Sport Now

Sport Now is a well-known business with headquarters in Brighouse, West Yorkshire, that manufactures a variety of sports equipment, including rowing machines, exercise bikes, weight benches, and running machines. The expansion of the business is a result of the development and popularity of the athletic sector. Along with this, people are becoming more and more conscious of how crucial it is to maintain a healthy lifestyle through regular physical activity. Even though the company had enjoyed a good reputation in the market, some of its equipment have always been sent back as a result of faultiness, an issue which has made the board of directors of the company to come up with objectives which would help in improving the quality of the products while reducing wastage during production process.

The Alignment between the Learning and Development Strategy and Organizational Strategy

There should be proper alignment between the learning and development strategy and the organizational strategy for the purpose of ensuring that the production rate of the company is not affected during the learning and development period (Whitelock, 2012). Since the leaning and development strategy is considered as one of the strategic business partners, it is, therefore, important to ensure that all its activities are properly aligned with the mission and vision of the business which it supports (Argote, 2015). It is therefore important to ensure that the learning and development strategies which are meant to promote training of the employees and increase the productivity rate of the company, should always enable the organizational goals, rather than detract from them by wasting time while not adding any value to the production system of the company (Na & Jeon, 2017).

To ensure that the learning and development strategies work well for an organization, it is important to ensure that it follows some specified guidelines. The officer or employee who is mandated to implement these strategies should, therefore, have a good understanding of the business, able to define the business priorities and develop the necessary plan and align the developed plan with the organizational leadership (Omeike, 2015). The process of understanding the organization requires the officer in charge of implementing the learning and development strategies to physically move from one department to the other, learning and observing how different activities take place in those departments (Kim & Lee, 2016).

It will also be very important to ensure that he or she holds a discussion section with the various heads of the departments to get their views on the planned L&D strategic plan. After the process of understanding the business, it is therefore important to ensure that officer in charge schedules some of his or her time with the functional leaders and let them walk through their respective business strategies (Thakur-Wernz & Samant, 2017). It is always important to note that the steps which are taken in understanding the organization will play very key roles in determining the quality of the conversation that the officer in charge, most likely the human resource manager, will have with the functional leaders of the company.

Lucy as the human resource manager has significantly played her role in the Sport Now since she followed the intended procedure which is required for the implementation of the learning and development strategies in the company. During the establishment of the learning and development strategy, Lucy ensured that she first took into account the needs of the staff which should be incorporated into the final plan. In this case, she was able to examine the plans which the human resource department had put in place.

Just as expected during the execution of the L&D plans in an organization, Lucy was then able to identify positions in the organization and the key staffs who required the training. This will help in the development of the successional plans. Lucy after that recommended for the training of all of the organization staff since most of them, including her, was not conversant with some production programs which are used in the company (Hotho, Lyles & Easterby-Smith, 2015). For example, in the human resource department, many of the employees were not able to operate the system dealing with ordering and payment.

Through the findings that Lucy made, it could be identified that the members of the staff were not adequately trained well on how to use the various equipment in the company. As she was developing the strategic plan and coming up with the findings of the state of the employees, the normal production process of the company proceeded, as usual, making the whole process to be a success about the recommendations of the learning and development strategic plan.

The Methods Used By Lucy, Alex, and Megan in Identifying the Training Needs

There are various methods which can be sued by the human resource department or the learning and development strategic plan to identify the specific training needs of the staff. Some of these methods include; direct observation, use of questionnaires, consultation with the person on key positions, or with specific knowledge, constant review of the relevant literature, conducting interviews, use of focus group, conducting assessments and surveys, studying the available reports and records, and analysis of the work samples (Olawande, 2001). At the individual level, there is the analysis of the participants and the instructors who are involved in one way or the other in the organization, such as production and sales. This level of training plays an important role in determining the number of the employees who will receive training and their levels of knowledge in regards to the activities of the company. The personal analysis will also ensure that there is the in-depth identification of the person who will conduct the training and the specific type of learning style which will be used during the whole process (Li & Harris, 2017).

The departmental and group analysis of the performance of the employees involves the analysis of the needs of the business and other relevant reasons which would make the training process necessary (Douglass, Malouff & Rangan, 2015). In this cases, there is the analysis of the strategies and goals of the company. In this cases, the proposed training process should be able to show how important it is to conduct training for the improvement of the productivity of the company. The proposed training should also be able to incorporate the history of the company’s productivity after training with the current situation which it should solve.

Lucy, who is the human resource manager at the Sport Now, used three main methods in analyzing the need of training among the employees of Sport Now, they include; conducting assessments and surveys, direct observation and consultation with the person on key positions. By conducting an assessment on the human resource plan, she was able to identify particular problems which required an urgent consideration. For example, she was able to identify that the stock control section was in need of extra staff. Critical examination of the specific department was key in determining specific problem which should be addressed. In this case, Lucy was able to identify that only one department in the whole company had a plan in action which would ensure that there is a successional plan in case of a situation whereby is retrenchment or promotion of staff (Carnahan, 2014).

