to their beliefs, skills and abilities. Such trainees may not be disruptive but they are not participative either (Blanchard & Thacker, 2009). Hence, the trainer should be able to identify such trainees much early in order to make the training effective and also address the angry trainees’ issues. Adopting from Blanchard and Thacker (2009), without ignoring the reason for anger, the trainer can ask other trainees for their opinion about the subject. If majority have the same opinion, then the trainer can discuss and facilitate in arriving at a common conclusion, which may not be the right choice for the intended training if the common conclusion deviates from the intended training/learning. Findings from other studies made Schaub-de Jong (2012) point out that making trainees see multiple perspectives facilitates reflective learning, which will also make them gain an insight into their own attitudes related to their profession. Blanchard and Thacker (2009) also suggest another method to handle the angry trainee by acknowledging the reason for their anger through separate talks outside the training session in order to understand and also in order not make them feel ignored. During this discussion, the trainer will have to make the angry trainee understand the need for his/her cooperation to provide better learning for the trainee and others. Both these methods will make the trainee feel included and the attention given to his/her feelings will have a positive impact on the trainee’s motivation to learn and participate. And, by identifying and addressing the anger in one trainee, the trainer would be helping the rest of the trainees to maintain their morale and motivation to learn thereby achieving a positive training climate and training effectiveness. The best way to handle a talkative trainee is to ask other trainees’ opinions or responses proactively by asking direct questions to other trainees. Secondly, the trainer can use gate-keeping approach and allocate specific time for each trainee that wants to express their ideas/opinions (Rae, 2008). By tracking the time and by raising the hand, the trainees can be made to know that their time is up and that others need to be given the chance to express. If this also does not work, then the trainer can speak to the talkative trainee separately acknowledging his/her comments and to allow others to participate in order for others also to learn from the training, thereby reorienting the trainee towards desired learning; this reorientation reinforces the trainees’ motivation towards training as it reminds him/her of the objective (Panchapakesan & Prabhakar, 2012). By doing so, the talkative trainee’s need for attention can be addressed while politely taking the focus away towards other trainees. This will help the trainer to maintain all trainees’ attention and also entice others to provide their valuable inputs. Through direct questioning, the talkative trainee can be calmed down and also can be made to listen to multiple perspectives from other trainees, which will also facilitate in better reflective learning. 4. Conclusions: Finally, this study on trainee personalities arrives at the conclusion that it is important for the trainer to identify various personalities and to manage the training session by handling these trainees with specific approaches in order to mitigate the impact of their behavior on the training and its intended effectiveness. The angry trainees with their resentment can influence other trainees’ thoughts and commitment towards the training, and/or can affect the other trainees’ morale, which will in turn reduce their attention thereby affecting the training effectiveness. The talkative trainees with their attention-seeking behavior can seem to dominate the training session without any disruptive intentions; however, such behavior will, most likely, swerve the attention and waste time thereby reducing training effectiveness if not handled appropriately. Training effectiveness will have a direct impact on training transfer and work outcomes, which makes it important for the trainer to assess the trainee’s pre-training motivation, based on their behavior, for achieving effective learning outcomes. Difficult trainee personalities, such as anger and talkativeness, can have domineering impact on the rest of the trainees, which will in turn negatively impact the entire training experience. Hence, it becomes the trainer’s responsibility to handle such trainees with sensitivity and subtlety in order to maintain the difficult trainees’ and other trainees’ morale and to restore their motivation towards intended learning. References Blanchard, P.N. and Thacker, J.W. (2009). Effective Training: Systems, Strategies and Practices. (3rd ed. pp: 296-330). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Dhamodaran, V, Daniel, J.C and Ambuli, T.V. (2010). An Empirical Study on Assessing Trainees’ Expectations and Their Perceptions. International Business Research, 3(2),174-179. Flores, P. (2012). Why Traditional Training Methods no Longer Work? HR Review. www.hrreview.co.uk. Retrieved December 11, 2012 from, http://www.hrreview.co.uk/analysis/analysis-training-development/why-traditional-training-methods-no-longer-work/35707 Hara, B. (2010b, February). Disruptive Student Behavior: The Case of Talkative Nancy. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved December 11, 2013 from http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/disruptive-student-behavior-the-case-of-talkative-nancy/22948 Hara, B (2010a, July). Disruptive Student Behaviour: The Thwarters. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved December 11, 2013 from http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/disruptive-student-behavior-meet-the-thwarters/25708 Jolles, R.L. (2011). How to Run Seminars and Workshops: Presentation Skills for Consultants, Trainers, & Teachers. (3rd ed, pp: 55-190). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Lather, A.S and Sharma, H. (2008). Impact of Training Climate on Effectiveness of Training Programmes. Delhi Business Review, 9 (2), 61-65. Retrieved December 12, 2013 http://www.delhibusinessreview.org/V_9n2/v9n2g.pdf Lall, M and Sharma, S. (2009). Personal Growth and Training and Development. (pp: 443- 475). New Delhi, India: Excel Books. Nijman, D-J, J.M, Nijhof, W.J, Wognum, A.A.M, Veldkamp, B.P. (2006). Exploring differential effects of supervisor support on transfer of training. Journal of European Industrial Training, 30 (7), 529 – 54. Panchapakesan, S and Prabhakar, K. (2012). Effectiveness of Training Transfer and Factors Influencing the Training Transfer: An Analysis. Indian Journal of Applied Research, 2 (2), 109-112 Rae, A. (2008). Organizational Behaviour: An Introduction to Your Life in Organizations. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Schaub-de Jong, M. (2012). Facilitating Reflective Learning. Dissertation for the University of Groningen, The Netherlands. ISBN: 9789460700415. Read More