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Training & Development notes

Bachelors of Business Administration (Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University)

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UNIT III
TRAINING AND EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT

Types of training methods purpose benefits resistance. Executive development programmes –

Common practices - Benefits – Self development – Knowledge management.

Training is basically a systematic procedure for transferring technical know-how to the

employees so as to increase their knowledge and skills for doing particular jobs.
According to “Edwin B. Flippo:
“Training is the act of increasing knowledge and skill of an employee for doing a particular job.”

3.1 Purpose of Training:

 Improving employee performance-
 Updating employee skills
 Avoiding managerial obsolescence
 Retaining and motivating employees
 Creating an efficient and effective organization
 It helps organization to absorb changes taking place in the environment and reduce
resistance to change.
 Training increases the productivity and level of performance of employees.
 It aims to improve the quality of task.
 To train employees in a particular culture of the company.

3.1.1 TYPES OF TRAINING:

 On the job training: It refers to new or inexperienced employees learning through
observing peers or managers performing the job and trying to imitate their behavior.
 Off the job training :
 Trainee is separated from the job environment
 Take place at training agency or local college, training centres
 Study materials
 Fully concentrate on learning rather than performing
 Freedom of expression
Methods of on the Job Training
1. COACHING:
 It is one to one interaction
 Considered as corrective measure for inadequate performance.
 Helps in identifying weaknesses and focuses on areas which needs
improvement.
2. MENTORING:
 Mentoring focus on attitude development.

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 Conducted for management-level employees

 Mentoring is done by someone inside the company
 It is one-to-one interaction
 It helps in identifying weaknesses and focus on the area that needs
improvement
3. JOB ROTATION:
 It is an approach to management development where an individual is
moved through a schedule of designed to give him or her a breadth of
exposure to the entire operation.
 Job rotation is also practiced to allow qualified employees to gain more
insights into the processes of a company, and to reduce boredom and
increase job satisfaction & skill enhancement through job variation.
4. JOB INSTRUCTION TECHNIQUE
Advantages of “On-the –job” Methods:
 Generally more cost effective
 Less disruptive to the business - i.e. employees are not away from work
 Training with equipment they are familiar with and people they know can help them
 Gain direct experience to a standard approved by the employer
 On the job training is also productive, as the employee is still working as they are
learning
Types of Off the Job methods:
1. Vestibule Training:
 Actual work conditions are simulated
 Materials, files and equipments are used
 Duration ranges from few days to a few weeks
 Theory can be related to practice here

2. Management Games:
 To improve decision making and analytical skills.
 To develop awareness of the need to make decisions lacking complete
information.
 To develop an understanding of the interrelationships
 To develop the ability to function cooperatively and effectively in a small
group situation.
Types of management Games:
 Executive Games are general management games and cover all functional areas
{like planning, decision making, etc} of business and their interactions and
dynamics. Executive games are designed to train general executives.
 Functional Games, on the other hand, focus on middle management decisions
and emphasize particular functional areas {like Marketing or HR} of the firm.

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3. Role Playing: Is the method of human interaction that involves realistic behavior in
imaginary situations.
4. Films/Video
 Content for the training experience comes primarily from a videotape or
computer-based program.
 Interest of the audience can be maintained by showing them audio visuals
 Easy to handle and explain
 Provides a lot of content to talk about
5. Lecture Methods:
 Lecture is traditional & direct method of instruction.
 It is a verbal presentation of information by an instructor to a large audience.
 The lecture must motivate & create interest among the trainees in order to become
effective
 It is presumed to posses a considerable depth of knowledge of subject at hand.
 This method is used mainly in college and universities
6. Outbound Training:
 Outdoor and action-oriented programs through experiential learning
 Develops Leadership, teamwork and risk-taking abilities
 Interesting as compared to classroom leaning
 Conducted by professionals who are very cooperative
Few Other Methods:
1. In-Basket Exercise:
 Also known as In-tray method of training.
 The trainee is presented with a pack of papers & files in a tray containing
administrative problems & is asked to take decisions on these problems &
are asked to take decisions on these within a stipulated time.
 The decisions taken by the trainees are compared with one another. The
trainees are provided feedback on their performance.
2. Experiential Exercises :
 Usually short, structured learning experiences where individuals learn by doing.
 For instance, rather than talking about inter-personal conflicts & how to deal with
them,
 an experiential exercise could be used to create a conflict situation where
employees have to experience a conflict personally & work out its solutions.
3. Cases :
 Present an in depth description of a particular problem an employee might
encounter on the job.
 The employee attempts to find and analyze the problem, evaluate alternative
courses of action & decide what course of action would be most satisfactory.

