Contemporary Trends in Training Methods
EXCELLENCE THROUGH HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT:
Contemporary Trends in Training Methods
Authors:
Prof. Pathik B. Variya, Lecturer, Center for Management Studies,
Dharmsinh Desai University, Nadiad, Gujarat [pvariya@gmail.com]
Prof. Shefali Jain, Lecturer, Center for Management Studies,
Dharmsinh Desai University, Nadiad, Gujarat [jainshjain@gmail.com]
Contemporary Trends in Training Methods
Authors:
Prof. Pathik B. Variya, Lecturer, Center for Management Studies,
Dharmsinh Desai University, Nadiad, Gujarat [pvariya@gmail.com]
Prof. Shefali Jain, Lecturer, Center for Management Studies,
Dharmsinh Desai University, Nadiad, Gujarat [jainshjain@gmail.com]
Abstract: Human Resource Development serves organizations to improve human performance and adhere to a standard of practice that is based on some theoretical foundation along with practical knowledge through training. The role of HRD is changing fast in today’s world. In future, only those HRD managers will succeed who facilitate learning. Training function adds value to the growth of an individual and an organization too. Indian consulting firms are becoming more and more successful on global front in terms of providing training. The article also raises the newly executed contemporary methods of training in organizations for excellence like: Neuro-Linguistic Programming [NLP], Guided reading, Outdoor learning, Literacy Training Techniques, E-learning, Electronic Performance Support System [EPSS], Virtual Reality etc.
Key words: Human Resource Development, Learning Organization, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Guided reading, Outdoor learning, Literacy Training Techniques, E-learning, Electronic Performance Support System [EPSS], Virtual Reality
Introduction: It is widely accepted fact that human resources play a crucial role in the development of nations. Those countries, which have developed their people by investing in sectors such as education, health and science and technology, have achieved considerable success and when they face resource crunch, tend to make Human Resource Development variables. Human Resource Development today is at cross roads. Some Human Resource Development managers have shrunk their roles and reduced themselves to training managers or to administrative managers.
The present and future is going to be competency era. Future is going to be of those Human Resource Development managers who have an entrepreneurial spirit in them, leadership qualities, a business drive, willing to learn, vision driven, articulate, proactive and persevering. It is going to be of those Human Resource Development managers who are willing to take up learning and development as their primary agenda and facilitate the same through general training methods along with contemporary training methods, which are the most attractive features of the disciple of HRD. Therefore, Company’s Human Resource Development vision must be in a direction that the training and contemporary training practices are directed to meet the organizational as well as individual growth towards excellence.[Andy Smith, 2006]
Any organization’s Human Resource Development goal is to create managerial excellence with the changing environment, rapid technological changes characterized by a paradigm shift duly balanced with co-development / co-production, technological up gradation etc. to become a globally competitive with a sense of belongings to the Company.
Now a days, Indian professionals set a benchmark for emerging markets such as Philippines, Taiwan and Middle East. Overseas firms increasingly woo Indian trainers across sectors such as financial services, BPOs, etc., to replicate the winning mantra that etched India prominently on the global outsourcing map. Indian training outfits such as reliance’s NIS Sparta, Hero Mind mine, Delhi-based mind trainer and Evolve Services are finding themselves as much in vogue as the professionals they trained.
Methodologies, Applications and Significance
From edges number of methods are adopted to train people to make them efficient and to decrease performance deficiency. General methods of training are broadly categorized in two heads:
ON-THE-JOB
Orientation
Apprenticeship
Internship
Job Rotation
OFF THE JOB
Vestibule
Lecture
Conference
Case study
Role-playing
Simulation
Programmed Instruction(PI)
Computer-assisted instruction(CAI)
Examples:
LG Electronics has made it mandatory for its staff to do two modules a month and each module has a test that has to be cleared. Every three months a summary of all the tests is made and prizes are doled out to encourage people to learn.
Cisco used web-based training as an integral tool to make employees more productive because it is available anytime, anywhere [Aswathappa K., 2007]
A program of training is important as it lends stability and flexibility to an organization.
