HRM: Training & Development Impact on Employee Performance

This report investigates the impact of training and development on employee performance, using a case study approach focused on Marks and Spencer. It addresses research questions concerning the impact of training, challenges in training and development, and the importance of training for emp...Read More

Secondary Data collection Only
Research Ethics
You are required to complete an ethics application BEFORE you
embark on the data collection exercise of the research project
Please complete all the following sections:
- Section A: Ethics Form
- Section B: Data management and storage form
RESEARCH ETHICS AND INTEGRITY

RISK ASSESSMENT FORM
Section A: FORM A
For all Undergraduate/Postgraduate Dissertations and Research
Projects
Please fill in this form, then SAVE IT AS A PDF and submit as instructed by your supervisor
with your project proposal
Your name: (first) ……………………… (last) ………………………
Student number: ……………

PROJECT DESCRIPTON
Please answer the following questions:
1. Do you intend to involve human participants in the conduct of your research?
If no, please skip questions 2 & 3.
☐ Yes ☐No
2. Does your research involve vulnerable adults or under-18s?
☐ Yes ☐No
3. Could your research potentially expose you, anyone assisting you, or
participants to emotional harm?
☐ Yes ☐No
4. Will your research involve travelling to geo-politically unstable
regions/countries (e.g. areas affected by war, civil unrest, natural disasters, or
listed as unadvisable to travel by the UK government?
☐ Yes ☐No
5. Will your research involve access to security-sensitive material? If yes, you
must include a data management statement.
☐ Yes ☐No
This proposal must be completed with the assistance of your supervisor. You
can change the size of the boxes (below) by typing or deleting as necessary.
It is very important to convey with clarity:
• Your research questions/the problem/the theme or topic you are investigating
(what you are proposing to do and to find out or to create)
Title : Impact of training and development on the overall performance of the
employees.
[Human Resource Management]
• The methodology or technical approach (for projects comprising in whole or
in part the creation of an artefact) you will adopt – methods, number of
participants, who the participants (if any) will be, survey instruments used
technology and equipment employed etc.; and what questions you are
planning to ask your respondents (if applicable); how you will deal with
technical challenges.
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Title of project ____________________________________________________________________________
Name of researcher(s)
_____________________________________Email:[e-mail]
Name of supervisor _____________________________Date:________________________
WHERE APPROPRIATE TO YOUR CHOSEN TOPIC/RESEARCH: YES NO N/A
1 Will you describe in writing the main procedures to participants in
advance, so that they are informed about what to expect? A copy of
this must be attached to this application
✓
2 Will you tell participants that their participation is voluntary? ✓
3 Will you obtain written consent for participation and include within this
that they have a right to withdraw at any point? A copy of this must be
attached to this application
✓
4 If the research is observational, will you ask participants for their
consent to being observed? ✓
5 With questionnaires, will you give participants the option of omitting
questions they do not want to answer? ✓
6 Will you tell participants that their data will be treated with full
confidentiality and that, if published, it will not be identifiable as
theirs? This should be evidenced in the consent form and with a
signed copy of UWL’s data management form, attached to this
application.
✓
7 Will you debrief participants at the end of their participation (i.e. give
them a brief explanation of the study)? A copy of this must be
attached to this application
✓
If you have ticked No to any of Q1-7, but have ticked box A overleaf, please give an
explanation on a separate sheet.
[Note: N/A = not applicable]
YES NO N/A
8 Will your project involve deliberately misleading participants in any
way? ✓

9 Is there any realistic risk of any participants experiencing either
physical or psychological distress or discomfort? If Yes, give details
on a separate sheet and state what you will tell them to do if they
should experience any problems (e.g. who they can contact for help).
✓
If you have ticked Yes to 8 or 9, you should normally tick box B overleaf; if not, please
give a full explanation on a separate sheet
YES NO N/A
10 Does your project involve work with animals? If yes, please tick
box B overleaf. ✓
11 Do participants fall into any of
the following vulnerable
groups? If they do, please and
tick box B overleaf.
Note that you may also need
to obtain satisfactory DBS
clearance (or equivalent for
overseas students).
Schoolchildren (under 18 years of
age)
✓
People with learning or
communication difficulties
✓
Patients ✓
People in custody ✓
People engaged in illegal
activities (e.g. drug-taking)
✓
Any other groups who could be
reasonably argued as
representing any form of
vulnerability – please specify
✓
12 Will you be accessing materials which may be considered security-
sensitive under the Counter Terrorism Act (2015)? ✓
There is an obligation on the researcher to bring to the attention of the School Ethics Panel any
issues with ethical implications not clearly covered by the above checklist.
PLEASE TICK EITHER BOX A OR BOX B BELOW AND PROVIDE THE DETAILS REQUIRED
IN SUPPORT OF YOUR APPLICATION. THEN SIGN THE FORM.
Please tick
A. I consider that this project has no significant ethical implications to be brought
before the School Ethics Panel. ✓
B. I consider that this project may have ethical implications that should be brought
before the School Ethics Panel, and/or it will be carried out with children or other
vulnerable populations.
✓
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I have received guidance on ethical research practices relevant to my subject as part of
my preparation for this module.
Signed ___________________________ Print Name ______________________ Date
_______________
(UG Researcher(s))
Signed ___________________________ Print Name ______________________ Date
_______________
(Supervisor)

