Training Needs Analysis in Malaysian Airlines

This assignment delves into the crucial area of training needs assessment within Malaysia Airlines, a prominent player in the global aviation industry. It utilizes various frameworks to identify skill gaps and training requirements across different departments within the airline. The analysis considers factors such as organizational goals, technological advancements, regulatory changes, and employee performance data. Drawing upon best practices in training development, the assignment proposes targeted recommendations for enhancing employee competencies and ensuring Malaysia Airlines' continued success.

Running head: Human Resource Management
Human Resource Management

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Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................2
Importance of Training and levels of Need Analysis in Human Resource Development............................2
Importance of Training............................................................................................................................2
Types of Need Analysis...........................................................................................................................3
Levels of Need Analysis..........................................................................................................................4
Methods Used in Needs Analysis in Human Resource Development..........................................................6
Evaluation of the levels and the methods used in needs analysis in Malaysian Aviation Group..................7
The levels of Need Analysis used in Malaysian Aviation Group.............................................................7
The Methods of Need Analysis used in Malaysian Aviation Group........................................................9
Suggestion on how to improve the needs analysis of Malaysian Aviation Group......................................10
Summary/Conclusion................................................................................................................................11
References.................................................................................................................................................12

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Introduction
Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) is branded as Malaysian Airlines was founded in 1st May,
1947 and commenced its operations on 1st October, 1972. It operates its flight from the country’s
capital Kuala Lumpur. It conducts its operations from its ancillary hubs at Kota Kinabalu and
Kuching .It is the flag carrier of Malaysia and a part of One World Airline Alliance. It is
headquartered at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. It is owned by the Khazanah Nasional
Berhad.-The Malaysian Aviation Group (MAG). Malaysian Airlines has two subsidiaries Firefly
and MASwings.
The business aims at guaranteeing better transparency and administration of the it’s various
segments through its dedicated workforce. It improves the efficiency of its workforce by
conducting trainings from time to time. The segment which contributes the most to the
Malaysian Aviation Group (MAG) is Air Transportation Services which operates the Malaysia
Airlines Berhad, Firefly and MASwings, network carrier’s .Also the division of The Malaysian
Aviation Group (MAG) is the MAB Kargo, which provides the services of goods transportation.
It also transacts ground handling services, engineering, training and aircraft leasing company to
provide custom –built aviation leasing solutions to its clients (Malaysian Airline, 2013).
The vision of the group is to enlighten its stakeholders about its aim to provide personal touch,
warmth and efficiency to its passengers. Its mission is to serve quality services with punctuality,
safety and comfort to its consumers. It is an aviation company which is recognized
internationally with its four business segments- Air Transportation Services, Ground Services,
Aircraft Leasing and Talent Development (Malaysia Airlines, n.d.).The Malaysian Aviation
Group (MAG) has the workforce of around 14000 people as of 2016.
Importance of Training and levels of Need Analysis in Human Resource Development
Importance of Training
Koohi et al. (2016) suggested that training can be described as the procedures adopted by the
company to enhance the skills, knowledge and attitude of the work force so that they can work
efficiently. With the help of trainings, the workforce would be able to interact with the cliente in

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an efficient manner and deliver the best quality services to them. It also motivates the employees,
thereby enhancing their job satisfaction and helping them to align their personal goals with those
of the organization. Customer services oriented trainings helps the employees to deliver better
services to the customers, thereby improving customer satisfaction.
Training helps in developing customer relationship thereby improving their satisfaction which is
essential in the context of competition in the airline industry. It also helps the aviation industry in
customer retention. For facilitating the development of the skills and knowledge of the
employees, the Training Development Program is conducted in the organization. Under the
Training & Development process, the unfilled positions are filled through recruitments and
placements of the new work force (KPMG, 2015). The Training Development Program assists
the organization to comprehend the needs of the work force, so that it can meet its current
operational needs (Alabed & Malik, 2016).
The four crucial phases of the Training Development Program need analysis, training and
development, evaluation and training objectives. As the current environment needs the
workforce to accomplish complicated tasks in an efficient and effective manner. Training is an
important tool which helps the employees to achieve the desired level of performance. The
identification of training needs or ‘Need Analysis ‘is the initial step in the Training Development
Program. An ideal ‘Training Need Analysis ‘will assess those employees who needs the training
and the type of training is needed by them (Parohinog & Meesri,2015).
Types of Need Analysis
There are various types of Needs Analysis which are suited for various organizations. Some of
them are:
1. Organizational Analysis: It is the assessment of the organization’s mission and vision. It
is the evaluation of the needs and the reasons why the training is needed by the
organization. It answers to the question,”What the organization is trying to achieve?” The
Organization Analysis in Training and Development Program answers certain questions
such as why training should be conducted and for whom it should be conducted. Why a
specific training program is considered to be a solution to the problems faced by the

