TRAINING OBJECTIVES

Training Objectives



Training Objectives

Introduction

Globalization involves the widest range of firms in international investment, production, sourcing, and marketing, as well as cross-border alliances for product development and distribution. Companies source input goods from suppliers worldwide, and sell their products and services in dozens, or even hundreds, of national markets. Global companies devise extensive multi-country operations via investments aimed at production and marketing activities. The aggregate activities of these firms are giving rise to ongoing integration of national economies, the most salient macro-dimension of globalization. Cross-national trade and investment have increased dramatically since the 1980s, particularly in the wake of falling government trade barriers and the emergence of numerous regional free trade agreements. By the early 2000s, for example, the total of merchandise exports and imports amounted to more than 40 per cent of world GDP.

Training is the set of activities directed toward the improvement of employees' capacity to perform a present or future task through the improvement of his or her knowledge, competences, or skills. Apprenticeship and learning by doing are included within this definition. Formal education is excluded.

Conceptual Overview

The study of training can be divided into two broad areas: determinants and effectiveness. The study of the determinants of training is ultimately the study of the factors that explain why organizations finance all, or at least part, of the training of their employees. Research in this area has been developed within the conceptual umbrella provided by Gary Becker's human capital theory and its subsequent refinements. This theory posits that the decision to invest in human capital comes from a comparison of the discounted earnings and costs associated with that decision (Acemoglu, 2009).

Small multinational enterprises now comprise a substantial proportion of new enterprises in Europe, Asia, North America and elsewhere. Their emergence reflects the internationalization of a breed of firms heretofore not generally regarded as significant international players. Despite the immense hurdles that smaller businesses typically face, many Partnership are faring well in their pursuit of foreign markets - environments generally more risky than those found in the firm's home market. Research evidence suggests that Partnership make use of a particular constellation of knowledge, capabilities, and unique resources that may help them overcome the rather considerable challenges of being relatively small players in a competitive global marketplace. Despite the scarce financial and tangible resources that usually characterize small firms, Partnership appear willing and able to tackle the considerable challenges of international marketing.

The rise of Partnership is partially driven by globalization and advancing technologies. These companies are guided by managers who tend to view the world as their market-place and undertake substantial international selling activities, often from the firm's earliest days, managing to achieve considerable international success. In many respects, it is possible that smaller size confers flexibility and agility, and may be best suited for serving niche markets abroad.

Since training activities increase workers' (and organizations') human capital, commercial organizations will finance them as long as the discounted flow of future earnings achievable during the employment relationship overcomes the discounted flow ...