Human Resource Management

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Human Resource Management
Student’s Name
University

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Human Resource Management
Part A: Training and Development (35 marks)
The training and development opportunities available in an organization in OverDrive
Montana & Charnov (2000) suggest that training and development is a human resource
function that seeks to better individual job performance in an organization. This is thus an
educational process that involves sharpening of skills, changing attitudes, concepts and gaining
more knowledge to enhance the performance of employees. This process encompasses three
main areas of training, education, and development. The training seeks to improve employee
ability to perform the better (Torrington, Hall, & Taylor, 2004). Education entails improving
employee abilities for jobs that they may hold in the future by evaluating and focusing the
development on the needs of such jobs. Lastly, development entails focusing on the activities
that the employee does and the abilities can be improved.
Training and development works as an employee development process and a motivation
process. For development, the employee acquires new skills through learning that increase
performance which increases efficiency in the organization (Rothwell & Kazanas, 2004). It also
motivates employees since it acts as an empowerment tool that seeks to ensure employees have
better abilities in meeting the needs of the organization. Olaniya & Ojo (2008) add that,
Maslow’s hierarchy theory indicates that employee can require learning and development when
they get actualized with the job that they do. This means that training and development are used
to motivate employees by empowering them with skills that are beyond what they have already
(Kayode, 2001). Training and development is thus used to assist employees in acquiring new
skills that are crucial to the way they handle organizational related issues. Motivated employees

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perform better since they understand the requirements of the organization and the needs that they
hold.
In OverDrive training and development focusses on improving employee ability to
perform current and future roles. The major role of training and development that cuts across
most organizational areas is increased productivity, job satisfaction, and skills development. The
approach is similar to what happens in other organizations since they focus is improving personal
competence (Oribabor, 2010). This means that the organization seeks to increase employee
ability to perform better. This includes sharpening employee skills in areas like adaptability,
action orientation, business acumen, communication and customer focus.
This means that in OverDrive, training, and development takes place by showcasing
opportunities for learning and development and helping people to decide what best suits them.
This means that the employee is in charge of their personal training by identifying the areas that
they feel are relevant to them. This approach is similar to other trends that take place in
organizations where the organization sets parameters for training and development (Hameed &
Waheed, 2011). However, in most cases, organizations appraise employees to find the
deficiencies and skills that they require. This then leads to developing training and development
programs that meet the needs of such employees. This approach is similar to what takes place in
other organizations since each year, the company reviews its training and development programs
to address the changing needs of employees.
Ways in which managers can assist in the career development of their employees
One way that a manager can assist employees in career development is through creating a
succession planning program for employees to follow. This entails developing strategies that

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equip employees with proper skills for future jobs that they may require in future roles in the
organization. Managers need to ensure that they train and develop employees to equip them with
appropriate skills for future jobs that they may hold (Abbas & Yaqoob, 2009). This is an
insurance strategy in case of vacuum since it will assist the organization in meeting its future
workforce needs.
The second way is aligning employee’s career aspirations with the priorities and goals of
the organization. This process entails assisting employees in setting career objectives so that they
can be aligned with the needs of the organization. This means that there is need assist employees
in planning for their career and how they meet the needs of the organization (Champathes, 2006).
Employees need to set their goals based on what the organization expects and the goals that the
organization seeks to achieve within a given period of time. This means that the goals that each
employee sets should be in line with the organization’s mission and vision and if the goals are
not met, the performance management strategies should be initiated to assist the employee.
Another way that management can participate in employee career development is to
rotate employees in different jobs so that they can develop several skills that are critical in the
organization. This strategy ensures that employees develop different skills are able to work in
any position in an organization (Lee & Bruvol, 2003). By working in different areas, employee
proficiency in increased thus achieving the best results for the organization.
Lastly, offering opportunities for individual growth are important in assisting employees
to grow their careers. This process entails ensuring that opportunities are created to allow the
individual propel in personal areas of interest. Since employees have different interests and
ambitions, management needs to ensure that career development plans are tailored to meet the