“Training is not an expense but a long term investment on people.” Discuss. (10 marks). Examine critically the steps in the job analysis process with relevant examples (10 marks)
“Training is not an expense but a long term investment on people.” Discuss. (10 marks)
What is training?
According to (Stewart, 2019), training is a basic concept in human resource development concerned with developing a particular skill to a desired standard by instruction and practice. It is a highly useful tool that can bring an employee into a position where they can do their job correctly and effectively. Training is the act of increasing the knowledge and skill of an employee for doing a particular job.
Additionally, Dale S. Beach defines training as ‘the organized procedure by which people learn knowledge and/or skill for a definite purpose’. Finally, according to Edwin Flippo, ‘training is the act of increasing the skills of an employee for doing a particular job’.
Any organization should provide training to all the employees irrespective of their qualifications and skills.
Reasons for training includes:
1. Environmental changes: Mechanization, computerization, and automation acn result in changes that require trained staff possessing enough skills. The organization should train the employees to enrich them with the latest technology and knowledge.
2. Organizational complexity: The kinds of modern inventions, technological upgradation, and diversification are some of the factors that have led organizations to become very complex. This has aggravated the problems of coordination. So, in order to cope up with the complexities, training has become mandatory.
3. Good Human relations: Good human relations is a core requirement by organizations. Every management has to maintain very good human relations. This has made training as one of the basic conditions to deal with human problems.
4. To match employee specifications with the job requirements and organizational needs: An employee’s specification may not exactly suit to the requirements of the job and the organization, irrespective of past experience and skills. There is always a gap between an employee’s present specifications and the organization’s requirements. For filling this gap training is manatory.
5. Change in the job assignment: Training is also necessary when the existing employee is promoted to the higher level or transferred to another department. Training is also required to equip the old employees with new techniques and technologies.
Training is essential in this changing environment. It is an important activity of which:
The stability and progress of the organization always depends on the training imparted to the employees. Training becomes mandatory under each and every step of expansion and diversification. Only training can improve the quality and reduce the wastages to the minimum. Training and development is also very essential to adapt according to changing environment.
There are various types of training. They includes: induction training, refresher training, on the job training, vestibule training, and training for promotions.
Some of the commonly used training programs are listed below:
1. Induction training: Also known as orientation training given for the new recruits in order to make them familiarize with the internal environment of an organization. It helps the employees to understand the procedures, code of conduct, policies existing in that organization.
2. Job instruction training: This training provides an overview about the job and experienced trainers demonstrates the entire job. Addition training is offered to employees after evaluating their performance if necessary.
3. Vestibule training: It is the training on actual work to be done by an employee but conducted away from the work place.
4. Refresher training: This type of training is offered in order to incorporate the latest development in a particular field. This training is imparted to upgrade the skills of employees. This training can also be used for promoting an employee.
5. Apprenticeship training: Apprentice is a worker who spends a prescribed period of time under a supervisor.
2. Examine critically the steps in the job analysis process with relevant examples (10 marks)
This the first step in job analysis. The purpose should be connected to the organization’s success and strategic goal. The nature of the job is frequently changed by technology. It needs a competitive environment, necessitating reevaluation. Rapid organizational expansion often necessitates the creation of new types of positions. This leads to the action of job descriptions. Other indicators of the necessity for job analysis initiatives could include high turnover or low work satisfaction. High turnover could imply that positions are underpriced in comparison to the external job market. Because pay decisions are based on job analysis, prior job analysis results may need to be changed (Kirlik, 2018).
After the purpose has been determined, it can be determined which jobs should be included in the job analysis. Time and resource constraints.This should be done in a mnanner to frequently limit the overall number of jobs that can be included in the process.
A successful and effective job analysis typically builds on previous work and previously updated data. Examining current job descriptions and organizational charts will supply you with the foundational knowledge you’ll need to get started on the project. Understanding the job’s responsibilities and how they fit into the overall work process is aided by workflow analysis.
Planning is the key to a successful venture. A project action plan with project activities and deadlines must be designed and the most applicable data-gathering methodologies. The next part discusses data collection methods.
Textual work outputs, job descriptions, and job specifications must be developed after the data has been collected and analyzed. Before these documents are finalized, a representative sample of affected employees and their managers should review them. If any changes to the documents are necessary, they should be made, and the required final approvals acquired.
Finally, engaging in a systematic periodic evaluation of job descriptions is good HR practice. Many companies employ a rotating process. This is a reviewed each year, with the entire organization being reviewed once every three to five years. Managers in the organization section that is being reviewed are required to verify the accuracy of the job descriptions. Additionally, they should verify the job specifications during the evaluation. If managers identify that job descriptions are out of date, the job analysis assessment includes those descriptions. Lastly, for review, a random sample of employment is supplied.
References
Kirlik, Alex. “Requirements for psychological models to support design: Toward ecological task analysis.” Global perspectives on the ecology of human-machine systems. CRC Press, 2018. 68-120.
Stewart, Greg L., and Kenneth G. Brown. Human resource management. John Wiley & Sons, 2019.