Human Resources Development Assignment Answer

Introduction - A Comprehensive Report on Human Resource Development, Learning Theories, Training Methods, and Government Initiatives at Apple Inc.

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The business world is ever-changing, there is a great demand from the organisations to operate efficiently with the limited resources. In addition to this, they are required to expand and evolve their knowledge. For this purpose, they are into hiring the human resource managers and executives. These people are responsible for formulating environmental policies, employees' development, conflict management, and maintaining a secure workplace. In this report, different learning theories and learning styles of HRs are compared. In addition to this, the significance of the learning curve in Apple is elaborate. In the second section, a report is prepared on planning the training session of the employees. Moreover, the common advantages and disadvantages of various training method employed in Apple are compared. In the third section, a training event is evaluated, wherein different evaluation models are described. The last section describes the role of government in training development and learning.

Task 1- Understand learning theories and learning styles

1.1 compare different learning styles

1.2 explain the role of the learning curve and the importance of transferring learning to the workplace

1.3 Assess the contribution of learning styles and theories when planning and designing a learning event.

The essay highlights the importance of learning. Every individual has a unique modus operandi of learning. Learning styles vary from person to person and situation to situation. According to Fleming and Mills, there are four learning styles that are abbreviated as VARK i.e., Visual, Aural, Read, and Kinesthetic Sensory. People learn things by making use of these styles (Myftiu, 2015).

The visual style is characterised by depicting information in charts, diagrams, maps, arrows, symbols, etc. People instead of using words, use these graphics to explain things. Aural styles include learning from audio information. These can be radio, videos, online lectures, mobile phones, email, web chats, etc. Read & Write style is characterised by learning through written documents that can be read. This includes a report, Wikipedia, GOOGLE, PowerPoint presentations, etc. The last is Kinaesthetic that is more about learning from practice and experience. It includes movies, demonstrations, videos, case studies, applications, etc.

The learning curve is the graph that reflects the level of improvement an employee is achieving over time in a repetitive task. The idea behind it is that the more a person does a similar task, the better he/she gets in it with time. Different researchers used learning curve in different areas (Glautier, 2013). For instance, a person can use it in the area of psychology. Business analyst’s use in understanding the effects of learning on the costs of productions in a firm (Myftiu, 2015). Learning transfer or transfer of learning talks about the employee’s learning dependency on previous experiences. In the training sessions, the employability of the prior learnings and lessons in the future tasks are taught. The concept of learning transfer is taught at the school time and it goes on till the end.

In order to train workers, the organisation has to consider and understand a particular learning style. This is important in the rapidly changing corporation, ineffective training can cost time and money and decreased production. If employees cannot match with a learning style of the training program, this can be discouraging. To avoid certain discrepancies in the first place, organisations should tailor the training sessions and workshops according to the learning style that best suits the employees’ needs.

Many research works have proved that one single learning approach is not enough as learning style varies with the situation. The majority of the research works suggests that multimodal VARK is the best learning styles for the organisation like Apple. But, among the unimodal choices, Kinesthetic style is the most preferred style of learning which is followed by visual style.

Task 2: Be able to plan and design training and development

Introduction

In this report, the varying training needs for the supervisor, manager, and customer service assistant at Apple. In addition, the advantages and disadvantages of different training in Apple are also assessed. Moreover, a training and development plan is prepared using a systematic approach.

2.1. Compare the training needs for Manager, Supervisor, and customer service assistant of Apple.

Apple is expanding globally and it is adding some more layers to the organisational structure. To look at and manage all of its operations and employees, Apple needs to employ the manager, supervisors, and customer service assistants. Initially, all of them require a training session to explore the organisational functionalities. The training is different for each one of them (Kim, 2014). Here, a discussion is provided in order to highlight the basic key difference between the three.

2.2 Assess the advantages and disadvantages of training methods used in Apple.

Apple uses a wide range of training methodologies depending upon the demand of the situation and employee's abilities. These methods have their advantages and disadvantages as given below:

Simulation

Advantages

• It helps in building confidence among employees.
• It involves self-monitoring.
• Helps in developing critical-thinking abilities.

Disadvantages

• The scenarios provided may be illogical and impractical.
• It minimises the seriousness of learning.
• It requires large supervision from the authority.

