Influence of on the job training on serv
Influence of on-the-job Training on service delivery in Kenya Forest
Service, Meru Station
Edward Kariuki Mathenge (Corresponding Author)*, PhD Student, HRM Dedan Kimathi
University of Technology, e-mail: [email protected]; +254-721-313-837
Daniel Nderi Waari, Phd (Marketing and Strategic Management) Candidate, Moi
University, Kenya, [email protected] ; +254-721-986-343
Dr. Alice W. Kamau, Lecturer School of Business (Karatina University), Kenya,
[email protected]; +254-722-470-761
Abstract
Purpose– The study was seeking to study the influence of on-the-job training on service
delivery in a parastatal organisation. Parastatal organisations are affiliated to the
government, with some operating autonomously from the government to offer essential
services to the public. The study would help the government to offer capacity building to
its employees so as that the employees can offer effective and efficient services to the
nation.
Design/methodology/approach– the research used descriptive research design and
employed the geographical sampling method, where the employees at the Meru station
were sampled, who are 162 in number. A questionnaire was hand-delivered and picked
after the respondents completed to fill them. Open and close-ended questions were used
in the questionnaire. Descriptive analysis was employed and percentages were presented
in tables and figures.
Findings– Results show that 92% of the respondents agree that training policies affect
service delivery, with 100% agreeing that the length of training affects service delivery at
KFS. From the study findings 74% of the respondents agree that the level of training
affects service delivery of employees at Kenya Forest Service, with 100% of the
respondents, agreeing that curriculum affects service delivery. The employees stated that
the job training policies should be crafted in collaboration with all employees so that their
training needs, the need for retention and employee morale are catered for and enhanced
in the policies. This would translate into crafting policies that support and enhance
service delivery in the organisation.
Originality/value– The study picked on a parastatal for the study since it is semiautonomous from the government and on-the-job trainings are done with the expectation
of improving employees’ service delivery. The study is one of its kind in the region as not
many studies have been done on parastatals in the region.
Keywords: on-the-job training, training policies, length of training, level of training,
curriculum, service delivery.
Introduction
The study seeks to establish the influence of employee training on service delivery in
Kenya Forest Service. The need for services by organizations has continued to be one of
the most important aspects for the success of an organization; this is because service
delivery is the main determinant of the existence of an organization. Service delivery
relates to an organization meeting the perception and expectation of its customers as
Kotler (2003). Kotler (2003) also notes that satisfaction is a persons feeling or
disappointment resulting from comparing a product perceived performance or outcome in
relation to his/her expectations.
In view of the above, service delivery should be improved in business organization to
achieve the best of them to be effective in offering their service and products. Excellent
service delivery is the process by which an organization delivers its services or product in
a way that allows the customers to access them in the most efficient, fair, cost effective
and normally satisfying and pleasurable manner possible (Gitomer,1998). A business
creates its own image to the public through how it receives handles and discharge its
customers. In developing good customer service a proper customer complaint handling
system needs to be established. It is an important tool and also a challenging task that
requires the participation and commitment of all the staff.
According to Mile Management Consultants (2001) service delivery is the act of
responding to customer needs and expectation in a way that will make them have a
memorable experience and motivate them to come back, the need for service delivery is
because there is a lot of competition and also customers are the source for profits, jobs
and good salary. Customers also pay the salaries, wages and dividends. Once in the store
the customer experience is influenced by the staff and people skill and the store itself.
Mile Management consultants also wrote that service delivery should have a stress free
shopping. According to consultants’ customer is someone who has both physical and
emotional needs. The emotional needs are very powerful in determining customer
satisfaction. The need to feel welcome where customer is allowed to know staff and their
business is important. The need to feel important should do whatever is possible to make
customer feel special. The need to be understood, staff should watch out for customer
emotions, listen to their request. The need for comfort and being in charge, customers are
in control of the situation. They need to feel they are not being pushed around.
Burnett (1992) asserts that customer satisfaction is closely identified with perception of
quality. He also states closeness to the customer means segmentation and targeting
markets precisely and then tailoring offerings to match. This will invest to build long
term customer loyalty and service delivery and look at the customer’s lifetime value of
the organization. Service delivery means doing everything possible to look after the
existing customers of an organization. Frank and Bee (1999) note that focus on customer
is on ensuring satisfaction for your customers, which involves creating a customer first
culture through out the organization.
Customer care is all about by giving a description of a customer. A customer is the most
important visitor on our premises, he is not dependent on us, and we are dependent on
him. He is not an interruption of our work, he is the purpose of it; we are not doing him a
favor by serving him; he is doing us a favor by giving us the opportunity to do so, when
customer care department should be effective in dealing with those problems. This time
taken to handle the problem will indicate to the level of satisfaction to be achieved by the
customer.
According to Gerson (1995), identifies that the most crucial aspect of service delivery is
satisfaction. All things done to achieve excellent quality and service are not important for
a customer who is not satisfied. It further defines customer satisfaction as the force that
his/her expectation have been met or surpassed. If the company provides quality and
service according to customer definition then satisfaction will follow. According to Kotler
(1997) , customer service are all those activities geared to make it easy for the consumer,
to teach the right people within the company and receive quick and satisfactory service,
answers and resolutions to problems. Customer satisfaction is the outcome felt by buyers
who have experienced a company performance that has fulfilled expectations. Customers
are satisfied when their expectations are met and delighted when their expectations are
exceeded. Satisfied customers remain loyal longer, buy more, are less price sensitive and
talk favorable about the company. To create customer satisfaction, companies must
manage their value chain as ell as the whole value delivery system in a customer centered
way. The company’s goal is not only to get customers but even more importantly to retain
customers.
Customer’s relationship marketing provides the key to retaining customer customers and
involves providing financial and social benefits as well as structural ties to the customers.
Companies must decide how much relationship marketing to invest in different market
segments and individual customers, from such levels as basic, reactive, accountable, and
proactive, to full partnership. Much depends on estimating customer lifetime value
against the cost stream required to attract and retain these customers. Total Quality
Management, TQM, is seen today as a major approach to providing customer satisfaction
and company profitability. Companies must understand how their customers perceive
quality than their competitors. This involves total management and employee
commitment as well as measurement and reward systems. In the view of Hayden (1998)
customer service includes services such as free delivery of products to customer’s home,
installation of appliances and repair services. Generally the more customer service a store
offers the higher the prices will be relative to a store that does not offer such services.
Profile of Kenya Forest Service
The Kenya Forest Service was established was established as a semi-autonomous body
through an Act of Parliament in the year 2005. However, by 1908, most of the major
forest blocks as we know them today had been reserved as forests area through
gazettement, KFS (2012). In 1957, the first comprehensive forest policy was drawn up,
with modifications made in 1968 to establish the “shamba system” that was meant to help
in re-afforestation and to boost forest management. Together with that, other
modifications included designation of local authority forests and promotion of research
and education. The “shamba system” was banned in 1987 due to gross abuse of forests
especially in areas where the system was practiced, but was re-introduced in 2004 and in
2007, the government rolled out a restructured ‘shamba system” by the name “Plantation
Establishment and Livelihood Improvement Scheme (PELIS) on an initial 16,000
hectares of land that needed to be reforested.
The vision of Kenya Forest Service is “to be the leading organisation of excellence in
sustainable forest management and conservation” whilst the mission is “to enhance
conservation and sustainable management of forests and allied resources for
environmental stability and socio-economic development”. Their mandate is to provide
for the establishment, development and sustainable management, including conservation
and rational utilization of forest resources for environmental protection and socioeconomic development of the country.
In the KFS (2012), there is a Human Resource and Administration Division under Senior
Deputy Director Finance and Administration whose tasks are, among others to coordinate human resources planning, training and development and handles attendance and
leaves. Among the leaves granted are unpaid and study leave, pg 36. On page 29, under
1.15 training and development, “KFS believes that employees are its greatest asset and
the attainment of its employees. The service’s training programmes targets the
achievement of its mandate”. This, together with 3.0 training and development that reads,
“The service shall therefore offer training opportunities to all its employees in order to
improve their work performance and personal development”, clearly states that
employees are facilitated or allowed to study. ENCOM, (2012) states that employees are
promoted on merit and this includes paramilitary training for junior ranks or education
(minimum diploma lasting 6 months) for officers.
