Training Needs Analysis: Taxi Industry Disruption in Singapore

This report analyzes the disruptive impact of technology, particularly the entry of companies like Uber, on the taxi industry in Singapore, with a specific focus on ComfortDelgro. It delves into the company's training needs, assessing employee skills, knowledge, and the competitive landscape. The report reviews appropriate training and assessment methods, including lectures, case studies, and role-plays, and emphasizes the importance of aligning these methods with the company's objectives of enhancing customer satisfaction and achieving a competitive edge. It further examines the validity and reliability of assessment methods, emphasizing the use of reviews and performance metrics to gauge training effectiveness. Finally, the report identifies the resources required to implement training programs, encompassing financial, human, and technological resources, and concludes with recommendations for ComfortDelgro to improve its drivers' efficiency, customer service, and overall market competitiveness in the face of technological disruption.

Running head: DISRUPTION IN THE TAXI INDUSTRY IN SINGAPORE
Disruption in the Taxi Industry in Singapore
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author

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DISRUPTION IN THE TAXI INDUSTRY IN SINGAPORE
Table of Contents
Introduction:...............................................................................................................................2
Review of the training analysis needs:.......................................................................................2
Proposed appropriate training and assessment methods:...........................................................3
Lectures:.................................................................................................................................3
Case studies:...........................................................................................................................4
Role plays:..............................................................................................................................4
Aligning training and assessment method:............................................................................5
Validity and Reliability of assessment methods:.......................................................................5
Resource required implementing training programmes:............................................................6
Conclusion:................................................................................................................................7
References:.................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction:
The aim of the research is study the impact of environmental challenges like
disruptive innovation which are taking place in the market. The assignment is set against the
backdrop of the shared taxi market in Singapore, which is undergoing massive changes due to
advancements in technology, and entry of players like Uber. The paper would delve into the
training needs, methods and resources required to train the employees of the ComfortDelgro,
the company chosen for the study to deal with this market challenge (comfortdelgro.com.sg,
2017). A survey of the business environment of the cab industry by an Singaporean English
daily states more drivers are preferring to work for Uber compared to Comfort due to their
better training facilities and incentive structures (tnp.sg, 2017) (Survey attached). This clearly
points out the needs of ComfortDelgro train its drivers and provide them with better
incentives to be able compete with strong competitors like Uber.
Review of the training analysis needs:
A review of the training analysis needs show that the managers of ComfortDelgro
judged the employees namely drivers based on their skills, knowledge levels and the
positions they are working in. The managers analyse the performances of the drivers to point
out their strengths like capacity of working for long hours. Neuendorf (2016) states that
training needs of the organisations should be aligned to meet the needs of employees to
elevate their performance level. The analysis of the training needs of the drivers did not
mention the methods the management, managers and the human resource department of
ComfortDelgro used to analyse the training needs of the drivers. One can review in the light
of the above that the training need analysis does not mention the aim of the training, which is
to train the drivers in modern technology.

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The training needs of the ComfortDelgro drivers have to be aligned to achieve the
high competitive position in the Singapore cab service market, which is the business of the
company. The scenario in the shared cab industry in Singapore shows that it has gone under
rapid advancements as per as the modes of operations of the cab services are concerned. The
multinational companies like Uber have entered the market and made the competition far
more intense. Uber trains its drivers to operate modern driving systems like general pocket
radio services (GPRS) which enables them to receive calls from the passengers in the
wireless mode and navigate through the cities of Singapore faster (todayonline.com, 2017).
The companies like Uber groom their drivers to behave in sophisticated manner with
passengers, which maximises customer satisfaction. This training and grooming have helped
Uber to create customer satisfaction, which generates repeat business for the company. This
challenge from the foreign cab service companies has necessitated ComforDelgro to analyse
the training needs of its drivers to train them to upgrade their competencies and capabilities to
create customer satisfaction.
Proposed appropriate training and assessment methods:
The management, the human resource department and managers should use
appropriate training and assessment methods. They should use Structure of Observed
Learning Outcome or SOLO Taxonomy to assess the capability of individual drivers to take
and apply the training (Wells, 2015). The three methods selected methods are lectures, case
studies and role play.
Lectures:
Lecture refers to giving an oral presentation to a group of trainees by a subject matter
expert. For example, the ComfortDelgro can hire a lecture who can give a lecture on the
importance of grooming of drivers to ensure better customer satisfaction. The advantages of

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the lecture are that they are cost effective because the lecturer can train a large number of
trainees and on various subjects like the importance of the drivers to be technology advanced
and well groomed to satisfy sophisticated passengers. However, the disadvantages of lecture
method are that the communication is that the communication is one way and the learners
tend to be passive, which inhibits them from deriving full benefit from the training
programmes (Agnihotri et al., 2014).
Case studies:
The training method of case study consists of considering pieces of literature like
articles and videos. The trainees use the learned knowledge to analyse and review these
pieces of literature to arrive at conclusions. The advantage of case study method is that it
enables trainees to enhance their analytical and decision-makings skills. However, the
success of this method is dependent on the training capabilities of the trainer to guide the
thought process of the employees in the right direction. For example, the trainer at
ComfortDelgro can allow the trainees to study case studies on Uber. The trainer here can ask
them to analyse the case study and arrive at decisions on how they can implement their
decisions while serving the customers of Comfort (Royle & Laing, 2014).
Role plays:
Role play refers to the method of simulating real professional situations to train the
employees with the emphasis on the challenges they would face while operating in the real
field like serving passengers. The method promotes active learning and help the trainees
realise their professional strengths and opportunities. However, it is not always possible to
simulate real life situations. For example, the trainers cannot make the trainee drivers realise
the demands of the passengers. This prevents the trainers from making the trainees fully