Workshops

Advantages

• Employees can ask questions and clear their doubt immediately.
• The progress of workers can be monitored
• The instructor can give personal feedback.

Disadvantages

• It is an expensive alternative
• Benefits depend on the perception of employee

Seminars

Advantages

• It increases networking with others.
• It increases the communication skills and critical-thinking skills.

Disadvantages

• They cannot be organised without planning.
• Training is not tailored but generic
• Requires a large number of attendees.

E-learning

Advantages

• The training sessions can be accessed at any time.
• This does not affect the current operational settings of the company.

Disadvantages

• Employees cannot ask questions
• Not effective for those employees who are not self-motivated.

Professional Training

Advantages

• Employees show a keen interest in getting trained from professionals
• These can be organised off-site. This won’t distract the current operations of the organisation.

Disadvantages

• It is an expensive method
• Sometimes training may lead to extra workload that may cause employee breakdown.

2.3 Use a systematic approach to plan training and development for a training event.

A systematic approach to train employees is a formal method of training which is tailored to ensure the training fulfils the needs of the company. This may include implementation of methodical tactic, approaches, and tools. Here, various steps in preparing a training and development plan are enlisted.

• Define all the learning objectives. This requires a brainstorming to identify the skills that employees need to develop.
• Clarification of key concepts and related topics. After deciding the central idea or goal of training, the related concepts are explained in order to reach the learning objectives.
• Organise training resources and material. Pen down the key points that need to be covered.
• Planning the presentation techniques.
• Including the evaluation criteria. This could be done by personal interview or question-answer sessions.
• Preparing the schedules for the training sessions.

Challenges to developing a training plan

• Deciding the type of training method is often critical.
• Identifying the gap in the skill sets of every employee for which training needs to be given.
• Development of the training material and environment is often difficult.
• Setting up the standards and evaluation tactics
• Cultural differences among the workforce
• Employees willingness and engagement

(Figure 1: Sample training and development plan)

(Source: Mindtools, 2015)

Conclusion

This report thoroughly explained the varying training needs for a supervisor, manager, and customer service assistant of Apple. In addition, the advantages and disadvantages of different training in Apple were assessed. Moreover, a training and development plan was prepared using a systematic approach.

Merit one and Merit Three

The theme of this presentation is to discuss what training is, what its types are, and how big an organisation like Apple conducts training of the employee.

The training is a general process of making employees learn about new skills, hone the older skills, and learn to manage situations. There are varieties of training, namely Induction Training, Job Training, Promotional Training, Remedial Training, and Internship Training.

This training is provided just after the recruitment process and its aim is to make the employee familiar with the organisation environment and operations (Chang, 2016).

This training aims at improvising the skill set of personnel to increase the job performance. The purpose of this training process is to reduce wastage, accidents, inefficiency in performance.

This training is needed prior to the promotion of an employee so as to make him aware of the duties of the role he will be assigned in the future.

Remedial training helps in removing the irregularities in the behavior of the experienced people. It is usually carried out under the supervision of Psychological experts.

Internship training is usually given to college graduates or diploma holders. Organisations provide knowledge and practicality of various aspects of the different area.

Apple conducts certification exams that are usually computer-based and invigilated at Apple Authorized Training Provider (AATP) locations worldwide. It provides certified training to the scholars and talented youth that has a global recognition.

The idea behind presenting this topic was to highlight the importance of training was highlighted. It also enlisted and elaborated the types of training organisations provide to their employees. In the end, a discussion of training at Apple was done.

Task 3: Be able to evaluate a training event

3.1 prepare an evaluation using suitable techniques

3.2 carry out an evaluation of a training event

3.3 review the success of the evaluation methods used.

Evaluation means the assessment of a particular aspect, wherein its worth is analysed in terms of predefined standards and criteria. According to Hamblin, evaluation of training means an attempt to determine information about the effects of a training course in improving the knowledge of employees. In simple words, evaluation is a feedback process (Phillips, 2012).

There are five groups of person who can evaluate a training program:

• Learners
• Trainers
• Line Managers
• Senior Management
• Training Managers

The aforementioned groups of people can evaluate the following aspects of training to evaluate it:-

• Whether or not desired goal is met.
• The training environment supports the learning.
• The effectiveness of training in the achieving the organisational goals.
• Evaluate the worth of training with investment and cost.
• Analyse the influence of training on future decisions.

