TRAINING EFFECTIVENESS - 5p/Training

The game of economic competition has new rules. Firms should be fast and
responsive. This requires responding to customers' needs for quality, variety,
customization, convenience and timeliness. Meeting these new standards requires a
workforce that is technically trained in all respects. It requires people who are
capable of analyzing and solving job related problems, working cooperatively in
teams and 'changing hats' and shifting from job to job as well. Training has increased
in importance in today's environment where jobs are complex and change. Rapidly.
Companies that pay lip-service to the need for training, by lazily setting aside a few
hours a year, will soon find themselves at the receiving end when talented
employees leave in frustration and other employees find it difficult to beat rivals with
new products, sophisticated designs and improved ways of selling. To survive and
flourish in the present day corporate-jungle, companies should invest time and
money in upgrading the knowledge and skills of their employees constantly. For, any
company that stops injecting itself with intelligence is going to die. The purpose of
this chapter is make the student understand the basic principles, areas, and methods
of training currently in use in the corporate circles.

  

Need for Training

After employees have been selected for various positions in an organization, training
them for the specific tasks to which they have been assigned assumes great
importance. It is true in many organizations that before an employee is fitted into a
harmonious working relationship with other employees, he is given adequate
training. Training is the act of increasing the knowledge and skills of an employee for
performing a particular job. The major outcome of training is learning. A trainee
learns new habits, refined skills and useful knowledge during the training that helps
him improve performance. Training enables an employee to do his present job more
efficiently and prepare himself for a higher-level job. The essential features of
training may be stated thus:

·    Increases knowledge and skills for doing a particular job; it bridges the gap
between job needs and employee skills, knowledge and behaviors

·   Focuses attention on the current job; it is job specific and addresses particular
performance deficits or problems

·   Concentrates on individual employees; changing what employees know, how they

work, their attitudes toward their work or their interactions with their co-workers or
supervisors

·    Tends to be more narrowly focused and oriented toward short-term performance

concerns.

Training is needed to serve the following purposes:

·     Newly recruited employees require training so as to perform their tasks
effectively. Instruction, guidance, coaching help them to handle jobs competently,
without any wastage.

·      Training is necessary to prepare existing employees for higher-level jobs

(promotion).

·      Existing employees require refresher training so as to keep abreast of the latest

developments in job operations. In the face of rapid technological changes, this is
an absolute necessity.

·      Training is necessary when a person moves from one job to another (transfer).
After training, the' employee can change jobs quickly, improve his performance
levels and achieve career goals comfortably

·       Training is necessary to make employees mobile and versatile. They can be

placed on various jobs depending on organizational needs.

·      Training is needed to bridge the gap between what the employee has and what
the job demands.

Training is needed to make employees more productive and useful in the long-run.

Training is needed for employees to gain acceptance from peers (learning a job
quickly and being able to pull their own weight is one of the best ways for them to
gain acceptance).

 Importance

Training offers innumerable benefits to both employees and employers. It makes the
employee more productive and more useful to an organization. The importance of
training can be studied under the following heads:

Benefits to the business:

Trained workers can work more efficiently. They use machines, tools, and materials
in a proper way. Wastage is thus eliminated to a large extent.

There will be fewer accidents. Training improves the knowledge of employees

regarding the use of machines and equipment. Hence, trained workers need not be
put under close supervision, as they know how to handle operations properly.

Trained workers can show superior performance. They can turn out better
performance. They can turn out better quality goods by putting the materials, tools
and equipment to good use.

Training makes employees more loyal to an organization. They will be less inclined
to leave the unit where there are growth opportunities

Benefits to the employees:

Training makes an employee more useful to a firm. Hence, he will find employment
more easily.

Training makes employees more efficient and effective. By combining materials,

tools and equipment in a right way, they can produce more with minimum effort.

Training enables employees to secure promotions easily. They can realise their
career goals comfortably.

Training helps an employee to move from one organization to another easily. He can
be more mobile and pursue career goals actively.

Employees can avoid mistakes, accidents on the job. They can handle jobs with
confidence. They will be more satisfied on their jobs. Their morale would be high.

Thus, training can contribute to higher production, fewer mistakes, greater job
satisfaction and lower labour turnover. Also, it can enable employees to cope with
organizational, social and technological change. Effective training is an invaluable
investment in the human resources of an organization.

Learning Principles: The Philosophy of Training

Training is essential for job success. It can lead to higher production, fewer mistakes,
greater job satisfaction and lower turnover. These benefits accrue to both the trainee
and the organization, if managers understand the principles behind the training
process. To this end, training efforts must invariably follow certain learning-oriented
guidelines.