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Advantages of “Off-the –job” Methods:

 Learn from specialists in that area of work who can provide more in-depth study
 Can more easily deal with groups of workers at the same time
 Employees respond better when taken away from pressures of working
environment
 Workers may be able to obtain qualifications or certificates
Disadvantages of “Off-the –job” Methods:
 The trainer should have specialised skills and knowledge to train
 The trainer may not be given much time to spend with the employee to teach them
properly
 The trainer may posses bad habits and pass these on to the trainee

3.1.2 THE BENEFITS OF TRAINING

 Increases workers’ productivity
 Increases workers’ job satisfaction
 Keep workers’ skills and knowledge up-to-date
 Helps to motivate workers

3.1.3 Resistance Meaning:

Resistance is a key obstacle facing trainer and instructional designers throughout the
corporate world. Resistance is a term used by many trainers to describe the unwillingness of
employee to embrace a particular idea, concept, curriculum, technology or coursework.

3.1.4 Steps to overcome Resistance to Change :

Although change is inevitable it is a common experience that employees resist change
whether in the context of their pattern of life or in the context of their situation in the
organization. The best eg. Is resistance of employees to computerization? Change of and type
requires readjustment. Man always fears the unknown and a change represents the unknown.
Management is said to be an agent of change and has to introduce change successfully.
Management has to take the following steps to implement change successfully.
 Participation of Employees: Before introducing any change the employees should be
consulted and the purpose of change should be made known to them. Sufficient time
should be given for discussing the pros and cons to the employees.
 Planning for Change: The change should be planned by the Management. Employees
should get an opportunity for planning and installing the change. This will help the group
affected to accept and understand the need for change.
 Protecting Employees Interest: Management should ensure that employees are
protected from economic loss, loss in status or personal dignity.
 Group Dynamics: Group dynamics refers to the ever changing interactions and
adjustments in the mutual perceptions and relationships among members of the groups.

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Such associations are powerful instruments which facilitates or inhibit adaptation to

change. The management has to positively articulate such groups.
 Cautious and Slow Introduction: The HR manager should cautiously and slowly
introduce change. He should not suddenly and abruptly introduce change. He must aim
bring about awareness of change and construct an attitude of welcoming change. Change
must be introduced in sequential parts, the results must be reviewed and required
adjustments have to be if required.
 Positive Motion: The HR Manager should use the policy of positive motivation to
counteract negative resistance. Proper training and technical knowledge should be
imparted to the employees. The leadership style would be supportive and human oriented.
 Sharing the Benefits of Change: Any change whether technical, social or economic will
least resisted by the employees if the management permits the employees to share the
benefits which will arise out of change.
 Training and Development: Based on the change the job should be redesigned.
Management should train the employees before hand and prepare the employees to invite
change. Normally trained and developed employees will not resist change. They would
feel empowered with their enriched skills and knowledge.
 Career Planning and Development: The HR Manager should plan careers of
employees, move them to higher levels and develop them.
 Organisation Development: HR Manager should also look into the psychological and
behavioural areas of the employee with a view to achieve organizational effectiveness.
Employees with enriched behaviour welcome change.
Improving Effectiveness of Training:
 Specific Training Objectives
 Motivation to Trainees
 Use of Previous Training
 Suitable Organizational Condition
 Involvement of Trainees
 Feedback
 Careful Selection of Employees for Training.

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3.1.5 TRAINING PROCESS:

TRAINING PROCESS

STEP 1
DETERMINING TRAINING NEEDS

STEP 2
STEP 4
DESIGNING THE TRAINING
EVALUATION THE PROGRAM PROGRAM

STEP 3

ADMINITERING THE TRAINING

PROGRAMS ( IMPLEMENTATION )

3.2 Executive Development Programme:

“Executive Development is an ongoing systematic process that assesses, develops, and
enhances one’s ability to carry out top-level roles in the organization.”
EDP is the process of equipping people with the tools, knowledge and opportunities they
need to develop themselves and become more effective. This process helps executives to address
behavior or issues that are impending their own job effectiveness.

3.2.1 Importance of EDP :-

Executive development is important for the following reasons: -
 Executive development programmes are required to train and develop professional
managers.
 It helps managers to develop skills to face cut throat competition.
 It enables managers to face problems related to technology and institution.
 It helps in developing better relations with the labors.
 Executives need training and education to understand and adjust to changes in socio-
economic changes.
 Executive development is required to broader the outlook of managers.

