A critical analysis of the training and its impact on the performance of the organization

CHAPTER 1 Introduction

1.1) Introduction of Chapter 1

A brief history of organization and work involved in organization has been discussed in this introductory chapter. Also the objectives of this project, research methodology and finding and data analysis are given in this chapter. An introductory summary and history of training is also provided in this chapter.
Most of us have, at some time been a ‘trainer’. As the training confirms, people, animals even plants, can be ‘brought to a desired standard of efficiency, condition or behaviour by instruction and practice’. Whether training have helped colleague to master a particular work routine or a puppy to conform to acceptable standards of domestic behaviours. Within most organisations the task of bringing people to the desired standard of efficiency- or helping them to learn to do things the way they need to be done is share. In some, every employee is expected to help by training others or themselves. In others, just team leaders, supervisor or managers may be explicitly involved. Some aspects may be dealt with by a separate training department, particularly in the Social Care Organisation. Social Care Organisations have legal responsibilities to provide s safe and healthy environment for their staff, subcontractors and visiting members of the public. They are required to provide a range of training that ensures that their workforce has the correct level of knowledge and skill to operate safely and that a safe and healthy working environment is maintained. Although there is legislation that requires statutory training to be identified, organisations need to establish their own minimum standards for safe practice tailored to their business demands and requirements. By publishing their mandatory training requirements, they are establishing an organisational standard that offers clarity for the workforce and ensures consistency and quality in their provision of statutory and mandatory training.
To provide proper training and after that its proper evaluation is essential for growth of any organisation. This project concentrates on (A) Comfort Care Services (UK) Limited and Bluebird Care (B). Intention of this dissertation is to improve the ways to provide training to employees, based on the identified needs of the organisation, and to evaluate and measure the impact of training on the organisation. For this purpose, interviews will have to be arranged and questionnaires will be distributed within the organisation. The results of questionnaires and data gathered from interviews will be analysed and recommendations has to be available at the end of this project.
Introduction of the Companies
This dissertation is based on a case study on a company called Comfort Care Services and Bluebird Care.
(A) Comfort Care Services (UK) Limited
Comfort Care Services (CCS) has been providing accommodation and supported housing for the past twenty five (25) years for service users suffering from learning disabilities and mental illness. It also supports service users who are recovering from alcohol and illegal substance misuse. Using a client-centred approach, CCS continuously strive to achieve a positive long-term outcome for our service users through accessing other services, and working closely with other professionals and families, where appropriate.
Comfort Care works in partnership with Social Services, Community Mental Health Teams (CMHT) and Supporting People within leading Local Authorities across London and the South of England offering high quality supported housing for vulnerable adults who are:
Aged between 18-70 with recognised mental health needs and learning disabilities
Individuals recovering from substance/alcohol misuse and other complex needs
Individuals ready to be discharged from psychiatric wards
Vulnerable adults living in the community in crisis
Private referrals from GPs and families
To prepare our service users towards independent living, Comfort Care has a holistic approach which involves social workers, psychiatrists, GPs, care workers, advocates and their extended families.
Comfort Care Services (CCS) offer a tailored solution to Services Users referred to Comfort Care. This allows other professionals and families to help us design the support plans to ensure the best outcomes for the service users in our care.
There is a great variety of supported housing and residential care available and different types of accommodation suit different levels of need. These vary from residential care to respite care and floating support. At present, CCS does not provide nursing care, but is planning to do so in the near future. CCS has twenty three supported housing units in the community which all conform to National Minimum Care Standards and it have been accredited by several boroughs and recently received an “Investors in People” award. These houses are located in London, Slough, Maidenhead, Reading, Woking, Guildford, Bracknell, Aylesbury and Redhill.
(B) Bluebird Care
Bluebird care provides high quality care at home. They have the offices in many parts of the United Kingdom and work with private individuals (and their families), with Social Services, GPs and Primary Care Trusts. Bluebird Care brings a breath of fresh air to the trials and tribulations of care at home. Building on extensive experience within the caring professions, Bluebird Care has revolutionised the way care is delivered by concentrating on high quality customer service, whilst at the same time upholding the very best in professional care provision.
We have proved successful because we offer the service people want. We don’t tell people what they can have. We believe that the people we provide care for are first and foremost customers. In that way everyone understands exactly what they can expect. And that is “Good Old Fashioned Service.”
Providing care to the whole community
Bluebird Care provides care not only to Older People but also to people with Learning Disabilities, Physical Disabilities and to Children and their families. Care can range from the straight forward fifteen or thirty minute visit right through to live-in care. With offices across the UK, Bluebird Care is fast becoming the nation’s foremost provider of care-at-home
The fastest growing care franchise in the UK with experience in franchising and care provision you will not find elsewhere. Bluebird Care’s growth has been exceptional by any standards. From a standing start in June 2006, Bluebird now have franchised offices throughout the UK and Republic of Ireland. The market in the UK is currently worth some ?20bn per year, and growing. Bluebird Care is a success story within this huge market and you can be part of it developing your own successful, profitable Bluebird Care business.
1.1) Significance of a study- Training
The Significance of a study refers to its practical application in the discipline and perhaps to society in general. Therefore, the significance of a study of training is a process whereby an individual acquires skills and knowledge. It is important for a business to improve performance of workers. It is a cost to firms to pay for the training and also to suffer the loss of working hours whilst as trainee is being trained. However, the potential gains from employees training are significant. The main benefits of training are improved productivity and motivation of staff and also better quality products being made or services being provided.
It is important that a business provides training that is consistent with the business strategy. The most important steps in developing a training strategy are to Identifying the skills and abilities needed by trainees, drawing up an action plan to show how investment in training and development will help meet business goals and objectives, Implementing the plan, monitoring progress and training effectiveness.
1.2) History of Training
According to CIPD (2007) starting point of commercial training was the Industrial Revolution in Europe. At that time there was great manufacturing competition internationally and there were also large groups used to work in factories. Because of this employers realised that they should train their employees and also governments realised that the quality workforce is an important factor in growing competition for trade. In this course work mostly the history of training in Great Britain has given, but references are made to other countries as well where their practices have made an impact upon the United Kingdom.