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efficient to deal with passenger complaints. They can learn passenger grievance management
only by serving the passengers and interacting with them (Abd Rahman et al., 2013).
Aligning training and assessment method:
ComfortDelgro must align the training and assessment of the drivers with the
objective of the company to gain competitive advantage in the market of Singapore. For
example, the training methods like case study and lecture must educate the drivers on the
modern technology and etiquettes which they need to acquire to maximise customer
satisfaction and revenue generation. Similar, the training benefit assessment methods should
also adhere to the business objective of ComfortDelgro. For example, the managers should
compare between the reviews drivers get before the training and after it. The number of
increase in the positive would show his improvement. This would mean that the driver
belongs to the ‘relational’ category on the SOLO tool while the drivers who show low
improvement would be considered to belong to the ‘pre-structural’ category (İlgüy et al.,
2014). The number of reviews can be counted and hence the performance of the drivers can
be measured by the managers. This would make the assessment methods valid and reliable.
Validity and Reliability of assessment methods:
The measurement of the performance improvement of the drivers would be valid and
reliable by basing the measurement of their performance on number of reviews. The trainers
and the managers can test the validity of the training on terms of tasks, extraneous inference
and consequences. The drivers in order to prove their enhanced efficiency; would be required
to exhibit actual knowledge of technology and etiquettes they have gained during training.
Their improvement compared to their pre-training performances would prove the reliability
of the training need assessment and the training methods. The training methods and
assessment techniques should be fair and every driver should be allowed access to the same

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knowledge. This would ensure that they develop uniform set of competencies, which can be
compared to test the reliability or effectiveness of the training methods. For example, the
standard operating procedures (SOP) to assess the outcome of the trainings can consist of
managers considering the reviews a driver received in the last seven days. The second step of
SOP comparing the findings with the ratings received for the previous week. The rate of
increase in the positive reviews would show the improvement in the performance of the
driver. Moreover, the review would be based on a considerable time span like a week, which
would allow the managers gain a sufficient number of samples (reviews) to judge the
performance of the drivers. This availability of a sizeable amount of sample reviews would
make the performance of the employee reliable and valid (Navimipour & Zareie, 2015).
Resource required implementing training programmes:
The resource required to hold the training programme to enhance the performance of
the drivers would consist of budget, time and venue. The budget would include cost of
training, the degree of training and the cost of hiring the trainers. The time component would
consist of opportunity cost and the venue component would consist of the cost of hiring
venue to hold the training sessions for the drivers (Goetsch & Davis, 2014).
The following is the list of resources required to hold the training:
1. Human resources-trainer, trainees and assistants
2. Technological resources-conferencing systems and computers required to offer trainings.
3. Venue to hold the training.
4. Other expenses like electricity.
5. Financial resources to obtain the above resources.

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The company should invest in projects and financial markets to gain the financial
resources required to acquire the resources stated above. The company should invest in long
term investment to earn high return on investment but not invest the amount in implementing
the training programme.
Conclusion:
It can be concluded from the above discussion that the management, the mangers and
the HR department of ComfortDelgro should train its drivers to enhance their efficiency. The
company should train the drivers to operate using modern GPRS system to receive orders
from the passengers. The company should groom the drivers so that they can behave
appropriately with the sophisticated customers to increase their satisfaction. This would
enable the company to serve more passengers and gain competitive advantage in the market
of Singapore.

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References:
Abd Rahman, A., Imm Ng, S., Sambasivan, M., & Wong, F. (2013). Training and
organizational effectiveness: moderating role of knowledge management
process. European Journal of Training and Development, 37(5), 472-488.
Agnihotri, R., Rapp, A. A., Andzulis, J. M., & Gabler, C. B. (2014). Examining the drivers
and performance implications of boundary spanner creativity. Journal of Service
Research, 17(2), 164-181.
ComfortDelGro Corporation Limited. (2017). Comfortdelgro.com.sg. Retrieved 22
November 2017, from http://www.comfortdelgro.com.sg/
Coping with technological disruption in the taxi industry. (2017). TODAYonline. Retrieved
22 November 2017, from http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/coping-
technological-disruption-taxi-industry
Goetsch, D. L., & Davis, S. B. (2014). Quality management for organizational excellence.
Upper Saddle River, NJ: pearson.
İlgüy, M., İlgüy, D., Fişekçioğlu, E., & Oktay, İ. (2014). Comparison of case-based and
lecture-based learning in dental education using the SOLO Taxonomy. Journal of
dental education, 78(11), 1521-1527.
More taxi drivers switching to UberX and GrabCar. (2017). The New Paper. Retrieved 26
November 2017, from http://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore/more-taxi-drivers-
switching-uberx-and-grabcar
Navimipour, N. J., & Zareie, B. (2015). A model for assessing the impact of e-learning
systems on employees’ satisfaction. Computers in Human Behavior, 53, 475-485.

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Neuendorf, K. A. (2016). The content analysis guidebook. Sage.
Royle, J., & Laing, A. (2014). The digital marketing skills gap: Developing a Digital
Marketer Model for the communication industries. International Journal of
Information Management, 34(2), 65-73.
Wells, C. (2015). The structure of observed learning outcomes (SOLO) taxonomy model:
How effective is it?.