Modelling

Modeling is simply copying someone else's behavior. Passive classroom learning

does not leave any room for modeling. If we want to change people, it would be a
good idea to have videotapes of people showing the desired behavior. The selected
model should provide the right kind of behavior to be copied by others. A great deal
of human behaviour is learned by modelling others. Children learn by modelling
parents and older children, they are quite comfortable with the process by the time
they grow up. As experts put it. "managers tend to manage as they were managed"

Motivation

For learning to take place, intention to learn is important. When the employee is
motivated, he pays attention to what is being said, done and presented. Motivation to
learn is influenced by the answers to questions such as: How important is my job to
me? How important is the information? Will learning help me progress in the
company? etc. People learn more quickly when the material is important and
relevant to them. Learning is usually quicker and long-lasting when the learner
participates actively. Most people, for example, never forget how to ride a bicycle
because they took an active part in the learning process.

Reinforcement
If a behavior is rewarded, it probably will be repeated. Positive reinforcement
consists of rewarding desired behaviors. People avoid certain behaviors that invite
criticism and punishment. A bank officer would want to do a postgraduate course in
finance, if it earns him increments and makes him eligible for further promotions.
Both the external rewards (investments, praise) and the internal rewards (a feeling of
pride and achievement) associated with desired behaviors compel subjects to learn
properly. To be effective, the trainer must reward desired behaviors only. If he
rewards poor performance, the results may be disastrous: good performers may quit
in frustration, accidents may go up, and productivity may suffer. The reinforcement
principle is also based on the premise that punishment is less effective in learning
than reward. Punishment is a pointer to undesirable behaviors. When administered,
it causes pain to the employee. He mayor may not repeat the mistakes. The
reactions may be mild or wild. Action taken to repeal a person from undesirable
action is punishment. If administered properly, punishment may force the trainee to
modify the undesired or incorrect behaviors.

Feedback

People learn best if reinforcement is given as soon as possible after training. Every
employee wants to know what is expected of him and how well he is doing. If he is
off the track, somebody must put him back on the rails. The errors in such cases
must be rectified immediately. The trainee after learning the right behaviour is
motivated to do things in a 'right' way and earn the associated rewards. Positive
feedback (showing the trainee the right way of doing things) is to be preferred to
negative feedback (telling the trainee that he is not correct) when we want to change
behaviour.

Spaced Practice

Learning takes place easily if the practice sessions are spread over a period of time.
New employees learn better if the orientation programme is spread over a two or
three day period, instead of covering it all in one day. For memorizing tasks,
'massed' practice is usually more effective. Imagine the way schools ask the kids to
say the Lord's prayer aloud. Can you memorise a long poem by learning only one
line per day? You tend to forget the beginning of the poem by the time you reach the
last stanza. For 'acquiring' skills as stated by Mathis and Jackson, spaced practice is
usually the best. This incremental approach to skill acquisition minimises the
physical fatigue that deters learning.

Whole Learning

The concept of whole learning suggests that employees learn better if the job
information is explained as an entire logical process, so that they can see how the
various actions fit together into the 'big picture'. A broad overview of what the trainee
would be doing on the job should be given top priority, if learning has to take place
quickly. Research studies have also indicated that it is more efficient to practice a
whole task all at once rather than trying to master the various components of the
task at different intervals.

Active Practice
'Practice makes a man perfect': so said Bacon. To be a swimmer, you should plunge
into water instead of simply reading about swimming or looking at films of the worlds'
best swimmers. Learning is enhanced when trainees are provided ample
opportunities to repeat the task. For maximum benefit, practice sessions should be
distributed over time.

Applicability of Training

Training should be as real as possible so that trainees can successfully transfer the
new knowledge to their jobs. The training situations should be set up so that trainees
can visualise - and identify with - the types of situations they can come across on the
job.

Environment

Finally, environment plays a major role in training. It is natural that workers who are
exposed to training in comfortable environments with adequate, well spaced rest
periods are more likely to learn than employees whose training conditions are less
than ideal. Generally speaking, learning is very fast at the beginning. Thereafter, the
pace of learning slows down as opportunities for improvement taper off.

Areas of Training

The Areas of Training in which training is offered may be classified into the following
categories.

Knowledge

Here the trainee learns about a set of rules and regulations about the job, the staff
and the products or services offered by the company. The aim is to make the new
employee fully aware of what goes on inside and outside the company.

Technical Skills

The employee is taught a specific skill (e.g., operating a machine, handling computer
etc.) so that he can acquire that skill and contribute meaningfully.

Social Skills

The employee is made to learn about himself and others, and to develop a right
mental attitude towards the job, colleagues and the company. The principal focus is
on teaching the employee how to be a team member and get ahead.

Techniques

This involves the application of knowledge and skill to various on-the-job situations.

In addition to improving the skills and knowledge of employees, training aims at

moulding employee attitudes: When administered properly, a training programme will
go a long way in obt8ining employee loyalty, support and commitment to company
activities.

Types of Training

There are many approaches to training. We focus here on the types of training that
are commonly employed in present-day organisations.

