Training and development in small business organization essays example

Introduction

Organizations derive increased productivity from workers when they are properly developed in their capacity to execute their job functions effectively. This development is attained through workers training. Training can be on the job or off the job. A designed training scheme for any organization should aim at ensuring that individual workers job needs are fashioned into the program. Small business organizations, with their limited resources, can still build up training schemes to make their workers more effective on their job.
Innocent Drink is a small organization that manufactures different brands of beverages and soft drinks. Innocent Drinks organization began productions of drinks in 1998. The company’s name is related to their products that are free from unnatural and adulterated elements. Innocent drinks organization makes it drinks products from milk from cow and fruits. Parts of the organization’s products include varieties, of superfoods, natural smoothies. Hence, the training scheme for this organization will be accessed in this report.

Recommendations on training to address performance evaluation gap in the organization

Training requirement for this small organization can be on-the-job training, where workers in the company will undergo training while they are still working on their desks. The second approach is ‘ off-the- job’ training, which could be organized training sessions away from the organization’s environment. This could be through workshop, conferences, seminars etc.
The initial step to embark when training worker is to assess their productivity level. This can be attained through performance assessments of each of the workers. When adequate performance appraisal is conducted this would help organizations in going a long way to achieve synergy that could be towards directed in meeting effective organization goals and objectives in a timely manner. Organizations that fail to conduct workers appraisal and performance evaluation would make them work in a disorganized manner. The HR department in this vein, is expected to distinguish out the performance evaluation plans and clearly correspond this to every member of the organization. It will be seen that this would to lead to the closer bonding of the organization to all its workers and this will boost their performance level and increase productivity (Farrazzi & Gatti 2007). In addition, it is admonished that the organization’s training scheme should be directly accessed by all workers and prior to this workers’ weak points should be evaluated to know where they would need more training. Therefore, the fusion of the organization’s objectives and goals are to coordinated in such a way that they are directly in tune with those lacuna observed in the workers’ performance (Wilson 1999, p. 27). Thus, the organization’s human resources development and training will enable the augmentation of the organization and enhancement in productivity where proper performance appraisal program is in place.
The HR department should try to encourage the practice of management by objective in order to make the performance evaluation scheme very successful. The implementation of MBO in an organization, expects that all members usually take part in setting objectives and specific tasks are assigned to team members. This records the achievements of such targets make workers fulfilled and have a sense of achievement. Moreover, the cooperation level to attain task will be high, and the team spirit will be well consolidated. While members’ recognition to partake in setting objective for the organization gives everyone a sense of responsibility, this should be encouraged. Wherefore, it makes them to attain those targets and objectives that are set. Therefore, performance appraisal would be difficult to carry out. Given that members set the targets and objectives for themselves, they tend to know when they have achieved or failed to achieve any of their job functions.
Training workers in small business organizations, like Innocent Drinks, will make them to commit fewer errors and increase their speed of productivity. Small business organizations’ finances are limited and not enough for big training programs, like those that multinational corporations can easily carry out. Hence, it is expected that the planned training session for this category of business be well structured; taking cognizance of the weight, it would have on available resources. Thus, prior to the training the management of the organization should evaluate, compare alternatives for training, and make wise decisions on the one that suits the company’s financial status.
Furthermore, selection of workers that will undergo the training program should be done without bias. Everyone who qualifies for such training should be included after a thorough performance evaluation for the workers. Those to be selected must have been weighed against what is expected of them to do and their current performance on the job. Hence, the lacuna observed should be filled by including them in the training program.
It is germane to state that development program should be reserved for those at the top managerial levels, while low-bottom staff should be made to undergo efficiency enhancement training program. Hence, there is a need to classify the training programs to make provision for those workers at the top managerial level and the bottom level employees.

