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Chapter 8
TRAINING AND DEVELOPING A COMPETITIVE
WORKFORCE
Opening Case: Managing Human Resources at Ritz-Carlton
Hotel Company
As a two-time winner of the Baldrige award, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company
knows that delivering excellent customer service requires careful hiring and
intensive training to create employee teams that share the same vision and goals
contained in the firm’s credo. New hires are mentored and coached by veteran
employees who emphasize the importance of how the job is done rather than
simply getting the job done. Understanding the customer’s perspective is the key
to providing stellar award-winning service.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
The best companies are using training and development practices to enhance
the ability of the workforce to implement the overall strategy of an
organization.
Enhancing the competence of the workforce can be used to help an
organization to create and sustain competitive advantage, but it can also be
valuable in developing employee cohesiveness, commitment, satisfaction,
and retention.
A. Addressing Concerns of Employees
Many employees seek out, and want to remain employed by, companies
B. Globalization
In locations where competencies fall short of what firms need, training and
development activities can be used to improve the quality of the technical
CHAPTER 8 Training and Developing a Competitive Workforce
C. Implementing New Technology
New technologies generally require training in their use. Installing new or
upgraded technologies will likely require that employees upgrade their
D. Improving Competitiveness
Organizations spend over $60 billion annually on training and
development in the belief that these expenditures will allow them to
E. Improving Customer Service
F. Training for Customers
Training activities now cross organizational boundaries. Many
G. Ethics Training
Companies with world-class HR practices work to ensure that employees
meet high ethical standards. The approach used by Smucker’s is
described in the feature “Managing Ethics: J. M. Smucker & Co.”
H. Knowledge Management
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1. Knowledge Management Technologies
In order to accomplish this, many companies have adopted knowledge
management technologies. Knowledge management is concerned with
2. Communities-of-Practice
A community-of-practice is a social network of people who share a
common interest and who are committed to collaborating on projects
I. Mergers and Acquisitions
Many companies provide training regarding the new culture of the firm
II. TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT PRACTICES WITHIN THE INTEGRATED
HRM SYSTEM
Socialization, training, and development are the organization’s intentional
efforts to improve current and future performance by increasing capabilities.
Specifically, socialization refers to teaching the corporate culture and
philosophies about how to do business; training refers to improving
competencies needed today or very soon; development refers to improving
competencies over the long term. In practice, these clear distinctions tend to
blur together. By creating shared experiences and understanding among
employees these activities serve many strategic purposes.
A. Links to Other HR Activities
The objectives of a training program will determine which other aspects of
an HR system should be integrated with a particular training and
development activity. For example, if the objective is to socialize new
hires, then training should be integrated with the recruitment process.
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Exhibit 8.1 provides a general overview of training and development
activities and their relationship with other HR activities.
1. Fairness and Legal Compliance
Federal regulations (e.g., OSHA) require employers to provide training
2. Job Analysis and Competency Modeling
These components establish the competencies required to perform
3. Recruiting and Retaining
Disney and P&G are two companies that begin the socialization
4. Selecting Employees
5. Performance Management
Performance management should be used to help identify the need for
training and to determine when training activities have succeeded in
improving performance.
B. Evaluating Training and Development
Training and development activities should support an organization’s
attainment of the objectives of its business strategy. A systematic
approach to the evaluation of training effectiveness includes at least four
components:
➢ reaction to training
➢ learning that took place
CHAPTER 8 Training and Developing a Competitive Workforce
III. THE HR TRIAD
The most valuable role of top-level executives is recognizing the value of
training and supporting these activities. Most U.S. companies invest much
less in training than do their competitors in other parts of the world. See The
HR Triad: Roles and Responsibilities in Training, and Development for more
information about how line managers, employees, and HR professionals need
to work together to support effective training activities.
A. Line Managers
Managers can support training activities by providing the financial
B. Employees
Employees must participate even if they are not directly involved in
C. HR Professionals
HR professionals are usually heavily involved in the design of the training
choose or design appropriate training and development activities.
IV. DETERMINING TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT NEEDS
Training is usually offered in order to eliminate one or more skill deficiencies,
A. Organizational Needs Analysis
Achieving the organization’s objectives should be the ultimate concern of
any training and development effort. That is why conducting an
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organizational needs analysis should be the first step in effective needs
assessment. The needs analysis should address:
B. Job Needs Analysis
Using job analysis and expert opinion, a job needs analysis can be helpful
in assessing both present and projected future needs. See Exhibit 8.5 for
the global leadership competencies that 3M identified through needs
analysis.
