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Chapter

Strategic Training

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Introduction: Business Strategy
A plan that integrates the company’s goals,
policies, and actions

The strategy influences how the company uses:


physical capital (plants, technology, and equipment)
financial capital (assets and cash reserves)
human capital (employees)

The business strategy helps direct the company’s


activities to reach specific goals
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Strategy impacts training with a strong
influence on determining: (1 of 2)
The amount of training devoted to current or
future job skills

The extent to which training is customized for:


the particular needs of an employee,
or developed based on the needs of a team, unit, or
division

Whether training is restricted to specific groups


of employees or open to all employees
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Strategy impacts training with a strong
influence on determining: (2 of 2)
Whether training is:
planned and systematically administered, or
provided only when problems occur, or
spontaneously as a reaction to what competitors are
doing

The importance placed on training compared to


other human resource management practices such
as selection and compensation
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Evolution of Training’s Role
Training Event

Performance
Result Learning
Create and Share Emphasis
Knowledge

Business Need

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Evolution of Training’s Role: Learning

The acquisition of knowledge by individuals,


employees, or groups of employees

Willing to apply that knowledge in their jobs in


making decisions and accomplishing tasks for the
company

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Evolution of Training’s Role: Knowledge

Human and Social Explicit Knowledge:


Knowledge: Knowledge that can be
What individuals or teams formalized, codified, and
of employees know or communicated
know how to do
Tacit Knowledge:
Structured Knowledge: Personal knowledge based
Company rules, processes, on individual experience
tools, and routines Difficult to explain to
others

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Intellectual Capital

Cognitive Knowledge Advanced Skills


(know what) (know how)

System Understanding Self-Motivated


and Creativity Creativity
(know why) (care why)

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The Strategic Training and Development
Process:

Strategic Training Training and


Metrics that Show
Business Strategy and Development Development
Initiatives Activities Value of Training

 Mission  Diversify the  Use Web-Based  Learning


Learning Portfolio Training
 Values  Performance
 Improve Customer  Make Development Improvement
 Goals Planning Mandatory
Service  Reduced Customer
 Accelerate the  Develop Websites for Complaints
Pace of Employee Knowledge Sharing
 Reduced Turnover
Learning  Increase Amount of
Customer Service  Employee
 Capture and Share Satisfaction
Knowledge Training

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Decisions a company must make about how
to compete to reach its goals:
1. Where to compete?
In what markets, industries, products will we compete?
2. How to compete?
On what outcome or differentiating characteristic will
we compete?
3. With what will we compete?
What resources will allow us to beat the competition?
How will we acquire, develop, and deploy those
resources to compete?

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Strategic Training and Development
Initiatives and their Implications (1 of 4)
Strategic Training and
Development Initiatives Implications
Diversify the Learning Use new technology for training
Portfolio Facilitate informal learning
Provide more personalized learning opportunities
Expand Who is Trained Train customers, suppliers, and employees
Offer more learning opportunities for non-managerial
employees
Accelerate the Pace of Quickly identify needs and provide a high-quality learning
Employee Learning solution
Reduce the time to develop training programs
Facilitate access to learning resources on an as-needed
basis

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Strategic Training and Development
Initiatives and their Implications (2 of 4)
Strategic Training and
Development Initiatives Implications
Improve Customer Service Ensure that employees have product and service
knowledge
Ensure that employees have skills needed to interact with
customers
Ensure that employees understand their roles and
decision-making authority
Provide Development Ensure that employees have opportunities to develop
Opportunities and Ensure that employees understand career opportunities
Communicate to and personal growth opportunities
Employees Ensure that training and development addresses
employees’ needs in current job as well as growth
opportunities

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Strategic Training and Development
Initiatives and their Implications (3 of 4)
Strategic Training and
Development Initiatives Implications
Capture and Share Capture insight and information from knowledgeable
Knowledge employees
Logically organize and store information
Provide methods to make information available
Align Training and Identify needed knowledge, skills, abilities, or
Development with the competencies
Company’s Strategic Ensure that current training and development programs
Direction support the company’s strategic needs

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Strategic Training and Development
Initiatives and their Implications (4 of 4)
Strategic Training and
Development Initiatives Implications
Ensure That the Work Remove constraints on learning
Environment Supports Dedicate physical space to encourage teamwork,
Learning and Transfer of collaboration, creativity, and knowledge sharing
Training Ensure that employees understand the importance of
learning
Ensure that managers and peers are supportive of training,
development, and learning

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Example: SunU’s Analysis to Align Training
with Business Strategy (1 of 3)
Customers
Who are our customers and how do we work for them?

Organization
What is the nature of practices required to complete our
mission?

Products and Services


How do we ensure that our products and services meet
strategic requirements?

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Example: SunU’s Analysis to Align Training
with Business Strategy (2 of 3)
Research and Development
How do we stay current in the training and learning
fields and use our knowledge in these areas?

Business Systems
What are the processes, products, tools, and procedures
required to achieve our goals?

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Example: SunU’s Analysis to Align Training
with Business Strategy (3 of 3)
Continuous Learning
How do we recognize that learning at Sun Microsystems
is continuous, is conscious, and comes from many
sources?

Results
How do we obtain results according to our customers’
standards?

