Influence of Staff Training and Development on Operations of Non Governmental Organization

Influence of Staff Training and Development on Operations of NGO

Literature On Influence Of Staff Training And Development On Workers Productivity. – One of the fundamental basis of administrative activities is organization. The concept of organization is often given to several usages and interpretation. One way of looking at organization is to see it as a social units.

In this case, organization refers to allocation of people united by a common venture with specific goals or aims that they went to achieve. This implies that organization arise through the motivation for a purpose of two or more people.

In administrative function of organizations are perceived from both formal and informal perspective units organization refers to social and technological creation designed to achieve some desired objectives.

In this sense, an organization is defined by other components that go beyond the action of social groups along or a collection of people to include physical or materials elements such as office equipment building machine tools etc. that support performance.

As frame work organization refer to structure or charts which shows the nature of delegation or distribution of responsibilities, comeline decision channels accountability etc.

For the description made above an organization refers.

  1. Collection of people, social group or social units
  2. A process the manner of organization
  3. A goal seeking unit

Formal Organization:

A formal organization is the organization intended by its designers and therefore planned, imbuded with definite, goals or objectives prescribed by rulers and recognized officially. Although, a formal organization is  reflection of the social psychological and administrative assumption of its designers, its main features often derived from criteria of formal relationship and principles. For instance, in every responsibility authority and accountability the organization are in turn sustained by certain principles which guide the operation of the organization.

Characteristics Of Formal Organization

All formal organization are easily recognized by the following characteristics which are universal to all of them: –

  1. The presence of distinct goal ie. The intended objectives which they pursue and which in most cases concern with provision of gods and services.
  2. Hierarchical authority and accountability. It is also provide the basis of task specialization, communication and co-ordination of activities.
  3. Rules and regulations: formal organization are characterized by rules and regulations meant to  infuse worker. Comfority regulate functions and obtain loyality organization members.
  4. Specialization of functions: jobs are usually broken into relatively simple components in which members perform and specialize in their respective task.
  5. Replaceability of individual worker: formal organization often demonstrate strong character of persistence, even when people come and go. This means that the formal organization continue to enjoy the usual long life span inspite of the degree of  turnover of its members. The capacity to outlive its founders is a proven characteristic of formal organization.

Components Of Organization

The major components of organization are: –

  1. Functions or Activities
  2. Human resources
  3. Physical factors
  4. The relationship and physical factors

1.     Organization Functions:

It has two broad categories namely:-

  1. Management or administrative functions
  2. Operative function or operational functions
  3. Managerial or administrative function usually relate to policy decision and laying of operating conditions which involves a task of planning, organizing, staffing, directing, co-ordinating and budgeting.
  4. The operational viewpoints on the other hand relates to the various processes into which an organization is segmented such as personnel function, productive function, marketing function etc.

In each of these units sub-units or sub-process that inter-relate according to the nature of their activities.

  1.  Human Resources: Human beings that are located at various points in organizations are critical for the development and success of the organization therefore the cenrelity of human resources in organizational cannot be over emphasized and by far the most important resources in organizational set up and for sure it is human being that get work done.
  2. Physical Factors: Comprising of such resources as money machine tools, buildings and other forms infrastructure facilities contribute another set of components needed in an organization. And the form the basis of technological and material background which aid work and performance and of course enhance output.
  3. The Organization Process: The act of arranging the above three elements: function human resources (personnel) and physical process is what we mean here as organization are necessarily made to flow along or revolve around these component interacting or diversifying according to need. The essence being the  to achieve harmonious relationship among these components and to facilitate the attainment  of the desire objectives.

Common Deficiencies In Organization

Deficiencies common to all types of organization include the following:

  1. Lack of  functional co-coordinative machinery.
  2. The unsatisfactory means of pursuit of objectives.
  3. The failure of department and section within organization to contribute to overall objectives at full cost value
  4. Lack of co-ordination of inter-departmental.
  5. Slow and poor quality decision as a results of :-
  6. Over loading of managers
  7. Inadequate information upon which decisions are to be based.
  8. The tendency to make decisions at the wrong level.

Formal And Informal Differences

Informal organizations patterns of behaviour and relations are deliberately and legitimately planned for members of the organization i.e the division of work and allocation of responsibilities, authority, relationship e.t.c are established.

Informal organization the actual pattern of behaviour, are relating of members of an organization plan. This difference may arise through the need to supplement an incomplete formal organization or to reduce conflicts therein. In consequences an individual behaviour will be a result of both formal and informal organizational influences.

