Impact of Training Needs Analysis on Performance Management in Shell Oman Marketing Company

This research proposal aims to evaluate the impact of training needs analysis on the performance management in Shell Oman Marketing Company. The study will focus on factors of training need analysis and how those help in improving the performance of the employees and contribute in conducting the performance management in the organization.

Running head: RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Impact of Training Needs Analysis on Performance Management in Shell Oman Marketing
Company
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

1RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Introduction
Performance management refers to the process of providing and accessing feedback,
accountability towards the organizational activities and documentation of the performance
outcomes of the employees of an organization. In other words, performance management is the
set of activities that ensure that the organizational goals are being met consistently, efficiently
and effectively (Dooren, Bouckaert and Halligan 2015). This focuses on the performances of the
organizations, employees and the departments and even the processes. Training and development
have a significant role in performance management. An organization needs to arrange trainings
for the employees to improve their efficiency and productivity. That in turn will help in their
performance management by generating improved results in various activities and skills, such as,
adaptability, analytical skills, communication, decision making and business knowledge of the
employees (Elnaga and Imran 2013). Hence, training needs analysis is essential for the
organizations to find out and focus on the ways to improve the performance of the employees.
Shell Oman Marketing Company is one of the major supplier companies in the oil and
gas industry of Oman since 1958. The company is engaged in marketing and distributing
petroleum goods in the Sultanate of Oman. A wide range of engine oils and car lubricants are
supplied by this company apart from owning an oil blending plant. There are almost 180 Shell
retail service stations across the country. It is a subsidiary company of Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
The company is chosen for the study because as per the 2017 annual report, it provides more
than 66 Further Education, Training and On-The-Job Development scopes for employees and
helps in improving their performances (Shelloman.com.om 2018).

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Research rationale
The report aims to present the findings of a study on the training need analysis and its
impact on the performance management in the Shell Oman Marketing Company. Performance
management includes evaluation of the performance of the employees of an organization in
various aspects. Through this research, the researcher will be focusing on factors of training need
analysis and how those help in improving the performance of the employees and contribute in
conducting the performance management in the organization. The researcher has chosen Shell
Oman Marketing Company as a case study company for the study.
Problem statement
The problem statement for the research study is: “What is Training needs analysis and what are
its impact on the performance management system in Shell Oman Marketing Company?”
Research hypotheses
1H0: Managerial training has no impact on the performance management of Shell Oman
Marketing Company.
2H0: Leadership training has no impact on the performance management of Shell Oman
Marketing Company.
Research questions
1) What is the concept of performance management and training need analysis?
2) What is the impact of training need analysis on performance management?

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3) What is the way of improving training to improve performance management in Shell
Company?
Objectives of the study
1) To know the concept of performance management and training need analysis.
2) To evaluate the impact of training need analysis on the performance management in Shell
Oman Marketing Company.
3) To suggest ways of improving training to improve performance management in Shell Oman
Marketing Company.
Literature review
Concept of training
As stated by Wilson (2014), training is one of the most important sections of human
resource development. It refers to the process of learning knowledge or developing skills for a
specific purpose. In other words, training represents the procedures of learning the necessary
skills and gaining the knowledge required to do a particular job efficiently. In any organization,
human resource development is extremely important. It is necessary for improving the individual
as well as organizational performance and productivity. Development represents the process of
improvising the exiting knowledge, talents and skills of the employees (Ford 2014). Since, all the
jobs have specific roles and responsibilities; it is the duty of the organizations to train the

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employees the necessary skills to perform the job efficiently. Hence, specific training programs
are arranged based on the job requirements and needs of the employees.
Training consists of three activities; training, education and development. Training refers
to the process of teaching the individuals about something specific; education is the process of
learning and gaining knowledge from the training and development refers to the growth and
improvement of the individuals in terms of skills and knowledge as a result of the training
programs (Tahir et al. 2014).
Types of training
Training is of various types. All types of training programs are primarily categorized into
on-the-job and off-the-job training programmes. According to Pollock, Jefferson and Wick
(2015), training programs are categorized into managerial training, leadership training, technical
training, professional training, induction training, and soft skills training.
On-the-job training refers to the training and learning process that occur naturally while
doing the work, while off-the-job training refers to those trainings, which are arranged specially
for a specific job purpose (Mazur 2013). On the other hand, Employees of any organization are
given training on the job requirements before and during the job. Both type of training are
essential for human resource development in an organization.
Concept of training needs analysis (TNA)
Training needs analysis (TNA) is aimed at identifying and addressing the skill gaps at the
institutional level, group level and individual level (Calder and McCollum 2013). This is the first

