An Introduction to Training and Development - HRDNotes.htm (Wilf H. Ratzburg)

TRAINING: planned efforts to facilitate learning ...the learning of job-related behaviors	As with any course of study, the title of the course (in this case TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT), begs the question: "What is training and what is development?" In the case of TRAINING, let us answer simply by stating that training is a planned effort by an organization to facilitate the learning of job-related behaviors.

	Training as Management
MANAGEMENT: Planning Organizing Leading Controlling	To understand the training process, we will take two approaches. First, we will look at training as an example of management. Second, we will take a systems perspective of the process (the author is greatly indebted to Don Clark for insight into this conceptualization). The first approach requires us to examine the process of management. In this case, we'll be looking at management from an idealized or normative perspective. That is, management as defined in most introductory texts on the subject. As such, we begin with the four functions of management: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.
	Planning
Training... a modification of the behavior of the firm's human resources. VISION MISSION STATEMENT GOALS OBJECTIVES POLICIES RULES REGULATIONS BUDGETS When discrepancies between planned performance and actual performance occur, corrective action in the form training may be required. Needs assessment is the process of determining the nature of this discrepancy. ...training goals, like all goals in the firm, must complement the overall corporate mission	The first step of the management cycle is planning. Training, as a form of management, is no different. If training is to be successful, and do what it is intended to do (to facilitate the learning of job-related behaviors), then we need some way of determining what job-related behaviors actually need to be learned. Clearly, a needs assessment is required. The word cycle was used on purpose in the previous paragraph. The management process is a cyclical process insofar as the control function inevitably leads to a reassessment of the original plan. Realistically, this is where most training planning fits into the larger organizational picture. If it is perceived, through the control process, that a firm's plans (goals and objectives) have not been attained, then some form of corrective action may be called for. The form of this corrective action may be varied: from changing the objectives (perhaps to something more realistic), to reallocating resources (human, material, financial, or informational), to modifying the existing resources (human, material, financial, or informational) such that they are more effectively utilized or function more efficiently. It is through this latter option (modifying existing resources) that training becomes an alternative. Training is, after all, a modification of the behavior of the firm's human resources. Which of course begs the question that is the topic of this section: "What should the nature of the training be?" To address this question, we must return to the management cycle. At the broader, organizational level, planning is a process that begins with visions and mission statements and ends with operational objectives, regulations, and budgets. The vision and the mission statements provide the umbrella for all levels of specificity that come after the vision has been articulated. At the level of operational objectives, the plan includes specific statements about what a particular department or individual employee is expected to achieve in a specified timeframe. If, in the case of the individual employee, several objectives have not been met, then immediate supervisors may wish to know why. The discrepancy between the ideal (that which is stated in the employee's objectives), and that which actually occurred may be corrected by many means. Perhaps the original objectives were unrealistic and need to be revised. Perhaps the employee's equipment was faulty and needs to be repaired or replaced. Perhaps the employee was given inferior materials to work with. Or, perhaps the employee was unable to perform as required due to inadequate skills. This last dilemma might be resolved by altering the recruitment and selection process, or perhaps even through termination. However, if these previous solutions can be ruled out, then training may provide the requisite solution. We have now seen one way in which training fits into the larger organizational picture. When discrepancies between some planned-for ideal and actual performances occur, corrective action in the form training may be required. The process of determining this discrepancy plays an important role in training: the needs assessment. However, training and management are not only linked through the needs assessment process. While this is how training and life in the larger organization are linked, training is itself a management process. That is, training must also go through the planning-organizing-leading-controlling cycle. Training must also begin with a plan. Once the needs assessment process has identified a training need, the trainer must begin planning for the the training to take place. This training plan must state an overall goal. In keeping with our focus on training as management, it must be pointed out that this training goal, like all goals in the firm, must complement the overall corporate mission. The broad training goal must then be stated in specific, operational objectives. These objectives will guide the training activities of the trainee and will serve as criteria against which the training outcomes are measured (we just can't escape the planning-controlling-planning nexus!). The training objectives, if stated with enough specificity, will further enable the trainer to establish the training budget.
	Organizing
	In the broader organizational context, plans lead to the need to organize. The plan establishes the need to do something, using human, financial, material, and informational resources. These resources need to be brought together in order for the firm to accomplish its goals. However, this bringing together of resources must be done efficiently -- the process must be rational. At the organizational level, geographical considerations might play a role in determining how the resources are utilized. Similarly, the determination of organizational structure (the result of the organizing process) might be governed by technology, the nature of the clients, or the nature of the firm's processes. It is no different for training. The training plan will have identified who needs to be trained, and what skills need to improved. Thus, the plan dictates the nature of the training (organizational) structure. Are the trainees geographically dispersed such that distance learning procedures might be applied? Are the trainees' skill deficiencies similar or different? Answers to these questions may determine whether or not we require multiple trainers, multiple training venues, or a series of training sessions over time. Do we require equipment to do the training, and is this equipment readily available? When can trainees be released from their on-the-job duties? When are certified trainers available? These questions and more govern the organizing process.
	Leading
	At the organizational level, leading (also referred to as directing) generally refers to the processes required to lead employees to a successful completion of their objectives. Training is no different. Training objectives are written with the trainee in mind. So, it is incumbent upon the trainer to ensure that the trainees attain the desired training objectives. To this end, the trainer takes a leadership role. To the extent that training, like management in general, is a situationally dependent process, there is no one best training/leading style. As a leader, the trainer must be cognizant of the trainees' personalities, their motivational needs, and the reasons for their need for training. Each trainee thus requires a unique training strategy.
	Controlling Like most activities, particularly business activities, training requires that at some point questions like: "How are we doing?" or "How did we do?" be asked. Controlling constitutes the final of the four functions of management. As mentioned above, organizational controls (evaluation, assessment or analysis) probably pinpointed the initial need for training by determining a discrepancy between an existing condition and whatever was stated in organizational/operational objectives. However, the training itself also needs to be controlled. In the vernacular of training, this stage is generally referred to as evaluation. Like most controls, evaluation can be feed-forward, concurrent, or feedback. In this course, we will focus on feedback control. To this end, we will ask questions about the success of the process. Evaluation will be carried out at four levels of analysis. First, we will be concerned about the participants' reactions to the training; did they enjoy it? Second, we must be concerned with the degree to which learning took place. We can test to see if, at the end of the training session, the trainees actually learned the required training content. Third, and more likely to be of interest to the client organization, we must determine whether or not the trainees actually use the "new" skills or knowledge in the workplace. Finally, the organization needs to evaluate the extent to which the training has had a positive impact on the organization itself. For example, it needs to be determined if the organization has become more effective or if there has been an acceptable "return" on the training "investment" (ROI).
	**************************************************** More needs to be said about training from a systems perspective. Suffice to say, at this point (as this site is still under construction), successful training requires an examination of the "inputs" into the process. Clearly, one of the key inputs is the people to be trained. Whatever we do in the throughput stage (the training itself) will be determined by what the inputs are. To this end, we need to examine adult learners.