Through the direct observation, Lucy was able to conclude that most of the employees were not conversant with different production systems, including those which are in their respective departments. Even though direct observation can provide firsthand information about the ability of the employees not being able to operate different equipment, it does not always address the issue of accidents or lack of self-confidence. Through consultation with the heads of the departments, Lucy was able to identify the key problems which affect the specific departments but not those that have impacts on the specific employees.

Megan used two methods in identifying the training needs of the staff. The first one involved conducting an assessment of the staff to determine their familiarity with the production systems of the company. This was a very key approach in determining the training needs of the staff since she was able to create personal touch with the employees, hence protecting the information from unnecessary distortion (Gilbert, 2016). Another method used by Megan was the use of questionnaires.

Even though the information which is provided by the staff on the questionnaires indicated that they were conversant with the production systems of the company after the training, this was not the case during the actual production process since all of the staff, except Collins who had previously been trained, were not able to operate different equipment. The process that Megan used in the determination of the ability of the employees to operate the different equipment at the Sport Now was not as productive as expected.

In any training session, it is always important to ensure that the reason that pushed the company to conduct training on its staff members is completely addressed. This could not only be achieved through the use of the questionnaires as assumed by Megan. If the training objective for the course was developed after consulting the administration department manager, Alex Dogg, it could, therefore, be said he was part of the group which approved the of questionnaires as the sole method which can be used to determine the level of training which is required for each staff. The methods which were used in the first session of the training majorly focused on the group training level rather than being specific to a particular person. It was a big negative on the side of Alex to approve the application of such method in the Sport Now Company.

The Concept of Evaluation and Transfer of Training

1. Method of Evaluation Used and the Available Alternatives

Transfer of training can be illustrated to be dependent on the human conduct, learning, or performance on the prior experience. The method of evaluation which was used by Megan during the training process of the staff involved the satisfaction and participation reaction. The most reliable and available method which can be used in many cases during the evaluation of the training method is the measurement of the satisfaction. From the case study of Sport Now, it was evidently clear that Megan was totally satisfied with the outcome of the training that she conducted on her employees after she realized that all of the staff who attended the training were able to correctly answer the questions which were in the questionnaires (Saks, Salas & Lewis, 2014).

Through the use of the satisfaction and participation reaction, the trainer, who in this case was Megan, always provide the trainees with questions at the end of the survey process to establish how well the participants were conversant with the training process. In this case, it was observed that Megan used the questionnaires which the staff members who attended the training were to fill out. At the end of this form of method, it is always the duty of the trainer to ensure that the staff members enjoy and like the training, feel that the training process was worth their time in relation to its productivity, the relevance of the materials used in the training for the work of the trainers, and how the trainers would be able to recommend the training course to their colleagues (Wen & Lin, 2014).

Instead of using the satisfaction and participation reaction as the sole method for evaluating the trainers, Megan could have used the Knowledge acquisition method to make her sure that every member of staff who was trained fully understood the whole process involved in the production process. Through knowledge acquisition, the trainer is always able to have that interpersonal connection between him and her with the trainer (Awais et al., 2013). Through this, it is very easy to identify where specifically the problem comes from and how the problem can be easily solved.

A valid and most reliable examination and evaluation of the state of the training process of the staff play an important role in ensuring that there is clear determination of whether the content was learned or not (Awais et al., 2013). This process is very important because it can flag the participants that did not acquire the learning in the first place and further provide the necessary support for those who did, potentially making them mentors.

This method is very important since it will ensure that the trainers remain attentive and more serious with the training process since they will be required to practically demonstrate what they have learned after the training. The other alternative which Megan could have used is the use of the behavioral application. In this case, the trainer will be able to determine whether the trainers could practically apply what they were taught during training in the real practical world, for instance during the production process in the Company. In that case, Megan could have done a follow-up examination to ensure that the trainers were able to apply what they learned during training.

2. The Notion of Transfer of Training in General

The notion of transfer of training was first introduced by Edward Thorndike and Robert Woodworth. The duo were able to illustrate how different individuals could transfer the learning process from one context to the other. On the similar context, the process can be used to illustrate how improvement in the mental function of one person could lead to different types of influences on the related variables. The theory of transfer of training depends on how similar learning tasks and transfer task are, or where, “identical elements are concerned in the influencing and influenced function”. This can described as the identical element theory.

In the contemporary world, the transfer of learning is usually described as the process and the effective extent to which the past experiences. This technique is also known as the transfer of resources. This factor have been seen to have both direct or indirect influence the learning and performance in a new situation, known as the transfer target. It is not clear for many people and organizations on how easily the transfer of training can be conceptualized and explained, its actual prevalence, its reaction to learning and training in general and whether the process actually exists or not (Massenberg, Spurk & Kauffeld, 2015).