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stage of training and development programs of the organizations. It involves a process for
determining if the training programme would actually address the identified issue or not. This is
a very important analysis that should be done for the human resource development as it helps in
identifying the gap between the required level and the existing level of skills and knowledge of
the employees in an organization. When the gap is identified, it becomes easier to address that
gap by arranging the most appropriate training programs. Training needs analysis requires the
application of various tools such as, KPA (Key Performance Area) analysis, SMART objectives,
one-to-one interviews to get the feedback from the employees (Chao 2013).
The purpose of this analysis is to provide the adequate and necessary support to the
employees to increase their efficiency and productivity at the job. It is a part of the system
development process. The analysis considers the strategic objectives of the organization along
with the career goals of the individuals for determining the training needs (Mazur 2013). There
are few steps in the training needs analysis, as shown in the following diagram.

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Figure 1: Steps in Training Needs Analysis
(Source: Mazur 2013)
Apart from identifying and analyzing the goals and objectives of the organizations, the training
needs analysis is performed to identify the skills required to fulfill those objectives, followed by
the evaluation of the existing level of skills in the employees and in teams, identifying the
relevant courses needed to meet the skill gap and developing the training programs for the
employees (Jehanzeb and Bashir 2013). The methods that are useful for carrying out a training
needs analysis are surveys, interviews, discussions with focus groups and appraisal for
understanding the existing skill levels.
Theories on training
As highlighted by Milhem, Abushamsieh and Pérez Aróstegui (2014), the training
theories are mainly categorized into scenistic methods and human capital theory. The scenistic
methods include a set of process or approaches that focus on the situations, case studies, events
and the narratives, furnishing particular setting for the performance issues, requirements,
deficiencies and actions for specific situations. These methods are based on the following
theories, such as:
1. Cognition or Situated Learning,
2. Constructivism and Experiential Learning Theory,
3. Transformative Learning Theory and
4. Action theory (Wilson 2014)
Situated learning theory focuses on creating an operational context for the individual for the
training. Under constructivism, Abdullah and Jin (2015) stated that skills and knowledge can be

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improved in various ways without having any particular ideal solution, that is, it focuses on
constructing different ways to handle different type of skill gap. Under the transformative
learning theory, the employees are encouraged to actively participate in the shaping the content
and application of the learning. This helps in personality development. Lastly, in action theory,
the learning process is regulated and people change their behavior for meeting the objectives
dynamically. On the other hand, Return on Training Investment for Employer-Empirical
Evidence Theory falls under the category of human capital theory. This addresses training as an
investment on the human resources and the outcome is treated as the return on investment
(Kulkarni 2013).
Concept of performance management
According to De Waal (2013), performance management refers to the on-going practice
of active communication between the supervisor and the employees occurring throughout the
year, to support the accomplishment of the strategic objectives of the organization. The process
of communication includes the clarification of the expectation from both the sides of
organization and employees, setting up the objectives, identification of the goals, providing the
feedbacks and review of the results (Shields et al. 2015).
Performance management process is a cycle including planning, checking-in and review.
Planning is the first step in this cycle. In this process, the employers and the employees discuss
and review the overall expectations including the collaboration about the performance objectives
development. The individual developmental goals are also considered and a performance plan is
developed. It helps in directing the efforts of the employees to achieve individual goals as well as
organizational goals (Bach 2013). In the second step, throughout the year, the goals are discussed

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and check-in meetings are arranged to check the progress. This is helpful in getting a framework
for ensuring that the employees are achieving the results through the trainings. In the last step,
that is, in the review process at the end of the year, the employers review the employees’
performances against the expected outcome, along with the means used and attitude of the
employees during the assessment period (Dooren, Bouckaert and Halligan 2015). After that the
cycle starts again for the next year.
Importance of performance management
Performance management is important as it helps in keeping the employees motivated by
rewards and recognition to improve their performances and increase their productivity. Cascio
(2018) states that, to achieve the organizational goals and objectives, performance management
is important, as it allows the employers to tap the full potential of the employees. It helps to push
the employees to do not only their regular job, but do it with the best of their ability also, which
increases their as well as the organization’s productivity and profit.
Relationship between performance management and training needs analysis
There is a strong relationship between the performance management and training needs
analysis. The performance management is a system that helps in identifying the full potential of
the employees in an organization and developing a plan for utilizing it to the fullest (Hvidman
and Andersen 2013). On the other hand, the training needs analysis identifies the skill gaps and
weak areas of the employees, that create obstacles for putting the best effort or achieving the best
outcomes, and thereby provides a solution for minimizing those gaps through appropriate
training program (Buckingham and Goodall 2015). At the same time, the training programs that
are arranged after the needs analysis, are helpful in enhancing the required skills and improving