PART 2
SPECIFICATIONS OF PROJECT
Please answer the following question:
1. Do you intend to use only secondary data in the conduct of your research?
☐ Yes ☐No
Introduction to the research
Background to research topic area (with references where applicable). 200 words approx.
Include Aims and Hypothesis, Research Question(s) of the dissertation/project.
The respective study is based on the research topic “Impact of training and development
on the overall performance of the employees.” It is a known fact that training and
development are important for the overall growth as well as success of the firm. This is
because the employees get an opportunity to enhance their skills as well as existing
knowledge in an effective manner. As a result, they are able to put in their best efforts
and get the tasks done which are assigned to them in an effective manner. Training and
development help in improving the overall efficiency of the employees. Apart from this, it
also helps them meet the overall expectations of the managers as well as team leaders.
Research Aim
“To analyse the impact of training and development on the overall performance of the
employees. A case study on Marks and Spencer.”
Research Objectives
 To analyse the impact of training and development on the overall performance of
the employees.
 To identify the different challenges of training and development within an
organization.
 To understand the importance of training and development for employees within
an organization.
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Research Questions
 What is the impact of training and development on the overall performance of the
employees?
 What are the different challenges of training and development within an organization?
 What is the importance of training and development for employees within an
organization?
Method
Outline all methodological issues - e.g. Design, participants, questionnaires, tests,
method of data collection. Who are you working with? How? What Measures? What
interventions/manipulations? What controls? If your research entails exclusively the
consultation of published documents, books, articles or other work in the public domain
please state this under the heading ‘materials’.
Research design
Research design can be referred to as the overall strategy that is chosen by the researcher
in order to integrate the different components of the study in a logical manner. This ensures
that the research problem is addressed in a proper manner and it can be said that the
research design constitutes the different methods that have been used for the purpose of
data collection, its measurement as well as analysis. There are different types of research
designs and the researcher can choose the most appropriate research design based on the
requirement of the study (Bush and Balven, 2021). For instance, the different types of
research designs include descriptive research design, correlational research design and
experimental research design. It can be said that research design is an important aspect for
any research because it ensures that the research has completed the study in an effective
manner and that the research goals as well as objectives are a chieved in an efficient
manner. In context to this research, the researcher has used descriptive research design.
This will help the researcher in providing the readers with an effective understanding of the
different methods that are used in the study.
Participants (where applicable)
A research participant can be referred to as a person who voluntarily participates in a
research after giving their informed consent. It can be said that the participants are an
important aspect for the research because they provide responses to the researcher. For the
respective research, the researcher has used questionnaires in order to collect the