Skills training: This type of training is most common in organisations. The process

here is fairly simple. The need for training in basic skills (such as reading, writing,
computing, speaking, listening, problem solving, managing oneself, knowing how to
learn, working as part of a team, leading others) is identified through assessment.
Specific training objectives are set and training content is developed to meet those
objectives. Several methods are available for imparting these basic skills in modern
organisations (such as lectures, apprenticeship, on-the-job, coaching etc.). Before
employing these methods, managers should:

·      explain how the training will help the trainees in their jobs.

·      relate the training to the trainees' goals.

·      respect and consider participant responses and use these as a resource.

·      encourage trainees to learn by doing.

·     give feedback on progress toward meeting learning objectives.

·      Refresher training: Rapid changes in technology may force companies to go in

for this kind of training. By organising short-term courses which incorporate the
latest developments in a particular field, the company may keep its employees
up-to-date and ready to take on emerging challenges.

·       It is conducted at regular intervals by taking the help of outside consultants who
specialise in a particular descriptive.

·         Cross-functional Training: Cross-functional Training involves training

employees to perform operations in areas other than their assigned job. There
are many approaches to cross functional training. Job rotation can be used to
provide a manager in one functional area with a broader perspective than he
would otherwise have. Departments can exchange personnel for a certain
period so that each employee understands how other departments are
functioning. High performing workers can act as peer trainers and help
employees develop skills in another area of operation. Cross functional training
provides the following benefits to an organisation (and the workers as well) (1)
Workers gain rich experience in handling diverse jobs; they become more
adaptable and versatile (2) they can better engineer their own career paths (3)
they not only know their job well but also understand how others are able to
perform under a different set of constraints (4) A broader perspective increases
workers' understanding of the business and reduces the need for supervision
(5) when workers can fill in for other workers who are absent, it is easier to use
 flexible scheduling, which is increasingly in demand as more employees want to
spend more time with their families. Eli Lilly and Company (India), for example,
encourages cross-functional movements to make the organisation equally
attractive to both specialists and generalists.

·         Team Training: Team training generally covers two areas; content tasks and
group processes. Content tasks specify the team's goals such as cost control
and problem solving. Group processes reflect the way members function as a
team - for example how they interact with each other, how they sort out
differences, how they participate etc. Companies are investing heavy amounts,
nowadays, in training new employees to listen to each other and to cooperate.
They are using outdoor experiential training techniques to develop teamwork
and team spirit among their employees (such as scaling a mountain, preparing
recipes for colleagues at a restaurant, sailing through uncharted waters,
crossing a jungle etc.). The training basically throws light on (i) how members
should communicate with each other (ii) how they have to cooperate and get
ahead (iii) how they should deal with conflict-full situations (iv) how they should
find their way, using collective wisdom and experience to good advantage.

·       Creativity training: Companies like Mudra Communications, Titan Industries,

Wipro encourage their employees to think unconventionally, break the rules,
take risks, go out of the box and devise unexpected solutions.

  

Postpone judgment: Don't reject any idea

Create alternative frames of reference

Break the boundary of thinking

Examine a different aspect of the problem

Make a wish list of solutions

Borrow ideas from other fields

Look for processes to change or eliminate

Think up alternative methods

Adopt another person's perspective

Question all Assumptions.

In creativity training, trainers often focus on three things:

(a) Breaking away: In order to break away from restrictions, the trainee is expected
to (i) identify the dominant ideas influencing his own thinking (ii) define the
boundaries within which he is working (iii) bring the assumptions out into the open
and challenge everything

(b) Generate new ideas: To generate new ideas, the trainee should open up his
mind; look at the problem from all possible angles and list as many alternative
approaches as possible. The trainee should allow his mind to wander over
alternatives freely. Expose himself to new influences (people, articles, books,
situations), switch over from one perspective to another, -arrange cross fertilization
of ideas with other people and use analogies to spark off ideas.

(c) Delaying judgement: To promote creative thinking, the trainee should not try to
kill off ideas too quickly; they should be held back until he is able to generate as
many ideas as possible. He should allow ideas to grow a little. Brainstorming (getting
a large number of ideas from a group of people in a short time) often helps in
generating as many ideas as possible without pausing to evaluate them. It helps in
releasing ideas, overcoming inhibitions, cross fertilising ideas and getting away from
patterned thinking.

·            Diversity Training: Diversity training considers all of the diverse

dimensions in the workplace race, gender, age, disabilities, lifestyles, culture,
education, ideas and backgrounds - while designing a training programme. It
aims to create better cross-cultural sensitivity with the aim of fostering more
harmonious and fruitful working relationships among a firm's employees.  

·            The programme covers two things: (i) awareness building, which helps
employees appreciate the key benefits of diversity, and (ii) skill building, which
offers the knowledge, skills and abilities required for working with people having
varied backgrounds.