CONTEMPORARY METHODS OF TRAINING
Neuro-Linguistic Programming
Story telling
Guided reading
Outdoor learning
E-learning
Literacy Training Techniques
EPSS
Virtual Reality
Other techniques of training
Movies
Neuro-Linguistic Programming [NLP]: The basis of neuro-linguistic programming [NLP] is that each person’s concept of reality is actually their subjective interpretation, because the mind is filtering mechanism. People learn to program their reactions to others and develop unconscious strategies for interacting with them. NLP helps people to identify these strategies so that they can choose and control what would otherwise be automatic response and behaviour. NLP involves thinking of outcome required in a situation and identifying the personal resources needed to bring about the outcome. These resources are then rehearsed so that positive outcomes can be achieved in new situations. [Armstrong Micheal, 2004]
Story telling: Story telling is an old method of training employed by the Rishimunis to train the sons of the kings thousands of years ago. Today, this ancient method is gaining the movement once again. For example, Sudip Das, top boss of a digital media company, managed a feat that most boardroom directors dream of- to keep awake a team of young executives attending a two-day rigorous and boring annual audit meet. Tanya Batt from New Zealand, a gifted story-teller herself, who promotes the art in her country, shares, “…It is an effective medium for children as well as adults”. [Rajkhowala Indrani, 2007]
Guided reading: Knowledge can be increased by giving trainees books, hand-outs, or company literature and asking them to read and comment on them. Guided reading may take place before a course when the members are asked to read ‘pre-course’ literature. They seldom do. Or it may be given during a training course and used as reinforcement. The beautiful hand-outs that lecturers prepare are often allowed to gather dust when the course is over. They can be far more effective if they are distributed at appropriate points during or immediately after the lecture and those attending are required to discuss specific questions arising from them. Reading as a part of a development programme may be a valuable way of gaining knowledge as long as the material is seen by the trainee as relevant and there is follow-up to ensure that learning has taken place. The best way is to ask trainees to read a handbook or one or two chapters from a longer test and then come back to the trainer or their manager to discuss the relevance of the material and how they can use their knowledge. [Armstrong Micheal, 2004]
Outdoor learning: Outdoor learning involves exposing individuals to various ‘Outward Bound’ type activities: sailing, mountain walking, rock climbing, canoeing, caving etc. It means placing participants, operating in teams, under pressure to carry out physical activities which are completely unfamiliar to them. The rational is that there tests are paradigms of the sort of challenges people have to meet at work, but their unfamiliar nature means that they can learn more about how they act under pressure as team leaders or team members. Outdoor learning involves a facilitator helping participants to learn individually and collectively from their experiences. [Micheal Armstrong, 2004]
E-learning: It refers to the use of Internet or an organizational Intranet to conduct training on-line. Many organizations use e-learning. Prominent among them are Wipro and Satyam. The requisites for e-learning are sufficient top management support, current training methods are not adequately meeting organizational training needs, potential learners are adequately computer literate and they have access to the computer and the Internet, sufficient number of self-motivated learners exist. Advantages of this system are like it is self paced, interactive, allows consistency in delivery of training, enables scoring of assessments and appropriate feedback, is relatively easy for trainers to update content etc. while disadvantages range from causing anxiety to some trainees, limited access to computers, high cost to lack of evidence of its effectiveness. [Aswathappa K., 2007]