information from the respondents. It can be said that the researcher has used a
questionnaire in order to ensure that first hand as well as reliable information is gathered
from the respondents (Lin, Cai and Yin, 2021). Apart from this, the researcher has ensured
that written informed consent was obtained from the respondents before the process of data
collection. Apart from this, it can also be said that the researcher has ensured that all of the
information that was gathered from the respondents, was kept confidential and anonymous.
A questionnaire can be referred to as a research instrument that is widely used in order to
gather effective information from the respondents. It consists of a series of questions that are
based on the research topic and helps the researcher in gathering effective information and
also, it is easy to analyse and interpret.
Materials (to include locations and resources)
In order to ensure that the research is conducted in an effective manner, a
researcher has to use different materials. This can include materials for data
collection as well as analysis. In the respective research, the researcher has used a
questionnaire for the purpose of data collection as well as a USB pen drive and a
laptop in order to store all of the data and information that has been gathered from
the respondents (Seeg, Gauglitz and Schütz, 2021). A quiet location was chosen by the
researcher to carry out the different activities of the research. Resources are an
important aspect of a research and ensure that the research study is carried out in an
efficient manner as well as that the goals and objectives of the study are achieved.
Regular weekly meetings with the tutor were also an important source of feedback to
make any required modifications in an effective manner. Therefore, it can be said
that these are some of the resources that were required by the researcher in order to
complete the respective research in a proper manner and make sure that the goals
as well as objectives are achieved.
Analysis
CLEARLY describe the method of analysis you are going to use. Is it qualitative or
quantitative?
There are different methods that the researcher can use in order to complete the research.
When the data is collected or gathered from the respondents, it is important to analyse the
same (Yaqoot, Noor and Isa, 2021). The process of data analysis is important and can help
in obtaining useful conclusions as well as findings. These findings can further be used for
making useful decisions as well as developing effective strategies. The researcher, while
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undertaking this study has ensured that appropriate tools as well as methods are used for
the analysis of the data. Qualitative as well as quantitative are the two types of methods that
can be used for analysing the data. In context to the respective research, the researcher has
used quantitative method of data analysis (Zahed, Teimouri and Barzoki, 2021). This is
because questionnaires were used for the data collection and they can be analysed in an
effective manner by using the quantitative method. Not only this, by using the quantitative
method of data analysis, the researcher will be able to present the findings in the form of
numbers as well as charts and graphs. These are easy to understand by the readers and
hence, they will be able to enhance their existing understanding and knowledge.
REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Bush, J.T. and Balven, R.M., 2021. Catering to the crowd: An HRM perspective on crowd
worker engagement. Human Resource Management Review, 31(1), p.100670.
Lin, L., Cai, X. and Yin, J., 2021. Effects of mentoring on work engagement: Work
meaningfulness as a mediator. International Journal of Training and Development,
25(2), pp.183-199.
Seeg, B., Gauglitz, I.K. and Schütz, A., 2021. Explaining and enhancing training transfer:
a consumer-centric evaluation of a leadership training. Human Resource
Development International, pp.1-21.
Yaqoot, E.S.I., Noor, W.S.W.M. and Isa, M.F.M., 2021. The Predicted Trainer and
Training Environment Influence toward Vocational Training Effectiveness in
Bahrain. Journal of Technical Education and Training, 13(1), pp.1-14.
Zahed, R.K., Teimouri, H. and Barzoki, A.S., 2021. Designing a model of strategic
training system with talent management approach: the case of Iranian National Tax
Administration. International Journal of Business Innovation and Research, 24(4),
pp.593-609.

Section B: RESEARCH ETHICS AND INTEGRITY
DATA MANAGEMENT AND STORAGE STATEMENT
All applicants should familiarise themselves with the Data Protection Act
1998, and adhere to its principles in all aspects of their research:
Research data covers a broad range of types of information (see examples
below), and digital data can be structured and stored in a variety of file
formats.
EXAMPLES OF RESEARCH DATA
Some examples of research data:
Documents (text, Word), spreadsheets
Laboratory notebooks, field notebooks, diaries
Questionnaires, transcripts, codebooks
Audiotapes, videotapes
Photographs, films
Test responses
Slides, artefacts, specimens, samples
Collection of digital objects acquired and generated during the process of
research
Database contents (video, audio, text, images)
Models, algorithms, scripts
Contents of an application (input, output, logfiles for analysis software,
simulation software, schemas)
Methodologies and workflows
Standard operating procedures and protocols
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As a student or member of staff undertaking a research project, I
understand that I am responsible for the following:
 The security and confidentiality of all data collected
 Mitigating all risks to anonymity, privacy and confidentiality posed
by all kinds of personal information storage, processing, including
computer and paper files, e-mail records, audio and video files, and
any information that directly identifies an individual. It is
recommended that data be anonymised at the point of collection.
I will ensure that:
 Data and codes and all identifying information will be kept in
separate locked filing cabinets/files and working files will contain no
identifying information, and will only be accessed by one or two
persons
 All audiotapes will be transcribed using codes or pseudonyms for
identification of individuals and destroyed upon completion of the
research project
 Access to computer files will be available by password only
 Research data will be stored for up to 5 years after the end of the
project, after which they should be disposed of safely.
Name:
Application ID:
Project title:

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