Training and Development

Review Chapter 8, "Training the Workforce," pp. 244–263, and Chapter 9, "Developing Careers," pp. 275–281, from your textbook, Managing Human Resources, and discuss the following questions:

Over lunch, a friend asks your advice about training and development for her company. She especially wants to understand the difference between training and development. Explain the differences between training and development to your friend. In your response, discuss the following training and development activities: • Using employee orientation as an example of training, discuss the importance of employee orientation. • Using tuition assistance as an example of development, discuss the benefits of employee development. • List the steps in the training process and explain how a training needs analysis benefits the organization.

I think that it all depends on the type of training needed and the people that will be involved. There may be a need for more "hands on training" and/or development depending on the subject matter. More companies are going to online training because of the convenience and also because it saves money. Not all people learn the same way. Conducting something face to face may be more beneficial for some versus online. Here is an instance when the company needs to have a good understanding of its people.

While employee training and development are closely linked, they indeed are different in the scope of the results that are attained using each. Simply put training focuses more on increasing one’s understanding and competency as it relates to their selected job or organization while employee development seeks to increase the employee’s overall “skill set” both for now and in the future. The goal of employee development is to prepare employees for long term organizational needs. Employee orientation serves as the starting point for all new employees training. Here they are able to be eased into a given organization. The training here prepares them for is mostly informational without much hands on. Orientations are a key component in helping the new employees to have a better understanding of the company and the role they will play in it. Tuition assistance within any organization communicates that the organization is committed to the growth and development of their employees. The ultimate goal would be to assist the employee in their educational endeavors with the hope that the employee will take what they have learned and apply it towards the good of the organization.

The training process consists of three parts. The first being needs assessment, the second is development and conduct of training and the third is evaluation. The overall purpose of the needs assessment is to determine if training is needed, and if so, to provide the information required to design the training program. The training needs analysis benefits the organization by determining what sort of training will be needed, along with the desired learning outcomes, its effectiveness in meeting its objectives and whether or not the training will be considered an investment or an expense. Managing human resources/Luis R. Gómez-Mejía, David B. Balkin, Robert L. Cardy.—6th ed.