On Job Training Policies
Bramley (1996) says that the employees that feel their company is investing in them may
feel more job satisfaction and increased loyalty to then- organization. Having a training
plan in place can be beneficial to the organization and offer benefits to employees that
competitors may not offer. Although companies may risk losing employees that have just
been trained, the benefit of training those employees far outweighs their risk. When staff
is involved in formal training plan, individual's skill sets improve and they can contribute
more to the organization. Employees that feel their company is investing in them may
feel more job satisfaction and increased loyalty to their organization. The benefit of
training employees is mutual and can be realized for quite sometime. Organizations can
also offer lesser skilled workers formal training in order to benefit from their new skills.
Skilled, experienced workers are inevitably better trainers in the workplace. Some less
experienced people are qualified, but not to the extent of being able to train others well.
Training people on the job is an art form. On the training also includes risk management
with trainees, preventing any damage and making sure they understand the objects and
pitfalls of their jobs.
According to Mullins (2002) the purpose of training is to improve knowledge and skills
and to change attitudes. It is one of the most important motivators. Training is the key to
improve organizational performance. It helps to reconcile the gaps between what should
happen and what is happening. New skills and attitudes are required to operate effectively
to the new techniques and equipment. Workers have to be trained for new jobs and for
handling the present jobs. More effective, existing employees must be trained for taking
up high level jobs. Training is useful not only for organization but also for employees.
Training provides job security and an opportunity for advancement to the employees.
Money spent on training is an investment in human assets. A skill acquired through
training is an asset for both the organization and the employer.
Armstrong (2001) defines training as the formal and systematic modification of behavior
through learning, which occurs as a result of education, instruction development and
planned experience. Armstrong (2001) also enumerates the fundamental aim of training
as to ensure that employees have the necessary skills and knowledge to carry out their
rules properly, ensuring staff are competent and professional underpins the performance
of a firm, develop the skills and competencies of employees and improve theory
performance, help people to grow with the organization in order that, as far as possible,
its future needs for human resources can be met from within, reduce the learning time for
employees starting in new jobs on appointment, transfer or promotion and ensure that
they become fully competent as quickly and economical as possible, minimize learning
costs, improve individual, team and corporate performance in terms of output, quality
speed and overall productivity; improve operational flexibility by extending the range of
skills possessed by employers (multi-skilling), attract high quality employee by offering
them learning and development opportunities increasing their levels of competence and
enhancing their skills, thus enabling them to obtain more job satisfaction to gain higher
rewards and to progress within the organization; increase the commitment of employees
by them to identify with the mission and objectives of the organization; help to manage
change by increasing understanding of the reasons for change and providing with the
knowledge and skills they need to adjust to new situations help develop a positive culture
in the organization, one for example, that is oriented towards performance improvement
and provide higher levels of service to customers.
Length of Training
Human resource is the very important and the backbone of every organization
and it is also the main resource of the organization. So organizations invest
huge amount on the human resource capital because the performance of
human resource will ultimately increase the performance of the organization.
Performance is a major multidimensional construct aimed to achieve results
and has a strong link to strategic goals of an organization (Mwita, 2000). As Mwita
(2000) explains that performance is the key element to achieve the goals of
the organization so to performance increase the effectiveness and efficiency of
the organization which is helpful for the achievement of the organizational goals.
But t h e question arise that how an employee can work more effectively
and efficiently to increase the growth and the productivity of an organization. There
are many factors w h ic h i mp r o ve s th e work of the employee such as flexible
scheduling, training etc.
It is very necessary for the organization to design the training very carefully
(Armstrong,2000). The design of the training should be according to the needs of the
employees (Ginsberg, 1997). Those organizations which develop a good training
design according to the need of the employees as well as to the organization always
get good results (Partlow, 1996; Tihanyi et al., 2000; Boudreau et al., 2001). It seems
that Training design plays a very vital role in the employee as well
as
organizational performance. A bad training design is nothing but the loss of time
and money (Tsaur and Lin, 2004). On the job training helps employees to get the
knowledge of their job in a better way (Deming, 1982).
People learn from their practical experience much better as compared to bookish
knowledge. On the job training reduces cost and saves time (Flynn et al., 1995;
Kaynak, 2003; Heras, 2006). It is better for the organizations to give their
employees on the job training because it is cost effective and time saving
(Taylor et al., 2004). It is good for organization to give their employees on the job
training so that their employees learnt in a practical way (Baum et al., 2007).
On the job training helps employees to get the knowledge of their job in a better
way (Deming, 1982). People learn from their practical experience much better as
compare to bookish knowledge. On the job training reduces cost and saves time
(Flynn et al., 1995; Kaynak, 2003; Heras, 2006). It is better for the organizations to
give their employees on the job training because it is cost-effective and time saving
(Taylor et al., 2004). It is good for organization to give their employees on the job
training so that their employees learnt in a practical way (Baum et al., 2007).
It is very difficult for an employee to perform well at the job place without any pretraining (Garavan, 1997). Tr ained employees perform well as compared to
untrained employees (Partlow, 1996; Tihanyi et al., 2000; Boudreau et al., 2001). It
is very necessary for any organization to give its employees training to get overall
goals of the organization in a better way (Flynn et al., 1995; Kaynak, 2003; Heras,
2006). Training and development increase the overall performance of the
organization (Jon et al., 2003). Although it is costly to give training to the employees
but in the long run it give back more than it too (Flynn et al., 1995; Kaynak, 2003;
Heras, 2006). Every organization should develop its employees according to the
need of that time so that they could compete with their competitors (Carlosn &
Braga, 1995).
Learning is “Relatively permanent change in behaviour produced by experience”,
(Bass and Vaughn, 1968). Learning covers all virtually behaviours and is concerned with
the acquisition of knowledge, attitudes, values and emotional response (Mc Kenna,
2006). This behaviourist approach to learning is considered to be more influential
which is derived from classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Training is
practical process not theory training is an art and science as well, there is no training
theories, one can manage and use some appropriate methods for effectiveness of
training process. According to Daniel, (1993) Training is a process through which
individual learning advances organizational learning. By clear understanding of this
(individual learning) trainers can actively manage the learning process to make it
consistent with an organizational goals, vision and values (Fincham & Rhodes,
1999).
Learning refers to the internal processes and brings changes
in
performance;
performance is said to be the observed effect of learning on behaviours. The idea of
training is closely bound up with the distinction which is made between training and
performance, learning can occurs without any formal training but (Gagne, Briggs and
Wagger, 1992) asserted that use of the training (process) is to make effective the process
of learning by arranging conditions so that trainee could learn more rapidly and
effectively. Bass and Vaughn, (1968) explored that the real significance of attempts
to develop the training technology is that analysis of human behaviours helps in
the identification of real conditions which are relevant and necessary in bringing about
specified changes in performance. Learning theory deal with the human behaviours,
changes occurs in behaviours and the effects of environment on these behaviours.
Learning theory examines the human behaviour and gives some instructions (conditions)
of learning. Gagne et al, (1992) found learning theory provides hierarchy of
instructions for learning conditions (training) like stimulus recognition, response
generation, procedure following, use of terminology, discriminations, concepts
formation, rule application and problem solving. Instructions are helpful in the
identifications of prerequisites and to facilitate learning at each level, the
hierarchy also satisfies and provides necessary conditions for learning and serves
as the basis for designing instructions and selecting appropriate media for training.
In short all learning theories permeate the dimensions of training and provides trainer
with options to choose the one most appropriate. Depending upon the trainees and
training approaches, different learning theory may apply.
Level of Training
Armstrong (2001) further says that training should be more concerned with identifying
satisfying learning and development needs like multi-skilling, fitting people to take an
extra responsibility, increasing sound competence and preparing people to take on high
responsibility in future. According to Bramley (1996) the accurate identification of
training needs of an organization is crucial to the success and development. However
theory does little to assist those who face this difficult task.
Delivery style is a very important part of Training and Development (Carlos & Braga,
1995). Employees are very conscious about the delivery style Michael Armstrong,
2000). If someone is not delivering the training in an impressive style and he is
not capturing the attention of the audience it is means he is wasting the time
(Griffin et al., 2000). It is very necessary for a trainer to engage its audience during
the training session (Seamen et al., 2005). Delivery style means so much in the
Training and Development. It is very difficult for an employee to perform well at the
job place without any pre-training (Garavan, 1997). Trained employees perform well
as compared to untrained employees (Partlow, 1996; Tihanyi et al., 2000; Boudreau
et al., 2001). It is very necessary for any organization to give its employees training
to get overall goals of the organization in a better way (Flynn et al., 1995; Kaynak,
2003; Heras, 2006). Training and development increase the overall performance of
the organization (Shepard, Jon et al., 2003). Although it is costly to give training to
the employees but in the long run it give back more than it took (Flynn et al., 1995;
Kaynak, 2003; Heras, 2006). Every organization should develop its employees
according to the need of that time so that they could compete with their competitors
(Carlos & Braga, 1995).
