OBH 412 MANAGEMENT TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT

Lesson No. 2
ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT OF
TRAINING FUNCTION
Au thor : Dr . T ejinder Sh arma
Dept. of Commerce,
K.U., Kuruks hetr a

Structure

2.0 Objectives
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Designing A Training Programme
2.2.1. Identification Of Training Needs
2.2.2. Training Objectives
2.3. Organizational Set-Up For Training
2.4 External Organization
2.5 Training Operations
2.6 Evaluation Of Training.
2.7 Training Effectiveness
2.8 Essentials Of Good Training
2.9 Conclusion

2.0 Objective

After reading this lesson, you shall be able to

• Understand the process of management of training.
• Know how a training programme is organized
• Identify the training needs
• Appreciate the essentials of a good training programme.

2.1 Introduction

After having understood the importance of any training

programme, the next important question for the management
lies on conducting the same. Training is an abstract kind of
managerial function, whose advantages are not evident
immediately. So, the management has to plan it very
carefully. Training is an important managerial function and
involves all the steps that are the characteristic of other
managerial functions. Some of the critical questions
regarding training activity before the management are:
• Whether training should be undertaken at all?
• What objectives is the training activity likely to
satisfy?
• Who should impart the training?
• Do we need a separate department for imparting
training to the managers?
• How training should be imparted to the trainees?
• How should the results of training be measured?

The above questions point to the usual activity related to the

design and management of training programme. This lesson
shall not seek answers to all these questions, but shall
discuss the organization and management of training activity
in more detail.

2.2 Designing a Training Programme

Some of the typical steps in designing a training programme
are:
(i) Identification of training needs.
(ii) Setting training objectives.
(iii) Organizational set-up for training
(iv) Training operations.
(v) Evaluation of training.

These steps can be shown in the form of exhibit 2.1.

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2.2.1. Identification of Training Needs
The present time is the age of change. In all the spheres of
organizational activity, there is a very rapid change.
Technology has become the most important harbinger of the
change process. In order to remain competitive, people have
to learn newer skills and keep themselves updated. This calls
for a constant training.
The process of change has influenced even the process of
training itself. Earlier the people were acquiring training
through apprenticeship and vocational courses, which are not
sufficient in the modern era of industrialization. It is

Identification of Training Needs

• Organizational Analysis
• Task Analysis
• Human Resource Analysis

Setting Training Objectives

Organisation of Training Programme

• Trainee and Instructor
• Period of Training
• Training Methods and Material

Evaluation of Training Results

Exhibit 2.1 Design of a Training Programme.

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necessary to identify the training needs because of the
following reasons:
(a) Adoption of new techniques in an organization and
introduction of modern working methods. For
example, Computerization of the office as has
been done in banks, railways etc. The staff needs
to be trained to handle the newer gadgets.
(b) Although it is often said that workforce is cheap in
India, but they do not measure upto the global
standards in terms of productivity. Poor
performance by the workers as reflected by low
output, lack of initiative, incompetence, and bad
decisions. This requires their systematic training.
(c) Wide gaps exist between what workers should be
doing and what they are doing.
(d) Analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of an
organization may pinpoint the areas of
weaknesses, which need to be handled seriously.

Training needs can be identified from an organization’s

human resource plan. While preparing plans, the current
skills with expected needs for future should be kept in mind
and the deficiencies be highlighted. Some organizations
prepare ‘skills-inventories’ classifying employees according
to their qualifications, technical knowledge, experience and
various skills. The gaps between the existing and required
levels of knowledge, skills, performance and attitudes should
be specified. The problem areas that can be resolved through
training should also be identified.
Training needs can be identified through the following types
of analysis:
(i) Organizational analysis

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 (a) Analysis of objectives
(b) Resource utilization analysis
(c) Climate analysis
(ii) Task analysis
(iii) Manpower or Human Resource Analysis:

(i) Organizational Analysis.