CIPD (2007) enlightens that during the 19th century and also in beginning of the 20th century, training was seen as being based around apprenticeships and unstructured on-the-job training also existed. Where successful, workers in semi-skilled jobs were assumed to be training providers to new workers by using demonstration method. Management theories arrived from the USA to the UK after 1920s. Before that UK was under the influence of ideas from across the Atlantic. Taylor and Mayo are pioneers in this field. Taylor given principles of scientific management and Elton Mayo suggested that positive relationship between workers and between management and workers is necessary in maintaining interest in work. In the Second World War, importance had been given to training officers. At that time some businesses also realised the importance of training. During the 1950s and 60s other sociologists and psychologists like Argyris, McGregor and Herzberg started to think like Mayo and they presented their theories. By the late 50s it was accepted that management is more than that what Taylor had suggested. Work became more complex and dynamic, and there was need to pay attention towards training to enhance the abilities of workers to get maximum benefit from workforce.
Managers used to train workforce in the beginning but after some time specialist trainers and training departments came into being. In the late 1960s the first business schools in the UK opened and after that many other management and training schools came into being (CIPD, 2007).
1.3) Aims & Objectives of the project:
Aims are just general statement briefly outlining the content of the training being offered. We written objectives are much more specific and should clarify the aims in more detail. They should state what the trainee should be able to do. Well written aims and objectives will help to provide a sound basis for identifying the content of a training programme. They also will assist you in assessing whether or not the training has been successful.
Critical analysis of nature of Training and its impact on the performance of the Organisation
An impact study of the trainings provided to the employees of Company ‘A’ & ‘B’
To identify the gaps that exists between current situation and what is/ will be required
To study the cultural change of the organisation through training
Suggest ways to improve the training based on the identified needs
To build confidence in employees to work with clients
Improve life style of clients through training of employees
1.4) Research Questions
Coupled with the research questions are supporting references to the critical literature review and initial conceptual framework. Discussion of the various fields appropriate to the research questions are outlines for the reader via a reasoned selection. A synopsis of the critical review and evaluation of the literature is provided, which led to the set of the working definitions of the key concepts used in the research. The research questions are then discussed in light of their suitability for an interpretative report based on ethnographic research principles. The structure of the research is outline in order of the reader to contextualize and conceptualize the entirety of the piece of work. The following research question has been designed and briefly explained in the chapter 2 “Literature Review”.
1.Why should we evaluate training and development?
2.Why it is so hard to evaluate training in the workplace?
3.What aspects of training should be evaluated?
4.Why are Training and development important?
1.5)Literature Review
A search of literature is an essential part of every research project. There are two areas to be searched at the time of beginning a research project.
The literature relevant to the topic;
The literature on research methodology and data collection techniques.
As a researcher this means searching out, obtaining and then reading as much as possible in the time which is available. The literature review will be made up of different kinds of materials, including books, articles, and these. Figure shows the two main kinds of literature to be searched and indicates what benefits each brings to the planning of research project.
Analyzing the literature can have as much intellectual and practical value as collecting first-hand data. A through critical evaluation of existing research often leads to new insights by synthesizing previously unconnected ideals, and can provide methods for collection of data and suggest solutions tried in similar solutions.
Two kinds of Literature (Source: Doing a Literature Search by C. Hart 2001)
In the chapter 3, detail knowledge of how information was organised and contributed immeasurably to the success of this research. In the intervening time period, there is the developed practical and conceptual knowledge about searching for relevant literature and at the same time collection and development of the ideas and practical methods for analysing and synthesizing ideas found in the literature. Also this chapter provide an introduction to one of the most difficult tasks, that of literature reviewing.
1.6) Analysis and Interpretation
In Chapter 4, another step is the analysis and interpretation of the date that were gathered. Again, the procedure used to analyze the data will vary depending on the research design chosen and the data gathered (Churchill, 2005), Analysis of data from qualitative research is very different from the more statistical analysis of quantitative data. It will most likely not be expected to have a complete understanding of all the possible techniques for analysing for this research, but it is expected that logically and competently analyse and interpret the data. The interpretation of the analysis will bring out the meaning of the data and convert the data into useful information. This will give the detail information that can be used to answer the research objectives and overall research problem (and satisfy the requirements for the project). Once the data have been analysed, clear recommendations can be established based on the current research.
1.7) Conclusion and Recommendations
This section includes general statements, inferences, generalizations and implication based on the findings or result of the research. It’s usually derived from the hypothesis or assumptions of the research. The conclusion should be guided against biases and partialities, incorrect generalizations, deductions and misleading impressions. Whereas, recommendations are usually statements that offer solutions to the issues or problems presented and discussed in the research. All recommendations enumerated in the research should be practical, specific, feasible, attainable, logical and valid. Recommendation for further research on similar topic but to be done in other places and involving other respondents. Chapter 5 of this research is based on the conclusion and recommendations.
Churchill, G.A. (2005), Marketing Research: Methodological foundations. 9th edition, Mason, OH, Thomson/south-western
Chapter 2 Literature Review
2.1) Introduction to Chapter 2:
A review of the literature consists of reading, analysing, and summarizing a synthesis of scholarly materials about a specific topic. It’s called scientific literature review. When the review is of scientific literature, the focus is on the hypothesis, scientific methods, results, strengths and weaknesses of the study. The term scientific literature review refers to theoretical and research publication in journals, reference books, textbooks, government reports, policy statement and other material about the theory, practice and results of inquiry. This chapter will provide the background to the research by looking at different types of training and relevant theories have incorporated in this research. These researched theories have, as a result, helped to tackle research questions in this work in context with the contributing theories.
Relevant Theory
Critical analysis of nature of Training and its impact on the performance of the Organisation
2.2) Definitions of Training:
According to Buckley and Caple (2007, p.5) training is:
“A planned and systematic effort to modify or develop knowledge/skill/attitude through learning experience, to achieve effective performance in an activity or range of activities. Its purpose, in the work situation, is to enable an individual to acquire abilities in order that he or she can perform adequately a given task or job.”