Performance evaluation to enhance workers training

Furthermore, it is expedient that the organization should weigh past performances of the employees in order to know where they need more training. In organization, the performance’s evaluation is very germane because when staff are properly evaluated there will be a good reward system for giving back to high productivity workers. In addition, this tends to stand as a means of motivation for the workers. Thus, this helps the organization in its promotional scheme. In addition, the management of the organization will know where to give more priority to in terms of the need for training. According to Cipolla (1996), during the process of implementing such change in the organization, it become expedient to carry all members along, and this will give them sense of belonging and be motivated in fulfilling their required obligations. Performance’s evaluation also helps the organization to punish laziness and reward diligence workers. Some workers, who are hardworking and productive, may be discouraged and follow the bandwagon of lazy workers when they feel their laziness is not punished. Hence, that is the need why change should be introduced in the organization’s performance appraisal system.
Processes of learning are another significant way of training workers, even in small business organizations and they play prominent roles in human resource development. Through learning-process a recycled of competent and unfit experience and knowledge are passed to those seeking the knowledge to develop in their chosen profession. According to David Kolb (1984), quoted in Knowles & Swanson (1998, p. 2) “ the process whereby knowledge is created through transformation of experience”. Sharing control over learning processes and strategies brings about efficiency in workers development via training schemes. According to Knowles & Swanson (1998, p. 184), learning leading to effective workers development will be determined by three-dimensional questions that need to asked during the learning process:
– How is the learning conducted: In this case, learning-process should be weighed against how employees training fulfil the prediction of post-training attitudes. The focus here is how training will be conducted and to be consistent with the laid down principles for human resource development.
– What learning will occur: The learning process in this scenario should be used as a basis for performance appraisal. Where training is conducted for managers, the group should receive a realistic preview of what topics to be covered and the expected outcomes at the aftermath of the learning session. In this instance, trainees should be given the choice to accept which learning process they intend to undergo. This will bring about higher penetration of the learning process and high motivation.
– Why learning is important: the learners need to be shown the importance attached to their learning session. Proving information about the importance of why the learning should take place goes a long way to make learning meaningful. These include those teachings and learning practices that occurred during the learning-process.

Source: Knowles & Swanson (1998: 198)

In the above diagram on Kolb’s experiential learning model, it is seen that learning process as a way of workers’ development leads to innovative idea formation. This is gotten from concepts and generalizations formation. Furthermore, the process of learning for workers’ development is a continuous one, in the sense that after idea and knowledge has been acquired through the learning process; this is put into test in arising new situations in the organization. This will then lead to concrete experience formation, and observation and reflection that are derived in areas of deviations.
Training of workers is usually associated with junior staff, while development schemes are meant for top executives in an organization. An organization would engage in a long term developmental schemes for enhancing the strategic planning innovativeness and capacity of its top level managers. Such developmental scheme tends to embrace activities that include management education, the use of job assignment that may stem from life experiences, utilizing mentor relationships. There are three phases for embarking on developmental schemes for managers. These include:
1. Job improvement; which is directed at the development of specific skills and workers’ competencies.
2. Career planning; this has to relate workers growth in line with the available opportunities in the organization
3. Succession planning; this is the HR planning activities where the organization focus on insuring that it has the right number of workforce for it’s future needs.

The role education, learning plays during training schemes

The education, training and development processes in an organization are all geared towards capacity building. The training processes for small organizations, like Innocent Drink, should inculcate learning, education as part of the training program for workers to be able to tackle challenges in their working environments. The education and training processes use in developing workers for small business organizations can make them more flexible and apt at handling complications, and quick solutions are easily reached. According to Miyamoto (2003, p. 1), “ to participate in formal education and vocational training even for workers employed by domestic firms this allows workers in small organizations to be flexible and demand-driven”.
The importance of education for workers in small organizations is significant as experience of one worker is passed to another. This enables the sharing of technical skill and operational know-how. According to Ashton (1999), “ skill formation is subject to substantial externalities, whereby one person’s education benefits others as well”. The utilization of education and training as a tool for implementing workers in small organizations do not only lead to advancement of the workers career and the organization’s benefit, but also goes a long way to contribute in the macro economy level by leading to development in the economy of the country.
The adoption of strategic perspectives of the Human Resource Management for managers and staff and recognising the links between organization’s strategy and the human resource management practice is very important for the smooth operation of the organization (Sims, 2002, p. 4) and the need to develop them through effective training and learning process is emphasised.

Conclusion

Small business organizations, like Innocent Drink are in dire need of increase productivity for their organizations to grow and develop into medium size and large scale companies. This can be attained when workers are trained effectively to increase their productivity on the job functions assigned to them. Hence, through proper performance evaluation, the company will know the gap in training needs for each worker and then effective development of workers skills should be designed according to the ability and the observed needs of each of them.

References

Ashton, David. (1999). Education and Training for Development in East Asia: The Political Economy of Skill Formation in East Asian Newly Industrialised Economy. Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group.
Ciplolla, F. (1996).“ Strategic Human Resource Management”. In Bureaucrat, 24-28.
Goss, D. (1994), Principles of Human Resources Management. London: Routledge
Ferrazzi, Keith. &Gatti, Lisa. (2007). “ The Human Element of Successful Training”, JuneABI/ INFORM Global, 61(6c): 68
Knowles M. S. & Swanson R . A (2005). The Adult Learner: The Definitive Classic in adult Education and Human New York: Elsevier
Sims, Ronald R. (2002), Organisational Success Through Effective Human Resources Management West Port, CT: Quorum Books. Pp. 1-5, 8, 9, 20, 23.
Wilson, John P. (1999), Human resource Development: Learning and Training for Individuals and Organizations London: Kagan Page