Organizational analysis is basically a systematic study of an

organization’s objectives, resources, resource allocation and
utilization, growth potential and its environment. Its purpose
is to determine where training emphasis should be placed in
the organization for increasing organizational effectiveness.
Organizational analysis involves the following elements:
(a) Analysis of Objectives.
The long-term and short-term objectives and their relative
priorities should be properly analyzed. Specific goals for
various departments should be stated which will serve as
means for achieving the overall organizational objectives.
The management would have to examine what are the
specific training inputs that would contribute towards the
achievements of these objectives.
(b) Resource Utilization Analysis.
The allocation of human and physical resources and their
efficient utilization in meeting the operational targets should
be analyzed. In order to examine the need for training, it
should be found out whether adequate number of personnel
are available to ensure the fulfillment of the goals or not.
Also, it is important to know whether the personnel
performance is upto the required standards.

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 (c) Climate Analysis.
An organization’s climate reflects the attitudes of its
members with regards to trust, loyalty, openness,
commitment to organizational goals. Analysis of an
organization’s climate determines whether the environment,
when analyzed in different departments is conducive to the
fulfillment of their goals. This will help in knowing areas
where training is needed to improve the climate of the
organization.

(ii) Task Analysis.

It is a systematic analysis of jobs to identify job contents,

knowledge, skills and aptitudes required to perform the job.
Particular attention should be paid to the tasks to be
performed, the methods to be used, the way employees learn
these methods and the performance standards required of
employees. Questionnaires, interviews, personnel records,
observation and other methods can be used to collect
information about jobs in the organization.
In task analysis, the main focus is on the job or task. Task
analysis requires the study of various types of skills and
training required to perform to the job effectively.
(iii) Manpower Analysis.
The quality of manpower required by the organisation has to
be carefully analysed. It has to be done in the light of both
internal and external environment of the organisation. The
economic, social, technological and political environment of
the organisation should be properly scanned to determine the
quality of human resources desired. To achieve these quality
standards, specific training needs should be determined on
the following lines :

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 (a) specific areas where individuals need training,
(b) the capability of present workforce to learn new
skills and behaviours,
(c) the time frame within which training must be
imparted, and
(d) job designing and redesigning, introduction of new
work methods and technology.

2.2.2. Training Objectives

Once the training needs are identified, the next step is to
define specifically training objectives and to decide upon the
methods to be adopted to achieve these objectives. The
overall aim of any training programme is to increase
organizational effectiveness. However, each training
programme must also have specific objectives such as
increased productivity, improved quality, better human
resource planning, better health and safety, prevention of
obsolescence and enhanced personal growth.

Specific Objective of Training

1. Increased productivity Overall Purpose of

2. Improved quality Training
3. Better human resource planning
4. Higher morale Increased Organizational
5. Better health and safety Effectiveness
6. Prevention of obsolescence
7. Enhanced personal growth

Exhibit 7.2. Objectives of Training

These objectives contribute to organizational effectiveness.

The relationship between specific objectives and overall
purpose of training is shown in Fig. 7.2.

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2.3. Organizational Set-Up for Training

Training has to be imparted by the people and in order to

enable them work effectively; organization must have a
structure that makes them work effectively and efficiently.
However the issue of establishing a training center within a
company has to be addressed from the very first question
that whether is it really feasible to have a separate training
center at all or not?

Advantages of having in-house training center:

In case a company decides to have its own training center,

then it can reap several advantages, as mentioned below:

(i) Training programme shall be under the direct

control of the executives.

(ii) The likeliness of a training programme to adhere

to the objectives increases if it is being organized
within the organization.

(iii) If training is a regular exercise, as it is the case of

software, pharmaceuticals and other companies,
then it is feasible to have a separate training
center. In such companies, training of staff
continues throughout the year. So, the overhead
expenses are reduced. Even permanent staff can
be hired for management and imparting the
training.

(iv) An in-house training center ensures the privacy of

training. In the competitive times of today, privacy
is an important issue because the competitors can

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 copy the organization’s efforts and offset its
competitive advantage.

(v) Constant review of training effectiveness is easy if

it is being imparted within the organization.