·            Literacy Training: Inability to write, speak and work well with others could
often come in the way of discharging duties, especially at the lower levels.
Workers, in such situations, may fail to understand safety messages, appreciate
the importance of sticking to rules, and commit avoidable mistakes. Functional
illiteracy (low skill level in a particular content area) may be a serious
impediment to a firm's productivity and competitiveness. Functional literacy
programmes focus on the basic skills required to perform a job adequately and
capitalise on most workers' motivation to get help in a particular area. Tutorial
programmes, home assignments, reading and writing exercises, simple
mathematical tests, etc., are generally used in all company in-house
programmes meant to improve the literacy levels of employees with weak
reading, writing or arithmetic skills.

Training Methods

Training methods are usually classified by the location of instruction. On the job
training is provided when the workers are taught relevant knowledge, skills and
abilities at the actual workplace; off-the-job training, on the other hand, requires that
trainees learn at a location other than the real work spot. Some of the widely used
training methods are listed below.

1. Job Instruction Training (JlT)

The JIT method (developed during World War II) is a four-step instructional process
involving preparation, presentation, performance try out and follow up. It is used
primarily to teach workers how to do their current jobs. A trainer, supervisor or co-
worker acts as the coach. The four steps followed in the JIT methods are:

1.    The trainee receives an overview of the job, its purpose and its
desired outcomes, with a clear focus on the relevance of training.

2.    The trainer demonstrates the job in order to give the employee a

model to copy. The trainer shows a right way to handle the job.

3.    Next, the employee is permitted to copy the trainer's way.

Demonstrations by the trainer and practice by the trainee are repeated
until the trainee masters the right way to handle the job.

4.    Finally, the employee does the job independently without supervision.

Merits:

• Trainee learns fast through practice and observation.

• It is economical as it does not require any special settings. Also, mistakes can be
corrected immediately. 

• The trainee gains confidence quickly as he does the work himself in actual setting
with help from supervisor.

• It is most suitable for unskilled and semi-skilled jobs where the job operations are
simple; easy to explain and demonstrate within a short span of time.

Demerits:

 • The trainee should be as good as the trainer if the trainer is not good, transference
of knowledge and skills will be poor.

• While learning, trainee may damage equipment, waste materials, cause accidents
frequently,

• Experienced workers cannot use the machinery while it is being used for training.

2. Coaching:
Coaching is a kind of daily training and feedback given to employees by immediate
supervisors. It involves a continuous process of learning by doing. It may be defined
as an informal, unplanned training and development activity provided by supervisors
and peers. In coaching, the supervisor explains things and answers questions; he
throws light on why things are done the way they are; he offers a model for trainees
to copy; conducts lot of decision making meetings with trainees; procedures are
agreed upon and the trainee is given enough authority to make divisions and even
commit mistakes. Of course, coaching can be a taxing job in that the coach may not
possess requisite skills to guide the learner in a systematic way. Sometimes, doing a
full day's work may be more important than putting the learner on track.

When to use coaching usefully? Coaching could be put to good use when:

·           an employee demonstrates a new competency

·           an employee expresses interest in a different job within the organisation

·           an employee seeks feedback

·           an employee is expressing low morale, violating company policies or

practices or having performance problems

·           an employee needs help with a new skill following a formal training
programme.

Effective working, obviously, requires patience and communication skills. It involves:

·           explaining appropriate ways of doing things

·           making clear why actions were taken

·           stating observations accurately

·           offering possible alternatives / suggestions

·           following up

3. Mentoring :

Mentoring is a relationship in which a senior manager in an organisation assumes

the responsibility for grooming a junior person. Technical, interpersonal and political
skills are generally conveyed in such a relationship from the more experienced
person. A mentor is a teacher, spouse, counsellor, developerr of skills and intellect,
host, guide, exemplar, and most importantly, supporter and facilitator in the
realisation of the vision the young person (protege) has about the kind of 1ife he
wants as an adult.

The main objective is to he1p an employee attain psychological maturity and

effectiveness and get integrated with the organisation. In a work situation, such
mentoring can take place at both formal and informal levels, depending on the
prevailing work culture and the commitment from the top management. Formal
mentoring can be very fruitful, if management invests time and money in such
relationship building exercises.

·           Career functions: Career functions are those aspects of the relationship

that enhance career advancement. These include:

1.             Sponsorship: Where mentors actively nominate a junior person (called

'mentee') for promotions or desirable positions.

2.            Exposure and visibility: Where mentors offer opportunities for mentees to

interact with senior executives, demonstrate their abilities and exploit their
potential.

3.              Coaching: Mentors help mentees to analyse how they are doing their

work and to define their aspirations. Here mentors offer practical advice on
how to accomplish objectives and gain recognition from others.

4.              Protection: Mentors shield the junior person from harmful

situations/seniors.

5.              Challenging assignments: Mentors help mentees develop necessary

competencies through challenging job assignments and appropriate
feedback. Mentors create opportunities clients to prove their worth to
demonstrate clearly what they have to offer.

·            Psychological functions: Psychological functions are those aspects that

enhance the mentee’s sense of competence, and identify effectiveness in a
professional role. These include:

6.              Role modeling: Mentors offer mentees a pattern of values and

behaviours to imitate

7.                         Acceptance and confirmation: mentors offer support, guidance

and encouragement to mentees so that they can solve the problems
independently and gain confidence in course of time. Mentors also help
people to learn about the organisation's culture and understand why things
are done in certain ways.