Delivery style is a very important part of training and development (Carlos A. Primo
Braga, 1995). Employees are very conscious about the delivery style (Armstrong,
2000). If someone is not delivering the training in an impressive style and he is not
capturing the attention of the audience it is means he is wasting the time (Griffin et
al., 2000). It is very necessary for a trainer to engage its audience during the training
session ( S eamen et al., 2005). Delivery style means so much in the training and
development. People are the critical component of the organizational system (Hayes,
Wheelwright & Clark, 1998). Superior performance is ultimately based on the people in
an organization, the right management principles, systems and procedures play an
essential role. The capabilities that create a competitive advantage come from people,
their skill, discipline, motivation, ability to solve problems and their capacity for learning
(Telley, 1968). Strength of any organization depends upon the knowledge and skills
of the people it employs, but all employees are not equal in the same settings. To
bring them upto the required level the organization offers different training and
developing programs. Every year organizations invest huge budget on training as
(Training magazine, 2007) mentioned overall U.S organizations shelled out $58.5 billion
for training in year 2006. The figure/situation forcing the executives that how
organization can make these training programs more effective. Organizations ultimately
learn via their individual employees, hence theories of individual learning are crucial in
training. Through research studies and experiences, psychologists produced different
theories of how individual learn thus the required objectives of this study is to highlight
the applications of these important theories and how these theories prove to be of most
effective in trainings? As training are only effective if it promote learning.
According to Bently (1991) investment in people, in developing and maintaining
appropriate skills is vital to organization strategy for future. Indeed effective training
enhances knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviors of people that determine their
performances. In actual sense the lighter ones education the more pragmatic and open
minded they becomes and in turn, enables decision making and enhances the level of
performance with time and expertise.
As Reynolds (1985) points out, training has a complementary role to play in accelerating
learning; it should be reserved for situations that justify a more directed, expert-led
approach rather than viewing it as a comprehensive and all pervasive people development
solution. He also commented that the conventional training model has a tendency to
emphasize subject-specific knowledge, rather than trying to build core learning abilities.
Formal training is indeed only one of the ways of ensuring that learning takes place, but it
can be justified when; the work requires skills that are best developed by formal
instructions. Different skills are required by a number of people, which have to be
developed quickly to meet new demands and cannot be acquired by relying on
experience. Critical information must be imparted to employees to ensure they meet their
responsibilities A learning need common to a number of people has to be met, which can
readily be dealt with in a training programme for example induction, essential IT skills
and communication skills The tasks to be carried out are so complex that people unlikely
to master them on their own initiative at a reasonable speed.
Curriculum
Armstrong (2001) quotes Holden 1997 in designing the continuous vicious cycle of
planned training as: training policy, establishing training in the organization, evaluate
training, identifying training needs, carrying out training, evaluating training, planning
training and the cycle continues. Armstrong (2001) depicts that training must have a
purpose and that purpose can be defined only if the learning needs of the organization and
the groups and individuals within it have been systematically identified and analyzed. It
is necessary to avoid falling into the trap of adopting the "deficiency model", which
implies that training is only about putting things right that have gone wrong. Training is
much more positive than that. It is or should be, more concerned with identifying and
satisfying learning and development needs - multi-skilling, fitting people to take on extra
responsibilities, increasing all-round competence and preparing people to take on higher
levels of responsibility in the future. Training needs should be analyzed, first for the
organization as a whole - corporate need, second for departments, teams, functions or
occupations within the organization group needs and third for individual employees.
These three areas are interconnected. The analysis of corporate needs will lead to the
identification of training needs in different departments or occupations, while these in
turn will indicate the training required for individual employees. The process also
operates in reverse. As the needs of individual employees are analyzed separately,
common needs emerge which can be dealt with a group basis. The sum total group and
individual needs will help to define corporate needs; although there may be some super
ordinate training requirements which can be related only to the company as a whole to
meet its business development needs the whole training plan may be greater than the sum
of the parts. Where should training take place?
Cole (1997) discusses three places where training can take place; in a company, on-thejob, off-the-job. On-the-job training may consist of teaching or coaching by managers,
team leaders and trainers at the desk or at a bench. It may also consist of individual or
group assignments and projects and the use of mentors. It is the only way to develop and
practice the specific managerial, team leading, technical, selling, manual and
administrative skills needed by the organization. It has an advantage of actuality and
immediacy. The individual works, learns and develops expertise at the same time.
Incompany; off-the-job training can take place on special courses or in training areas or
centers which have been specially equipped and staffed for training. It is the best way to
acquire advanced manual, office, customer service or selling skills and to learn about
company procedures and products. It helps to increase the identification of the trainee
with the company as a whole, and the use of systematic training techniques, special
equipment and trained trainees means that the basic skills and knowledge can be acquired
quickly and often economically. The problem arises when trainees are transferred from
the training course to a job to apply their knowledge and skills in practice. External
training is useful for the development of managerial, team leading, technical and social
knowledge and skills, especially if the course covers standard theory and practice, which
can easily be translated from the general to the particular. External training should be able
to supply the quality of instruction that it might be uneconomic to provide internally. It
can be used to implant highly specialized knowledge or advanced skills and has the added
advantage of broadening the horizons of those taking part, not least because they will be
exposed to their peers form the organization. Training program designed as an art,
(Armstrong, 2001).
Armstrong (2001) says that training analysis is the art of designing training programmes
to select the right blend of on-the- job training. There are rules for doing this. Each
programme has to be considered individually. But the emphasis should always be towards
putting learning into practice and therefore, first consideration has to be given to what
happens on-the-job learning by doing with appropriate guidance from managers,
colleagues or mentors. Off-the-job courses, whether internal or external, should be
regarded as complimentary and supplementary activities that may stimulate learning or
provide knowledge and skills that cannot be obtained internally. But they are always
subsidiary to what individuals do and learn in their normal place of work.
Armstrong (2001) cites the techniques used as; on-the-job techniques, which are practical
on a day-to-day basis or as part of a specially tailored program. These include
demonstration, coaching, job rotation, planned experienced and mentoring and other
personal development activities. There are also of-the-job techniques, which are used in
formal training courses away from the place or work. These include lectures, talks,
discussion, role playing, simulation, group exercises, team building, distance learning,
out door learning and workshops. Training is an organized procedure by which people
acquire knowledge or skills for different purpose. It is the provision of the knowledge,
skills and attitudes for effective performance. It is very crucial in any organization for
effective delivery of services. If there are many reasons why employees need teaming for
them to be effective, staff training must have a purpose that can be defined only if
learning needs of an organization and group individual within it have been systematically
identified and analyzed. Training needs analysis is partly concerned with defining the gap
between what is happening and what should happen. This is what has to be filled by
training.
It is very necessary for the organization to design the training very carefully
(Armstrong, 2000). The design of the training should be according to the needs of
the employees (Ginsberg, 1997). Those organizations which develop a good training
design according to the need of the employees as well as to the organization always
get good results (Partlow, 1996; Tihanyi et al., 2000; Boudreau et al., 2001). It
seems that training design plays a very vital role in the employee as well as
organizational performance. A bad training design is nothing but the loss of time and
money (Tsaur & Lin, 2004). Training refers to the planned and systematic modification
of behavior through learning events. Programmes and instruction, which enables
individuals achieve the levels of knowledge, skill and competence needed to carry out
their work effectively, this was defined by Bass and Vaughan (1968). Training refers to a
planned process, which is to facilitate learning so that people can become more affecting
in carrying out their various assignments. In which this view, issues such as on-the job
learning, team development, and action learning and performance management. In
summary, training may be referred to as planned process of increasing skills and
management for improvement and effectiveness in handling tasks related to job tasks.
