Academic Research Project: Training & Development and Performance

This report presents a research project that investigates the effectiveness of training and development programs in enhancing employee performance, specifically within the hospitality industry of the UK, using Hilton Hotel as a case study. The research outlines a comprehensive plan, including a statement of the research issue, aims, objectives, and research questions. It explores the significance of the research in a competitive environment and reviews existing literature on the meaning, processes, and effects of training and development. The methodology employed is qualitative, utilizing an inductive approach and interpretivism philosophy, with data collected through primary (questionnaires) and secondary sources (literature review). Random sampling was used, and thematic analysis was applied for data analysis. The report also addresses the reliability and validity of the information, providing a detailed account of the research process and findings.

ACADEMIC & RESEARCH
SKILLS - TASK 2 CARRY
OUT AN ACADEMIC
RESEARCH PROJECT

Table of Contents
Task 2: Carry out an academic research project..............................................................................3
Research plan...............................................................................................................................3
Outline of the process used for sourcing information from primary and secondary sources......5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6
Books and Journals......................................................................................................................6

Task 2: Carry out an academic research project
The research was carried on the topic “effectiveness of training and development program in
improving employee’s performance”. Accordingly, the research plan and research methodology
adopted for gathering the primary and secondary information was as follows:
Research plan
Statement of research issue
To investigate the effectiveness of training & development program in improving the employee’s
performance with reference to hospitality industry of UK: A study on Hilton hotel.
Identification of research aim and objectives:
Aim: The study aims to determine how effective is the training and development program in
enhancing and improving the performance of employees within the hospitality sector of UK.
Objectives
 To understand the concept of training & development
 To determine the ways and process of how training & development programs are
undertaken within the organization.
 To evaluate how training & development programs affect the performance of employees
within the organization.
 To suggest appropriate strategies to Hilton Hotel with regards to how it can improve its
employee’s performance by undertaking effective training & development programs.
Forming research questions
1. What does the training & development mean?
2. What are the ways and process that organization undertakes while offering training &
developmental programs to their employees?
3. How training & development affect the performance of employees within the organization?
Stating the rational and significance of the research

For this research, the reason is to identify how training & development programs are
effective in terms of improving the performance of employee within Hilton. This is important to
identify because in a highly competitive environment of the corporate world it is necessary to
retain and satisfy the talented employees along with enhancing their productivity to ensure
sustainability of the business in the long run. This research would be important for companies in
the hospitality industry of UK, other scholars who have undertaken research in the similar area
and the human resource management of Hilton hotel.
Review of the existing literature
In this chapter of the research, the views, opinions and arguments given by authors will be
gathered from books, journals, articles, etc. The themes for the research in question are as
follows:
Theme: 1 – Meaning of training & development
As identified by Hamid (2011), to ensure betterment of employees and improving their
performance, the two activities that is, training & development goes hand in hand. Training
involves programs that are designed to improvise the skills and knowledge of employees along
with instilling higher motivation to ensure greater job performance.
On the other hand, development is future oriented and emphasize on employee’s personal
growth. It is an ongoing and continuous process and results in higher level of motivation
internally.
Theme: 2 – Ways & process of providing training & development
On the broad base, training & development are provided in two ways that is, on the job
training and off the job training. As per the views of Mohammed Saad and Mat (2013), on the
job training refers to the methods of training applied to the workplace of employees when the
trainees that is, employees are actually working. For instance, apprenticeship training and
temporary promotions.
According to Ganesh and Indradevi (2015), off the job training involves taking
employees to another place for learning skills & acquiring knowledge. For instance, discussion
and lectures.

Theme: 3 – Effect of training & development on employee’s performance
As investigated by Rama Devi and Shaik (2012), training and development leads to the higher
productivity & efficiency of employees which in turn, enhances the quality & quantity of
employee’s performance.
Outline of the process used for sourcing information from primary and secondary sources
Research type: The qualitative research was carried out to understand the effectiveness of
training & development programs in improving employee’s performance.
Research approach: For analyzing and assessing the data pertaining to qualitative research,
inductive approach was adopted.
Research philosophy: For evaluating the data related to qualitative research, interpretivism
philosophy was adopted.
Data collection: Data has been gathered through both primary and secondary sources. For
primary information, questionnaire tool was used to conduct the survey on Hilton’s employees to
investigate the effectiveness of training & development programs on their performance. Further,
for gathering secondary information, existing literature in books, journals, websites, etc. are
reviewed critically.
Sampling: For selecting Hilton’s employees to fill questionnaire with them, random sampling
was done to create sample for the research. In this way, employees are selected on random basis
to ensure fair and just.
Data analysis: For the analysis and presentation of findings of the qualitative research, thematic
analysis technique was used.
Reliability and validity of information: To ensure reliability, only copyright protected sources
are referred. Also, for ensuring the validity of information, only those sources are referred to
which are published after 2018.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Hamid, S., 2011. A study of effectiveness of training and development programmes of UPSTDC,
India–an analysis. South Asian Journal of Tourism and Heritage, 4(1), pp.72-82.
Mohammed Saad, A. and Mat, N., 2013. Evaluation of effectiveness of training and
development: the Kirkpatrick model. Asian Journal of Business and Management
Sciences, 2(11), pp.14-24.
Ganesh, M. and Indradevi, R., 2015. Importance and effectiveness of training and
development. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 6(1), pp.334-334.
Rama Devi, V. and Shaik, N., 2012. Evaluating training & development effectiveness-A
measurement model.