Training Concepts

Training Concepts

Introduction

A very important and vital topic under the vast field of Human Resource Management is the Human Resource Development. And in present times this discipline has received the most attention of many businesses and organizations. Holton and Swanson (p.46) described it as an academic discipline in its early stages and but at the same time it is well established and very old field of practice. Researchers through many years of study have now developed new models of concepts and theories that are able to effectively deal with the extensive range of trends and interest in the human resource development profession.

Human Resource Development initially came out of “Training” then “Training and Development” and finally it became Human Resource Development. The importance of training cannot be stressed enough especially in toay's changing business environment. So at the background this new field still follows the basic concepts that are used to describe training and development in human resource management.

The simple aims and objectives of training and development is to enable the organization and specifically the employees in that organization to acquire the attitudes, skills, abilities and knowledge necessary and sometimes very much required by the employees to improve their performance.

Training and development of the employees in the organization should be focused on the department's aim which is naturally aligned with the overall objectives of the organization. The competencies of the staff are also important because these competencies enable them to achieve these stated aims and objectives. Therefore a strategic approach has the following features:

obligation to training and developing the human resource;

customary examination of staff competencies and operational requirements;

connecting the training and development goals to departmental objectives;

skilled and competent training personnel;

regular and periodic evaluations;

fostering continuous learning culture in the organization;

shared responsibility between staff and managers for recognizing and meeting training needs; and

A variety of training and development methods for different learning styles and circumstances (Anonymous, 1995, pp. 23-24).

Discussion

The very purpose that the training needs assessment serves is to recognize any performance requirements or deficiencies and the abilities, skills and knowledge needed by the workforce to achieve their stated goals and objectives by the company. If training needs assessment is done correctly it will assist in directing the resources to those areas that demand them the most and in Wal-Mart's case this will help the organization immensely. The needs assessment if done correctly will help Wal-Mart to address the resources needed to accomplish the organizational mission, enhance the productivity and supply quality services and products.

A training need assessment helps any organization to spot the gap between the desired state of performance and the present state of performance. In almost all the cases there is a difference between these two states and so the needs assessment will investigate the reasons and causes for that difference and thus it will lead to designing of methods for elimination or closing the gap. And if the needs assessment is done in its true spirit then it will be able to identify the results for ignoring the ...