8.                         Counseling: Mentors help mentees work out their personal

problems, learn about what to do and what not to do, offer advice on what
works and what doesn't, and do everything to demonstrate improved
performance and prepare themselves for greater responsibility.

9.          Friendship: Mentors offer practical help and support to mentees so that

they can indulge in mutually satisfying social interactions (with peers,
subordinates, bosses and customers)

Mentoring in India is based on the time-honoured guru-shishya relationship where

the guru would do everything to develop the personality of the shishya, offering
emotional support, and guidance. Companies like TISCO, Neyveli Lignite
Corporation, Polaris, Coca-Cola India have used mentoring systems to good effect in
recent times (Economic Times, 25 Oct., 2002). Organisations like General Electric,
Intel, Proctor & Gamble have given a lot of importance to mentoring programmes,
going even gone to the extent of penalising senior managers if they fail to develop
leadership skills among subordinates. Of course, mentoring is not without its
problems. Mentors who are dissatisfied with their jobs and though who teach or
narrow or distorted view of events may not help a protege's development. Not all
mentors are well prepared to transfer their skills and wisdom to their junior
colleagues. When young people are bombarded with conflicting viewpoints - about
how things should go - from a series of advisors, they may find it difficult to get
ahead with confidence. Mentoring can succeed if (i) there is genuine support and
commitment from top management (ii) mentors take up their job seriously and
transfer ideas, skills and experiences in a systematic way and (iii) mentees believe in
the whole process and carry out things in an appropriate manner.

4. Job Rotation :

This kind of training involves the movement of trainee from one job to another. This
helps him to have a general understanding of how the organisation functions. The
purpose of job rotation is to provide trainees with a larger organisational perspective
and a greater understanding of different functional areas as well as a better sense of
their own career objectives and interests. Apart from relieving boredom, job rotation
allows trainees to build rapport with a wide range of individuals within the
organisation, facilitating future cooperation among departments. The cross-trained
personnel offer a great amount of flexibility for organisations when transfers,
promotions or replacements become inevitable.

Job rotation may pose several problems, especially when the trainees are rolled on
various jobs at frequent intervals. In such a case, trainees do not usually stay long
enough in any single phase of the operation to develop a high degree of expertise.
For slow learners, there is little room to integrate resources properly. Trainees can
become confused when they are exposed to rotating managers, with contrasting
styles of operation. Today's manager's commands may be replaced by another set
from another manager! Further, job rotation can be quite expensive. A substantial
amount of managerial time is lost when trainees change positions, because they
must be acquainted with different people and techniques in each department.
Development costs can go up and productivity is reduced by moving a trainee into a
new position when his efficiency levels begin to improve at the prior job.
Inexperienced trainees may fail to handle new tasks in an efficient way. Intelligent
and aggressive trainees, on the offer hand, may find the system to be thoroughly
boring as they continue to perform more or less similar jobs without any stretch, pull
and challenge. To get the best results out of the system, it should be tailored to the
needs, interests and capabilities of the individual trainee, and not be a standard
sequence that all trainees undergo.

5                  Apprenticeship Training

Most craft workers such as plumbers and carpenters are trained through formal
apprenticeship programmes. Apprentices are trainees who spend a prescribed
amount of time working with an experienced guide, coach or trainer. Assistantships
and internships are similar to apprenticeships because they also demand high levels
of participation from the trainee. An internship is a kind of on-the-job training that
usually combines job training with classroom instruction in trade schools, colleges or
universities. Coaching, as explained above, is similar to apprenticeship because the
coach attempts to provide a model for the trainee to copy. One important
disadvantage ofthe apprenticeship methods is the uniform period of training offered
to trainees. People have different abilities and learn at varied rates. Those who learn
fast may quit the programme in frustration. Slow learners may need additional
training time. It is also likely that in these days of rapid changes in technology, old
skills may get outdated quickly. Trainees who spend years learning specific skills
may find, upon completion of their programmes, that the job skills they acquired are
no longer appropriate.

6  Committee Assignments

In this method, trainees are asked to solve an actual organisational problem. The
trainees have to work together and offer solution to the problem. Assigning talented
employees to important committees can give these employees a broadening
experience and can help them to understand the personalities, issues and processes
governing the organisation. It helps them to develop team spirit and work unitedly
toward common goals. However, managers should very well understand that
committee assignments could become notorious time wasting activities. The above
on-the-job methods are cost effective. Workers actually produce while they learn.
Since immediat.e feedback is available, they motivate trainees to observe and learn
the right way of doing things. Very few problems arise in the· case of transfer of
training because the employees learn in the actual work environment where the skills
that are learnt are actually used. On-the-job methods may cause disruptions in
production schedules. Experienced workers cannot use the facilities that are used in
training. Poor learners may damage machinery and equipment. Finally, if the trainer
does not possess teaching skills, there is very little benefit to the trainee.