Extra –Organizational Influences On Behavioural Promises:

These may in general terms be regard as conditioning that the individual receives before he becomes a member of the organization and influences to which he is subjected whilst a member of the organization but which do not stem from the organization itself e.g. personnel factors, family and social influence, the principal extra-organization influence are as follows: – this involves the behavioural attitudes and beliefs heeds by the community in which the individual lives.

  1. Community Moves: They will include established patterns which are enforced throughout society in the form of social customers, obligations standards e.t.c and will effect the individuals attitude towards such matters are authority, status and efficiency as business and personal concepts.
  2. Personal Factors:  Although this is primarily a subject of psychological study, it is worth observing hat individual differences in personality will exist as a result of varying heredity and environmental factors. In the context of administrative organizations these will manifest themselves in an individual attitudes to objectivity, sociability ambitions.
  3. Outside Organization: The behavioural patterns and objectives established by the organization in which the individual operates may be subject to opposing standards and patterns of behaviour set by organization to which an individual belong or is influenced by outside the work context e.g. church, political organization e.t.c.

Prior Training

This may influence attitudes taken by towards various organization objectives or means of achieving objectives. A particularly good example is the antipathy of the civil service administrative class towards professionalism. According to Ifeyinwa Ngwaka S. (1996) 10

All organizations policies are supposedly aimed at achieving the objectives for which such organization were established. The twin concept of training and development seldom escape the intellectual changes of organizational policy formulations in their bid to design effective programmes for the eventual attainment of organizational goals. There is usually a general inclination of policy makers towards employee training and development programmes and the potential performances of the prospective beneficiaries of such programmes. There is a class that a functional relationship exists between training and effective performance of the trainees which claim has acquired such theoretical solidification that has become impossible to make any empirical disputation.

Although, there appears to be a universal acceptance of the idea that training and development enhances productivity.

Porter et al say that “only a few of the many types of training programmes have been subjected to extensive research”.

Training and Development literature is voluminous, non-empirical, non-theoretical. Campbell (1971:365-566). He states it is faddish to an extreme. “the facts centre around the introduction of new techniques and follow a characteristic pattern”.  A new technique appears in the horizon and develops a large table of advoctes who first described its successful use in a number of situations. A second view concerns advocates who are busy trying out numerous empirical studies that may be carried out to show that the method “workers”.

Then the opponents begin to criticize the usefulness of the technique, most often, in the absence of data. Such criteria typically has very little effects. What does have effect is the appearance of another new technique and a repetition of some cycles.

First with this lack of research into relation between training and development and productivity, this research paper will review only the literature concerning:

  1. Factors which affect the performance of the individual
  2. The assumed outcomes of training and development (skills, change in attitude and knowledge) and
  3. Types of training and development techniques.

The Assumed Outcome Of Training And Development (Skill Change In Attitude And Knowledge

Aside from the motivational determination of performance the performance of many tasks and jobs in organizations are strongly affected by the job, relevant knowledge, and skills of individuals who participate in the work.

According to Mc Cormick and Tiffin (1975:27) “even if an employee has both high commitment toward accomplishing a particular piece of work and well formed strategy about how to go about doing it, the implementation of that plan can be constrained or terminated if he does not know how to carry it out or if he knows but is incapable of doing so”. While ability is relivant to the performance of jobs at all levels in an organization, its impact is reduced for lower level jobs Ibekwe (1984:6) Cuilson – Thomas (1975:227-228) Conventry and Barker (1981:198-199) laid emphasis on improving the job/relevant knowledge and skills of employee through formal job training and self study programmes. According to Porter (1975:61-62). “A good number of training and development programmes have been designed to affect each of the determination of performance, motivation and capability”. They observed however, that a greater number of these programme have been developed to influence the trainee’s response capabilities whereas some exist that are designed to affect motivation. Psychologists have agreed that and important determinant of man’s behaviour is his capability of performance he pleases. As indicated by Lugham (1978:215) “people performance capabilities are a function of both innate aptitude and learning. The author is of the view that some capabilities are relevantly fixed, while others are relatively matterable and can be improved by training as training and development programmes are goals – oriented to change employee performance. According to Mohammed (1978:20) “Training is the development in an individual of those knowledge/skills and attitude which are directly related to his job. It is also a process by which the trainer expects to bring about a consistent change in behaviour in the trainee.

Davis et al (1975:421) pointed out also that the different kinds of training and development programmes serve to stress the range of things an organization can also do to make a given individual a more effective performance.

Inspite of the claims that training and development influence performance, some authors are of the view that whereas certain types of training programmes generally are effective, in influencing certain types of performance, others are not. However, research does not exist upon which to base such conclusion.