Reynolds (1985) argued that the transfer of expertise by outside experts is risky since
their design is often removed from the context in which work is created. This is a
fundamental problem and applies equally to internally run up training courses where what
has been taught can be difficult for people to apply in the entirely different circumstances
in their work place. Training can seem to be remote from reality and skills and knowledge
acquired can appear to be irrelevant. This particularly applies to management or
supervisory training but even the manual skills learnt in a training centre may be difficult
to transfer. This problem can be tackled by making the training as relevant and realistic as
possible, anticipating and dealing with any potential transfer difficulties. Individuals are
more likely to apply learning when they do not find it too difficult, believe what they
learnt is relevant, useful and transferable, are supported by line managers have job
autonomy, believe in themselves and are committed and engaged. Transfer is also more
likely if systematic training and just-in – time approaches are used, as described below.
Training should be systematic in that it is specifically designed, planned and implemented
to meet defined needs. It is provided by people who know to train and the impact of
training is carefully evaluated. The concept was originally developed for the industrial
boards in the 1960’s and consists of a simple four-stage model, this include, Identify
training, Decide what sort of training is required to satisfy these needs, Use experienced
and trained trainers to implement training and Follow up and evaluate training to ensure
that it is effective.
Summary
Punctuality plays a central role in modern economics. As James Surowiecki put it, “the
fundamental challenge for a modern economy is to co-ordinate the actions of millions of
independent people so that goods may be produced and services delivered as efficiently
as possible. It’s a lot easier to do this when people are where they’re supposed to be when
they’re supposed to be there”. (The New Yorker, April 5, 2004.) Punctuality is also an
important component of firm strategy. For example, in the early 1990s Finnair started
several quality improvement efforts, with a special emphasis on ground service
operations. Since 1996, the company has consistently been ranked among the top three
European carriers in punctuality. For example, luggage retrieval at Helsinki airport
average 12 minutes, one of the fastest in the world.
Availability, Access and Commitment represent different aspects; availability is more of a
satisfier, access is more of dissatisfier and commitment is more of a dissatisfier. These
aspects represent absenteeism. Bhatia (1980) explains a methodology, developed by the
author, for a systematic analysis of absenteeism in industrial undertakings. The
methodology has been applied for studying the causes of absenteeism in the
Tiruchirapalli unit of the Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited. He observed that one of the
factors affecting optimum utilization of human resources is absenteeism. It is an
industrial malady affecting productivity, profits, investments, and the absentee workers
themselves. Its consequences are alarming, as a day lost is a resource lost, deprived of
being invested. As such, an increasing rate of absence adds considerably to the cost of
industry and saps industrial progress. The economic and social loss occurring from
absenteeism cannot be determined accurately. He said that absenteeism is, however, too
complex and an elusive concept to permit exact remedial measures.
Johnson (1995) denotes motivation by “comfort”, “flexibility” and “attentiveness”.
Comfort is neither a satisfier nor a dissatisfier, flexibility is more of a satisfier and,
attentiveness is a very strong satisfier. Thus, organisations should spend a considerable
amount of resources making sure that employees are attentive and helpful to others and to
customers since it is valued a lot, (Johnston, 1995). Belbin (1982) says that Adam’s
Equity Theory suggests that managers must treat employees equally. Equity acts as a
source of motivation. He states that when people believe that they have been inequitably
treated in comparison with others, they will loose their morale and dislike work. Victor’s
expectancy theory suggests that people will do what they can when they want to do it.
Therefore employee morale should be motivated so that they increase their output and
externally like their work.
Retention in the table is represented by security; which has the effect of bringing
dissatisfaction to employees and thus to customers. Organizations may experience a
decrease in performance, efficiency, and morale, and an increase in the disorder of social
networks, group cohesion, and communication (Sightler 1999). As Day (2000) argued, if
companies cannot retain their employees, “the economic results could be devastating for
an organization. A substantial amount of value could potentially end up being employed
by a competitor, or … become the competition”. Hinkin (2000) determined that the most
costly element of employee turnover, representing 60 percent, is that of lost productivity
Employees on the other hand have a role to play as far as retention or turnover is
concerned. This is because they make the decision on whether to remain in their current
organization or to move to other organizations.
According to Brench (1998), behavior can be learnt and individuals trained in appropriate
leadership behaviors would be able to lead more effectively. In the Behavioral theories
approach, certain theories were carefully examined to bring out the role of a leader in an
organization. They include the Leadership continum which was developed by Robert
Tanneabum and Warren .H. Schnydt and shows off the trade off between a manager’s use
of authority and freedom that subordinate experiences as leadership style change from
boss centered to subordinate leadership style. The contingency /situation, according to
researchers, was different from the behavioral approach in that, as appropriate behaviors
lead to desired subordinates responses, in the behavioral approach, in the contingency
approach situational factors must be considered so as to know how certain leadership
styles will affect the organization.
Statement of the Problem
Kenya Forest Service is transforming from a government department into a parastatal
organisation. Furthermore, the parastatal is lined up for merger with Kenya Wildlife
Service and other parastatals. The reasoning behind the transformation is to
professionalise it, have an independent body that will ensure afforestation and reafforestation of Kenya to achieve 10% landmass forest coverage as well as ensure prompt
and quality service delivery to all. In the KFS (2012), there is a Human Resource and
Administration Division under Senior Deputy Director Finance and Administration
whose tasks are, among others to co-ordinate human resources planning, training and
development and handles attendance and leaves. Among the leaves granted are unpaid
and study leave, pg 36. On page 29, under 1.15 training and development, “KFS believes
that employees are its greatest asset and the attainment of its employees. The service’s
training programmes targets the achievement of its mandate”. This, together with 3.0
training and development that reads, “The service shall therefore offer training
opportunities to all its employees in order to improve their work performance and
personal development”, clearly states that employees are facilitated or allowed to study.
ENCOM, (2012) states that employees are promoted on merit and this includes
paramilitary training for junior ranks or education (minimum diploma lasting 6 months)
for officers. There are a number of officers with advanced diplomas and degrees but have
not yet been promoted, besides the statement in ENCOM that seems to support promotion
on merit, education achievement being one of the criteria. It is for this reason that the
researcher wants to study the influence of employee training on service delivery at The
Kenya Forest Service.
Purpose of the study
To investigate the influence of on the job training on service delivery, a case study of
Kenya Forest Service, Meru Zone.
Objectives of the Study
The objectives of the study were:
i. To investigate the effect of on job training policies on service delivery in Kenya Forest
Service Meru Station.
ii. To examine the effect of length of training on service delivery in Kenya Forest
Service Meru Station
iii. To find out the effect of level of training on service delivery in Kenya Forest Service
Meru Station
iv. To establish the effect of curriculum on service delivery in Kenya Forest Service Meru
Station.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
A total of 115 employees responded successfully to in the following percentages; 43%
disciplined forces, 4% technical services and 53% support services employees. The male
respondents account for 70% of the total number of respondents and females account for
30 % of the total respondents who participated in the survey. This means that there are
more males than females in Kenya Forest Service. Data obtained shows that 43% of the
employees at KFS have a college diploma, 35% possess secondary education and 22%
have a university degree as their highest level of education, and that 48% of the
respondents are married, 39% are single and 13% are divorced. More data indicates that
4.6, 34% of the respondents have worked for 8-10 years in KFS, 26% have worked for
11-15 years, 17% have worked for 5-7 years, 13% have worked for over 15 years and 9%
have worked for less than 5 years. This means that majority of the respondents have had a
fairly long tenure f service at KFS.
Results show that 48% of the respondents strongly agree that training policies affect
service delivery, with 44% indicating that they agree that training policies affects service
delivery, with 4% citing disagreement and strongly disagree respectively about training
policies affecting service delivery. This means that majority of the respondents felt that
training policies affects service delivery in a way. In total 53% agree that job training
affects service delivery to a very great extent with 35% agreeing that job training affects
service delivery to a high extent. 9% cited low extent and 3% cited very extent of job
training affecting service delivery. Majority of the respondents, at 88%, therefore were in
agreement that job training affects service delivery (Hill, 1985; Mullins, 2005; Braton et
al, 2007; McKenna, 2006).
.
Data indicates that 52% of the respondents agree that the length of training affects service
delivery whereas 48% strongly agrees that the length of training affects service delivery
of employees at Kenya Forest Service. This implies that the employees agree to the fact
that the more time you spend while being trained, the more you grasp the content and
methods of doing your work effectively and efficiently. Out of the total, 61% of the
respondents stated that the length of training affects service delivery to a high extent
whereas 39% stated that the length of training affects service delivery to a very high
extent. This implies that service delivery is to a large extent influenced by the length of
training (Bently (1991).