Off-the-Job Methods

Under this method of training, the trainee is separated from the job situation and his
attention is focused upon learning the material related to his future job performance.
Since the trainee is not distracted by job requirements, he can focus his entire
concentration on learning the job rather than spending his time in performing it.
There is an opportunity for freedom of expression for the trainees. Off-the-job
training methods are as follows:

a. Vestibule training: In this

method, actual work conditions are simulated in a classroom. Material, files and
equipment - those that are used in actual job performance are also used in the
training. This type of training is commonly used for training personnel for clerical and
semi-skilled jobs. The duration of this training ranges from a few days to a few
weeks. Theory can be related to practice in this method.
b. Role playing: It is defined as a method of human interaction that involves realistic
behaviour in imaginary situations. This method of training involves action, doing and
practice. The participants play the role of certain characters, such as the production
manager, mechanical engineer, superintendents, maintenance engineers, quality
control inspectors, foreman, workers and the like. This method is mostly used for
developing interpersonal interactions and relations.

c. Lecture method: The lecture is a traditional and direct method of instruction. The

instructor organizes the material and gives it to a group of trainees in the form of a
talk. To be effective, the lecture must motivate and create interest among the
trainees. An advantage of lecture method is that it is direct and can be used for a
large group of trainees. Thus, costs and time involved are reduced. The major
limitation of the lecture method is that it does not provide for transfer of training
effectively.

d.         Conference/discussion approach: In this method, the trainer delivers a

lecture and involves the trainee in a discussion so that his doubts about the job
get clarified. When big organisations use this method, the trainer uses audio-
visual aids such as black boards, mockups and slides; in some cases the
lectures are videotaped or audio taped. Even the trainee's presentation can be
taped for self confrontation and self-assessment.

The conference is, thus, a group-centered approach where there is a clarification of

ideas, communication of procedures and standards to the trainees. Those individuals
who have a general educational background and whatever specific skills are
required such as typing, shorthand, office equipment operation, filing, indexing,
recording, etc. - may be provided with specific instructions to handle their respective
jobs.

e.          Programmed instruction: This method has become popular in recent

years. The subject matter to be learned is presented in a series of carefully
planned sequential units. These units are arranged from simple to more
complex levels of instruction. The trainee goes through these units by answering
questions or filling the blanks. This method is, thus, expensive and time-
consuming.

Behaviourally Experienced Training

Some training programmes focus on emotional and behavioural learning. Here

employees can learn about behaviour by role-playing in which the role players
attempt to act their part in respect of a case, as they would behave in a real-life
situation. Business games, cases, incidents, group discussions and short
assignments are also used in behaviourally-experienced learning methods.
Sensitivity training or laboratory training is an example of a method used for
emotional learning. The focus of experiential methods is on achieving, through group
processes, a better understanding of oneself and others. These are discussed
elaborately in the section covering Executive Development Programmes.

Evaluation of a Training Programme

The specification of values forms a basis for evaluation. The basis of evaluation and
the mode of collection of information necessary for evaluation should be determined
at the planning stage.

The process of training evaluation has been defined as any attempt to obtain
information on the effects of training performance and to assess the value of training
in the light of that information. Evaluation helps in controlling and correcting the
training programme. Hamblin suggested five levels at which evaluation of training
can take place, viz., reactions, learning, job behaviour, organisation and ultimate
value.

1.        Reactions: Trainee's reactions to the overall usefulness of the training

including the coverage of the topics, the method of presentation, the techniques
used to clarify things, often throw light on the effectiveness of the programme.
Potential questions to trainees might include: (i) What were your learning goals
for the programme? (ii) Did you achieve them? (iii) Did you like this programme?
(iv) Would you recommend it to others who have similar learning goals? ( v)
what suggestions do you have for improving the programme? (vi) Should the
organisation continue to offer it?

2.        Learning: Training programme, trainer's ability and trainee's ability are

evaluated on the basis of quantity of content learned and time in which it is
learned and learner's ability to use or apply the content learned.

3.        Job behaviour: This evaluation includes the manner and extent to which the
trainee has applied his learning to his job.

4.        Organisation: This evaluation measures the use of training, learning and

change in the job behaviour of the department/organisation in the form of
increased productivity, quality, morale, sales turnover and the like.

5.        Ultimate value: It. is the measurement of ultimate result of the contributions

of the training programme to the company goals like survival, growth,
profitability, etc. and to the individual goals like development of personality and
social goals like maximising social benefit.

Methods of Evaluation

Various methods can be used to collect data on the outcomes of training. Some of
these are:

·          Questionnaires: Comprehensive questionnaires could be used to obtain

opinions, reactions, views of trainees.

·          Tests: Standard tests could be used to find out whether trainees have learnt
anything during and after the training.