However, there are arguments favouring outsourcing of

training as well. Nowdays the facilities required for training,
such as hotels, conference rooms, training facilities etc. are
available very economically. The external talent can also be
hired at an economical cost. The trainees also tend to pay
more attention to what is being said by the external expert.
Moreover, external talent means more ideas and fresh talent.
The emerging scenario is that the companies where training
is a regular phenomenon may have a training center, while
other might outsource the same. Even those outsourcing the
same may have a permanent staff to coordinate and manage
the training, while the external experts might be hired for
imparting training. Usually, the considerations while deciding
having an in-house training center or not are:

• The support of the top management towards training.

• The amount of investment, which an organization

wants to make.

• Volume of the training programme.

• Continuity of the training programme.

• Flexibility of a training programme.

• Privacy desired in a training programme.

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In case a company has an in-house training center, the
following issues have to be defined to achieve better
effectiveness and avoid clash of responsibilities:

Organizational structure

The exact position of the training department must be

specified in the organizational structure of the company.
Training, being a staff function has a risk of being sidelined
in a large organization. Some of the typical structures of
training department can be:

(i) As a part of the personnel department

In most companies, human resource development is

entrusted upon HRD/Personnel department. In such situation,
the training department would function within the
authoritative control of the HRD manager. Usually, the new
employees undergo an orientation/induction programme,
which is organized by this department. In such department,
there can be a permanent training manager, who shall plan
and manage the training programmes. He shall also evaluate
the training programmes and report to the HRD manager.
Although rare, organization might hire some permanent
faculty to provide the training. The common practice is that
some core faculty might be hired, while the external experts
might impart specialized training. Usually, the training
imparted by this department is more generic in nature.

(ii) In the form of a matrix organization

The training manager might not be a specialist in all

functional areas. While imparting sophisticated training, the
common practice is to take a manager from the functional
department. For example, if sales training was to be given to

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the representatives, the sales manager might be asked to
plan the same. In such a situation, he shall design the
training programme and identify the faculty who shall provide
the training. He might even identify the trainees who need to
be trained. The training manager, who shall be under the
HRD manager, shall organize the training according to the
plan suggested by the sales manager. He might arrange for
the hotel, training facilities and other necessary
paraphernalia required for the training. In such a situation,
the training activity is conducted in the form of a matrix
organization, where the training manager merely becomes a
facilitator of a training programme.

(iii) Training by functional heads

When training is not a very regular exercise, even the

functional heads, such as marketing manager/production
manager etc. might undertake the task of organizing the
training programmes. They plan and organize the entire
programme themselves.

Role and Responsibility

After the place in the organizational structure, the role and

responsibility of the training department must be specified
clarity. The risk of role conflict exists particularly in a matrix
form of the training department. Each of the managers might
see the other as infringing upon the other’s authority. Such a
situation is not conducive for an effective training. Shared
responsibility might not fix the responsibility in case the
training does not achieve the desired results.

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2.4 External Organization

Several organizations, such as consultancy organizations,

professional bodies, government departments, educational
institutions etc. specialize in providing training. They contact
the prospective organizations and put forth their proposals to
conduct training programmes for them. The clients review
their proposal and if satisfied, they might nominate their staff
to participate in these events. The external organizations can
organize the training programme by two modalities:

• A training programme dedicated to an organization

When there are a sufficient number of the participants to

undergo training, the external organization might provide the
training exclusively to the organization. The advantage of
such an exercise is that the experts and the organization can
decide the training objectives by mutual consultation. The
planning and control of such a programme becomes easier.
The privacy of the training programme is also better in this
case.

• A training general programme in which delegates of

several organizations participate

In this situation, the external organizations organize a

seminar/workshop or a training capsule and invite delegates
from several organizations to participate. The advantage of
such a training programme is that the cost is low because
only a limited number of the delegates of one organization
might participate in the event. The intermixing with people
from several organizations gives fresh ideas. The
professionals develop networking, which can help them in
discharging their professional duties better.