Literacy Training Techniques: Functional literacy-the ability to handle basic reading, writing and arithmetic-is a serious problem at work. By one estimate, 50% of US population reads below the eight-grade level, and about 90 million adults are functionally illiterate. For example, a survey of 316 employees concluded that about 43% of all new hires required basic skill improvements, as did 37% of current employees. Employers are responding in two main ways. First, companies are testing job candidates’ basic skills. Of 1,085 companies that responded to an American Management Association [AMA] workplace testing survey, 39% indicated that they conduct basic skills testing. About 85% of the responding companies refuse to hire job applicants who are deficient in basic skills. About 3% test [and often reject] candidates for promotion based on their literacy scores. The second response is to set up basic skills and literacy programmes. For example, Smith and Wesson instituted a comprehensive programme. A literacy audit revealed that many of 676 factory employees fell below the required eight-grade level. Formal classes were instituted to help employees raise their math and reading skills, and 70% of class attendees did so. Since minorities are the fastest-growing pat of the US workforce, language training is no longer a one-way street. In many industries[such as gaming industry] or locales customers speak a variety of languages, and for a company to thrive, its workforce may have to be bilingual or multilingual. For example, Cash Creek Casino in Brooks, recently provided guest service training for its employees in English and separately in Spanish. [Dessler Garry, 2005]
Electronic Performance Support System [EPSS]: Sets of computerized tools and displays that automate training, documentation, and phone support, integrate this automation into applications, and provide support that’s faster, cheaper, and more effective than traditional methods. When you call a Dell service representative about a problem with your new computer, he or she is probably asking questions that are prompted by an EPSS; it takes you both, step-by-step, through an analytical sequence. Without the EPSS, Dell would have to train its service reps to memorize an unrealistically large number of solutions. [Dessler Garry, 2005]
Virtual Reality: Virtual reality is an advanced for of computer simulation, placing trainee in a simulated environment that is ‘virtually’ the same as the physical environment. This simulation is accomplished by the trainee wearing special equipment such as head gear, gloves, and so on, which control what the trainee is able to see, feel and otherwise sense. The trainee learns by interacting with objects in the electronic environment to achieve some goal. [P. Nick Blanchard and Jamer Thacker, 2003]
Movies: Films are used feely as a means of imparting training. The movies like Munnabhai MBBS, Laggan, Chak De! India, Hazaaron Khwahishein Aisi have been used freely by corporate houses for providing training to their employees. Priya Kumar, CEO and Chief Facilitator, International Center for Training System says that, “Training has to interact a lot of interaction from the participants, otherwise, they lose attention. People are non-judgmental while watching a film and it has a better impact on them than sitting for a five-hour lecture on the same issue. And this is exactly what the frame of mind should be during the training.” [Shubhashish, 2007]
Other techniques of training: [Business Today, 1996]
Technique
Description
Ice Breakers
Games to get team members know each other
Skill Games
Tests to develop analytical skills
Communication Games
Exercises to build bias-free listening and talking
Strategic Planners
Games to test ability and plan ahead
Team-Building Games
Exercises requiring collaborative efforts
Role Reversal
Exercises to teach plurality of views
Doubling
Brings out ideas that are not often expressed
Tag Teams
One role played alternate by two participants
Mirroring
Training with an external perspective
Monodrama
Insight into a given interaction
Shifting Physical Positions
Highlighting of communication problems
Structured Role Playing
Role-play with predetermined objectives
Multiple Role Playing
Providing a common focus of discussion
Built-in-Tension
Teaching importance of resolving matters
Shadowing
Working under a senior to watch and learn
Outward-bound Training
Adventure sports for teams
9 + 1 + 23
Self-assessment by a leader of leadership skills
Lateral Thinking
Thinking randomly to come up with new ideas
Morphological Analysis
Listing of alternative solutions to problems
Gordon Technique
Steering a discussion to crystallize solutions
Attribute Listening
Isolation, selection and evaluation of a problem
Cross-cultural Training
Programmes to teach specifies of varied cultures.
Conclusion: The importance of Human resource Management to a large extent depends on Human Resource Development. No organization can get a candidate who exactly matches with the job and the organizational requirements. Job and organizational requirements are not static, they are changed with time. Organizational efficiency, productivity, progress, development, stability and growth to a greater extent depend on training. That is why training is important as it constitute significant part of management control.