·          Interviews: Interviews could be conducted to find the usefulness of training

offered to operatives.
·          Studies: Comprehensive studies could be carried out eliciting the opinions
and judgements of trainers, superiors and peer groups about the training.

·           Human resource factors: Training can also be evaluated on the basis of

employee satisfaction, which in turn can be examined on the basis of decrease
in employee turnover, absenteeism, accidents, grievances, discharges,
dismissals, etc.

·           Cost benefit analysis: The costs of training (cost of hiring trainers, tools to

learn, training centre, wastage, production stoppage, opportunity cost of trainers
and trainees) could be compared with its value (in terms of reduced learning
time, improved learning, superior performance) in order to evaluate a training
programme.

Feedback: After the evaluation, the situation should be examined to identify the

probable causes for gaps in performance. The training evaluation information (about
costs, time spent, outcomes, etc.) should be provided to the instructors, trainees and
other parties concerned for control, correction and improvement of trainees'
activities. The training evaluator should follow it up sincerely so as to ensure
effective implementation of the feedback report at every stage.

Training Programme of Company

Purpose-

To establish and maintain a documented procedure for identifying and providing

training to all the employees of the organization with essential skill and knowledge so
as to achieve desired quality and productivity goals.

Scope-

This procedure is applicable to all employees. Company's personnel involved in

quality system.

Training Process

Training is provided both “In House” and through “Outside Agencies” Which could be
for an individual or for group of persons as a collective training.

Training is conducted either through “Planned Training Programme” “Emergent

Training Programme” which is organized by the HRD Department

Planned Training-

The planned training programme is drawn on annual basis both for individual and
group of persons for collective training at the beginning of Calendar Year by
Manager HRD and HRD Executive of factory. The departmental Heads drawn out
the training requirements on the training requisition slip and sent it to HID Dept.
Training of the senior personnel at Factory Is also catered for at Head Office on
receipt of requirement from HRD Executive.

The annual Training Prog. at Head office is approved by from Chairman cum
Managing Director.

Annual training Prog. is prepared on format and circulated to all heads of department
and is updated. If required in case of additional training needs.

Emergent Training –

The Emergent training programme is a supplementary training programme both for

individual and collective persons which is imparted during the course of work to take
care for unforeseen or uncatered training requirements arisen due to installation of
new machine, system, procedure etc.

Identification of such training need is done by the concerned HOD at Head Office
and HOD/Supervisor at factory and accordingly forwards their request. The
procedure as in case of planned training is followed there after.

Conduct of Training

HRD Head at HO & HRD (Executive) at factory ensures that identified training in
their respective areas is conducted as scheduled.

In case of External training, liaison with the agency is done and

dates, venue etc. is fixed up and concerned person is intimated
through Heads of Department.

For In-House training, date/Venue is fixed up with identified faculty

and concerned individual is informed through Heads of Department.
Besides, necessary resource/infrastructure is also provided for
effective training.

External Trainers for the Company are:

                       Father Son & Company

       Skill & Thoughts

       Logic Consultant

  

Topics covered under Training Programme

EFT Act & Scheme Provisions

    Rigid and Semi Rigid Packaging

 Principles of Contract Labour Act

    Self-motivational & Attitudinal Seminar

Organic farming

Training about operations in the company.

Processing of Rice (value addition In Rice)

Knowledge about rice trade

Operational and maintenance of dryer & Cleaning Plant

Silo storage Techniques

Scientific Instrumentation

Finished goods quality control

    Trouble shooting

PURPOSE OF PROJECT

To know the effectiveness of the training programme conducted by the

company.

To know whether employees are aware about their responsibilities and

authorities or not.

To improve Organizational Climate and increase the morale of

employees.

To know whether training programme is conducted successfully or not.

To know about the work culture of the organization.

Job satisfaction

Job satisfaction is in regard to one's feeling or state of mind regarding the nature of
their work. It can be influenced by a variety of factors e.g.: quality of one's
relationships with there supervisor, quality of physical environment in which they
work, degree of fulfillment in there work etc.

Locke gives a comprehensive definition of job satisfaction as involving cognitive,

effective and evaluative reactions or attitudes and states it is "a pleasurable or
positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one's job or job experience."
Job satisfaction is a result of employees' perception of how well their job provides
those things that are viewed as important.

There are three generally accepted dimensions to job satisfaction.

First, job satisfaction is an emotional response to a job situation, as such it cannot be

seen; it can only be inferred.

Second, job satisfaction is often determined by how well outcomes meet or exceed
expectations. For example if organizational participants feel that they are working
more harder than others in the department but are receiving fewer rewards, they will
probably have a negative attitude toward the work, the boss or the coworkers. They
will be dissatisfied. On the other hand, if they feel they are being treated very well
and are being paid equitably, they are likely to have a positive attitude toward the
job. They will be job - satisfied.

Third, job satisfaction represents several related attitudes.