Training effectiveness can be measured prior to training by knowing what people in the organisation say and think about it and by counting the number of enrolments. Once the training programme is completed and the training records are documented, the evaluation process starts. The attention of training workers can be drawn toward particular indicators of improvement. This can be done by various means:

• The number of attendees in the session
• Feedback from the people who attend the session about the effectiveness of the training programme.
• Measuring the improvement in the knowledge of employees.
• Ability to solve a complex problem after the training ends
• Willingness towards trying new challenges by making use of newly learned knowledge.

Training evaluation data can be gathered by various means, such as questionnaires, focus groups, face-to-face interviews, and by common observation. Among all the aforementioned methods, a questionnaire is commonly used as it provides simple ways to distribute a certain set of questions to many respondents.

There are various models to evaluate the learnings of employees that are currently in use. In this section, a few of such models are discussed in brief.

Kirkpatrick’s Model

Kirkpatrick argued that there are four levels by which one can evaluate the learning on four levels.

• Reaction: How people react after the training? Did they enjoy it or not?
• Learning: How much did they gain?
• Behaviour: Did their performance improve?
• Results: Did organisation’s metrics improve?

Even though the model is 20 years old, it one of the widely employed methods in the industrial environment.

CIRO model

The model was given by Warr, Rackham, and Bird in 1970. CIRO is an abbreviation for Context, Input, Reaction, and Output. The difference between Kirkpatrick’s model and CIRO model is that the latter emphasises more on measurements recorded in the beginning and end of the training. The limitation of this model is that it ignores the behavioural aspect. Therefore, this model is best employed in management-oriented training programmes.

• Context: Identification and evaluation of training needs
• Input: Measuring the effectiveness of a training session with respect to planning, management, delivery, and designing.
• Reaction: Recording and analysing the reactions of external guests and seeking their suggestion in the improvement of the training programme.
• Output: Outcomes are evaluated with respect to the future results of the training.

Phillip’s Evaluation Model

This model is the advanced version of Kirkpatrick’s model. Dr Phillips added another level in the previous version. This helps in forecasting the ROI of a training programme. To calculate ROI, one has to follow the seven stage process:-

• Gather pre-training performance data
• Collect post-training performance data
• Isolate training effects from other influencing factors
• Transform the data into a monetary worth for the organisation
• Calculate the overall cost of the training programme
• Calculate ROI
• Determine the overall benefits

Merit Two

Apple believes that there are two ways of evaluation of a learning programme. One is a formal way and other is informal.

The informal training evaluation methods are more incidental and casual. Meaning, they have unstructured goals and motive. These methods consist of self-assessments, inventory sessions, coaching, and process portfolio (Shailashree and Shenoy, 2016). The company tries to determine what workers learned a certain aspect, how they learned it, and recognise certain competencies. In addition to this, to evaluate the group training, the company calculates the use of different resources used for learning, assesses the satisfaction level of employees, and determines the impacts of individual resources.

The formal methods are discussed above are very effective in evaluating the training session. They are based on certain specified standards and objectives. They are more systematic, efficient, and give reliable results.

Training Evaluation Methods Apple can Use

• Participant’s satisfaction: Success of a training session is directly linked to the participant’s satisfaction. This is usually done via surveys, questionnaire, interviews, etc. Asking questions about the overall experience, or taking the feedback of the trainer can help in knowing about the training session.
• Behavioural Application: Getting information about the newly developed skills, monitoring the changes in the behaviours after the application of skill and knowledge to the operations.
• Return on Investment: Evaluating the profits from benefits over the cost of the training is what every organisation do to evaluate the effectiveness of the training session.

Distinction Two

Apple is one of the largest technology-based organisation. Since the technology is ever-changing, there is always a demand for a regular training session for the employees. This would help them in keeping the pace of the work and hone their skill set in accordance with the emerging technology. In formal techniques, a model similar to Phillip’s Evaluation Model best suits to such organisation as it incorporates four levels of evaluation described in the Kirkpatrick’s model along with the addition of fifth factor i.e., ROI. It can help the organisation in cost-benefit analysis (Shailashree and Shenoy, 2016). The only limitation of this method is converting the behaviour outcomes into value is a complex task.