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2.5 Training Operations
From the operational angle, the following activities have to
be undertaken to conduct a training programme.
(a) Selection of the Trainees.
The proper selection of trainees is very important factor that
determines permanent and gainful results. A trainee must be
provided the training which he really needs. Sometimes, the
employees perceive training as a paid vacation. This might
lead to wastage of the entire effort. The trainee might receive
the training in a subject, which he is not very likely to use.
Again, the effort would be of no use. Sometimes, training is
also seen as a sign of incompetence. The employees might
resist the same. So, proper screening of the candidates for
training improves the effectiveness of the training a
programme.
While giving training to an employee, the first step is to
attempt to place him at ease. It is generally seen that many
people are somewhat nervous when approaching an
unfamiliar task. The instructor should not forget the newness
of the training programme to the trainee though he has
repeated experience of this. In addition to minimize any
possible apprehension, the trainer should emphasize the
importance of job, its relationship to the workflow and the
importance of rapid and effective learning. Thus, the trainee
must be given the proper background information before he
starts learning the new skills and knowledge.
(b) Training the trainer.
The trainer is a key figure of any training programme. Before
he is entrusted upon with the task of undertaking the training,
he must be judged whether s/he him/herself is competent

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enough to do the same or not. The firms might engage a
qualified instructor from inside or outside the organization.
However, many insiders are not good instructors because
they might not possess the ability to teach the skill. Trainer
needs many qualities besides theoretical competence. He
must be able to divide the job into logical parts so that he
may take up one part at a time without losing his perspective
of the whole. He must be tolerant and patient. He must be
able to appreciate the value of training job in relation to the
enterprise and an understanding of what the employees
would go through in order to acquire the skills and knowledge
as envisaged by the programme.
The trainer has to have professional expertise to fulfill his
responsibility. Therefore, it is desirable that the trainer must
have knowledge about the job for which he is going to
instruct the trainees. He must be able to suggest solutions to
the practical problems faced by the trainees.
The trainer should explain and demonstrate the operations
step by step and should allow the trainees to repeat these
operations. He should also encourage questions from the
trainees in order to be sure that the trainees understand the
job.
(c) Training Period.
The duration of a training programme depends upon the skill
to be acquired, the trainee's learning capacity and the
training methodology used, For example, a simple orientation
programme for clerks may require an hour a day over a
period of one week, while a course in computer programming
may be require two hours a week for 10 weeks. The use of
training aids usually helps to reduce the training time. To

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maintain interest and secure maximum accomplishment, no
single session should last longer than two hours.
Another issue is whether the training should be given during
working hours or after the working hours. If the training is
given during working hours, the productivity may suffer and
the organization will have to pay for this time. But if the
training is arranged after the working hours, the employees
may not be able to make full use of training programmes
because they might be tired already. For effective training,
the training manager should reconcile these situations.
(d) Training Methods and Material.
There are several on-the-job and off-the-job methods of
training, which have been discussed in lesson no. 7. As was
mentioned in that lesson, the choice of any training method
depends upon the specific objectives of the training
programme and several other factors.
To increase the effectiveness of training, some written
material is usually desirable as a basis for instruction, review
and reference. The training section may prepare the training
material with the help of line supervisors to be used for
different jobs. A complete outline of the whole course should
be made with the main topics included under each heading.
The training material should be distributed among the
trainees well in advance so that they may come prepared in
the lecture class and may be able to understand the subject
quickly and may remove their doubts by asking questions
from the instructor.

2.6 Evaluation of Training.

Management of training would not be complete without ptoper
evaluation of training. Training is a very costly and time-

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consuming process. It is essential to determine its
effectiveness in terms of achievement of specific training
objectives. Individuals like to know how much they learnt or
how well they are doing. The sooner employees know the
results of a quiz or test, the sooner they can assess their
progress. The sooner employees receive positive feedback
from the trainer, the less time they will waste.
Self-graded tests and programmed learning kits provide the
necessary feedback to a person on his progress on a
particular subject. This principle does not necessarily mean
frequent testing, but the more immediate the feedback on
learning the more motivating it is likely to be.
Evaluation of training would provide useful information about
the effectiveness of training as well as about the design of
future training programmes. It will enable an organization to
monitor the training programme and also to modify its future
programmes of training. The evaluation of training also
provides useful data on the basis of which relevance of
training and its integration with other functions of human
resource management can be examined.