Reference:
Armstrong Micheal, “Human Resource Management Practices”, London, Kogan Pages, 2004, P. 905]
Armstrong Micheal, “Human Resource Management Practices”, London, Kogan Pages, 2004, P. 901]
Armstrong Micheal, “Human Resource Management Practices”, London, Kogan Pages, 2004, P. 906]
Business Today, Jan 7-21, 1996
Dessler Garry, Human Resource Management, New Delhi, Pearson Education, 2005, P. 287]
Dessler Garry, Human Resource Management, New Delhi, Pearson Education, 2005, P. 290
http://www.tvrls.com/research_and_publication2.php?research_id=10, accessed on October 15, 2007
http://www.tvrls.com/research_and_publication2.php?research_id=8, accessed on October 15, 2007
K.Aswathappa, “Human Resource Management”, Fifth edition, Tata McGraw Hill, P.221
K.Aswathappa, “Human Resource Management”, Fifth edition, Tata McGraw Hill, P.690
P. Nick Blanchard and Jamer Thacker, Effective Training: Systems, Strategies, and Practices (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2003), P. 144]
Rajkhowa Indrani, October 14, 2007, Times Of India
Smith Andy, Engagement or Irrelevance? Human Resource development and the World of Policy and Practice;Human Resource Development Review Vol.5, No.4 December-2006 P.359-399
Shubhashish, Times of India, October 17, 2007
Key words: Human Resource Development, Learning Organization, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Guided reading, Outdoor learning, Literacy Training Techniques, E-learning, Electronic Performance Support System [EPSS], Virtual Reality
Introduction: It is widely accepted fact that human resources play a crucial role in the development of nations. Those countries, which have developed their people by investing in sectors such as education, health and science and technology, have achieved considerable success and when they face resource crunch, tend to make Human Resource Development variables. Human Resource Development today is at cross roads. Some Human Resource Development managers have shrunk their roles and reduced themselves to training managers or to administrative managers.
The present and future is going to be competency era. Future is going to be of those Human Resource Development managers who have an entrepreneurial spirit in them, leadership qualities, a business drive, willing to learn, vision driven, articulate, proactive and persevering. It is going to be of those Human Resource Development managers who are willing to take up learning and development as their primary agenda and facilitate the same through general training methods along with contemporary training methods, which are the most attractive features of the disciple of HRD. Therefore, Company’s Human Resource Development vision must be in a direction that the training and contemporary training practices are directed to meet the organizational as well as individual growth towards excellence.[Andy Smith, 2006]
Any organization’s Human Resource Development goal is to create managerial excellence with the changing environment, rapid technological changes characterized by a paradigm shift duly balanced with co-development / co-production, technological up gradation etc. to become a globally competitive with a sense of belongings to the Company.
Now a days, Indian professionals set a benchmark for emerging markets such as Philippines, Taiwan and Middle East. Overseas firms increasingly woo Indian trainers across sectors such as financial services, BPOs, etc., to replicate the winning mantra that etched India prominently on the global outsourcing map. Indian training outfits such as reliance’s NIS Sparta, Hero Mind mine, Delhi-based mind trainer and Evolve Services are finding themselves as much in vogue as the professionals they trained.
Methodologies, Applications and Significance
From edges number of methods are adopted to train people to make them efficient and to decrease performance deficiency. General methods of training are broadly categorized in two heads:
ON-THE-JOB
Orientation
Apprenticeship
Internship
Job Rotation
OFF THE JOB
Vestibule
Lecture
Conference
Case study
Role-playing
Simulation
Programmed Instruction(PI)
Computer-assisted instruction(CAI)
Examples:
LG Electronics has made it mandatory for its staff to do two modules a month and each module has a test that has to be cleared. Every three months a summary of all the tests is made and prizes are doled out to encourage people to learn.
Cisco used web-based training as an integral tool to make employees more productive because it is available anytime, anywhere [Aswathappa K., 2007]
A program of training is important as it lends stability and flexibility to an organization.