Types of Training And Development Techniques

Various training and employee development techniques have been advanced for effective performance.

These techniques are channeled toward the same objectives of improving production and efficiency. The influence of training and development are manifested in the context of skills, knowledge and attitude. These are requisites after the employee has been trained and developed in relation to organizational functions performance patterns. One of this training techniques that help in ascertaining the influence of training on worker effective operation is the Game Technique:

Game Technique: This technique is explained by Kibbes and  Craft (1961:3) as a dynamic training exercise utilizing a model of business situation”. Merit and Wheldall (1977:68) believed that “game technique” is a behaviour modification in the work place. The modification will enhance the relative changes in both the individual attitude, skills and knowledge about his job activities”. Game techniques provides the participant with basic ideas of operating in policy decisions as are required in the real situation in the work place. It requires various teams being placed in a completive conditions with each other. In the typical situation, each team represents “company and is presented with a statement of problem around which the game revolves. Greene and Sesson (1977:25) presented the problems as material inventory, personnel  assignment, retailing operations and market, negotiation”. In Nigeria, much problems are manifested in production efficiency in the factories. When this problem of production efficiency is identified, then training and development will begin to enhance employee performance in such a manner as  to achieve organizational objectives. Marriet and Whedall (1977:68) stated inter-aria.

The technique of training provide active participant would learn which key factors to observe in an actual on-the-job situation: their attention would focus on establishing policies and on strategic planning rather than on putting out fires”. In his book, Ray (1977:521) advocated that “the most obvious reason why briefly trained persons in the game theory do not continue their new skill is that their work environment is not organized to encourage such method”.

On-The-Job-Training:

This technique has long been used industries and organizations 1944, the science was made compulsory in Britain for industries to train their employee within. Katz and Dras (1950:52) referred to on-the-job training as “a technique that affords an early example of the wide spread use of group training for supervisors. It is aimed at making a rapid impact by the economic use of training resources in groups of workers in industries. Singleton (1976:401) asserted that the most frequently used techniques in employee development in acquiring job skill, attitude and efficiency, is on-the-job-training. Here the trainee/subordinate in acquiring job skill, use the machinery and materials which they will use when the formal training is completed. In practice, on-the-job training varies in formal organizations from simple assigning the new employees to an experienced worker to be shown the job, to a formal arrangement with instructors assigned to grade and evaluate the training efforts of trainees. There is little or no data from a carefully controlled experiment on the effectiveness of on-the-job training. This method can be effective but it requires hard work and careful planning by those that the trainees have optimum opportunity for training. To confirm the usefulness of on-the-job-training, Revans (1964:35 described the described the approach as” major positive performance of tasks”. In his analysis, he asserted that when for example in a hospital one brings together a senior matron, doctor and a senior administration into a project team was important, one would observe that there will be a significant accomplishment of the project tasks and the administration will learn more from the learn on hospital activities.

According to him on-the-job-training technique will facilitate the accomplishment of objective in the work place because both learner and trainer are at the same time performing the activities which also included into the trainees the sense of belonging in the organization.

Apprenticeship Training:

Apprenticeship training offers an integration of on and off the job training that under normal condition appears to be extremely effective. Sabolz (1966:1) says that “the main purpose of apprentice training is to prepare employees for a variety of skilled occupation. The apprentice agrees to work for a company at a rate well below the paid to fully qualified workers in return for a specific hour of training” Carl (1963:40) stressed that apprenticeship training programmes are unnecessarily long with the result that a good deal of inefficient over learning occurs. A number of dropouts from apprenticeship programmes nevertheless goes on to enter the same training  inspite of the abbreviated learning period”.

Craing and Sittle (1979:5) were of the opinion that “that apprentice training is on occasions, subverted by a desire among certain management representatives to obtain as much productive labour as possible at the reduced apprentice rate”. They further discovered that on-the-job-training is deemphasized  and there is little concern as to whether the employees on training attend training courses or not. The major problem is that result of training objectives are lost. They further emphasized that to achieve the objectives of apprenticeship training, employers should assess the training need annually to determine the number required in each category. Skills and knowledge of these trades should be constantly analyzed. It is therefore, obvious that apprencticeship training should be followed systematically and evaluated by the trainers and employers to ascertain whether  the objectives of the scheme are achieved. Mulsim and Cirhdle (1998:401) stated that “as with complex programmes instructions have problems and limitations. It is time consuming and expensive, some benefits have a delayed pay off period, and an organization may not be able to wait that long for potential benefits. Even when group processes seem to be given priority over needs of the organizations, others say that programmed institution has conceptual ambiguities that prevent its consistent application.