C. Person Needs Analysis
After job information has been collected, the focus shifts to the person in
an analysis that identifies gaps between a person’s current competencies
1. Performance Measures
Performance data (e.g., productivity, accidents, and customer
2. Self-Assessments
Self-assessment is growing in popularity. It is based upon the
3. Career Planning Discussions
4. Employee and Customer Surveys
Surveys can be completed by employees, their supervisors, upper-
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D. Demographic Needs Analysis
V. DESIGNING TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES
A. Creating the Right Conditions
Personnel Decisions International (PDI) has identified five factors that
should be addressed in creating the right kind of training environment:
1. Need to learn: Employees need to know what they need to learn.
2. Motivation: People need to be motivated by internal and external
means to put in the required effort.
B. Deciding Who Provides
Providers of training and development activities may include:
• the supervisor
1. Supervisors and Other Managers
Supervisors and managers are usually responsible for the on-the-job
2. Coworkers
Coworkers often play an important role in many management
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3. Experts
Subject matter experts may not be familiar with procedures in a
4. The Employee
VI. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
A. Improving Cognitive Knowledge
This includes what people know, how they organize what they know, and
their strategies for using what they know.
1. Company Policies and Practices
Orientation training programs are used for building cognitive
knowledge in terms of benefit programs, and company policies and
2. Basic Knowledge and the Three Rs
3. The Big Picture
This type of knowledge is needed by managers in order to understand
B. Developing Employee’s Skills
Skills are evident in behaviors whereas cognitive knowledge is essentially
inside the head. Practice is important in developing skills, as is study in
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1. Technical Skills
2. Interpersonal Skills
Skills in communication, conducting performance appraisals, team
3. Language Skills
Basic training in language skills is becoming increasingly important.
C. Influencing Affective Responses
These outcomes include changes in motivation, attitudes, and values.
Building team spirit and self-confidence are emerging as important specific
D. Encouraging Ethical Behavior
Increasingly, organizations are realizing that simply relying on employees
to use their best judgment does not seem to be enough to ensure that
CHAPTER 8 Training and Developing a Competitive Workforce
VII. CHOOSING THE FORMAT FOR TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
ACTIVITIES
See Exhibit 8.7 for a summary of the advantages and disadvantages of
several learning formats according to location—on the job, on-site but not on
the job, and off-site.
A. e-Learning
Technology makes it possible to combine many learning formats and to
employees located in seven states.
B. On the Job
On-the-job training (OJT) is where the employee learns under direct
supervision, using actual materials and equipment. It is “learning by
doing”. Transfer of training is high. OJT is appropriate only when a small
number of individuals need to be trained and when the consequences of
error are not significant. Of course, much of the success of OJT depends
on the skill of the trainer.
1. Apprenticeships, Internships, and Assistantships
This type of training method combines on-the-job training with off-the
2. Job Experiences
Employers use job rotation to put people into jobs to facilitate their
learning and development. Employees are exposed to a variety of jobs
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3. Supervisory Assistance and Informal Mentoring
Informal training and development activities (day-to-day coaching,
4. Coaching
A relatively new but fast-growing technique, coaching involves a high–
level executive who wants to develop new competencies turning to a
C. On-Site but Not On the Job
This approach is appropriate for training where contact with work units is
desirable or necessary but OJT would be distracting or harmful. Good for
voluntary after-hours programs or for updating employees’ competencies
while allowing them to attend to their regular duties.
1. Corporate Universities and Executive Education Programs
Company schools focus on the education of employees and
2. Interactive Video Training
Interactive video programs present a short video and narrative
D. Off-Site
When the consequences of error are significant or complex competencies
requiring focused employee attention are being taught, off the job training
is appropriate. Team building, for example, is more likely to occur at a
retreat, where team members have time to focus on establishing
relationships. However, costs may be high and there may be problems
transferring knowledge to the workplace.
CHAPTER 8 Training and Developing a Competitive Workforce
Teaching Note: According to the Department of Labor, U.S. businesses
spend around $50 billion annually on formal training plus $70 billion on
wages to workers attending training.