3.2.2 Characteristics of EDP:-

The characteristics of executive development are as following: -
1. A continuous process:-

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It is an ongoing and never ending exercise .It should encompass the entire
professional career of executives. Executive development is a long term process as
managerial skills can not be developed overnight.
2. A knowledge updating activity:-
The imperative need for management development should be appreciated as there always
exists a gap between actual and potential performance. This, therefore, provides scope for
continuous improvement in all functional areas. Executive development programs
always attempt to bridge this gap enriching the functional capacity of executives ,
continuously updating their knowledge and skill. The gap between potential and actual
capacity is always high for executives across the world as knowledge and skill can never
get plateaued.
3. A vehicle for attitude change:-
Human behavior is dynamic . Its complexity can only be appreciated once
executive development programs are attempted to understand the behavioural and
attitudinal aspects through simulating sessions. Better interpersonal skills is an important
prerequisite for managerial success , which can be assured through such properly
designed Executive development programme.
4. A stimulant to higher competence :-
Unless executives are stimulated to the intricacies of managerial stress and strain
through different executive development programmes ,their full potential cannot be
exerted for the benefit of the organization .Executive development programmes can be
designed considering such issues like employee’s motivation , habits, age-mix , pattern of
conflict and chaos ,and this can enable elevation of managerial functions of the
executives during the post training face.
5. A deficiency improver:-
Executive development programmes are catered to the individual requirements
to improve the functional deficiencies of the individual executives ,thus enabling the
organization to derive immediate benefits from such programmes.

6. A self-development process:-
Executive development facilitates self-development of executives, as they
learn many things through action learning methods ,sharing the experiences of each other
in a simulated classroom atmosphere.
Key elements that are essential in having an effective executive development
framework in a business:-
 Accountability
 Direction
 Openness

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3.2.3 Process of EDP :-

The process of executive development is as follows:-
1. Analysis of development needs :-
First of all the present and future development needs of the organization are
ascertained. It is necessary to determine how many and what type of executives are
required to meet the present and future needs of the enterprise.
2. Appraisal of the present managerial talent :-
A qualitative assessment of the existing executives is made to determine
the type of executive talent available within the organization.
3. Inventory of management Manpower :-
An inventory of qualified personnel should be prepared and a selection for the
various development programmes should be made. Such inventory will provide all
necessary personnel data regarding the individuals qualified for development.
4. Planning individual development programmes :-
Each one of us has a unique set of physical, intellectual and emotional
characteristics. Therefore, development plan should be tailor-made for each individual.
5. Establishing training and development programme :-
The HR department prepares comprehensive and well conceived programmes.
6. Evaluating developing programs : -
Considerable money, time and efforts are spent on executive development
programmes. It is therefore natural to find out to what extent the programme’s objective
has been achieved.

3.2.4 The content of an EDP includes areas such as :-

1. Strategic Management :-
Components, logical process and contents of strategic management, i.e.analysis,
formulation, implementation and control; the integrative nature of strategy; the impact of
increasing environmental turbulence; e-business and application of real-time strategy;
driving strategic change.
2. Strategic Marketing :-
Marketing trends in the new economy; the contribution of marketing to the
strategic management process; online marketing strategies; measuring marketing success
and efficiency.
3. Financial strategies :-
Financial management and value creation; under-standing financial statements;
driving financial performance; making value-creating investment decisions; the drivers of
cost of capital.
4. Economies – A Global Perspective :-

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Building blocks of an economy; quantification in economic reasoning; markets in

the economic process; macroeconomic perspectives; money and financial markets; role of
the public sector; international trade and finance; what scope for economic policy?
5. Leverage Human Capital :-
An exploration and definition of the drivers of competitive human resources
strategy and workplace practices; evaluation of the imperatives for developing
sustainable improvements in human resources competitiveness; the development of
organizational responses to competitive status and formulation of appropriate human
resources strategies.
6. Developing Strategic Leadership Competencies :-
The role of leadership in the organization; realities of business leadership roles;
strategic high performance leadership in practice; managing organizational culture;
aligning context, roles and competencies for leadership effectiveness; the role of
emotional intelligence.
7. Strategic Leadership :-
The role of leadership in the organisation; realities of business leadership roles;
strategic high performance leadership in practice; managing organisational culture;
aligning context, roles and competencies for leadership effectiveness; the role of
emotional intelligence.
8. Coaching as Managerial Instrument
9. Winning Negotiation Strategies
10. Systems Thinking
11. Sustainability in a Corporate Environment
12. Business Ethics and Corporate Governance
13. Commercial Effectiveness
14. Various Guest and Speakers and Industry Visits

3.3 Common Practices or Methods or techniques of executive development:

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On The Job Techniques:

1. Coaching:
In this method, the superior guides and instructs the trainee as a coach. The coach or
counselor sets mutually agreed upon goals, suggests how to achieve these goals, periodically
reviews the trainee’s progress and suggests changed required in behavior and performance.
Coaching method offer several advantages: (i) It is learning by doing. (ii) Every
executive can coach his subordinate even if no executive development programme exists.(iii)
Periodic feedback and evaluation re a part of coaching. (iv) It is very useful for orientation of
new executives and foe developing operative skills. (v) It involves close interactions between the
trainee and his boss.
Coaching method , however , suffers from certain disadvantages: (i) It tends to perpetuate
current managerial styles and practices in the organization. (ii) It requires that the superior is
good teacher and guide. (iii) The training atmosphere is not free from the worries of daily
routine. (iv) The trainee may not get sufficient time to make mistake and learn from experience.
Coaching will work well if the coach provides a good model with whom the trainee can
identify ; if the both can be open with each other , if the coach accepts his responsibility fully
,and if he provides the trainee recognition of his improvement and suitable rewards.
2. Under Study:
An understudy is a person selected and being trained as the heir apparent to assume at the
future time the full duties and responsibilities of the position presently held by his superior. In
this way, a fully trained person becomes available to replace a manager during his long absence
or illness, on his retirement, transfer, promotion or death. The superior routes much of the

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department work through juniors ,discusses problems with him and allows him to participate in
the decision-making process as often as possible.
Understudy method provides many advantages: (i) The trainee receives continuous
guidance from the senior and gets the opportunity to see the total job. (ii) It is practical and time
saving due to learning by doing. (iii) The trainee takes interest and shares the superior’s
workload. (iv) The junior and the senior come closer to each other. (v) It ensures continuity of
management when superior leaves his position.
Understudy method, however, suffers some disadvantages: (i) It perpetuates the existing
managerial practices. (ii) As one employee is identified in advance as the next occupant of a
higher level managerial position , the motivation of other employees in the unit may be affected.
(iii) The subordinate staff may ignore the understudy and treat him as an intruder without clear
authority and responsibility. (iv) Under an overbearing senior , the understudy may lose his
freedom of thought and action. The success of this method depends upon the teaching skills and
cooperation of the superior with whom the understudy is attached.
3. Position Rotation:
It involves movement or transfer of executives from one position or job to another on
some planned basic. These persons are moved from one managerial position to another according
to the rotation schedule..Position rotation is also called job rotation. The aim is to broaden
knowledge, skills and outlook of executives. Job rotation or position is often designed for junior
executives. It may continue for a period ranging from six months to two years.
Job rotation method offer following advantages: (i) It helps to reduce monotony and
boredom by providing variety of work. (ii) It facilitates interdepartmental cooperation and
coordination.(iii)It infuses new concept and ideas in to elder personnel. (iv) Executives get a
chance to move up to higher position by developing them into generalists. (v) Best utilization can
be made of each executive’s skills.
Job rotation method suffers from following disadvantages : (i) Job rotation may cause
disturbance in established operations. (ii) The trainee executive may find it difficult to adjust
himself to frequent moves. He may feel insecure in the absence of stable interpersonal
relationship. (iii) The new incumbent may introduce ill-conceived and hasty innovations causing
a loss to the organization. (iv) Job rotation may demotivate intelligent and aggressive trainees to
seek specific responsibility in their chosen specialization. (v) It may cause jealousy and friction
due to the game of musical chair’.Job relation can cause class destinations and misunderstanding,
executive who are not moved may develop defensive reactions. (vi)It may upset family and
home life when transfers are made to different geographical areas.
4. Project Assignments:
Under this method a number of trainee executives are put together to work on a project
directly related to their functional area. The group called project team or task force will study the
problem and find appropriate solution. For instance, accounts officers may be assigned the tasks
of designing and developing an effective budgetary control system. By working on this project,
the trainees learn the work procedures and techniques of budgeting. They also come to learn the