CONTEMPORARY METHODS OF TRAINING
Neuro-Linguistic Programming
Story telling
Guided reading
Outdoor learning
E-learning
Literacy Training Techniques
EPSS
Virtual Reality
Other techniques of training
Movies
Neuro-Linguistic Programming [NLP]: The basis of neuro-linguistic programming [NLP] is that each person’s concept of reality is actually their subjective interpretation, because the mind is filtering mechanism. People learn to program their reactions to others and develop unconscious strategies for interacting with them. NLP helps people to identify these strategies so that they can choose and control what would otherwise be automatic response and behaviour. NLP involves thinking of outcome required in a situation and identifying the personal resources needed to bring about the outcome. These resources are then rehearsed so that positive outcomes can be achieved in new situations. [Armstrong Micheal, 2004]
Story telling: Story telling is an old method of training employed by the Rishimunis to train the sons of the kings thousands of years ago. Today, this ancient method is gaining the movement once again. For example, Sudip Das, top boss of a digital media company, managed a feat that most boardroom directors dream of- to keep awake a team of young executives attending a two-day rigorous and boring annual audit meet. Tanya Batt from New Zealand, a gifted story-teller herself, who promotes the art in her country, shares, “…It is an effective medium for children as well as adults”. [Rajkhowala Indrani, 2007]
Guided reading: Knowledge can be increased by giving trainees books, hand-outs, or company literature and asking them to read and comment on them. Guided reading may take place before a course when the members are asked to read ‘pre-course’ literature. They seldom do. Or it may be given during a training course and used as reinforcement. The beautiful hand-outs that lecturers prepare are often allowed to gather dust when the course is over. They can be far more effective if they are distributed at appropriate points during or immediately after the lecture and those attending are required to discuss specific questions arising from them. Reading as a part of a development programme may be a valuable way of gaining knowledge as long as the material is seen by the trainee as relevant and there is follow-up to ensure that learning has taken place. The best way is to ask trainees to read a handbook or one or two chapters from a longer test and then come back to the trainer or their manager to discuss the relevance of the material and how they can use their knowledge. [Armstrong Micheal, 2004]
Outdoor learning: Outdoor learning involves exposing individuals to various ‘Outward Bound’ type activities: sailing, mountain walking, rock climbing, canoeing, caving etc. It means placing participants, operating in teams, under pressure to carry out physical activities which are completely unfamiliar to them. The rational is that there tests are paradigms of the sort of challenges people have to meet at work, but their unfamiliar nature means that they can learn more about how they act under pressure as team leaders or team members. Outdoor learning involves a facilitator helping participants to learn individually and collectively from their experiences. [Micheal Armstrong, 2004]
E-learning: It refers to the use of Internet or an organizational Intranet to conduct training on-line. Many organizations use e-learning. Prominent among them are Wipro and Satyam. The requisites for e-learning are sufficient top management support, current training methods are not adequately meeting organizational training needs, potential learners are adequately computer literate and they have access to the computer and the Internet, sufficient number of self-motivated learners exist. Advantages of this system are like it is self paced, interactive, allows consistency in delivery of training, enables scoring of assessments and appropriate feedback, is relatively easy for trainers to update content etc. while disadvantages range from causing anxiety to some trainees, limited access to computers, high cost to lack of evidence of its effectiveness. [Aswathappa K., 2007]
Literacy Training Techniques: Functional literacy-the ability to handle basic reading, writing and arithmetic-is a serious problem at work. By one estimate, 50% of US population reads below the eight-grade level, and about 90 million adults are functionally illiterate. For example, a survey of 316 employees concluded that about 43% of all new hires required basic skill improvements, as did 37% of current employees. Employers are responding in two main ways. First, companies are testing job candidates’ basic skills. Of 1,085 companies that responded to an American Management Association [AMA] workplace testing survey, 39% indicated that they conduct basic skills testing. About 85% of the responding companies refuse to hire job applicants who are deficient in basic skills. About 3% test [and often reject] candidates for promotion based on their literacy scores. The second response is to set up basic skills and literacy programmes. For example, Smith and Wesson instituted a comprehensive programme. A literacy audit revealed that many of 676 factory employees fell below the required eight-grade level. Formal classes were instituted to help employees raise their math and reading skills, and 70% of class attendees did so. Since minorities are the fastest-growing pat of the US workforce, language training is no longer a one-way street. In many industries[such as gaming industry] or locales customers speak a variety of languages, and for a company to thrive, its workforce may have to be bilingual or multilingual. For example, Cash Creek Casino in Brooks, recently provided guest service training for its employees in English and separately in Spanish. [Dessler Garry, 2005]