From the study findings 39% of the respondents agree that the level of training affects
service delivery whereas 35% strongly agrees that the level of training affects service
delivery of employees at Kenya Forest Service. The employees who do not agree that the
level of training affects service delivery are 17% and those that strongly disagree are 9%.
This implies that employees generally agree that the level of training does affect service
delivery at Kenya Forest Service. The study further shows that 61% of the respondents
stated that the level of training affects service delivery to a high extent whereas 39%
stated that the level of training affects service delivery to a very high extent. This implies
that service delivery is to a large extent influenced by the level of training (Bently (1991).
The data obtained indicates that 35% of the respondents agree that curriculum affects
service delivery whereas 65% strongly agrees that curriculum affects service delivery of
employees at Kenya Forest Service (Jackson & Schuler, 2000). This implies that the
employees agree to the fact that the content one is exposed to has a significant effect on
what one does, i.e., service delivery. More data indicates that 57% of the respondents
stated that curriculum affects service delivery to a high extent whereas 43% stated that
curriculum affects service delivery to a very high extent. This implies that service
delivery is to a large extent influenced by the length of training (Dessler, 2008).
Conclusion and Recommendations
Conclusion
Service delivery at Kenya Forest Service is affected in varying degrees by training
policies, length of training, level of training and curriculum implemented. 92% indicate
that job training affects service delivery, with 100% accepting that length of training
affects service delivery, 74% agreed that the level of training affects service delivery and
100% stated that curriculum affects service delivery.
The study shows that Kenya Forest Service has invested in crafting suitable training
policies for the employees in their areas of expertise to improve efficiency, effectiveness
and service delivery as exemplified by 92% who agreed with the idea. On the length of
training, 100% of the employees agreed that training is necessary in enhancing service
delivery. A 74% agreement was reported on the level of training affecting service delivery
from the Kenya Forest Service employees. They explained that the level of training
ensures proper grasp of the content, skills and attitudes necessary for handling job
challenges. The curriculum that is implemented gets 100% support from Kenya Forest
Service employees who said that curriculum determines the soft and hard skills necessary
to ensure one’s expertise and capabilities are enhanced.
Recommendations
The job training policies should be crafted in collaboration with all employees so that
their training needs, need for retention and employee morale are catered for and enhanced
in the policies. This would translate into crafting policies that support and enhance
service delivery in the organisation.
On the length of training, the employees stated that each type of training has its own
objectives and the length of training should depend on the objectives of the type of
training to be undertaken. They in addition said that the level of training and curriculum
should also determine the length of training as well as the pace in which the learners
grasp the content and practice it. Intensive training thus enhances service delivery.
Concerning the level of training, the employees suggested that each individual needs
should be considered as well as the certificates and tenure of service so that training
objectives are met. While crafting the training content and programme, one’s previous
experiences and capabilities should be considered so that the content is not
underwhelming or overwhelming to the point of putting off the participants. The level of
training enables employees to pinpoint at the actual level in which one is capable of
handling issues and thus determines service delivery.
An updated, current and relevant curriculum one is taught determines service delivery to
a large extent for the world
Service, Meru Station
Edward Kariuki Mathenge (Corresponding Author)*, PhD Student, HRM Dedan Kimathi
University of Technology, e-mail: [email protected]; +254-721-313-837
Daniel Nderi Waari, Phd (Marketing and Strategic Management) Candidate, Moi
University, Kenya, [email protected] ; +254-721-986-343
Dr. Alice W. Kamau, Lecturer School of Business (Karatina University), Kenya,
[email protected]; +254-722-470-761
Abstract
Purpose– The study was seeking to study the influence of on-the-job training on service
delivery in a parastatal organisation. Parastatal organisations are affiliated to the
government, with some operating autonomously from the government to offer essential
services to the public. The study would help the government to offer capacity building to
its employees so as that the employees can offer effective and efficient services to the
nation.
Design/methodology/approach– the research used descriptive research design and
employed the geographical sampling method, where the employees at the Meru station
were sampled, who are 162 in number. A questionnaire was hand-delivered and picked
after the respondents completed to fill them. Open and close-ended questions were used
in the questionnaire. Descriptive analysis was employed and percentages were presented
in tables and figures.
Findings– Results show that 92% of the respondents agree that training policies affect
service delivery, with 100% agreeing that the length of training affects service delivery at
KFS. From the study findings 74% of the respondents agree that the level of training
affects service delivery of employees at Kenya Forest Service, with 100% of the
respondents, agreeing that curriculum affects service delivery. The employees stated that
the job training policies should be crafted in collaboration with all employees so that their
training needs, the need for retention and employee morale are catered for and enhanced
in the policies. This would translate into crafting policies that support and enhance
service delivery in the organisation.
Originality/value– The study picked on a parastatal for the study since it is semiautonomous from the government and on-the-job trainings are done with the expectation
of improving employees’ service delivery. The study is one of its kind in the region as not
many studies have been done on parastatals in the region.
Keywords: on-the-job training, training policies, length of training, level of training,
curriculum, service delivery.
Introduction
The study seeks to establish the influence of employee training on service delivery in
Kenya Forest Service. The need for services by organizations has continued to be one of
the most important aspects for the success of an organization; this is because service
delivery is the main determinant of the existence of an organization. Service delivery
relates to an organization meeting the perception and expectation of its customers as
Kotler (2003). Kotler (2003) also notes that satisfaction is a persons feeling or
disappointment resulting from comparing a product perceived performance or outcome in
relation to his/her expectations.
In view of the above, service delivery should be improved in business organization to
achieve the best of them to be effective in offering their service and products. Excellent
service delivery is the process by which an organization delivers its services or product in
a way that allows the customers to access them in the most efficient, fair, cost effective
and normally satisfying and pleasurable manner possible (Gitomer,1998). A business
creates its own image to the public through how it receives handles and discharge its
customers. In developing good customer service a proper customer complaint handling
system needs to be established. It is an important tool and also a challenging task that
requires the participation and commitment of all the staff.
According to Mile Management Consultants (2001) service delivery is the act of
responding to customer needs and expectation in a way that will make them have a
memorable experience and motivate them to come back, the need for service delivery is
because there is a lot of competition and also customers are the source for profits, jobs
and good salary. Customers also pay the salaries, wages and dividends. Once in the store
the customer experience is influenced by the staff and people skill and the store itself.
Mile Management consultants also wrote that service delivery should have a stress free
shopping. According to consultants’ customer is someone who has both physical and
emotional needs. The emotional needs are very powerful in determining customer
satisfaction. The need to feel welcome where customer is allowed to know staff and their
business is important. The need to feel important should do whatever is possible to make
customer feel special. The need to be understood, staff should watch out for customer
emotions, listen to their request. The need for comfort and being in charge, customers are
in control of the situation. They need to feel they are not being pushed around.
Burnett (1992) asserts that customer satisfaction is closely identified with perception of
quality. He also states closeness to the customer means segmentation and targeting
markets precisely and then tailoring offerings to match. This will invest to build long
term customer loyalty and service delivery and look at the customer’s lifetime value of
the organization. Service delivery means doing everything possible to look after the
existing customers of an organization. Frank and Bee (1999) note that focus on customer
is on ensuring satisfaction for your customers, which involves creating a customer first
culture through out the organization.
Customer care is all about by giving a description of a customer. A customer is the most
important visitor on our premises, he is not dependent on us, and we are dependent on
him. He is not an interruption of our work, he is the purpose of it; we are not doing him a
favor by serving him; he is doing us a favor by giving us the opportunity to do so, when
customer care department should be effective in dealing with those problems. This time
taken to handle the problem will indicate to the level of satisfaction to be achieved by the
customer.
According to Gerson (1995), identifies that the most crucial aspect of service delivery is
satisfaction. All things done to achieve excellent quality and service are not important for
a customer who is not satisfied. It further defines customer satisfaction as the force that
his/her expectation have been met or surpassed. If the company provides quality and
service according to customer definition then satisfaction will follow. According to Kotler
(1997) , customer service are all those activities geared to make it easy for the consumer,
to teach the right people within the company and receive quick and satisfactory service,
answers and resolutions to problems. Customer satisfaction is the outcome felt by buyers
who have experienced a company performance that has fulfilled expectations. Customers
are satisfied when their expectations are met and delighted when their expectations are
exceeded. Satisfied customers remain loyal longer, buy more, are less price sensitive and
talk favorable about the company. To create customer satisfaction, companies must
manage their value chain as ell as the whole value delivery system in a customer centered
way. The company’s goal is not only to get customers but even more importantly to retain
customers.