Mayo (1999, p.16) noted that:
“Training is concerned with know-how, and should be driven by a clearly defined need that is about improving a component of capability.”
The term training does not mean a traditionally defined programme or event. It has broader meanings because it covers a range of learning methodologies both within the current job and beyond it.
2.3) Benefits from employee Training:
Trainee may get intrinsic or extrinsic job satisfaction. Intrinsic job satisfaction may come from performing a task well and from being able to perform new skills. And extrinsic job satisfaction involved extra earnings because of job performance and more chances of promotion in and outside of organisation. On the other hand Buckley and Caple (2007) describes that organisation also gets many benefits, including improved productivity because of better performance, less absenteeism, low turnover, decrease in wastage, less accidents and great customer satisfaction.
Training gives confidence to employees to cope with the changes within and outside of organisation. An organisation can only be successful by releasing and realising the potential of its workers and it can only be achieved by training. In service led industries, people in an organisation are its most important assets and training gives confidence to these people to perform well. Training always plays a role in the performance of employees and hence performance and success of organisation. For instance, CCS mainly deals with patients suffering from mental health problems. There are more chances of self harm or other injuries. So, if an employee has taken ‘First Aid training’, that employee will be able to work confidently and also will be able to perform well; even he/she does not have to provide first aid every day. This confidence will also contribute in success of organisation. Whereas, in Bluebird Care the Patients are most likely to be disabling due to Stroke attacks, paralyses problem then the employees need to get the training of “Manual Handling”. Also employees should have to be aware of hazards during their home to home visits. In Manual Handling different aspects of training are involved like Hoisting, use of the Banana Boards, Slide sheets, etc. This type of training will improve in the confidence of employees to perform well.
Some of the benefits which an organisation can achieve through training are given below:
Increased job satisfaction and morale
Increased motivation
Increased efficiencies in process, resulting in financial gain
Increased capacity to adopt new technologies and methods
Increased innovation in strategies and products
Reduced employee turnover

Torrington and Hall (1991) conclude this fact that training motivates the trainee because it helps them to fulfil their potential and continue their self development.
2.4) Training and performance management:
Armstrong and Baron (1998) suggest that ‘performance management’ is an imprecise term. According to them it involves, a strategic and integrated approach which gives success to the organisation by improving the performance of those people who work in that organisation and also by developing team and individual capabilities.
2.5) Organisational objectives:
An organisation is successful if its set objectives are being achieved regularly. It does not matter if the organisation is non-profit making or a commercial organisation. Everyone in the organisation has to focus on their tasks to achieve these objectives. Comfort care services and Bluebird Care have its own objectives and training can assist to achieve these objectives in many ways. According to Truelove (2007) training provides competence to individuals to perform their job efficiently. It also play strategic role in long-term by involving leadership and organisational issues in training. It also develops the organisation by examining current methods, values and standards.
2.6) Analysis of Organisational training needs:
To provide best training, it is important to know that what type of training is needed. Martin and Jackson (2002) describes that training needs arise because of various reasons. Including political changes, economic changes, environmental changes, changes in law, technological changes and social changes.
Analysis of organisational training needs (AOTN) is a process to overview organisation’s performance. Main objective is to find out that what areas of organisation can be improved by training. AOTN helps to identify problems in advance and also helps to take an action before it become a serious problem. According to Truelove (1996) AOTN provides the basis of evidence to make a decision about training, and it also tells what areas of training are most beneficial for investment. It also helps to find out that currently employed resource in training are up to what extent beneficial and how to get more benefits from these resources.
Lichtenstein (1992) suggests that the key to any training strategy is to effectively find out deficiencies in employee skills and knowledge before the development and investment in training programs.
New employees of organisation are quite satisfied with Induction program. However, according to those employees who are working with company for more than three years, are not satisfied with the induction they had. This information raises two points here. First point is that company has improved its induction program and secondly those employees who are working with company from long time they need to go through induction program again. Most of senior employees use only shared knowledge to solve problems but they actually do not follow company procedures properly.
2.7) Gathering the information:
According to Martin and Jackson (2002) information can be gathered from following sources: Questionnaires, observation of employees at work, job descriptions, evidence of competence for individuals, appraisal records, succession plans, performance targets, opportunity for improvements and interviews with managers, staff, internal and external customers.
AOTN can be done by collecting and interpreting data and analysis of all information gathered within the organisation. This information can be gathered from the people throughout the organisation.
According to Truelove (1996) it is an easy task to find out training needs on individual level to improve the performance of that particular individual. If that individual is not doing the job properly then training is essential and if that individual’s performance is satisfactory then training can be given to develop the potential of that individual. Usually line manager is the best person who sets the standard of performance required and judge whether these standards has been achieved or not. So, line manager can find out training needs easily. This individual approach has a limitation that individuals will demand different types of training. That’s why it is recommended to consider group needs instead of individual needs. To achieve this goal a broad view need to be taken of the performance of a group.
If there is lack of skills and knowledge and as a result of it performance is not satisfactory then there will be a training gap. AOTN helps an organisation to identify this training gap.
Identifying the training gap (Truelove, 1996)
According to Truelove (2007) poor performance can be due to lack of abilities, lack of motivation and lack of competence. He argues that training can help to improve motivation and competence but lack of innate ability cannot be improved much with the help of training. Comfort Care Services is working hard to motivate staff and improve the level of their competence.
Following three types of training needs has been derived from Hackett’s (2003) work.
Organisational training needs: This type of need applies to the whole organisation. All mandatory trainings come under organisational training needs. For example, fire awareness, health and safety, and first aid training.
Group Training needs: Occupational or group training need applies to a particular category of employee. It deals with a particular group in an organisation. For instance, it is recommended after gathering primary data that in CCS group of those employees who are working with company from more than three years, they need to go through new induction process.
Individual training needs: Individual training needs can be thought of as an occupational need that applies to a specific employee and not to the whole group of employees. For example, training for proper communication for a particular employee. Torrington et al (2002) refers that for effective learning, individuals should have knowledge of their own weaknesses and strengths.