Factors determining job satisfaction

• Factors affecting jobs are the main factors of job satisfaction, which may be
challenging work, reward systems, working conditions, colleagues, learning and
personality. Skill variety autonomy and significance are challenging tasks, which
provide maximum satisfaction to employees. Many people feel bored if a job is too
simple and routine, but many employees also enjoy simple and routine jobs.

• The job characteristics are important factors for providing satisfaction. Reward
systems, equitable rewards, equal pay for equal work, promotion avenues, etc are
satisfaction factors. Money is important to employees having unfulfilled basic needs,
i.e. they require more award and recognition.

• Fairness in promotion, unbiased attitude of management, responsibilities and social

status are the factors that are said to be providing satisfaction to employees.

• Working conditions influence employee's level of satisfaction. Under conducive

working condition, people prefer to work hard while in an adverse atmosphere
people avoid work. Working condition not only include physicals of the work but also
the working relationships in the organization. The physical conditions, for example,
are the light, temperature, willingness, etc. A clerk working under routine conditions
likes to work hard in an air - conditioned atmosphere with computer facilities. It
increases the working capacity of the employee.

·        The relationships between the employees and the managers have an

important bearing on job satisfaction.

·        Job satisfaction is greater in case the higher authority is sympathetic, friendly

and willing to help the employees. Employees feel satisfied when their views are
listened to and regarded by their higher authorities
·        Personal attitude and perceptions are the employees' angles of satisfaction,
which should be taken into consideration while motivating people to arrive at job
satisfaction

·        Feedback from the job itself and autonomy are two of the major job-related
motivational factors. A recent found that career development was most important
to both younger and older employees.

·        Supervision is another moderately important of job satisfaction. There seem to

be two dimensions of supervisory style that affect job satisfaction. One is
employee centeredness, which is measured by the degree to which a supervisor
takes a personal interest and cares about the employee.

It commonly is manifested in ways such as checking to see how well the employee is
doing, providing advice and assistance to the individual, and communicating with the
associate on a personal as well as an official level . The other dimension is
participation or influence, as illustrated by managers who allow their people to
participate in decisions that affect their own jobs. In most case, this approach leads
higher job satisfaction.

·        Friendly, cooperative coworkers or team members are a modest source

of job satisfaction to individual employees. The group, especially a "tight"
team, serves as a source of support, comfort, advice, and assistance to
the individual member.

Outcomes of job satisfaction

To society as a whole as well as from an individual employee's standpoint, job

satisfaction in and of itself is a desirable outcome. It is important to know, if at all,
satisfaction relates to outcomes variable. For example, if job satisfaction is high, will
the employee perform better and the organization be more effective? I f job
satisfaction is low, will there be performance problems and ineffectiveness? The
following sections examine the most important of these.

Satisfaction and performance:

Most assume a positive relationship; the research to date indicates that there is no
strong linkage between satisfaction and performance. Conceptual, methodological,
and empirical analyses have questioned and argued against these results.

The best conclusion about satisfaction and performance is that there is, definitely a
relationship. The relationship may even be more complex than others in organization
behavior. For example, there seem to be many possible-moderating variables, the
most important of which is reward. If people receive reward they feel are equitable,
they will be satisfied, and is likely to result in greater performance effort.

Satisfaction and turnover:

Unlike that between satisfaction and performance, research has uncovered a

moderately negatively relationship between satisfaction and turnover. High job
satisfaction will not, in and of itself, keep turnover low, but it does seem to help. On
the other hand, if there is considerable job dissatisfaction, there is likely to be high
turnover. Obviously, other variables enter into an Employees decision to quit besides
job satisfaction. For example, age tenure in the organization, and commitments to
the organization, may playa role. Some people cannot see them selves working
anywhere else, so they remain regardless of how dissatisfied they feel.

Another factor is the general economy, typically there will be an increase in turnover
because will being looking for better opportunities with other organization.

Satisfaction and absenteeism:

Research has only demonstrated a weak negative relationship between satisfaction

and absenteeism. As with turnover, many variables enter into the decision to stay
home besides satisfaction with the job. For example, there are moderating variables
such as the degree to which people that there job are important. For example,
research among state govt. Employees has found those who believed that there was
important had lower absenteeism than did who did not feel this way. Additionally, it is
important to remember that although job satisfaction will not necessarily result in
absenteeism, low job satisfaction more likely to bring about absenteeism.

Significance of Study

Every organization desires that it will grow continuously and make and retain its
position in the competitive and continuously changing market environment. For this
purpose the employees of the organization must be skilled and talented. But all the
employees may not have the desired skills. Their skills can be improved with the
help of training programs. It is an important activity for the origination to conduct
appropriate and related programme for its employees, so that may be able to
understand the terms required for the completion of his job. This also helps the
employees of the organization to know about his job and organization very well. This
also helps in better communication and relation among the organization wants to
grow rapidly, then it is essential for it to conduct periodically training programmes for
its employees to improve the skills and knowledge.

So the top management must concentrate on the training programs

and organize them in such a way that maximum number of employees wants to
attend these programs. These must be related to employees and their jobs.