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organization and what is the history of the organization in the context of training
conducted.
2. Person Analysis: The Person Analysis deals with the expected participants and instructors
involved in the process. The issues answered in Person Analysis is the targeted
employees for whom the training is designed ,their level of knowledge and learning style
and who will conduct the training .The crucial issue to be analyzed is that is there any
change in the mechanism and procedures which require training (Morrison,2017).
3. Work / Task Analysis: It pertains to the evaluation of the task being performed. It is an
assessment of the job and the essentials for executing the task. It is also known as ‘Task
Analysis’ or ‘Job Analysis’. It ascertains the required skills to perform the main duties for
the employees. This analysis ensures that the training will inculcate relevant skills in the
employees according to their profile.
4. Performance Analysis: It addresses the issues such as the ascertainment of the level of
performance of the employees and can training assist in improving the performance of
the employees (Rafiq, 2015).
5. Content Analysis: It evaluates the type of documents and procedures used in the job.
Also, it assesses the applicable laws and regulations on the company. The assessment
answers the questions about type of data used in the job. It is crucial that the Content
Analysis do not challenge the job requirements.
6. Training Suitability Analysis: It is the evaluation whether the training fulfills the
requirements of the employees. It is crucial to determine the efficiency of the training and
its suitability to the profile at which the employees are working.
7. Cost –Benefit Analysis: It is analysis of the cost effectiveness of the training. An
effective training results in better return than the investment made by the company for the
benefit of the employees (Allen Country Public Health, 2015).
Levels of Need Analysis
There are various models to describe the training needs of an organization. The McGhee and
Thayer’s three level Analysis is the most commonly used model to evaluate the training need
assessment of the organization.

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McGhee and Thayer’s Three-Level Analysis
The model provides an organized means of executing Training Needs Analysis at three levels
namely Organization, Operational or task related and Individual or personal. The level of need
analysis is a hierarchy which navigates from the organizational level to the personal level. Also,
from moving from organizational level to the personal level, a micro focus of the organization is
seen by the analyst.
Organizational Analysis: It assists in reviewing the performance of the organization. It enlightens
the performance problems in the various departments of the organization. The Organizational
Analysis helps to review profit and loss statements, employee turnover ratios, downtime and
organizational business plan.
Operational analysis: It helps to analyze the required knowledge, skills and abilities required to
execute a particular task. The evaluation is done through reviewing Quality assurance
procedures, interrogating heads of departments and tracking the job descriptions (Syed &
Kramar, 2017).
Personal Analysis: It helps to evaluate the performance of the team or individuals. The Personal
analysis can be done through ascertaining the staff’s knowledge, observing ‘On –the –job’
training and job profile.
However, there are certain steps to execute training need analysis:

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1. The Human resource Department should analyze the requirements to be met to execute
certain job s or roles.
2. It further evaluates whether appropriate skills and knowledge is possessed by the
individuals.
3. The third step requires contrasting whether the required level of skills and knowledge is
possessed by the candidates or not.
4. The final stage pertains to summarize the comprehensive training requirements, so that
the relevant training program can be prepared (Capacity Building for Urban Development
project, 2014).
Methods Used in Needs Analysis in Human Resource Development
By comprehending the Training Need Analysis, the organization is able to identify the
performance needs. They can be dealt by conducting the training sessions to meet the
organizational goals. It helps to enhance productivity, profits and service quality of the
organization. There are various methods used in Need Analysis in Human Resource
Development. Some of them are:
1. Surveys: Surveys can be conducted by polls with a sample or all of the employees of the
organization. They assist in tracing the deficiencies related to performance in specific
areas.
For conducting surveys, questionnaires can be prepared and they should be circulated
among the employees. The questions should target on the specified tasks and
requirements of the employees. Different formats of the questionnaires such as open
ended, close ended, projective and priority ranking can be used. The employees should be
allowed to answer anonymously which would enhance the credibility of the answers and
the organization will get genuine answers.
Arfoa et al. (2015) recommends that surveys help the company to access large number of
employees in the least time. It is an inexpensive method to analyze the training needs of
the employees. It is easy to assess, review and report the conclusion of surveys. In the
case of nameless responses, they are given without fear and hesitation.

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2. Observations: In this method, the middle level management observes the method of
working of the employee in every day working situations. It helps them to analyze the
performance gaps of the employees. They contemplate the technical, functional and
behavioral factors of the performance analysis. It helps them to give a qualitative and
quantitative feedback of the current performance of the employees.
It helps to generate real life data to the managers and the regular flow of work is least
interrupted.
3. Interviews: Interviewing each employee helps the managers to gather data on
performance gaps while interacting with each employee or their group. The interview
can be conducted through phone calls or in person. They can be formal or informal
(Hyundai, 2018).
For example: The team leaders can also be interviewed to assess the problems of the
group. Through interviewing, it becomes easy to analyze the performance issues and to
focus on possible solutions. Also, the employees can immediately give their feedback
through interviews.
4. Customer feedback: Through Customer feedback, the management can be accustomed
with the performance deficiencies of the employees. This is the best method to trace the
improvement areas. Each question in the feedback form should be focused towards
specific service or performance.
So, these were the methods which are used in need analysis in human resource
development (Kim & Mauborgne, 2015).
Evaluation of the levels and the methods used in needs analysis in Malaysian Aviation
Group
The levels of Need Analysis used in Malaysian Aviation Group
The training need analysis is conducted at Malaysian Aviation Group through three levels, viz.,
organizational, task and individual levels.

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Three levels of Need Analysis at Malaysian Aviation Group
1. Organizational Analysis: It is concerned with reviewing the organization’s internal and
external environment to analyze whether it has achieved its target or not. It assists the
managers to assess the organization’s requirements through its vision, mission, and short
and long term objectives.
For example: Various resources such as company’s mission , vision ,human resource
management indexes ,level of expertise of the employees ,the culture of the company
and competency indexes help the managerial personnel to identify the training needs.
These factors reflect the issues or gaps in the company which require further assessment.
2. Task Analysis: It is also known as Operational Analysis. Mazhisham et al. (2016)
suggested that the outcome of the targeted performance should be recognized and
determined. The interconnection between the jobs or work chain should be considered to
make sure that the final outcome satisfies the benchmarks of the working outcomes.
Assessment of the difficulty of the task is done by referring to the job description and
specifications. The activities connected to each task are analyzed along with the
competency levels identified to accomplish them. Five steps are identified in task
analysis:
(a) The task and responsibilities required for the completion of the job are analyzed and
noted.
(b) The level and type of knowledge required to accomplish the task is assessed.
(c) The performance level required for the task is analyzed.