MacLennan (1995) suggests that the most appropriate way to select the style of learning is to discuss with individual which style will help them the most. According to Mumford (1994) senior managers can be best trainers for new managers. Bluebird Care is following this approach by using work shadowing techniques.
2.8) Staff Performance Appraisals and training requirements:
According to Carnall (2007) the purpose of appraisal should be to encourage the worker to do better in the present job, to determine rewards, to determine training needs and also to determine future use of employees.
Mullins (2002) suggests that appraisal scheme can help department manager enabling a regular assessment of individual’s performance, highlight potential, and identify training and development needs.
Appraisals establish the individual training needs and hence enable management to identify organisational training needs. Line managers or human resource manager can find out training requirements through staff performance appraisal. Performance appraisal provides detailed information about current performance of employee and it also tells that what is expected from an individual. The difference between expected performance and actual performance is maybe because of lack of training. Manager can then find out that what type of training that particular individual requires. But in some cases lack of performance may be due to some other factors. For instance, lack of motivation or lack of professionalism. This is very important to understand that however training provides a vital role to achieve performance level and objectives of organisation but if objectives are not being achieved then training is not the only thing to blame.. Boxall and Purcell (2008) are of the opinion that training and development of employees is a great investment in human resource and it plays a big role in development of organisation as a whole. Performance appraisal also motivates individuals to participate in learning activities and increase their skills and knowledge.
An impact study of the trainings provided to the employees of Companies ‘A’ & ‘B’
2.9) Plans for training:
In present service-led economy, there is much more need than ever before for training in what are often called ‘soft’ skills. According to Orme (2008) one of the challenges for Learning and Development professionals is to consider all different types of needs, and to prioritise and schedule accordingly.
In formulating plans for training it is important to examine both internal and external resources available. These resources are explained in detail below.
2.10) Internal training:
In some organisations there are some training facilities available internally, for example, some organisations are fully or partially equipped with computer training, management training and equipment training. There are some organisations with their own training departments. In many organisations senior managers and workers can be appointed as training providers. Martin and Jackson (2002) suggest another way of providing training to employees is through partnership with other non-competitor organisations and sharing expertise with subsidiaries and associated companies.
2.11) External training:
Any training which is not internal is external training. External training can be expensive sometimes in terms of its cost but on the other hand it has many benefits for businesses in long and short term. Cost of external training depends on the size of organisation. Some small organisations do not provide internal training because of lack of facilities. They prefer external training because it cost them less and gives more benefits as compare to internal training. External training involves many costs like course fee, travelling fee, accommodation and most importantly absence from the workplace which leads to temporary loss of production and possible loss of sales or services. Martin and Jackson (2002) recommend to find out any possible solution within company and not to go for external training unless it is vital.
The decision of providing ‘on the job’ or ‘off the job’ training depends upon organisations resources, type of training required, urgency of the need and training policy of the organization (Hackett, 2003).
2.12) Different types of training:
Training takes place not only in schools and colleges but also in many other settings. It can be community based training or at workplace. So, it can be classed base or on the job training.
There are many ways of training described in books. For instance, the committee on Post secondary Education and Training for the Workplace (Hansen, 1994) describes four types of training based on the characteristics of trainees.
1: Qualifying Training, this is basic training
2: Skill improvement Training, this type of training is for employed people who want to upgrade their job mobility and knowledge through training.
3: Retraining, this type of training is for those people who have been or are about to be displaced from their jobs so need to prepare for new line of work.
4: Second chance training, this training is for those people who need some basic education and also job skills in combination with other social services, to reach economic self sufficiency through employment.
Another way of classifying training is by the contents of training, for instance, differentiating the ‘on the job training’ from ‘general training’. In a general training the trainee can use the gained skills in any firm or job. General training includes basic training skills, stress and time management, basic computer skills, etc. But on the other hand on the job training is specific to that job and usually cannot be used in any other firm. For example, training of handling of customers through a specific machine or specific software used in a firm.
2.13) Employer based training:
The bureau of labour statistics survey (2007) on employer based training tells us that there are several categories of formal training. These categories are discussed in detail below by dividing these into two different groups.
First group is based on functional area of learning. It is explained in this chart below.
Other group can be described under different employee groups. This is explained in this chart below.
After explaining above two groups now following categories of formal training are discussed below with respect to their particular group.
Orientation training that provides information on personnel and workplace practices and companies policies. This type of training can be provided to a specific group of employees.
Health and safety training that tells about health and safety hazards, procedures and regulations. This is an example of functional area of learning.
Apprenticeship training that includes both classroom training and on-the-job training. This training can be classified under employee groups.
Basic language skills to improve reading and writing. This falls under the category of Functional areas of learning.
Training to operate and repair machinery. This is functional as well.
A management skill training falls under both categories.
Computer operating skills is a functional area of learning.
Customer relations skills and sales skills training come under both categories.
Food and hygiene training comes under functional training.
Cleaning, protective and personal services training are also functional training.
Job skills training to upgrade employees’ skills to perform job in a better way can be classified under employee groups.
The term employer-based training does not mean that this training has to be necessarily provided at the worksite.
To identify the gaps that exists between current situation and what is/ will be required
2.14) Methods of training:
On the job training:
On the job training is unstructured most of time. On the job training is not restricted to trainees own current job. There are also other helpful ways to provide training, for instance, job rotation, special projects and work shadowing (Hackett, 2003). On the job training can be readily provided on a just-on-time basis without any delay.
Following are the examples of on the job training.
?Job instruction
?Work diaries and log books.
?Coaching
?Mentoring
?Peer relationships
?Self-development groups
?Learning logs
?Work shadowing
Comfort Care Services & Bluebird Care both companies are using work shadowing, learning logs, work diaries and log books very successfully at the moment. It is recommended to provide staff with books and other material at work place. So, they can gain more knowledge about mental health issues and care plan of the Service Users. It is also recommended to use role play techniques for learning. Managers can be trained off-the-job and then they can provide on-the-job training to staff. It will reduce cost of training for the organisation. For instance, cost involved to send a member of staff on a training course and also cost of covering his/her shift.