It is pertinent to note that views on programmed instructions depend on individual perception and organization some organization may recommend the technique for preparing trainees for the actual job they will face in real situations while others may find the technique time consuming and expensive to handle. The programme is banded to change from time to time due to some dynamism effects on the organization. These changes add to the expansiveness of the programme. Therefore, an economic consideration is necessary before adopting any such system in any organization in Nigeria. Consideration for its adoption should be weighted in relation to costs.

 

Conference Methods:

The conference technique of training provide the ideas and facts, to test assumptions and draw inferences and conclusion. The ideas a trainee presents depicts his personal behaviour. It is therefore, the aim of the conference technique to improve job performance and personal development. A particular purpose of conference will determine the manner in which it is to be carried out. If the purpose  is the development of problem solving and decision-making skills of the participant, then the conference leader must adroitly facilitate the participation of the individuals at the same time as to prevent the conference from staying too far from the objectives. It should be noted that the technique is rather recent for the development of middle management.

As explained by Wickston, this must be frequently used technique and perhaps will be the leading training programme in a modern management of organizations. He further stated that 60% of organizations used this type of training and development technique in developed countries.

Supporting this idea, Boyd also stated that the conference method is also oriented towards discussion of specific problems or of new arrears of knowledge its usual objectives are to develop problem: –

Solving and decision – making capabilities, present new and complex materials and modify attitude.

Despite the advantages of this technique, it still has some serious constraints. It is restricted to small group participation, and centres on covering a such substantive content in a reasonable length of time. It lacks an organization and emphasis is on demonstrating verbosity rather than learning. Probably, the most important psychological principle involved is the active participation of those taking part in the conference which provided the opportunity for reinenforcement of such participation by the trainee. However, the reinenforcement should not consist of verbal wards or punishment for the nature of the participation otherwise, the conference leader loses his neutrality by taking sides.

Seminars And Workshops:

        These are the two recent techniques of training and development. The essence of seminars and workshop is the development, of practicing workshop-study, Kehinde and Ayumer; (1984:5) stated that essence of workshop for engineers in Nigeria is to prepare them to face high challenges through the array of opportunities that would arise from any fronts.  Engineers should not be concerned with votive oiling and readjustment of machines, but should improve their skills in technical drawings and ability to be innovative and creative in nature”.

In effect they are of the view that seminars and workshop programmes would help engineers to develop their skills and innovate their creative abilities. A look at this will reveal that workers should often be encouraged to attend seminars and workshop to improve themselves. Alkhomu (1987) stressed the need for seminars for local government chairman. He pointed cut that such programmed would serve as vehicle for progress on how existing territorial organization of rural producers could be directed to mobilize development of grass root level. Workshops are to help chairman to achieve a clear perception of the central issues of integrated rural  development. It will also asquint them with skills and strategies for mobilizing the masses for participation in rural development programmes.

Managers in the achievement of the organizational goals. In the recent past, many seminars and workshops have taken place in Nigeria, all for the improvement of the worker.

According to Balogun (1986:1) “Employees who rank high in desirable personal politics, who get along well with others and who exert leadership qualities in group situations are those who most often attend seminars and workshop discussions. Such employees add to what knowledge they already have through seminars and workshop. To determine what re-training and re-development is seminars are necessary to achieve among other things productivity and rejuvenate through institutions of management training”.

What Balogum is saying in effect is that seminars contribute to uplift the ideas of the employee, retrain him in readiness for enhanced productivity as well as the acquisition of good personal qualities. In his own assessment of the objectives of seminars and workshops training, Wada (1986:8) pointed out, “workshops ad seminars conducted by Industrial Training Fund (ITF) are to improve the operative skills and update their technical and technological know-how by participating fully and adequately in these programmes”. During a Saddingtion (1979) observed that seminars and workshops as detailed activities are to reduce cost and delay in training and development exercises. While concerning with Saddington, Calvert and Akanibi, (1984) advocated “top executive seminars should be made to give attention on organization effectiveness in hard times, appresial of management characteristics and methods as well as concepts and tools that may be relevant to present an effective management”. As reported by Wonodi (1987:10-15), “Workshops and seminars should include management and conservation of resources guidance and counseling techniques, policy analysis and programme evaluation. He further observed that “A progressive seminar will give more than the formal education on management, because experience, knowledge and competence are always the point of discussion”. Pat (1986:1) recommended that the constant religious conflicts in Nigeria is due in part to lack of regular seminars for religious leaders. Such a forum will help to check and monitor the activities of recalcitrant leaders. What Wonodi and Pat are suggesting are that seminar programmes be so directed as to guide and counsel its members.