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(d) The task and competency required for the training program of the task should also be
considered. It also requires to research upon the level of difficulty, importance and
the time taken to accomplish the task.
(e) Suitable training needs should be noted according to their priority.
3. Individual Analysis: It requires assessing the training requirements to determine which
employees should be trained to enhance their performance. The two important aspects in
this regard are who should be trained and what type of training should be required by the
human resource (Bhattacharyya, 2015).
For example: Employees should be evaluated whose performance reveals a gap through
comparison of their current job performance with the approved one. Certain training
procedures should be conducted to fill this gap.
So, the prescribed levels of training need analysis help in the comparison of the actual
performance of the employees with the suggested on. It also helps in analyzing the
current and future competency gap and designing the training programs accordingly
(Hartoyo & Efendy, 2017).
The Methods of Need Analysis used in Malaysian Aviation Group
Malaysian Aviation Group conducts the need analysis through the following ways:
1. Conducting Interviews: The managers conduct interview of the subject matter experts
and high performance employees. They retrieve the information of the job and
occupation from the supervisors and managers in charge. They comprehend the needs of
the employees required to fulfill their jobs.
2. Reviewing the performance appraisal: The human resource managers review the
performance appraisals of the employees and analyze the gap between the set
benchmarks and the employee’s current performance regarding their job profile.
3. Focus groups: The managers focus on relevant groups of employees which are new to the
job or which require appropriate training to perform their job.
4. Assessment/ Surveys: The human resource managers conduct assessment of the
performance of the groups of employees and prepare surveys in the form of
questionnaires to assess their knowledge regarding their job profile (Cushway, 2015).

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5. Records & Report Studies: The managers also study the past records and reports
regarding the performance of the employees. With the help of the studies, they can
summarize their findings and conduct trainings to enhance the performance of the
employees.
6. Work Samples: The managers review the work samples of the employees and assess their
training needs (OSHA, n.d.).
7. Review of relevant literature: The managers review relevant literature regarding the job
descriptions and techniques used to perform a specific task. With the reference of the
literature, they review the work of the employees and assess their training needs.
Thus, through the above mentioned methods, the human resource department of
Malaysian Aviation Group analyses the training needs of the employees (ICAO, 2017).
Suggestion on how to improve the needs analysis of Malaysian Aviation Group
There are certain suggestions to improve the techniques of needs analysis in the organization.
Some of them are:
1. Managers must contemplate the needs required by the employees in the future to perform
their tasks and compare them with the present. With the changing technology, the employees
must be updated with the skills and techniques to perform the task. For example, the
installations of new machinery or change in the policies of the organization to cope with the
fluctuations occurring in the market require the updating of the skills of the employees.
2. The mangers must design the training program according to the needs of the diverse
population in the organization .The company must consider the training requirements for
women, minority groups, immigrants and senior employees (Anderson, 2015).
3. The training programs should be designed in such a way which avoids discrimination against
a particular group.
4. The training methods should cater to the specific conditions and necessities of the
employees, so that all the staff members are profited equally.
So, the above prescribed measures can be helpful to enhance the outcomes of need analysis in
Malaysian Aviation Group (Chartered Management Institute, 2015).

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Summary/Conclusion
Thus, to conclude, it can be said that training is the backbone of any company. It enhances the
productivity of the personnel thereby increasing the output of the organization. An appropriate
training method provides good results. In the present scenario, the organizations are confronted
with tough competition, less resources and technological changes. Their objectives should be
fulfilled in such a way that it guarantees not only their immediate survival but also their long
term development is assured (Odoni, 2015).
In a highly competitive and fluctuating environment, only the fittest would be able to survive.
Hence, training need analysis plays a crucial role in the fulfillment of these objectives. So,
Malaysian Aviation Group has to provide adequate and appropriate training which is necessary
for the evaluation and growth of an efficient quality management mechanism (Atkins, 2015).
The training need analysis aims at solving the performance related issues which may occur in the
future in Malaysian Aviation Group. Hence, strategic plan can be formulated and implemented to
assist the employees to cope up with the changes. The training need analysis helps to develop the
process which can improve the efficiency of the employees wherein they will commit less
mistakes .Thus it would help in accessing the information faster and thereby wasting less time
and resources of the company (Ferreira & Abbad ,2013).
Arshad et al. (2015) suggested that the training need analysis helps to enhance the employee
satisfaction. They would be able to perform better in their jobs. With the help of training, the
staff would be able to improve their leadership and communication skills. Thus, it would help in
increasing the profit and the customer satisfaction ratio of the company.

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