NVQ in care is one of the best examples of on-the-job training. During this type of qualification an assessor comes to work place of staff and assesses that staff while working. At present many staff members and managers are going through NVQ study at different levels.
Off the job training:
Off the job training helps to get the background knowledge needed for some jobs. Off the training is mostly provided at academic schools, colleges and universities. It helps individuals to develop skills to get a job. Off the job training will help individuals to acquire basic knowledge, theories and legislation governing specific type of job. Off the job training is very helpful to build confidence in individuals.
But Hackett (2003) argues that it might be costly to train someone on the job for a specific job. For instance, an organisation might lose its customers if on the job training is provided to a customer service representative without prior off the job training.
Following are other examples of off the job training.
?Seminars and workshops
?Visits to other organisations
?Computer simulation
?Outdoor development training
Senior managers can share their work with trainee managers and then senior managers will have more time to go for off-the-job training.
Comfort Care Services mostly send its workers only to mandatory training, and most of this mandatory training is provided off-the-job.
Disadvantages of Off-the-job training:
Vickerstaff (1992) reports that a comprehensive research was conducted on the management of training in 200 small firms in the UK. Almost all companies in the study faced similar problems in the organisation and management of their training effort. Following were the main areas of difficulty:
1. Investment in their training effort.
2. Finding the right way of training which suit their needs.
3. Good management of their training effort.
According to Vickerstaff (1992) companies found that the cost of external training was the main cause of not taking available courses, but the companies also had problems in releasing people for training. Companies also reported that much of the existing training courses were unable to fulfil their needs. It is also a time consuming process to find out suitable training course. And also it is very hard for small companies to assess the benefits of courses offered.
Employers are now giving more emphasis on ‘on-the-job’ training as compare to ‘off-the-job’ training because it is more effective and also cheaper, in terms of cost, most of time (Torrington et al, 2002). Same principle is recommended to both organisations Bluebird Care & Comfort Care Services by providing more learning facilities at work place for its staff.
To choose right method of training it is very important to find out what the learning style of the trainees isAnd then that learning style should keep in mind while delivering required training. Different learning styles are discussed in detail below.
Learning style:
Individuals are different from each other. So, their ways of learning also differ. Honey and Mumford (1992) describe four different styles of learning. These styles are as follow.
Activists:
Activists learn best from trying something out without preparing. Activists are those people who are very open-minded towards learning. They are always happy to learn things as soon as possible with immediate experiences. They are always enthusiastic about new things and new technology. They face challenges with courage and always looking for new challenges. They like to centre all activities on them.
Reflectors:
Reflectors are very good at listening and observation. Reflectors always gather and reflect of all available information before making a decision. They are thoughtful people who think from every angle before making a decision. They prefer to stand back, listen and observe people. When they act it is part of wider picture because of their own knowledge and also observation of other people in past and present.
Theorists:
Theorists think about problems in a logical way. They build concepts on the basis of their analysis. They are also good at integrating different pieces of information. They are perfectionists who will carry on working until things are tidy and fit into a rational scheme. They are rational people they don’t believe in anything subjective or ambiguous. Their decisions are always crystal clear. They learn through theories, models and concepts.
Pragmatists:
Pragmatists use practical approaches to solve problems. They like to take first opportunity to experiment their ideas. These people are perfect to send on management courses because they bring lots of ideas from those courses. They are practical and down to earth people who like to solve problem through practical decisions. They always keen to learn and will find a way to apply their knowledge in real situation.
2.15) The Training cycle:
Training is an ongoing process. According to Martin and Jackson (2002) first of all it has to be analysed that what are the training needs usually it is called ‘training needs analysis’ then the next process is to find out that how to plan a training programme to satisfy all those training needs which has been identified. Third step is to implement training programme, it is recommended for a trainer to keep in mind that what learning style is preferred by trainees. Last step is to evaluate the training provided. This training cycle is continuous, as shown in figure below, because of today’s dynamic business world.
Source: Martin and Jackson (2002)
During this study many training needs have been identified. So, this study covers first part of training cycle. It also gives some suggestions that how organisation can provide these trainings. What ways it should adopt for training and also how to implement training within the organisation.
Following are different ways of learning. These are very useful for an organisation to decide that which way should be adopted to fulfil training requirements.
To study the cultural change of the organisation through training
2.16) The most effective ways in which people learn in organisations:
There are many methods of training. Organisations have to find best suitable method of training for its employees. There are many factors which determine the method of training. These factors include cost, culture of organisation, nature of learner group or individual learner, benefits, applicability of method and organisation’s strategic goals. It is noted by Marching Ton & Wilkinson (2008) that traditional ways of learning and development are still most common and effective. At non-managerial level and junior manager level instructor-led training was most effective way of training but for senior level managers external coaches or a mentor was seen to be most effective.
Following are the figures which show the percentage of most effective ways in which people learn in organisations. % of respondents
Source: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (2007)
Above chart shows the importance of training on-the-job. Experience of work itself and informal help from colleagues can be gained from on the job. So, it is suggested to provide more training and learning facilities at work place.
2.17) Why should we evaluate training and development?
Training and development activities are not ends in themselves. Unless, there are some positive changes in the performance of organisation, training method need to be improved. It is necessary to evaluate training to improve performance of company. Evaluation is also necessary because organisations invest heavy amounts of money in training. Without evaluation of training it is impossible to improve the process of training.
Following points are expanded from the reasons of training evaluation Martin and Jackson (2002) has described:
?Providing feedback to the trainer.
?To see whether the needs and objectives of the training have been met.
?Identification of further needs and consequently improve training in future.
?Justification of expenses.
?To show the benefits of training to top management.
Vellios and Kirkpatrick (2008) explain that evaluation of training is essential and trainer has to evaluate whether trainee has gained all required skills and knowledge during training and then successfully transferred these skills and behaviours into the workplace.
Top management of CCS understand that it is hard to evaluate training but on the other hand they understand importance of training. All senior managers are working hard to improve company’s performance and they are finding new ways of training and planning to conduct training sessions in near future.