Electronic Performance Support System [EPSS]: Sets of computerized tools and displays that automate training, documentation, and phone support, integrate this automation into applications, and provide support that’s faster, cheaper, and more effective than traditional methods. When you call a Dell service representative about a problem with your new computer, he or she is probably asking questions that are prompted by an EPSS; it takes you both, step-by-step, through an analytical sequence. Without the EPSS, Dell would have to train its service reps to memorize an unrealistically large number of solutions. [Dessler Garry, 2005]
Virtual Reality: Virtual reality is an advanced for of computer simulation, placing trainee in a simulated environment that is ‘virtually’ the same as the physical environment. This simulation is accomplished by the trainee wearing special equipment such as head gear, gloves, and so on, which control what the trainee is able to see, feel and otherwise sense. The trainee learns by interacting with objects in the electronic environment to achieve some goal. [P. Nick Blanchard and Jamer Thacker, 2003]
Movies: Films are used feely as a means of imparting training. The movies like Munnabhai MBBS, Laggan, Chak De! India, Hazaaron Khwahishein Aisi have been used freely by corporate houses for providing training to their employees. Priya Kumar, CEO and Chief Facilitator, International Center for Training System says that, “Training has to interact a lot of interaction from the participants, otherwise, they lose attention. People are non-judgmental while watching a film and it has a better impact on them than sitting for a five-hour lecture on the same issue. And this is exactly what the frame of mind should be during the training.” [Shubhashish, 2007]
Other techniques of training: [Business Today, 1996]
Technique
Description
Ice Breakers
Games to get team members know each other
Skill Games
Tests to develop analytical skills
Communication Games
Exercises to build bias-free listening and talking
Strategic Planners
Games to test ability and plan ahead
Team-Building Games
Exercises requiring collaborative efforts
Role Reversal
Exercises to teach plurality of views
Doubling
Brings out ideas that are not often expressed
Tag Teams
One role played alternate by two participants
Mirroring
Training with an external perspective
Monodrama
Insight into a given interaction
Shifting Physical Positions
Highlighting of communication problems
Structured Role Playing
Role-play with predetermined objectives
Multiple Role Playing
Providing a common focus of discussion
Built-in-Tension
Teaching importance of resolving matters
Shadowing
Working under a senior to watch and learn
Outward-bound Training
Adventure sports for teams
9 + 1 + 23
Self-assessment by a leader of leadership skills
Lateral Thinking
Thinking randomly to come up with new ideas
Morphological Analysis
Listing of alternative solutions to problems
Gordon Technique
Steering a discussion to crystallize solutions
Attribute Listening
Isolation, selection and evaluation of a problem
Cross-cultural Training
Programmes to teach specifies of varied cultures.
Conclusion: The importance of Human resource Management to a large extent depends on Human Resource Development. No organization can get a candidate who exactly matches with the job and the organizational requirements. Job and organizational requirements are not static, they are changed with time. Organizational efficiency, productivity, progress, development, stability and growth to a greater extent depend on training. That is why training is important as it constitute significant part of management control.
Reference:
Armstrong Micheal, “Human Resource Management Practices”, London, Kogan Pages, 2004, P. 905]
Armstrong Micheal, “Human Resource Management Practices”, London, Kogan Pages, 2004, P. 901]
Armstrong Micheal, “Human Resource Management Practices”, London, Kogan Pages, 2004, P. 906]
Business Today, Jan 7-21, 1996
Dessler Garry, Human Resource Management, New Delhi, Pearson Education, 2005, P. 287]
Dessler Garry, Human Resource Management, New Delhi, Pearson Education, 2005, P. 290
http://www.tvrls.com/research_and_publication2.php?research_id=10, accessed on October 15, 2007
http://www.tvrls.com/research_and_publication2.php?research_id=8, accessed on October 15, 2007
K.Aswathappa, “Human Resource Management”, Fifth edition, Tata McGraw Hill, P.221
K.Aswathappa, “Human Resource Management”, Fifth edition, Tata McGraw Hill, P.690
P. Nick Blanchard and Jamer Thacker, Effective Training: Systems, Strategies, and Practices (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2003), P. 144]
Rajkhowa Indrani, October 14, 2007, Times Of India
Smith Andy, Engagement or Irrelevance? Human Resource development and the World of Policy and Practice;Human Resource Development Review Vol.5, No.4 December-2006 P.359-399
Shubhashish, Times of India, October 17, 2007
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