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interrelationship between accounts and other department. This is a flexible training device due to
temporary nature of assignments.
Sometimes a syndicate of team consisting of persons of nature judgment and proven
ability is constituted. It is given a task properly spelt out in terms of briefs and background
papers. Participants represents different functional areas to facilitate interchange of ideas and
experience. Each syndicate prepares a report to be discussed by other executive group.
5. Selected Readings:
Managing has become a specialized job requiring a close touch with the latest
developments in the field. By reading selected professional books and journals managers can
keep in touch with the latest research findings, theories and techniques management. No
executive can afford to rely solely on others to keep in informed on innovations in management.
Reading of current management literature helps to avoid managerial obsolescence.
Selective readings constitute an individual self development programme for executives. Many
organizations maintain libraries for their executives and managers are encouraged to continually
read and improve their skills.
6. Multiple Management:
The technique was developed by Charles P. McCormick of the McCormick Corporation
of Baltimore, USA. Under it, a junior board of young executives is constituted. Major problems
are analyzed in the junior board which makes recommendations of the Board of Directors. The
young executives learn decision-making skill and the Board of Director receives the collective
wisdom of the executive team. Vacancies in the Board of Directors can be filled from the junior
board members who have received considerable exposure to problems and issues.
Committees and union boards offer the following advantages: (i) The participants gain
practical experience in group decision-making and team work. (ii) The committee or board
contributes to the productivity and human relations in the organizations. (iii) The method helps
to identify executive talent. Board rating system provides multiple judgment on each
individual.(iv) It is relatively inexpensive method.
The method suffers from some disadvantages: (i) Specific attention to the developmental
needs of executives is not possible. (ii) The method is not suitable for lower level executives. (iii)
The discussions in committees and board often degenerate into academic debates. There is lack
of purpose and commitment on the part of participants.

Off The Job Techniques:

1. Lectures:
These are formally organized talks by an instructor on specific topics. Lectures essential
when technical or special information of a complex nature is to be provided. These can be
supplemented by discussion, case studies, demonstrations, audio-visual aids and film shows.
It is very useful when facts, concepts, principles, attitudes and problem solving skills are
to be taught. More material can be presented within a given time by any other method.

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The lecture method , however suffers form the following limitations: (i) Lecture is a one -
way communication .There is no participation and feedback from the audience (ii) The
audience loses attention quickly as they are passive listeners. The focus is on accumulation and
memorization rather than on application of knowledge. (iii) It requires a great deal of preparation
and speaking skills for which executives may lake time. (iv) The presentation of material has to
be geared to a common level of knowledge. (v) It becomes unpalatable to the audience when too
much information is packed in the lecture.
Lecture method can be made effective in the following ways:-
(a) A lecture should be well planned as to its purpose and contents.
(b) The lecturer should be competent and a good speaker.
(c) He should keep in mind the listener’s needs and interests.
(d) The lecture should not be more than one hour.
(e) The lecture should be made interesting through leading questions, guided discussions
and audio-visual aids.
2. Case Studies:
Under this method, a real or hypothetical business problem or situation demanding
solution is presented in writing to the trainees. They are required to identify and analyze the
problem, suggest and evaluate alternatives courses of action and choose the most appropriate
solution.
Advantages of this method: (i) It promotes analytical thinking and problem solving skills.
(ii) It encourages open-mindedness and provides a means of integrating interdisciplinary
knowledge. (iii) The trainees become aware of managerial concept and process and their
application to specific situations.(iv) Detailed descriptions of real life situations helps to create
trainees interest.
Case study method suffers from the following advantages: (i) A case may degenerate into
a dreary history undermining analytical reasoning. (ii) It may suppress the critical faculties of
mediocre trainees. (iii) The case may be used indiscriminately as permanent precedents. (iv) It is
time saving and expensive to prepare good case studies. (v) A real life case may not be useful in
different cultural situations.
3. Group Discussion:
It is a variant of lecture method under it – paper Is prepared and presented by one
or more trainees on the selected topic. This is followed by a critical discussion. The chair man of
discussion or seminar summarise the contents of the papers and discussion which follows. Often
the material to be discussed is distributed in advance. Seminars and conferences enable executive
to learn from the experience of each other and have become quite popular.
4. Role Playing :
In this method the trainees act out a given role as they would in a stage play. Two
or more trainees are assigned part to play before the rest of the class. Thus, it is a method of
human interaction which involves realistic behavior in a imaginary or hypothetical situation.
Role playing primarily involves employer employee relationships, hiring, firing, discussing a