To evaluate and improve training and development activity, assessment should be perception-based and consensus-oriented. (Krishnaveni and Sripirabaa, 2008)
It is very important to set objectives of the training and development. These objectives will give the basis for evaluation of training. Martin and Jackson (2002) suggest that if the set objectives are achieved then training was successful.
2.18) Why it is so hard to evaluate training in the workplace?
Training sometimes lacks planning, resources, time and also sometimes training is done for the wrong reasons or in a wrong way. Evaluation of training is also difficult because most of time it is hard to measure. Sometimes it is measurable but the expectations of outcome may be wrong. For example, operating unit managers are looking for increased performance only after training and not necessarily the increased learning, but trainers usually judge their training by the increased learning of trainee.
According to Berge (2008) it is very important to know the causes for difficulty in evaluating training in the workplace because it will be helpful for planners to plan training evaluation and to develop ways to overcome the difficulties.
It is hard to evaluate training in a company which deals with people suffering from mental health problems because it is difficult to see changes in service users’ life due to staff training and these changes are also not measurable. Some changes might does not have direct link with staff training at all. But still there are many things which can be noticed and judged after training and hence training can be evaluated to some extent. Personal experience tells that training can be evaluated by interviewing employees to check their confidence level after training, change in their behaviour and improved performance can be noticed. It is also recommended to get feedback about their training program but this feedback should not be taken just after their training because of halo effect. It is noticed that post-course questionnaire are mostly used after training programmes. Torrington et al (2002) argues that there is a big drawback of these questionnaires is the powerful halo effect which means that a person may fill the questionnaire on the judgment of a single positive or negative impression (Mullins, 2007). And also this questionnaire will evaluate the course and knowledge of trainer not the learning outcomes.
2.19) What aspects of training should be evaluated?
According to Torrington et al, 2002, it is easy to evaluate training when outputs of training are clear to see. For instance, increasing trainee’s typing speed or reducing errors while dispatching goods in a warehouse. But it is very difficult to evaluate the success of management training program or social skill development
Training can be evaluated at different levels with different techniques for each level (Hamblin, 1974, cited in Fayolle, 2007). Examples of these levels are given below.
Level 1: At this level reaction of trainee observed about training and methods of training. It is also recommended to observe that what the point of view of trainee about training is. It is easy for CCS and Bluebird Care to observe trainee’s reaction; this can be achieved by having an informal chat with trainee.
Level 2: At this level it is checked that whether the trainee learned what was expected. Both Bluebird and Comfort Care Services can develop questionnaires or ask questions to trainees about training and learning outcome.
Level 3: This level comes after providing training. At this level it is checked that if there is any change in job behaviour because of the training provided. At this level observation of trainee is recommended after training. If employee is doing same job in a better way then it means that training objectives has been achieved.
Level 4: It is monitored that after training what are the changes in the performance of that particular department. In case of CCS there are not many departments and company mainly deals in health care. However, Bluebird Care is dealing with different type of Service Users especially who has the physical disability. But it can be divided in different areas or different counties and then performance level can be checked at this level.
Level 5: This is an ultimate level. At this level, the effect of training checked on the organisational level in terms of business objectives. At this ultimate level training can be evaluated by comparing its performance objectives with its actual performance. If set objectives of company have been achieved after training then it means that training was successful.
Eerde et al, (2008) suggest that there is no effect of training quantity on the usefulness of training and effectiveness of organisation. TNA comprehensiveness and training quantity, both are unrelated to size of organisation.
Bramley (1996) explains that performance can be evaluated at three levels. These levels are individual, team and organisational levels. He also suggests that criteria for evaluation should be announced at the beginning of training program rather than tagged on at the end.
It is very hard to measure the impact of training on an organisation and it is rarely achieved in practice. Sedler-Smith et al (2000) found in their studies during 1999 that most of companies evaluate training for operational reasons rather than strategic reasons. They also found that this evaluation is rarely used for return on investment decisions and mostly used just to check the training process and to give feedback to trainee.
2.20) Why are Training and development important?
To survive in this commercial world, all organisations have to continuously provide training to their employees to make sure that they have up-to-date knowledge and up-to-date skills (Martin and Jackson, 2002). These are essential for any organisation to prosper. In a free market economy all organisations has almost similar access to capital, customers and employees. The only thing which distinguishes one organisation from other is effectiveness and efficiency of that organisation. And this effectiveness and efficiency can only be acquired from knowledge and skills of employees through training.
2.21) Compare and Contrast the various studies

Every year new challenges emerge in the field of training and development for example, competency, development, outsourcing, e-learning, and knowledge management. In spite of the variety and complexity of these challenges, there is a common theme: business leaders want to see value for their investment.
In this section, it’s essential to compare and contrast the various studies related to the training for an employee and with the view of employers. The initial reactions to the learning experience indicate that the Training is relevant and immediately applicable to their needs. How effective is the Training and how sustainable will it beWhat the people doing effectively and better as a resultWhat result are these investments in Training development having for the business?
The reason for comparison and contrast is to determine the effectiveness of a Training program. When the comparison is done, it will be hopeful that the results are positive and gratifying, both for those responsible for the programme. Therefore, much though and planning need to be given to the programme itself to make sure it is effective.
Training and qualifications alone cannot ensure a competent workforce. Moreover, through the considerable debate about the types of Training and qualifications that are appropriate, and how to get a better match between national training and qualifications and the specific needs of employers. Finally there are unresolved questions even with certified competences as to the extent to which they certify capability as opposed to performance, a theme that is pursued further. The implications are therefore that the competent workforce cannot be achieved simply through raising the numbers of qualified staff. Therefore training must be integrated within a vigorous framework of continuous performance management which requires
Clear values
Define goals
Definitions of accountabilities, responsibilities, and areas of discretion
Standards of performance
Supervision and appraisal systems
Skills and system to handle individual issues of capability and conduct
Quality assurance process
With the view of contrast, in large organisation the completion of a full training needs analysis is a massive and lengthy tasks, often overtaken and delayed by fresh demands and crises that weaken the eventual outcome of the exercise and make the result hard to implement. The involvement of the service users is assessing the training of the staff is also important. Their comments on the key skills and attitude experiences as helpful are invaluable. There is therefore a need to use a range of measures and information gathered on a continuous basis both directly and indirectly
Suggest ways to improve the training based on the identified needs and to build confidence in employees to work with clients.