Customer’s relationship marketing provides the key to retaining customer customers and
involves providing financial and social benefits as well as structural ties to the customers.
Companies must decide how much relationship marketing to invest in different market
segments and individual customers, from such levels as basic, reactive, accountable, and
proactive, to full partnership. Much depends on estimating customer lifetime value
against the cost stream required to attract and retain these customers. Total Quality
Management, TQM, is seen today as a major approach to providing customer satisfaction
and company profitability. Companies must understand how their customers perceive
quality than their competitors. This involves total management and employee
commitment as well as measurement and reward systems. In the view of Hayden (1998)
customer service includes services such as free delivery of products to customer’s home,
installation of appliances and repair services. Generally the more customer service a store
offers the higher the prices will be relative to a store that does not offer such services.
Profile of Kenya Forest Service
The Kenya Forest Service was established was established as a semi-autonomous body
through an Act of Parliament in the year 2005. However, by 1908, most of the major
forest blocks as we know them today had been reserved as forests area through
gazettement, KFS (2012). In 1957, the first comprehensive forest policy was drawn up,
with modifications made in 1968 to establish the “shamba system” that was meant to help
in re-afforestation and to boost forest management. Together with that, other
modifications included designation of local authority forests and promotion of research
and education. The “shamba system” was banned in 1987 due to gross abuse of forests
especially in areas where the system was practiced, but was re-introduced in 2004 and in
2007, the government rolled out a restructured ‘shamba system” by the name “Plantation
Establishment and Livelihood Improvement Scheme (PELIS) on an initial 16,000
hectares of land that needed to be reforested.
The vision of Kenya Forest Service is “to be the leading organisation of excellence in
sustainable forest management and conservation” whilst the mission is “to enhance
conservation and sustainable management of forests and allied resources for
environmental stability and socio-economic development”. Their mandate is to provide
for the establishment, development and sustainable management, including conservation
and rational utilization of forest resources for environmental protection and socioeconomic development of the country.
In the KFS (2012), there is a Human Resource and Administration Division under Senior
Deputy Director Finance and Administration whose tasks are, among others to coordinate human resources planning, training and development and handles attendance and
leaves. Among the leaves granted are unpaid and study leave, pg 36. On page 29, under
1.15 training and development, “KFS believes that employees are its greatest asset and
the attainment of its employees. The service’s training programmes targets the
achievement of its mandate”. This, together with 3.0 training and development that reads,
“The service shall therefore offer training opportunities to all its employees in order to
improve their work performance and personal development”, clearly states that
employees are facilitated or allowed to study. ENCOM, (2012) states that employees are
promoted on merit and this includes paramilitary training for junior ranks or education
(minimum diploma lasting 6 months) for officers.
On Job Training Policies
Bramley (1996) says that the employees that feel their company is investing in them may
feel more job satisfaction and increased loyalty to then- organization. Having a training
plan in place can be beneficial to the organization and offer benefits to employees that
competitors may not offer. Although companies may risk losing employees that have just
been trained, the benefit of training those employees far outweighs their risk. When staff
is involved in formal training plan, individual's skill sets improve and they can contribute
more to the organization. Employees that feel their company is investing in them may
feel more job satisfaction and increased loyalty to their organization. The benefit of
training employees is mutual and can be realized for quite sometime. Organizations can
also offer lesser skilled workers formal training in order to benefit from their new skills.
Skilled, experienced workers are inevitably better trainers in the workplace. Some less
experienced people are qualified, but not to the extent of being able to train others well.
Training people on the job is an art form. On the training also includes risk management
with trainees, preventing any damage and making sure they understand the objects and
pitfalls of their jobs.
According to Mullins (2002) the purpose of training is to improve knowledge and skills
and to change attitudes. It is one of the most important motivators. Training is the key to
improve organizational performance. It helps to reconcile the gaps between what should
happen and what is happening. New skills and attitudes are required to operate effectively
to the new techniques and equipment. Workers have to be trained for new jobs and for
handling the present jobs. More effective, existing employees must be trained for taking
up high level jobs. Training is useful not only for organization but also for employees.
Training provides job security and an opportunity for advancement to the employees.
Money spent on training is an investment in human assets. A skill acquired through
training is an asset for both the organization and the employer.
Armstrong (2001) defines training as the formal and systematic modification of behavior
through learning, which occurs as a result of education, instruction development and
planned experience. Armstrong (2001) also enumerates the fundamental aim of training
as to ensure that employees have the necessary skills and knowledge to carry out their
rules properly, ensuring staff are competent and professional underpins the performance
of a firm, develop the skills and competencies of employees and improve theory
performance, help people to grow with the organization in order that, as far as possible,
its future needs for human resources can be met from within, reduce the learning time for
employees starting in new jobs on appointment, transfer or promotion and ensure that
they become fully competent as quickly and economical as possible, minimize learning
costs, improve individual, team and corporate performance in terms of output, quality
speed and overall productivity; improve operational flexibility by extending the range of
skills possessed by employers (multi-skilling), attract high quality employee by offering
them learning and development opportunities increasing their levels of competence and
enhancing their skills, thus enabling them to obtain more job satisfaction to gain higher
rewards and to progress within the organization; increase the commitment of employees
by them to identify with the mission and objectives of the organization; help to manage
change by increasing understanding of the reasons for change and providing with the
knowledge and skills they need to adjust to new situations help develop a positive culture
in the organization, one for example, that is oriented towards performance improvement
and provide higher levels of service to customers.
Length of Training
Human resource is the very important and the backbone of every organization
and it is also the main resource of the organization. So organizations invest
huge amount on the human resource capital because the performance of
human resource will ultimately increase the performance of the organization.
Performance is a major multidimensional construct aimed to achieve results
and has a strong link to strategic goals of an organization (Mwita, 2000). As Mwita
(2000) explains that performance is the key element to achieve the goals of
the organization so to performance increase the effectiveness and efficiency of
the organization which is helpful for the achievement of the organizational goals.
But t h e question arise that how an employee can work more effectively
and efficiently to increase the growth and the productivity of an organization. There
are many factors w h ic h i mp r o ve s th e work of the employee such as flexible
scheduling, training etc.
It is very necessary for the organization to design the training very carefully
(Armstrong,2000). The design of the training should be according to the needs of the
employees (Ginsberg, 1997). Those organizations which develop a good training
design according to the need of the employees as well as to the organization always
get good results (Partlow, 1996; Tihanyi et al., 2000; Boudreau et al., 2001). It seems
that Training design plays a very vital role in the employee as well
as
organizational performance. A bad training design is nothing but the loss of time
and money (Tsaur and Lin, 2004). On the job training helps employees to get the
knowledge of their job in a better way (Deming, 1982).
People learn from their practical experience much better as compared to bookish
knowledge. On the job training reduces cost and saves time (Flynn et al., 1995;
Kaynak, 2003; Heras, 2006). It is better for the organizations to give their
employees on the job training because it is cost effective and time saving
(Taylor et al., 2004). It is good for organization to give their employees on the job
training so that their employees learnt in a practical way (Baum et al., 2007).
On the job training helps employees to get the knowledge of their job in a better
way (Deming, 1982). People learn from their practical experience much better as
compare to bookish knowledge. On the job training reduces cost and saves time
(Flynn et al., 1995; Kaynak, 2003; Heras, 2006). It is better for the organizations to
give their employees on the job training because it is cost-effective and time saving
(Taylor et al., 2004). It is good for organization to give their employees on the job
training so that their employees learnt in a practical way (Baum et al., 2007).
It is very difficult for an employee to perform well at the job place without any pretraining (Garavan, 1997). Tr ained employees perform well as compared to
untrained employees (Partlow, 1996; Tihanyi et al., 2000; Boudreau et al., 2001). It
is very necessary for any organization to give its employees training to get overall
goals of the organization in a better way (Flynn et al., 1995; Kaynak, 2003; Heras,
2006). Training and development increase the overall performance of the
organization (Jon et al., 2003). Although it is costly to give training to the employees
but in the long run it give back more than it too (Flynn et al., 1995; Kaynak, 2003;
Heras, 2006). Every organization should develop its employees according to the
need of that time so that they could compete with their competitors (Carlosn &
Braga, 1995).