It is also a challenge to all those engaged in training of leaders not to give chances to persons of questionable character in their organization. In a concluded study, Ejiofor (1980) explained that out of every 50 seminars and workshops conducted in Nigeria, private sector participans is 5 (five). He blamed this poor attitude to seminars by managers in the private sector on ignorance. Seminars, he said, is the “only living tool of employees in the private sector”. Okoye apthy enjoins, it is one thing to postulate high faulting ideas in the work place about industrial democracy and social justice, but without training and seminars, those ideas will remain but were vote catching jargons and demons of incorrigible romanticism”. Sonaike (1983:3) explained that many theories have concentrated on capital and skills as determinants of aggregate performance. These theories can only help to motivate employees if supported with constant seminars as re-training tools. Emelogu (1987:12) stressed that “the indication training or workshop programme would avail the newly recruited clearical assistant and managers the opportunity of understanding the functions of the revised local government system. What Emelogu is emphasizing is that newly employed workers would through workshop training be acquainted with their roles in the organization. In his own view, Ifedi (1986:13) asserted that “regular seminar is important at any existing time, when an actual condition differs from desired condition of the organizational, performance or more especially when a change in the present human knowledge, skills or attitude can bring about a desired performance”. Adibe (1991) observed that “seminars and workshops programmes are the surest way of unifying service staff training programmes”. In his view the forum bring staff from all organizations to pull ideas together and discuss freely.

Problems Arising Despite Training And Development:

In the modern industrial world, training always takes place in the context of vertical opportunities and constraints which should influence choice of both the context training and the method employed. In advising on the design of a training scheme, the trainers have to recognize that factors such as the characteristics of the trainees, the social acceptability and the cost of method proposed may turnout to be just as important as determining a theoretically ideal set of conditions for learning.

Fitts (1962:48) stated that “good training design must take into account the various kinds of qualitative and quantitative charges in performance which typically occur during training”.

One of the major factors affecting individuals training environment. Streers (1975:318) has pointed out that “training enclology is composed of a number of elements such as the organizations – orientation and induction tactics, the receptivity of fellow workers, the rules and regulations, the attitude and skill of the supervisor and the morale level of the training group. What Steers is assuming is that trainers will meet problems in course of their training environment which may affect their performance at the work place. He says that there are some elements which will be difficult for organizations to change and that environmental constraints affect training evaluation as regards performance. Some of the techniques for this training evaluation are difficult to apply since human behaviour is unpredictable.

Festinger can only succeed through effective feedback” only if the trainee provides complete information and is likely to receive the valid feedback on his training performance. The problem then is over the exchange of valid information. When information is distorted, the trainee will not be able to cope.

Another problem is superior feel that ambivalence. Some superiors feel that the training evaluation process put them  in a position of “playing goo”. Hall and Lawer (1981:526) explained in a concluded study that most supervisors are not trained to handle the kind of inter personal issues that arise when a subordinates training performance is evaluated. Hence, superior should not be hesitant to face the uncomfortable inter-personnal issues that may arise when carrying out such exercises.

The Problem Of Equipment:

At training centres most of the equipment used are foreign to trainees and the recipients find them difficult to understand their operating systems. Most of the respondents reported that some equipment are so sophisated and costly that the factory could  not purchase them. They were also no specialist maintenance technicians. When these equipment are used by trainers the expected benefits do not result. According to French (1979:26) “Most techniques used to avoid the problem of machine and devotion include perception, judgment, intuition, expressed of first level and middle managers informal observations and suggestions. This problem technique is further complicated when it is not systematically used, the training technique should be systematic.

If training should be meaningful, it must be done in a time. Jacques developed a measure labeled “time span of discretion”. This is defined as the time it takes for substandard training evaluation performance to show u Cunningham (1979:36) explained systematic training as planned, under guarded purposeful  and sequential training procedure within the most possible chain of reaction to facilitate and minimize the learning process. When training techniques are interpreted as punishment of deficiencies, there is little enthusiasm and probably of little impact on work performance. When training technique is inadequate to identify the validity and potential of an employee weakness. The impact of such training techniques on the work performed will not be achieved.

 

———project not complete——- project not complete ———–not complete————–—-

This article was extracted from a OND Project Research Work Topic “INFLUENCE OF STAFF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT ON OPERATIONS OF NON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION. (A CASE STUDY OF ANAMMCO ENUGU.”

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