2.22) Management’s responsibility for training and development:
The CIPD (2007) reported that in 74% of organisations, line managers had taken on responsibility for learning and development. Most of them are doing this job efficiently. According to Singer (1979) there are different types of managerial responsibilities for training and development of their staff. These responsibilities include taking interest in employees’ careers by providing them opportunities to improve their abilities, knowledge and skills. It is also a major responsibility of manager to motivate employees for continuous learning.
Reid and Barrington (2003) explained that it is responsibility for all managers to involve in training process. They suggest that top management should involve them in creating a positive attitude to human resource development. They should also involve in creating human resource policies and providing resources for these policies. They should present themselves as a role model for their subordinates with their personal involvement in training decisions.
Marchington and Wilkinson (2008) are of the opinion that middle and junior level managers are responsible for implementing the training policies developed by senior management. They should provide all the relevant information to people involved in training. They should also allow leave to those trainees who have to go for external training courses. Managers are responsible for team activities, project teams, problem-solving group work, sharing knowledge, conducting performance reviews, and agreeing development plans.
CCS is currently working on most of the areas discussed above. But most of the managers are using informal approach in areas like team activities, problem-solving group work, sharing knowledge etc. it is suggested to use formal approach and document it.
Hutchinson (2007) suggests that learning and development responsibilities must be included in line manager’s job descriptions and should be provided with regular feedback.
Managers sometime report some hurdles in training process. For instance, many organisations has limited resources, hence they find it difficult to provide funds for training. Training requires time which sometimes becomes hard because managers are extremely busy in other important tasks at work. Lack of understanding about the impact of learning and development is also an obstacle in learning process. According to Reid and Barrington (2003) some managers have adverse feelings about learning. They think that they do not need any training because they are already trained while studying at formal education institutions. These feelings have anti-development influences.
Fortunately most of the managers in CCS are willing to get trained and they welcome more knowledge about their work. Weekly meetings at head office also play a good role in discussing day to day issues and bringing up problems at a level where all managers can share their opinion and find out a solution for these problems. Whereas, in Bluebird after every 2nd week of the month staff meeting is arranging find out the best policies and solution to accommodate their Service Users. Also Bluebird Care is regularly distributing the bulletin among the staff members and get the feedback from their Service Users regarding with employee performance. This is perfect example of knowledge sharing.
Time is main hurdle in managers’ training. They are very busy in their daily tasks. It is recommended to divide their work with those staff which has potential to do the job and it can also help them to become manager in near future.
Some managers themselves are not competent, motivated and good learners; they may find training as an unnecessary expenditure and waste of time (Marchington and Wilkinson, 2008).
According to a report of CIPD in 2007 only 6% of line managers are provided with reward for developing the skills of their staff. So, there is need to share the fact with senior management about the importance of learning and development. Senior management has to realise that training is essential for progress of any organisation. CCS senior management is aware of importance of training but at the moment they have not developed any structured incentive program for those managers who are trying to develop the skills of their staff. If senior management announce some reward for those managers who are continuously striving to achieve the objectives of organisation through skills improvement of their staff, it will accelerate the process of learning and development. It will also motivate other managers to do so.
2.24) Critical Analysis
Ideally, all organisations integrate training into a comprehensive human resource strategy. Each member of staff should have a training profile, as part of their own personal development plan. Social services agencies tend to play this game at the organisation level and fail culpably at the individual level. Their plans, like community care plans and children’s plan, make excellent, even if soporific, few agencies put the same level of effort into planning for individual members of staff, unless they are staff with problems who tend to received a disproportionate amount of attention in order to dot the i’s and cross the t’s before shifting them out of the workforce.
An analysis of who gets training in social work agencies tends to show that while some staff put themselves forward for lots, other get none at all. Sometimes, provider-led courses are put on with no reference to a training needs analysis simply because an in-house trainer has an expertise in a particular area. Often, the staff who needs training most avoid it at all cost as part of their general strategy to evade scrutiny.
The social care organisation of the future will be a learning one. It will rely upon its own staff rather than external consultants. It will seek to rebuild the camaraderie lost during the cold excesses of some public sector business planning regimes.
2.25) Discussion
In this section, a brief discussion to identify buzzwords for social care work for ‘collaboration’, ‘co-ordination’, and ‘multi-disciplinary’ would surely be safe. Indeed, exhortation or different organisations and professions to collaborate in the social care field have been unceasing over the past twenty years. Training is one of the most demanding and complex processes in which they can be involved. Apparently basic forms of foundation training can become fraught with anxieties, conflicts and complications when it is delivered in an inter-professional group. While many of the issues confronted in inter-organisation training are similar to those encountered in single discipline training, their intensity is much greater. Simply putting different professionals together in one room for the training is no guarantee that mutual understanding and respect for each other’s role will be enhanced. Indeed, it may even serve to consolidate pre-existing power differences, occupational stereotypes and prejudices. This area of training may therefore stretch even the most experienced trainer to their intellectual, emotional and facilitative limits.
2.26) New Theory
in the recent time the social care organisations and government are very strict and very
2.27) Conclusion:
This chapter has provided different theories and methods of training. It has also provided the base to do the research in right way and to explore different angels of training in this research in the light of the work done by experts of this field. It takes us to the next chapter to discuss various research methodologies to gain an insight of the various prospects at offer in forms of forming the right research pattern that could gives us reliable results.
Chapter 3 Research Methodology
3.1) Introduction to Chapter 3:
This chapter looks into the various approaches to research, the available research methods, the strategy adopted, the sample selection, approaches to data analysis and the validity of the research approach implemented. All these topics are stitched together in a systematic way to create a bridge of understanding by using gathered information.