Learning is “Relatively permanent change in behaviour produced by experience”,
(Bass and Vaughn, 1968). Learning covers all virtually behaviours and is concerned with
the acquisition of knowledge, attitudes, values and emotional response (Mc Kenna,
2006). This behaviourist approach to learning is considered to be more influential
which is derived from classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Training is
practical process not theory training is an art and science as well, there is no training
theories, one can manage and use some appropriate methods for effectiveness of
training process. According to Daniel, (1993) Training is a process through which
individual learning advances organizational learning. By clear understanding of this
(individual learning) trainers can actively manage the learning process to make it
consistent with an organizational goals, vision and values (Fincham & Rhodes,
1999).
Learning refers to the internal processes and brings changes
in
performance;
performance is said to be the observed effect of learning on behaviours. The idea of
training is closely bound up with the distinction which is made between training and
performance, learning can occurs without any formal training but (Gagne, Briggs and
Wagger, 1992) asserted that use of the training (process) is to make effective the process
of learning by arranging conditions so that trainee could learn more rapidly and
effectively. Bass and Vaughn, (1968) explored that the real significance of attempts
to develop the training technology is that analysis of human behaviours helps in
the identification of real conditions which are relevant and necessary in bringing about
specified changes in performance. Learning theory deal with the human behaviours,
changes occurs in behaviours and the effects of environment on these behaviours.
Learning theory examines the human behaviour and gives some instructions (conditions)
of learning. Gagne et al, (1992) found learning theory provides hierarchy of
instructions for learning conditions (training) like stimulus recognition, response
generation, procedure following, use of terminology, discriminations, concepts
formation, rule application and problem solving. Instructions are helpful in the
identifications of prerequisites and to facilitate learning at each level, the
hierarchy also satisfies and provides necessary conditions for learning and serves
as the basis for designing instructions and selecting appropriate media for training.
In short all learning theories permeate the dimensions of training and provides trainer
with options to choose the one most appropriate. Depending upon the trainees and
training approaches, different learning theory may apply.
Level of Training
Armstrong (2001) further says that training should be more concerned with identifying
satisfying learning and development needs like multi-skilling, fitting people to take an
extra responsibility, increasing sound competence and preparing people to take on high
responsibility in future. According to Bramley (1996) the accurate identification of
training needs of an organization is crucial to the success and development. However
theory does little to assist those who face this difficult task.
Delivery style is a very important part of Training and Development (Carlos & Braga,
1995). Employees are very conscious about the delivery style Michael Armstrong,
2000). If someone is not delivering the training in an impressive style and he is
not capturing the attention of the audience it is means he is wasting the time
(Griffin et al., 2000). It is very necessary for a trainer to engage its audience during
the training session (Seamen et al., 2005). Delivery style means so much in the
Training and Development. It is very difficult for an employee to perform well at the
job place without any pre-training (Garavan, 1997). Trained employees perform well
as compared to untrained employees (Partlow, 1996; Tihanyi et al., 2000; Boudreau
et al., 2001). It is very necessary for any organization to give its employees training
to get overall goals of the organization in a better way (Flynn et al., 1995; Kaynak,
2003; Heras, 2006). Training and development increase the overall performance of
the organization (Shepard, Jon et al., 2003). Although it is costly to give training to
the employees but in the long run it give back more than it took (Flynn et al., 1995;
Kaynak, 2003; Heras, 2006). Every organization should develop its employees
according to the need of that time so that they could compete with their competitors
(Carlos & Braga, 1995).
Delivery style is a very important part of training and development (Carlos A. Primo
Braga, 1995). Employees are very conscious about the delivery style (Armstrong,
2000). If someone is not delivering the training in an impressive style and he is not
capturing the attention of the audience it is means he is wasting the time (Griffin et
al., 2000). It is very necessary for a trainer to engage its audience during the training
session ( S eamen et al., 2005). Delivery style means so much in the training and
development. People are the critical component of the organizational system (Hayes,
Wheelwright & Clark, 1998). Superior performance is ultimately based on the people in
an organization, the right management principles, systems and procedures play an
essential role. The capabilities that create a competitive advantage come from people,
their skill, discipline, motivation, ability to solve problems and their capacity for learning
(Telley, 1968). Strength of any organization depends upon the knowledge and skills
of the people it employs, but all employees are not equal in the same settings. To
bring them upto the required level the organization offers different training and
developing programs. Every year organizations invest huge budget on training as
(Training magazine, 2007) mentioned overall U.S organizations shelled out $58.5 billion
for training in year 2006. The figure/situation forcing the executives that how
organization can make these training programs more effective. Organizations ultimately
learn via their individual employees, hence theories of individual learning are crucial in
training. Through research studies and experiences, psychologists produced different
theories of how individual learn thus the required objectives of this study is to highlight
the applications of these important theories and how these theories prove to be of most
effective in trainings? As training are only effective if it promote learning.
According to Bently (1991) investment in people, in developing and maintaining
appropriate skills is vital to organization strategy for future. Indeed effective training
enhances knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviors of people that determine their
performances. In actual sense the lighter ones education the more pragmatic and open
minded they becomes and in turn, enables decision making and enhances the level of
performance with time and expertise.
As Reynolds (1985) points out, training has a complementary role to play in accelerating
learning; it should be reserved for situations that justify a more directed, expert-led
approach rather than viewing it as a comprehensive and all pervasive people development
solution. He also commented that the conventional training model has a tendency to
emphasize subject-specific knowledge, rather than trying to build core learning abilities.
Formal training is indeed only one of the ways of ensuring that learning takes place, but it
can be justified when; the work requires skills that are best developed by formal
instructions. Different skills are required by a number of people, which have to be
developed quickly to meet new demands and cannot be acquired by relying on
experience. Critical information must be imparted to employees to ensure they meet their
responsibilities A learning need common to a number of people has to be met, which can
readily be dealt with in a training programme for example induction, essential IT skills
and communication skills The tasks to be carried out are so complex that people unlikely
to master them on their own initiative at a reasonable speed.
Curriculum
Armstrong (2001) quotes Holden 1997 in designing the continuous vicious cycle of
planned training as: training policy, establishing training in the organization, evaluate
training, identifying training needs, carrying out training, evaluating training, planning
training and the cycle continues. Armstrong (2001) depicts that training must have a
purpose and that purpose can be defined only if the learning needs of the organization and
the groups and individuals within it have been systematically identified and analyzed. It
is necessary to avoid falling into the trap of adopting the "deficiency model", which
implies that training is only about putting things right that have gone wrong. Training is
much more positive than that. It is or should be, more concerned with identifying and
satisfying learning and development needs - multi-skilling, fitting people to take on extra
responsibilities, increasing all-round competence and preparing people to take on higher
levels of responsibility in the future. Training needs should be analyzed, first for the
organization as a whole - corporate need, second for departments, teams, functions or
occupations within the organization group needs and third for individual employees.
These three areas are interconnected. The analysis of corporate needs will lead to the
identification of training needs in different departments or occupations, while these in
turn will indicate the training required for individual employees. The process also
operates in reverse. As the needs of individual employees are analyzed separately,
common needs emerge which can be dealt with a group basis. The sum total group and
individual needs will help to define corporate needs; although there may be some super
ordinate training requirements which can be related only to the company as a whole to
meet its business development needs the whole training plan may be greater than the sum
of the parts. Where should training take place?
Cole (1997) discusses three places where training can take place; in a company, on-thejob, off-the-job. On-the-job training may consist of teaching or coaching by managers,
team leaders and trainers at the desk or at a bench. It may also consist of individual or
group assignments and projects and the use of mentors. It is the only way to develop and
practice the specific managerial, team leading, technical, selling, manual and
administrative skills needed by the organization. It has an advantage of actuality and
immediacy. The individual works, learns and develops expertise at the same time.
Incompany; off-the-job training can take place on special courses or in training areas or
centers which have been specially equipped and staffed for training. It is the best way to
acquire advanced manual, office, customer service or selling skills and to learn about
company procedures and products. It helps to increase the identification of the trainee
with the company as a whole, and the use of systematic training techniques, special
equipment and trained trainees means that the basic skills and knowledge can be acquired
quickly and often economically. The problem arises when trainees are transferred from
the training course to a job to apply their knowledge and skills in practice. External
training is useful for the development of managerial, team leading, technical and social
knowledge and skills, especially if the course covers standard theory and practice, which
can easily be translated from the general to the particular. External training should be able
to supply the quality of instruction that it might be uneconomic to provide internally. It
can be used to implant highly specialized knowledge or advanced skills and has the added
advantage of broadening the horizons of those taking part, not least because they will be
exposed to their peers form the organization. Training program designed as an art,
(Armstrong, 2001).