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the performance of the employees, which gets reflected in the performance management review
(Goetsch and Davis 2014).
Synopsis of literature review
From the literature review, it can be inferred that, training is an essential part for the
human resource development in any organization and the outcome of training is measured
through performance management. The training needs analysis is done to identify the problem
situations in employee performances and the type of training required to improve that. However,
it is essential for the organizations to assess the requirement properly to plan and implement the
most relevant training programs to achieve the best outcome.
Variable (Dependent and Independent)
Dependent variable Independent variables
Performance management 1. Managerial training
2. Leadership training
3. Technical training
4. Induction training
5. Soft skills training

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Managerial training
Leadership training
Technical training
Induction training
Soft skills training
Performance management
Conceptual framework

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Research methodology
Quantitative research method will be chosen by the researcher to conduct the research study.
Both the primary and secondary data will be collected and will be analyzed using quantitative
method.
 Data collection method and instruments
Primary data collection
Survey method of data collection will be adopted by the researcher to collect the primary
data from the employees of Shell Oman Marketing Company. It helps in obtaining the
perceptions of the people directly associated with the research topic and specific knowledge
about different aspects of the issue.
The researcher will prepare a survey questionnaire as a data collection instrument with
10 close ended questions. The questions will be framed in a manner that will focus on different
aspects of the topic of the research, that is, on various facets of performance management,
training need analysis and its impact on the performance management. This is expected to
generate information that would be helpful to evaluate the training needs and find out the ways to
improve the performance of the employees.
Secondary data collection
Secondary data on the company’s performances over the years, its training and
development programmes will be collected from the annual reports and company website to
reflect on the research topic and validate the findings from the primary data analysis.

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 Sampling design
Probabilistic sampling method will be used as the population of the company is known.
The number of employees in Shell Oman Marketing Company is 263, 87% of which are Omanis
(Bloomberg.com 2018). Hence, the population for the study consists of 263 people and 100
people will be chosen for the survey. Therefore, sample size would be 100. Simple random
sampling technique will be used for choosing the 100 participants from the total employee
force.
 Data analysis
Data analysis will consist of the following methods and tools.
 Frequency Analysis – using Excel/SPSS
 Correlation Analysis – using Excel/SPSS.
 Regression Analysis – using Excel/SPSS.
The researcher will be applying both the qualitative and quantitative methods of data analysis.
Charts, graphs and tables will be used for visual representation of the findings, obtained through
descriptive and inferential analysis. Correlation and regression analyses method will be applied
to find out the strength of the relationship among the factors of training needs and performance
management, and also the relationship between the dependent and independent variables.

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Expected Research findings
The expected outcome of the research is that analysis of the training needs has a positive
and significant impact on the performance management in the Shell Oman Marketing Company,
as it helps to identify the areas, where the employees need training to improve their
performances.
Recommendations
The researcher must frame the questions of the survey in a manner that it would contain
the most appropriate questions to find out the areas where training is needed for performance
improvement. At the same time, it is also recommended that which type of training should be
arranged to address the problem issue in the organization.

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References
Abdullah, D.N.M.A. and Jin, C.S., 2015. Determining the types of training and development
supports for expatriates. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 172, pp.548-554.
Bach, S., 2013. Performance management. Managing human resources: Human resource
management in transition, pp.221-342.
Bloomberg.com, 2018. Shell Oman Marketing Company SAOG: Private Company Information.
[online] Bloomberg.com. Available at:
https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=10304996
[Accessed 11 Apr. 2018].
Buckingham, M. and Goodall, A., 2015. Reinventing performance management. Harvard
Business Review, 93(4), pp.40-50.
Calder, J. and McCollum, A., 2013. Open and flexible learning in vocational education and
training. Routledge.
Cascio, W., 2018. Managing human resources. McGraw-Hill Education.
Chao, G.T., 2014. Unstructured training and development: The role of organizational
socialization. In Improving training effectiveness in work organizations (pp. 141-164).
Psychology Press.
De Waal, A., 2013. Strategic Performance Management: A managerial and behavioral
approach. Palgrave Macmillan.

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Elnaga, A. and Imran, A., 2013. The effect of training on employee performance. European
Journal of Business and Management, 5(4), pp.137-147.
Ford, J.K., 2014. Improving training effectiveness in work organizations. Psychology Press.
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Saddle River, NJ: pearson.
Hvidman, U. and Andersen, S.C., 2013. Impact of performance management in public and
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https://www.shelloman.com.om/en_om/about-us/who-we-are/country.html [Accessed 11 Apr.
2018].

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