In informal evaluation techniques, the behavioural application is the most effective evaluation method. In this method, information about the newly developed skills, monitoring the changes in the behaviours after the application of skill and knowledge to the operations is collected. But, this method is unstructured that is the only criticism of this.

Task 4: Understand government-led skills development initiatives

4.1. Explain the role of government in training, development and lifelong learning.

The government of the UK plays a vital role in promoting the training and skill development of employees. It assists in funding numerous apprenticeships, and training scheme for the citizens of the UK. Every year, it allocates funds for the training and development programmes in the annual budget of the country. The basic idea behind launching these schemes and programmes is to eradicate poverty and unemployment from the region. It helps in improving the image of the country on a global platform. In addition to this, the government of the UK is in continuous contact with the organisations operating in the United Kingdom to launch such skill development programmes (Kim, 2014). It has also directed them to train them in their organisation and hire them later. In one of the reports by City & Guilds, more than 89% organisations of the UK think that vocational training courses running in the UK are the key to their success. These trainees are emerging out as a good substitute for graduates.

The government has set out plans to assist the youth of the UK in developing their career. For that purpose, it has declared the skill development of young people of the UK as a national agenda. With its “Building Engagement, Building Futures” strategy, it is making efforts to increase the job opportunities for the youth. This has been done to make them succeed in their career and develop themselves as a person. It has put a new Youth Contract with an aim to spend £1 billion in the next three years to train and develop the skills of people of the UK. It is also increasing attainment in the high schools.

4.2. Explain how the development of the competency movement has impacted on both the public and private sectors

Both public and private sector organisation are facing a common issue of developing the competency. In most of the organisations of the UK, competence development system is considered to be the most useful instrument to develop the concept of practical learning, HR development, training, etc. In addition to this, it makes the firm to show some concern towards the declining performance (Werner, 2014). Private sectors operate with high standards to provide quality services and products. Since the private sector is also the part of the UK's economy, it also has to improve its performance. The effects of competency movement after the global recession could be seen in the performance of the organisation as it improves suddenly. The productivity levels were improved and competition among the companies reached a new height. Those organisations who failed in sustaining their levels and quality faced a serious setback from the customers. Their revenue got affected and as a result of which a large number of people were fired from their posts (Chang, 2016). This lead to rising in unemployment and poverty in the UK.

On the other hand, the public sector due to low standards couldn't match up the same level as that of the private sector. Their products and service quality got degraded. The government of the UK took several measures to bring the public sector back on track.

4.3 Assess how contemporary training initiatives introduced by the UK government contribute to human resources development for public and private organisations.

In the UK, there is a mix of large-scale, medium, and small-scale organisation. There is a strong need for vocational training in the organisation to keep the organisation growing and going. In addition to this, it is also a worrying aspect that is hindering the companies to perform at their potential. T&D helps in improving the current performance of the organisation's human resources. This is called Human Resource Development (Werner, 2014). Training emphasises on performing task today that would help in the development of the workers to carry out future task effectively. Training conducts an analysis to evaluate the effects of adding value in the employees.

The government of the UK is providing stipends and scholarships on various skill development programmes so to provide the youth of the country a competitive advantage. Once the youth become efficient, they contribute to the growth of the country. Government is working day-n-night to provide conventional training to the aspirants. Once these trained candidates join any organisation, they perform well and succeed. These people are more effective in achieving the organisational goals. HR managers are now inculcating a training culture as a social responsibility. This helps in improving the organisation’s image and performance (Woessmann, 2017).

Distinction 3

Apple is well-aware of its organisational situations. The managers should know about the skills and abilities of the employee. They should determine the areas where they lack. Training them can hone their skill set. Organisations can create a culture of lifelong learning, wherein regular seminars and training workshops can be organised to assist the employees in achieving the personal and organisational goals. The help of technology can also be taken for this purpose as many online lectures and training sessions are there that can assist employees in gaining knowledge about transforming the world.

Conclusion

Human resource development is the need of the time as the business world is ever-changing. In this report, different learning theories and learning styles of HRs were compared. In addition to this, the significance of the learning curve in Apple was elaborated. In the second section, a report was formulated for planning the training session of the employees. Moreover, the common advantages and disadvantages of various training method employed in Apple were discussed and compared. In the third section, a training event is evaluated, wherein different evaluation models are described. The last section describes the role of government in training development and learning.

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