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grievance procedure, conducting a post appraisal interview or disciplining a subordinate or a

sales man making a presentation to a customer.
5. Management Games:
Management or business games are designed to be representative of real life
situation. These are classroom simulation exercise in which teams of individual compete one
another or against an environment in order to achieve a given objective. In this exercise, the
participants play a dynamic role , and enrich their skills through involvement and simulated
exercise. Management games can be of interactive or non interacting types. In the interacting
types of games, the decisions of one team influence the performance of other teams. In the non
interacting games each team is independent and its performance entirely depends upon its on
competence.
Advantage of the method (i) It has to analysis and collect the relevant data from a mass of
information and also helps to decide with incomplete data. (ii) It is useful in developing problem
solving skills (iii) It helps in developing leadership skills and in fostering team work.
Disadvantages:- (i) It is very difficult and expensive to develop and implement goods
game. (ii) The games are artificial because in real life executive are rewarded for creating new
alternatives rather than for choosing from a given list of alternatives. (iii) The trainees who are
successful in these games may not be successful of the job.
6. Sensitivity training:
This method is also called T-group training and laboratory training. He purpose is to
increase self awareness. Develop inter personal competence and sharpen team work skills. The
trainees are brought together in a free and open environment where in participants discuss
themselves. The discussion is lightly directed by a behavioral expert who creates the
opportunities to express their ideas, beliefs and attitudes.
The following steps may be taken to make sensitivity more effective: (a) The trainer must
be able to translate emotional situations into constructive consequences. (ii) The participant with
motional suitability and high tolerance for anxiety should be selected.(iii) The programme
should be strictly voluntary. (iv) The participant should be told in advance what they are going to
be experience. (v) A mechanism for transferring the learning to the work situation should be
created.

3.4 Benefits of Executive Development Programme :-

Networking takes place between executives.

 More cohesiveness between team members.
 Positive effect on the bottom line.
 More patience and better understanding of another department’s limitations.
 Skill and knowledge enhancement is substantial.
 Executives develop the right attitude.

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3.5 Self Development

Definition: Self-development is defined as individuals improving their knowledge, skills and
abilities through their own self-directed efforts.
Need of Self-Development:
Most management jobs require a high level of personal development.
 Managers need to maintain their effective despite the pressures.
 Personal development is also necessary for those who expect to move to more demanding
job.
Objectives of Self-Development:
 To develop positive and optimistic outlook.
 To learn how to learn and develop professional skill
 To develop the ability to work among people
 To be more aware, alert and alternative.
Principles of Self-Development:
 People are responsible for their own learning
 People learn best when they need the new competence
 People must learn to experience their own individuality
 People need opportunities for personal achievement.
 Emotional and feelings are an important part of an individually.
Stages of Self-Development:
1. Personal Audit: Undertake an audit of where he is now, in terms of what he can do now.
2. Setting self-Development: setting aims and objectives in terms of what he wants to
achieve. These will be both work-related and personal goals.
3. Identifying Development Needs: Identifying the knowledge and skills that he will need to
achieve his goals.
4. Constructing the Development plan: Analyzing the information that has been revealed in
personal audit and identifying development objectives and identifying gaps. The gaps
will form the basis of his development plan. His personal growth plan will motivate him
to carry out his development, provides a tool to monitor and evaluate his achievements
and provide schedule tom work to.
Models of Self-Development:
It was developed by Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham.
Information Information
Known to self not known to self
Information known
To Others
1 Open 2 Blind
Information not
Known to others

3 Hidden 4 Unknown
Johari Window

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1. Open: The open quadrant refers to state about an individual such as behaviour feelings
and motives that he knows and willing to share with others. Sometimes, in a
relationship, the individual is straight forward, open and sharing.
2. The Blind Self: In this other people know what is happening to him but he is not aware
of it. Often such blind behaviour is copied by the individual from significant people
unconsciously right since the childhood.
3. The Hidden Self: The hidden self is within the vision of the individual but he does not
want to share with others. People learn to hide many feelings and ideas right from the
childhood.
4. The unknown Self: the unknown self is mysterious. People often experience these parts
of life in dreams or in deep rooted fears or compulsion. These acts, feelings and
motives remain vague and unclear to people until they allow them to surface.
Benefits of Self-Development:
 Inculcates positive Thinking
 Helps to Create Harmonious Relationships
 Cultivates Trust
 Helps in Training and development.

3.6 Knowledge Management

Definition:
According to Holm – Knowledge Management is getting the right information to the
right people at the right time, helping people create knowledge and sharing and acting on
information.
Features of Knowledge management: Knowledge management is a continuous process.
 Knowledge management is not restricted to a particular level.
 Knowledge involves capturing, transferring and storing of information.
 It involves collaborative efforts on the part of experts, and work teams.
 Knowledge can also be generated when social interaction takes place
 KM is a basic requirement for organizational effectiveness.
Objectives of Knowledge management:
 To create and use knowledge in the best possible manner.
 Transforming individual knowledge into the structural capital of the organization
 Building the knowledge capital
 Aligning business strategies, core competencies, knowledge capital and organizational
process.
Elements of Knowledge Management:
1. Knowledge Creation
2. Knowledge Sharing
3. Knowledge Utilization