1. Formal Courses
Directed either by the trainee or by others, these courses can convey
2. Simulation
3. Business Games
This approach is used by some companies to teach employees how an
4. Wilderness Trips and Outdoor Training
To improve employees’ attitudes about the here and now and raise
5. Multiple Methods
Although the various training formats are described separately
VIII. MAXIMIZING LEARNING
A. Setting the Stage for Learning
1. Clear Instructions
Clear instructions, the conditions under which performance is or is not
2. Behavioral Modeling
This is a visual demonstration by a role model of desired behavior the
B. Increasing Learning During Training
1. Responsive to Country Culture
2. Active PartIcipation
“Hook” trainees by getting them actively involved in the learning
3. Mastery
Feelings of mastery increase when the trainee experiences success
4. Feedback
Accurate diagnostic feedback about performance must be provided or
5. Practice
To ensure that desired behavior occurs not only once but consistently,
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C. Maintaining Performance After Training
1. Specific Goals
2. Reinforcers
Behavior must be reinforced if it is to be learned. As long as it is
3. Personal Goals and Self-Reinforcement
IX. TEAM TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
A. Training to Develop Team Cohesiveness
The experience of working closely together as a team, or a wilderness
B. Training to Develop Effective Team Procedures
Formal training in work procedures can be helpful. Team training
programs that develop problem-solving skills might include the following:
C. Training to Develop Work Team Leaders
New team leaders may need training in how to be receptive to member
contributions and not prematurely judgmental of new ideas. Key skill areas
are:
1. Supporting Disagreement
Disagreement is necessary for teams to function properly. However,
2. Managing Meetings
Team leaders must be trained to strike a balance between
X. CURRENT ISSUES
Globalization continues apace, is necessary for long-term success, and
training must support it. Cross-cultural training is needed to prepare people
from different cultures to work together and to prepare a person for living in
another culture.
A. Diversity Training for Employees in the United States
1. Cultural Awareness Training
Many diversity training programs seek to raise cultural awareness
among participants. These programs help participants to understand
2. Building Competencies
This approach to diversity training focuses more specifically on
3. Supplementing Diversity Training
The issue of diversity should be considered during succession
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Teaching Note: Virtually all Fortune 500 companies have introduced some
type of diversity training.
B. Global Leadership Training and Development
Globalization has created a growing need for training and development
activities. These training activities focus on five different groups of
individuals (headquarters staff, global managers, expatriates, expatriates’
families, and members of multinational teams). The feature “Managing
CHAPTER 8 Training and Developing a Competitive Workforce
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AND REFLECTIVE THINKING
1. What is the role of training and development in learning organizations?
Do you think a pharmaceutical company could effectively manage
knowledge without having well-developed training and development
activities?
In terms of existing employees, a company’s performance appraisal and
2. An auto dealer has hired you to help improve the performance of its
sales and service staff. Your first task is to conduct a needs analysis
for the organization. Describe what you will do. Then, provide
examples of possible training and development activities that could be
used to influence the knowledge, behavior, and attitudes of the staff.
In order to conduct a needs analysis, it would be important to examine a
3. Consider the various training and development formats described in
this chapter. Which three do you think would be most effective for
maintaining the skills of IT engineers? Which three do you think would
be the least effective? Explain your rationale.
4. Imagine that your organization, a publishing company, has decided to
hire an external vendor to provide diversity training. You want to begin
by having the vendor conduct the training for just a small portion of the
employees so that you can study and assess the training’s
effectiveness. Describe a plan for evaluating the effectiveness of the
diversity training offered by the vendor. What measures will you use
and how will you design the evaluation study?
The trainees could be randomly divided into two groups: a treatment group
that would receive the training, and a control group that would not receive the
5. Discuss the strategic role of training and development activities in
companies with international operations and markets.
These are important because, just as with domestic operations, the employee
CASE STUDY: SEEING THE FOREST PRODUCTS COMPANY
AND THE TREES
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. Where does Horace start? What programs does he put in place to deal
with the needs of corporate culture, knowledge, skills, leadership, and team
orientation?
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2. How does he go about developing the programs that he needs to put in
place? Does he do it by himself? Can he buy off-the-shelf programs?
3. What time frame does Horace need to implement the programs to make
the change successful? If he deals only with executive development
programs, does he need to be concerned with programs for middle
managers and below? If so, how does he do this?
The time needed to implement will depend on the programs chosen but given the
CHAPTER 8 Training and Developing a Competitive Workforce
VIDEO CASE STUDY: LA JOLLA SCRIPPS HOSPITAL
Instructors: The following video case can be found on the companion DVD. The
video can be used in class as an introductory activity or a post-lecture activity, as
well as an online assignment for those students using CourseMate.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. The hospital provides training to nurses who have just graduated from
nursing school. If the school is reputable and if the student has done
well in that school, why should training be necessary?
2. The Director of Education and Research stated that the mission of
LaJolla involved three things: quality, efficiency, and respect. Pick any
one of those three and discuss how training could be used.
Answers may vary as to the application of training regarding procedures and
3. At the hospital, people train each other. How can that approach not
only pay off for the trainee but for the trainer as well?
4. People who do training are also trained. They learn how to give
feedback and discuss areas of improvement. Why is that important?