According to Sekaran (1992) an organized way to find out solution for a specific problem through investigation is called research. Similarly if the research is done to solve a business problem then it will be called as business research.
3.2) Types of Research:
A research can be done for two purposes. These are discussed below.
Fundamental Research:
This type of research is conducted to gather more information and knowledge about a particular phenomena and to develop theories after the research. This is also called as basic or pure research. This type of research helps to improve the understanding of researcher about a particular issue.
Applied Research:
Applied research is the research done to find a solution to any existing problem. This is called applied research because this is done with the intention of applying the results of this research to get to the bottom of particular problems in an organisation. This research addresses the problems of organisation directly that’s why most organisations conduct this research and also willing to pay huge amounts of money to researchers and consultants.
The research done during this study was also an example of applied research. It can also be further extended by researching particular problems in depth.
3.3) Research Methodology:
Kothari (2008) suggests that research has a direct impact on the development of any business therefore it is very important for the business to be updated with the latest research in the business world.
Goddard and Melville (2007) enlightens that it is very important to choose appropriate research methodology because it has to serve the purpose for which the research is undertaken. It also helps the researcher to get the insight of the research conducted. This coursework will look into different types of research methodologies and will also recommend a research methodology to collect the information for the purpose of the current research.
3.4) Research Map:
The research work has been conducted in a step by step format. It has been shown below in the form of a map.
3.5) Research Approach:
Social sciences provide us with different methodologies. Amongst them are qualitative, quantitative, inductive and deductive. These are discussed below.
3.6) Qualitative and Quantitative:
Saunders et al (2003) describes that there is a clear difference between a qualitative and a quantitative research. They draw attention to three distinct differences between qualitative and quantitative data. Qualitative data is based on meanings expressed through words. The collection results are non-standardized data which requires classification into different categories and the analysis is derived through the use of different concepts. Qualitative research method is used to understand behaviour. According to Saunders et al (2009) this method is mostly used in businesses. On the other hand quantitative data is based on meanings derived from numbers, the collection results consist of standardized data and the analysis is consists of numeric, diagrams and statistical data. Saunders et al (2009) says that quantitative analysis is used mostly in science but it is also helpful to use for businesses because businesses can decide new markets to enter on the basis of statistical data. Both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages and neither one of these approaches can be considered better than the other. Yin (1994) says that the best research method to follow for a study depends on the study’s research problem. So, user of any of above discussed two methods has to think that which method is suitable for research.
In this research qualitative method has been used mostly to collect the data because qualitative method is most suitable to conduct this kind of research. Questionnaires have been used and interviews have been conducted to collect data from employees of the organisation.
3.7) Induction and Deduction:
Holme and Solvang (1997) suggest two ways of conducting research. These are induction and deduction. Induction starts from collection of data and then a theory that can explain the phenomenon is developed by an analysis of that data. Deduction is opposite of induction and the process starts with a theoretical base, and then narrowed down.
Deduction method is informally called top down approach as it can be seen in diagram. In this approach process starts from building a theory in mind and then narrowed it down to a specific hypothesis and then observation started to prove hypothesis right or wrong. This confirms that theory was right or wrong.
However, inductive method works bottom up. This method is more open ended as compare to deductive method. It starts from observations and then on the basis of those observations and patterns a hypothesis comes up and then a theory developed at the end.
This research is an example of induction method because this research started with observation and different patterns of work were also examined. And then a hypothesis developed that with help of training certain objectives of organisation can be achieved. After investigation through questionnaires and interviews of managers and also ordinary employees of company it was confirmed that this hypothesis is correct and a theory has been given that to improve the performance of company training of all employees is essential.
3.8) Data-Collection Methods:
There are many methods of data collection such as interviews, observations, focus groups and questionnaires. Yin (1994) suggests that to get required information combination of these methods is often necessary.
Interviews:
An interview is mostly conducted face-to-face in which interviewer gather information by asking questions from one or more interviewees (Mark, 1996).
Sekaran (1992) states that interview can either be structured or unstructured and it can be conducted on telephone or face-to-face. Face-to-face interviews are very helpful to collect correct data as interviewer can also see the expression of interviewee. However, telephonic interviews are best to overcome geographical restrictions.
Structured, Unstructured and semi-structured Interviews:
In an unstructured interview a list of questions may be prepared but interviewer asks questions informally according to the natural flow of interview. According to Burns (2000) unstructured interviews are more conversational in style. However, in a structured interview all questions are prepared in a specific manner and flow. Interviewer has to follow the order of the questions and has to use exact wording during interview. This is just like a questionnaire conducted in person.
In a semi structured interview, interviewer has listed questions and interviewer also asks additional questions rose in the discussion as a result of interviewee’s comments. Semi-structured interview allows interviewee to speak about what they want to say in response to any question. A semi structured interview offers a compromise of structured and unstructured interviews.
In this research work semi-structured interview method has been used to collect the required information from managers and also ordinary staff. All the questions asked were open-ended and interviews were in conversational style.
3.9) Questionnaires:
According to Mark (1996) questionnaire consists of a set of questions in a written format that explains itself. Saunders et al (2003) state that interviews are mostly highly formalised and structured but the greatest use of questionnaires is very useful to gather information. According to Saunders et al (2003) use of questionnaire is helpful because all techniques of data collection can be used in questionnaires. In questionnaires each person is asked to answer same type of set of questions in a set order. Questionnaires provide an efficient way of gathering information from a large number of people. Major problem with questionnaires is that it is hard to produce a good questionnaire and Saunders et al (2003) state that researcher needs to ensure that it will collect the accurate data required.
In this research a questionnaire has been used to collect information. Questionnaires were the best available way to collect required data from all employees of company. It was physically impossible to conduct interviews of all employees during the allocated time. Observation was another way to get information but it was also difficult to observe all employees. So, questionnaires were the fastest and effective way to collect required information. The questionnaire used to collect information during this study and also complement letter is attached in appendix.
Conclusion:
In this chapter various approaches have presented which are used in the process of research. These approaches have been implemented in accordance with the available literature. The reasons for adopting these approaches during this research have also been discussed.