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Approaches of Knowledge Management:

There are 4 main approaches to Knowledge Management-
 Codification Approach
 Personalization Approach
 Resource Based Approach
 Knowledge Creation Approach
1. The Codification approach is a ‘people-to-document’ approach. Knowledge is explicit.
It is made independent of the person from whom is is extracted & stored in databases or
found in presentations, reports, policy documents, manuals, libraries etc. It is moved
around the organization through Intranet or other traditional means like meetings,
courses, publications, videos, tapes, workshops, ‘master classes’ etc.
Ernst & Young is a good example of an organization using the codification
approach effectively as it deals with recurring problems via recorded solutions to similar
issues.

2. Personalization approach is a ‘person-to-person’ approach. Knowledge is tacit. It

involves the person who developed it directly via face-to-face communication with an
individual or team, brainstorming, workshops or other one-to-one sessions.

McKinsey, Bains & other strategic consulting firms use the personalization approach
which requires them to channelize individual expertise for creative & analytical advice. It
could involve using senior level officers like directors, COO s or other experts who can
be approached by email/phone/personally.

Either the codification or the personalization approach is used predominantly while

the other could support the first. Using both is not considered a successful approach & has
high chances of failing.

3. The Resource Based approach considers knowledge as a ‘resource’ which is created,

passed on & used technically, socially, and economically. Technically, knowledge
management involves centralizing the knowledge prevalent across an organization and
codifying it aptly for easy use. Socially, knowledge management involves collecting
knowledge so that no individual or group has exclusive rights over it. Economically,
knowledge management is a means to create & exploit knowledge to attain competitive
advantage.

4. Knowledge creation approach involves construction of knowledge by blending together

its various forms to produce innovative outcomes. Various ways of blending knowledge
are by socialization (tacit to tacit), externalization (tacit to explicit), internalization
(explicit to tacit) and combination (explicit to explicit).

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Role of HR in Knowledge Management:

1. Developing an open culture in which values & norms highlight the importance of
sharing knowledge.
An open culture emphasizes the importance of constructive relationships via mutuality &
trust. Long established cultures are difficult to change but HR can encourage the change by
developing purpose & value statements which state sharing knowledge & expertise as a core
value important to attaining competitive advantage. There by being in alignment with the
business strategy. Sounds rhetoric but constant supervision with application can allow the
change.

2. Promoting a climate of mutual trust, solidarity & commitment

A cordial environment is apt for developing & sharing knowledge. HR can contribute to it
implementing communication, education and training programmes, reward processes and
initiatives to increase involvement & ‘ownership’. Trust can also be enhanced if knowledge is
exchanged via forums, conferences etc

3. Organizational Design & Development

HR can contribute to effective knowledge management by advising on the design of horizontal
processes that rely on networking and cross functional project teams. Focusing on team building
& ‘communities of practice’ as part of a ‘sharing’ culture along with emphasizing knowledge
sharing both as an accountability (key result area) and a competency.

4. Resourcing
HR plays a wholesome role in being almost entirely responsible as to what kinds of employees
are hired by an organization. Hence, the HR department should advise on resourcing policies and
provide resourcing services which ensure that employees who contribute to knowledge sharing &
creation are attracted and retained. Assessment centres can also include exercises & tests
designed to test the ability to share knowledge.

5. Advise on motivating employees to share knowledge & rewarding those who do

Knowledge workers are amply motivated when they realize the opportunity for personal growth
along with monetary rewards. Task achievement in lieu of being very beneficial to an
organization has also been identified as a highly motivating factor. Hence, to make the most of it
two approaches can be used in an organization- the ‘codification model’ involves encouraging
employees to write down what they know and get it into electronic format followed by real
monetary incentives while the ‘personalization model’ involves some rewards for sharing
knowledge which need not be financial but part of the performance review process

6. Performance Management

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As Knowledge Management has gained importance in giving a competitive edge to an

organization over others, it has been made part of various HR processes including performance
management. At Ernst & Young, 1 of the 5 criteria for performance review includes an
employee’s utilization & contribution to knowledge. At Bain, employees are also evaluated on
the basis if how much direct help they have provided to colleagues. During 360 degree feedback
also one area of assessment involves the extent to which an individual shares knowledge.

7. Organizational & Individual Learning

The HR department should work in conjunction with the IT department to make sure that simple
systems are developed for capturing and distributing knowledge. This can be enhanced by
organizing workshops, conferences, seminars etc because as an individual learns & importantly
shares, a whole organization learns.