The transfer of training can take place in a situation where the effects of the previous learning influences the performance of the later activity of the organization. The level in which the staff members can apply the knowledge they learned during the training process is known as the positive transfer of training. There are different forms of transfer of training; positive, negative and zero transfer of learning. The positive transfer of training basically involves the process whereby the previous learning and training influences the ability of acquiring the new skills or reaching the solution to the newly formed problem. In this situation, the individuals are able to perform better than he or she would have performed before the previous training session. Another type of transfer of training is known as negative transfer. In this type of transfer of training, the observation is made when the previous training has the ability to hinder the process of acquiring a new skill or reaching the solution to a new problem (Clarke, 2012).

In this type of training situation, the productivity of the employees become poorer than it was before the actual training process. The final type is known as zero transfer of training. In this situation, the past experience or training neither facilitates nor inhibits the process of acquiring a new skill or reaching the solution of the new problem. Based on the case of Sport Now, it was observed that after the first training process, the company realized a negative transfer of training. This is based on the fact the production rate of the company became worse than it was before the training process. After the second training process, conducted by Megan following the complaint from Alex, the company was able to realize a positive production rate, hence making the company to realize a positive transfer of training.

3. Factors Affecting Transfer of Training

i. Self-efficiency

Self-efficacy has a vital role in the transfer of knowledge during the training process. The self-efficacy can be described as the judgment that the people have on their capabilities to organize and execute the course of action which is required for the purpose of attaining the designated types of performances. From this perspective, it can be said that the trainees who have high level of confidence during training in attaining the anticipated performance and behavior change will be more likely to take into account and apply what they have learned during the training process (Simosi, 2012).

Based on the results which were achieved from the first training session conducted by Megan, it can be said that the trainees, except Collins, had low self-efficacy levels hence affecting their ability to grasp and practice what they were taught. Following the second training process, their ability to apply what they were taught improved hence showing that they had a positive self-efficacy. It is therefore important to note that the employees who frequently engage in cognitive or environmental activities are more likely to have better understanding of their weakness, strength and interests.

ii. Training Design

The training design has the ability of influencing the training process in that it is able to be built into the training to up the probability of transferring the relevant information during the training process. It is considered as the most important component which is required during the composition of the blueprint of the training process. It is therefore important to put in place a design which would be favorable for both the parties, trainer and trainees, in order to ensure that the outcome of the training process is not negatively affected or predetermined as a failed process (Grohmann, Beller & Kauffeld, 2014).

The design of the training process is able to make this possible by encouraging the learners to continuously interact with the materials, come up with their own ideas and finally be able to apply whatever types of knowledge and information they have learned within the training environment, as opposed to just waiting for the training process to over and then trying out the new information on the job. To ensure that the training design remains effective and productive, it is always to take into consideration of the principles theory of identical elements, stimulus generalization approach and cognitive theory of transfer as used during the training process.

iii. Workplace Environment

Even though the workplace environment is considered as one of the most important factors during the process of transfer of training, the working environment of the learner or the trainer is always ignored in many cases (Curado, Henriques & Ribeiro, 2015). Favorable environment is a very vital factor which can be used to determine the success of any business or treaty. A good example is in the case of the Brexit where the United Kingdom pushed for the withdrawal from the European Union as a result of poor or unfavorable trading environment. In the case of transfer of training, it is important to take into consideration of the things which happened before and after training process.

Conclusion and Recommendation

The formulation of the L&TD strategies of the company should always be compatible with the strategies of the company so that there is no point it would affect any activity of the company, including the production process. To ensure that the learning and development strategies work well for an organization, it is important to ensure that it follows some specified guidelines. This can always be achieved through ensuring that the person in charge of formulating and implementing the L&TD strategies consults with the heads of the various departments to understand their schedules. It is, therefore, recommendable to ensure that during the training process, there is no point at which the whole process will undermine the production process of the company.

There are various methods which can be used by the trainers to identify the training needs. The effectiveness of these methods always depends on different factors and hence making their effectiveness to vary. For example, the use of the questionnaires is one of the methods which can be used to evaluate the training needs of the staffs since it can provide a firsthand information from the trainees themselves. The method can also be full of disadvantages since it does not create that interpersonal connection between the trainer and the trainees, hence making the information in them not to be very much reliable. It is, therefore, recommendable to ensure that all of the fundamental factors are considered before coming up with the type of the method which will be used in the identification of the training needs.

The transfer of training is very important since its success is a key determinant in the determination of the productivity of the company before and after the training. For example, a positive transfer of training will be achieved if there is a positive change in the production rate of the company after the training process. Even though it is always the dream of every organization to achieve a positive transfer of training, there are some points where the company realizes either a negative or a zero transfer of training. Some of the factors which can lead to the occurrence of such conditions include; the design of the training method which is used, self-efficacy of the trainees, or the staff members, and workplace environment. In that case, it is always recommendable to ensure that these factors, among other factors, are critically taken into consideration before the formulation and administration of the training process.

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