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Metrics and Training: Balanced Scorecard
(1 of 2)

Measurements that look at performance from the


perspective of:
internal customers
external customers
employees
shareholders

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Metrics and Training: Balanced Scorecard
(2 of 2)

Four different perspectives are considered:


Customer
(time, quality, performance, services, cost)
Internal
(processes that influence customer satisfaction)
Innovation and Learning
(operating efficiency, employee satisfaction, continuous
improvement)
Financial
(profitability, growth, shareholder value)

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Organizational Characteristics That
Influence Training
Roles of Employees and Business Conditions
Managers
Other HRM Practices
Top Management Support
Extent of Unionization
Integration of Business
Units
Staff Involvement in
Training and
Global Presence Development

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The Roles and Duties of Managers in Companies
That Use High-Performance Work Practices (1 of 3)

Managing Alignment
Clarify team goals and company goals
Help employees manage their objectives
Scan organization environment for useful information
for the team
Encouraging Continuous Learning
Help team identify training needs
Help team become effective at on-the-job training
Create environment that encourages learning

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The Roles and Duties of Managers in Companies
That Use High-Performance Work Practices (2 of 3)

Coordinating Activities
Ensure that team is meeting internal and external
customer needs
Ensure that team meets its quantity and quality
objectives
Help team resolve problems with other teams
Ensure uniformity in interpretation of policies and
procedures

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The Roles and Duties of Managers in Companies
That Use High-Performance Work Practices (3 of 3)

Facilitating Decision-Making Process


Facilitate team decision making
Help team use effective decision-making processes

Creating and Maintaining Trust


Ensure that each team member is responsible for his
or her work load and customers
Treat all team members with respect
Listen and respond honestly to team ideas

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Other HRM Practices
The type of training and resources devoted to
training are influenced by the strategy adopted for
two HRM practices:
Staffing
Human Resource Planning

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Staffing Strategy Influence on Training

Two aspects of a company’s staffing strategy


influence training:
The criteria used to make promotion and assignment
decisions (assignment flow)
The places where the company prefers to obtain
human resources to fill open positions (supply flow)

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HR Planning Influence on Training

HR planning allows the company to anticipate the


movement of human resources in the company
HR plans can help identify where employees with
certain types of skills are needed in the company
Training can be used to prepare employees for:
increased responsibilities in their current job
promotions, lateral moves, transfers
downward job opportunities that are predicted by the
human resource plan

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Implications of Business Strategy for Training
(1 of 2)
Strategy Emphasis How Achieved Key Issues Training Implications
Concentration Increased market Improve quality Skill currency Team building
share Improve Development of Cross-training
Reduced operating productivity existing work Specialized programs
costs Customize products force Interpersonal skill
Create or maintain or services training
market niche On-the-job training

Internal Growth Market development Add distribution Create new jobs Communication of
Product channels Create new tasks product value
development Expand global Innovation Cultural training
Innovation markets Conflict negotiation skills
Joint ventures Modify existing Manager training in
products feedback and
Create new communication
products Technical competence in
Joint ownership jobs

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Implications of Business Strategy for Training
(2 of 2)

Strategy Emphasis How Achieved Key Issues Training Implications


External Horizontal Acquire firms for Integration Determining capabilities
Growth integration new market access Redundancy of acquired employees
(Acquisition) Vertical integration Acquire firms to Restructuring Integrating training
Concentric supply or buy systems
diversification products Team building
Acquire any firm
Disinvestment Retrenchment Reduce costs Efficiency Motivation
Turnaround Reduce assets Goal setting
Divestiture Generate revenue Stress management
Liquidation Redefine goals Time management
Sell off all assets Leadership training
Outplacement
assistance
Job-search skills
training

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Models of Organizing the Training Department

Faculty Model
Customer Model

Matrix Model

Corporate
University Model
Virtual Model

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The Faculty Model

Director of Training

Safety Quality Technology Leadership Sales


Training Training and Development Training
Computer
Systems

Training Specialty Areas

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The Customer Model

Director of Training

Information Marketing Production Finance


Systems and
Operations

Business Functions

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The Matrix Model
Director of Training

Training Sales Quality Technology Safety


Specialty Training Training and Training
Areas Computer
Systems

Production
Marketing and
Operations

Business Functions

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The Corporate University Model
Historical Training Leadership Development Programs Training
Problems Advantages
Excess Costs Dissemination of
Best Practices
Poor Delivery and
Product Sales and
Focus Human
Development Operations Marketing Resources

Inconsistent Use Align Training


of Common with Business
Training Practices Needs
Best Training Integrate
Practices Not Training
Shared Initiatives
Training Not Effectively Utilize
Integrated or New Training
Coordinated New Employee Programs Methods and
Technology
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Virtual Model
(Virtual Training Organizations)
Virtual training organizations operate according
to three principles:
Employees (not the company) have primary
responsibility for learning
The most effective learning takes place on the job, not
in the classroom
For training to translate into improved job
performance, the manager-employee relationship (not
employee-trainer relationship) is critical

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Characteristics of Virtual Training
Organizations:
A virtual training organization is customer focused
Takes more responsibility for learning and evaluating
training effectiveness
Provides customized training solutions based on
customer needs
Determines when and how to deliver training based on
customer needs
Leverages resources from many areas
Involves line managers in direction and content

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Tactics to Market the Training Function
(1 of 2)

Involve the target audience in developing the


training or learning effort

Demonstrate how a training and development


program can be used to solve specific needs

Showcase an example of how training has been


used within the company to solve specific
business needs
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Tactics to Market the Training Function
(2 of 2)

Identify a “champion” who actively supports


training

Listen and act on feedback received from clients,


managers, and employees

Advertise on e-mail, on company websites, in


employee break areas

Designate someone in the training function as an


account representative between the training
designer and internal customer
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