Knowledge Management Issues:

 Keeping up with the pace of change of knowledge while correctly identifying what needs
to be stored for use in the organization
 Business strategy must drive knowledge management strategy as it is the application of
knowledge to an organization’s strategic objectives that creates competitive advantage. If
knowledge does not add value, it should not be ‘managed’
 Some organizations spend huge amounts of money to set up an IT infrastructure for
storing knowledge & its easy use by employees. While this may be more useful in an
organization having a codification approach to knowledge management; it should be well
understood that there is a limit to which tacit knowledge can be coded and it is always a
person-to-person approach that works best. IT can support the interactive personal
approach but not replace it.
 Knowledge is Power. An open culture encourages people to share their views, ideas &
opinions while lack of trust inhibits sharing knowledge. Hence it is important to
encourage interactions between employees through which knowledge can combine and
flow in different ways. Again leading to dependence on IT only next to personal
interactions.
 Knowledge Management also deals with appropriate motivation & management of
Knowledge Workers - individuals with high levels of education & specialist skills to
identify & solve problems.

Training Need Assessment (TNA)

Meaning:
The purpose of a training needs assessment is to identify performance requirements and
the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed by an agency's workforce to achieve the requirements.
An effective training needs assessment will help direct resources to areas of greatest demand.
The assessment should address resources needed to fulfill organizational mission, improve

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productivity, and provide quality products and services. A needs assessment is the process of
identifying the "gap" between performance required and current performance. When a difference
exists, it explores the causes and reasons for the gap and methods for closing or eliminating the
gap. A complete needs assessment also considers the consequences for ignoring the gaps.
There are three levels of a training needs assessment:
 Organizational assessment evaluates the level of organizational performance. An
assessment of this type will determine what skills, knowledge, and abilities an agency
needs. It determines what is required to alleviate the problems and weaknesses of the
agency as well as to enhance strengths and competencies, especially for Mission Critical
Occupation's (MCO). Organizational assessment takes into consideration various
additional factors, including changing demographics, political trends, technology, and the
economy.
 Occupational assessment examines the skills, knowledge, and abilities required for
affected occupational groups. Occupational assessment identifies how and which
occupational discrepancies or gaps exist, potentially introduced by the new direction of
an agency. It also examines new ways to do work that can eliminate the discrepancies or
gaps.
 Individual assessment analyzes how well an individual employee is doing a job and
determines the individual's capacity to do new or different work. Individual assessment
provides information on which employees need training and what kind.

The Training Needs Assessment Process:

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Methods used in TNA:

 Observation
 Interviews
 Questionnaires
 Job descriptions
 Difficulty Analysis
 Problem-solving conference
 Appraisal Reviews
 Drive pattern Identity
 Analysis of Organizational Policy

Objective of Training Needs Analysis:

 Identify existing degree of knowledge, skills, and the attitudinal characteristics

surrounding a particular issue or topical area

 Identify individuals or groups of individuals who most need additional skills training or
access to information and technologies.

 Identify motivations and conditions that contribute to an individual's degree of interest in

an issue and ability to access or purchase the final product or training course.

Need Assessment Techniques/Methods:

Needs Assessment
Techniques

Observation Questionnaires

Focus Documentation
Interviews Groups

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Technique Advantages Disadvantages

Observation Generates data Needs skilled observer

relevant to work Employees’ behavior
environment may be affected by
Minimizes being observed
interruption of work

Questionnaires Inexpensive Requires time

Can collect data Possible low return
from a large number rates, inappropriate
of persons responses
Data easily Lacks detail
summarized Only provides
information directly
related to questions
asked

Interviews Good at uncovering Time consuming

details of training Difficult to analyze
needs Needs skilled interviewer
Good at uncovering Can be threatening to SMEs
causes and solutions Difficult to schedule
of problems SMEs only provide
Can explore information they think you
unanticipated issues want to hear
that come up
Questions can be
modified

Focus Groups Useful with complex Time consuming to organize

or controversial Group members provide
issues that one information they think you
person may be want to hear
unable or unwilling Status or position differences
to explore may limit participation
Questions can be
modified to explore
unanticipated issues

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Documentation Good source of You may not be able to

(Technical information on understand technical
Manuals and procedure language
Records) Objective Materials may be obsolete
Good source of task
information for new
jobs and jobs in the
process of being
created

Advantages of TNA :

 TNA identifies training and other development need for the growth on the job
 TNA ensure that the training programmes conducted are those, which are actually needed
by the participant
 TNA serve as a benchmark
 TNA helps management programmes
 TNA helps organization to reduce the perception gap between the participant and boss
about their needs and expectations.
__________

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