2.7 Training Effectiveness

Training effectiveness is the degree to which trainees are
able to learn and apply the knowledge and skills acquired
during the programme. It is influenced by the attitudes,
interests, values and expectations of the trainees and the
training environment. A training programme is likely to be
more effective when the trainees want to learn, are involved
in their jobs and have career plans. Contents of training
programme, and the ability of trainers also determine training
effectiveness to a certain extent.

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Some of the criteria to measure training effectiveness are the
trainees’ reactions, their extent of learning, improvement in
job behaviour, and the results at the job. Training evaluation
is discussed in greater details in lesson no. 9.

2.8 Essentials of Good Training

To sum up, the essentials of good training programmes can
be stated as under:
(a) Training programme should be chalked out after
identifying the training needs or goals. It should
have relevance to the job requirements.
(b) It must be flexible and should make due allowance
for the differences among the individuals as
regards ability, aptitude, learning capacity,
emotional make-up, etc.
(c) It should prepare the trainees mentally before they
are imparted any job knowledge or skill.
(d) It must be conducted by well-qualified and
experienced trainers.
(e) An effective training programme should emphasize
both theory and practice. It should help in
acquiring knowledge and its practical applications.
(f) It should have the support of the top management
as it can greatly influence the quality of training.
(g) Lastly, an effective training programme should be
supported by a system of critical appraisal of the
outcome of the training efforts.

2.9 Summary
Training is an important managerial function and involves all the
steps that are the characteristic of other managerial functions.

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The typical steps in designing a training programme are the
identification of training needs, setting training objectives,
organizational set-up for training, training operations and
evaluation of training. Training needs can be identified through
the organisational, task and human resource analysis.
Organizational analysis is basically a systematic study of an
organization’s objectives, resources, resource allocation and
utilization, growth potential and its environment. While doing the
organisational analysis, the long-term and short-term objectives
and their relative priorities are properly analyzed. The allocation
of human and physical resources and their efficient utilization in
meeting the operational targets and the organisational climate are
also analyzed. An organization’s climate reflects the attitudes of
its members with regards to trust, loyalty, openness, commitment
to organizational goals. Analysis of an organization’s climate
determines whether the environment, when analyzed in different
departments is conducive to the fulfillment of their goals. It is a
systematic analysis of jobs to identify job contents, knowledge,
skills and aptitudes required to perform the job. The quality of
manpower required for training can be analysed in the light of
both internal and external environment of the organisation. Some
of the specific objectives of Training can be to increase
productivity, improve quality, better human resource planning,
higher morale, better health and safety, prevention of
obsolescence and enhanced personal growth.
Training has to be imparted by the people and in order to enable
them work effectively; organization must have a structure that
makes them work effectively and efficiently. The exact position of
the training department must be specified in the organizational
structure of the company. A training department can exist as a
part of the personnel department or in the form of a matrix
organization. Training can also be provided by functional heads
of the departments. Several external organizations, such as
consultancy organizations, professional bodies, government

18
departments, educational institutions etc., specialize in providing
training and their services can also be utilized. The Training
Operations include the activities such as selection of the
trainees, training the trainer, specifying the training period,
training methods and Material. Some of the criteria to measure
training effectiveness of training are the trainees’ reactions, their
extent of learning, improvement in job behaviour, and the results
at the job.

2.10 Key Words

Organisational Analysis
Organizational analysis is basically a systematic study of an
organization’s objectives, resources, resource allocation and
utilization, growth potential and its environment.

Resource Utilization Analysis

The allocation of human and physical resources and their efficient
utilization in meeting the operational targets.

Task Analysis
It is a systematic analysis of jobs to identify job contents,
knowledge, skills and aptitudes required to perform the job.

2.11 Self Assessment Questions

1. Discuss the steps required for an effective training.

2. What are various steps to identify the training needs
in an organization.
3. In what conditions is it feasible for an organization
to have its own in-house training department?
4. What are the salient features of training operations?

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 5. Discuss the essentials of a good training
programme.

2.12 References/ Suggested Readings

1. Rolf Lynton and Udai Pareek (2000) Training for

organizational transformation, Sage Publications, New
Delhi.

2. Pepper, A.D. (1986), Managing the training and

development function, Gower.

3. Rae, L. (1986), How to Measure Training Effectiveness,

Gower.

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