Introduction and Background
The concept of employee training has become a common subject for researchers and practitioners over the years. The primary principle behind training is providing a workforce with flexibility and freedom in making decisions related to work based on knowledge and skills. This is an anti-thesis of traditional management strategies that place much emphasis on total control, hierarchy and rigidity (Noe et al, 202).
Phillip (42) suggested that the real meaning behind training is related to the concept of skills and knowledge expansion; therefore implying that well trained employees have the capacity to make rational decisions. This becomes more poignant when training on the skills in the application of new office equipment becomes the focus of training needs assessment.
According to Noe et al (2003), the first step towards establishing an effective training regime, which shall link the organization’s needs with the training, involves conducting a needs assessment. They define the needs assessment as “the process of evaluating the organization, individual employees, and employees’ tasks to determine what kinds of training, if any, are necessary” (Noe et al, 203).
In other quarters, this is referred to as the training needs assessment. The needs assessment is made up of three disparate parts, which include organization, person, and task analysis. Noe et al (204) depict this process as shown in the figure below:
Green (55) asserts the importance of employee training for the enhancement of employee productivity and product quality. He posits that training forms one of the most critical components in an organizations’ list of priorities. This is because poorly trained and unskilled staff can be very costly to an organization. According to Green (44), poorly trained and unskilled managers can lead to reduced performance and increase in retaliation claims. In addition to the above, necessary skills and knowledge are pointers to profitability and business success.
Purpose of the research
Despite the fact that researchers have studied the role of employee training on new in a wider scope, much of the studies have centred on a limited range of issues that failed to explore various aspects of strategic employee training (Collins and Clark, 745). In fact, “today’s modern office looks nothing like it did just 20 years ago as it is outfitted with some of the most modern systems and equipment; the office of today is a contemporary and sleek place of business” (Boxall and Purcell, 23).
It is important to not only make training an integral part of an organization, but also ensure that it is continuous and sustainable. The purpose of this research will examine effective training of employees of star-bucks coffee employees on the use new equipments aimed at enhancing their knowledge, skills and productivity.
Scope of the research
The research will begin by taking stock of the current status of employee skills and knowledge on the use of new equipments. This will be followed by an analysis of the training gaps that exist within star-bucks employees to effectively use new equipments within the chain of production. This research is expected to provide areas of focus and effective training methods for handling the areas that demand immediate attention.
Limitations of the study
While every effort has been made to in the selection of instruments for this research in order to provide validity and reliability, a number of limitations can nonetheless be deducted. The first is with regards to the instruments of research adopted, that may actually fail to provide for sensitivity between the participants. The second limitation is with regards to the fact that the whole research will be conducted within the set up of a single organization. The final limitation is that because random assignment will not be possible, the use of intact groups will become a necessity.
Data Collection
This investigation will use a descriptive-co-relational research design. The study will be carried out through the use of the quantitative research approach, which is best considered by the researcher during the planning phase of a study. Numerical or statistical data are generated by gathering raw numerical information from reliable sources. Survey questionnaires will deployed to selected employees of Star Bucks.
To ensure validity, the questionnaire will be thoroughly developed to capture all aspects of training and total quality management o yield valid results. Moreover, an expert on this topic will be consulted to further confirm the face and content validity of the survey questionnaire, to increase the likelihood of valid outcomes. The instrument that will be used for primary data gathering is a combination of adapted, standardized questionnaires, and statements which are dovetailed to attain the objectives of the study. The first portion of the instrument inquired about the demographic profile of the respondents, specifically, their gender, age, civil status, tenure, and job level.
The second portion of the questionnaire is meant to ascertain the current training practices which have been experienced by Starbucks employees The Multifactor Training Questionnaire represents novel training framework which encompasses all approaches to training that may be investigated empirically. This research will adopt a semi-structured approach. It consists of “a series of close-ended and open-ended questions designed to elicit responses from the participants” (Creswell, 203).
With regard to both type of questions, Creswell asserts that close-ended questions “provide useful information to support theories and concepts in the literature”, while open-ended questions “allow participants to provide personal experiences that may be outside or beyond those identified in the close-ended options” (p. 205). Therefore, the reason for selecting a semi-structured questions for the present study relates to the fact that this approach has, not only the ability to gather data that can be later compared and contrasted, but also allows participants to describe in depth personal information.
Time Scale
The project should be completed in March, 2012. This must be before submission of the project report at the end of April, 2012. The actions, plan and timing will in followed as indicated in the time frame below. It is expected that the research will follow the time scale as indicated below and the supervisor will have the opportunity to watch the entire development of the progress of the research paper.
- September: Start Literature Search.
- September to October: Design Research Surveys Questionnaires approved with the Supervisor.
- October to January: Collect Data Preparation Framework.
- January to March: Data come up with the proposed suggestions of Analysis & Interpretation.
It is expected that the project will be complete by April, 2012.
Request for Proposal
Bringing together all the relevant knowledge, concepts and ideologies acquired in the course of this entire course, the researcher envisages that this research topic will provide a firm foundation for critical thinking and quantitative reasoning not only developing a critical analysis of the training gaps within the institution of choice but also coming up with recommendations that are capable and viable in this challenge. The level of critical thinking will be demonstrated by the manner and approach in which the aspects of this topic will be dissected and presented while at the same taking a keen cognizance of the current training needs.
The theoretical knowledge retrieved from the thesis will be made public and technically used in influencing policies aimed at mitigating the training challenges within organizations. In conclusion, it is expected that this topic will effectively fill in the gaps in implementing effective training approaches in regard to the continuously changing office equipment.
Works Cited
Boxall, Peter and Purcell, James. Strategy and Human Resource Management. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.2002.
Collins, John & Clark, Dirk. Strategic human resource practices, top management team social networks, and firm performance: The role of human resource practice in creating organisational competitive advantage. Academy of Management Journal. 46(6) pp. 740-751. 2003.
Creswell, J. W. Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (3rd ed.). Los Angles: Sage. 2009.
Green, Marnie. Internal Human Resources Consulting: Why Doesn’t Your Staff Get It?” Public Personnel Management, vol.31, no. 1, pp. 44-51. 2002.
Noe, Raymond, Hollenbeck, John, and Gerhart, Barry. Fundamentals of human resource management, New York: McGraw-Hill Companies. 2007.
Philips, Pulliam, Measuring and evaluating training, Virginia, USA: American Society for Training and Development. 2010.