Armstrong (2001) says that training analysis is the art of designing training programmes
to select the right blend of on-the- job training. There are rules for doing this. Each
programme has to be considered individually. But the emphasis should always be towards
putting learning into practice and therefore, first consideration has to be given to what
happens on-the-job learning by doing with appropriate guidance from managers,
colleagues or mentors. Off-the-job courses, whether internal or external, should be
regarded as complimentary and supplementary activities that may stimulate learning or
provide knowledge and skills that cannot be obtained internally. But they are always
subsidiary to what individuals do and learn in their normal place of work.
Armstrong (2001) cites the techniques used as; on-the-job techniques, which are practical
on a day-to-day basis or as part of a specially tailored program. These include
demonstration, coaching, job rotation, planned experienced and mentoring and other
personal development activities. There are also of-the-job techniques, which are used in
formal training courses away from the place or work. These include lectures, talks,
discussion, role playing, simulation, group exercises, team building, distance learning,
out door learning and workshops. Training is an organized procedure by which people
acquire knowledge or skills for different purpose. It is the provision of the knowledge,
skills and attitudes for effective performance. It is very crucial in any organization for
effective delivery of services. If there are many reasons why employees need teaming for
them to be effective, staff training must have a purpose that can be defined only if
learning needs of an organization and group individual within it have been systematically
identified and analyzed. Training needs analysis is partly concerned with defining the gap
between what is happening and what should happen. This is what has to be filled by
training.
It is very necessary for the organization to design the training very carefully
(Armstrong, 2000). The design of the training should be according to the needs of
the employees (Ginsberg, 1997). Those organizations which develop a good training
design according to the need of the employees as well as to the organization always
get good results (Partlow, 1996; Tihanyi et al., 2000; Boudreau et al., 2001). It
seems that training design plays a very vital role in the employee as well as
organizational performance. A bad training design is nothing but the loss of time and
money (Tsaur & Lin, 2004). Training refers to the planned and systematic modification
of behavior through learning events. Programmes and instruction, which enables
individuals achieve the levels of knowledge, skill and competence needed to carry out
their work effectively, this was defined by Bass and Vaughan (1968). Training refers to a
planned process, which is to facilitate learning so that people can become more affecting
in carrying out their various assignments. In which this view, issues such as on-the job
learning, team development, and action learning and performance management. In
summary, training may be referred to as planned process of increasing skills and
management for improvement and effectiveness in handling tasks related to job tasks.
Reynolds (1985) argued that the transfer of expertise by outside experts is risky since
their design is often removed from the context in which work is created. This is a
fundamental problem and applies equally to internally run up training courses where what
has been taught can be difficult for people to apply in the entirely different circumstances
in their work place. Training can seem to be remote from reality and skills and knowledge
acquired can appear to be irrelevant. This particularly applies to management or
supervisory training but even the manual skills learnt in a training centre may be difficult
to transfer. This problem can be tackled by making the training as relevant and realistic as
possible, anticipating and dealing with any potential transfer difficulties. Individuals are
more likely to apply learning when they do not find it too difficult, believe what they
learnt is relevant, useful and transferable, are supported by line managers have job
autonomy, believe in themselves and are committed and engaged. Transfer is also more
likely if systematic training and just-in – time approaches are used, as described below.
Training should be systematic in that it is specifically designed, planned and implemented
to meet defined needs. It is provided by people who know to train and the impact of
training is carefully evaluated. The concept was originally developed for the industrial
boards in the 1960’s and consists of a simple four-stage model, this include, Identify
training, Decide what sort of training is required to satisfy these needs, Use experienced
and trained trainers to implement training and Follow up and evaluate training to ensure
that it is effective.
Summary
Punctuality plays a central role in modern economics. As James Surowiecki put it, “the
fundamental challenge for a modern economy is to co-ordinate the actions of millions of
independent people so that goods may be produced and services delivered as efficiently
as possible. It’s a lot easier to do this when people are where they’re supposed to be when
they’re supposed to be there”. (The New Yorker, April 5, 2004.) Punctuality is also an
important component of firm strategy. For example, in the early 1990s Finnair started
several quality improvement efforts, with a special emphasis on ground service
operations. Since 1996, the company has consistently been ranked among the top three
European carriers in punctuality. For example, luggage retrieval at Helsinki airport
average 12 minutes, one of the fastest in the world.
Availability, Access and Commitment represent different aspects; availability is more of a
satisfier, access is more of dissatisfier and commitment is more of a dissatisfier. These
aspects represent absenteeism. Bhatia (1980) explains a methodology, developed by the
author, for a systematic analysis of absenteeism in industrial undertakings. The
methodology has been applied for studying the causes of absenteeism in the
Tiruchirapalli unit of the Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited. He observed that one of the
factors affecting optimum utilization of human resources is absenteeism. It is an
industrial malady affecting productivity, profits, investments, and the absentee workers
themselves. Its consequences are alarming, as a day lost is a resource lost, deprived of
being invested. As such, an increasing rate of absence adds considerably to the cost of
industry and saps industrial progress. The economic and social loss occurring from
absenteeism cannot be determined accurately. He said that absenteeism is, however, too
complex and an elusive concept to permit exact remedial measures.
Johnson (1995) denotes motivation by “comfort”, “flexibility” and “attentiveness”.
Comfort is neither a satisfier nor a dissatisfier, flexibility is more of a satisfier and,
attentiveness is a very strong satisfier. Thus, organisations should spend a considerable
amount of resources making sure that employees are attentive and helpful to others and to
customers since it is valued a lot, (Johnston, 1995). Belbin (1982) says that Adam’s
Equity Theory suggests that managers must treat employees equally. Equity acts as a
source of motivation. He states that when people believe that they have been inequitably
treated in comparison with others, they will loose their morale and dislike work. Victor’s
expectancy theory suggests that people will do what they can when they want to do it.
Therefore employee morale should be motivated so that they increase their output and
externally like their work.
Retention in the table is represented by security; which has the effect of bringing
dissatisfaction to employees and thus to customers. Organizations may experience a
decrease in performance, efficiency, and morale, and an increase in the disorder of social
networks, group cohesion, and communication (Sightler 1999). As Day (2000) argued, if
companies cannot retain their employees, “the economic results could be devastating for
an organization. A substantial amount of value could potentially end up being employed
by a competitor, or … become the competition”. Hinkin (2000) determined that the most
costly element of employee turnover, representing 60 percent, is that of lost productivity
Employees on the other hand have a role to play as far as retention or turnover is
concerned. This is because they make the decision on whether to remain in their current
organization or to move to other organizations.
According to Brench (1998), behavior can be learnt and individuals trained in appropriate
leadership behaviors would be able to lead more effectively. In the Behavioral theories
approach, certain theories were carefully examined to bring out the role of a leader in an
organization. They include the Leadership continum which was developed by Robert
Tanneabum and Warren .H. Schnydt and shows off the trade off between a manager’s use
of authority and freedom that subordinate experiences as leadership style change from
boss centered to subordinate leadership style. The contingency /situation, according to
researchers, was different from the behavioral approach in that, as appropriate behaviors
lead to desired subordinates responses, in the behavioral approach, in the contingency
approach situational factors must be considered so as to know how certain leadership
styles will affect the organization.
Statement of the Problem
Kenya Forest Service is transforming from a government department into a parastatal
organisation. Furthermore, the parastatal is lined up for merger with Kenya Wildlife
Service and other parastatals. The reasoning behind the transformation is to
professionalise it, have an independent body that will ensure afforestation and reafforestation of Kenya to achieve 10% landmass forest coverage as well as ensure prompt
and quality service delivery to all. In the KFS (2012), there is a Human Resource and
Administration Division under Senior Deputy Director Finance and Administration
whose tasks are, among others to co-ordinate human resources planning, training and
development and handles attendance and leaves. Among the leaves granted are unpaid
and study leave, pg 36. On page 29, under 1.15 training and development, “KFS believes
that employees are its greatest asset and the attainment of its employees. The service’s
training programmes targets the achievement of its mandate”. This, together with 3.0
training and development that reads, “The service shall therefore offer training
opportunities to all its employees in order to improve their work performance and
personal development”, clearly states that employees are facilitated or allowed to study.
ENCOM, (2012) states that employees are promoted on merit and this includes
paramilitary training for junior ranks or education (minimum diploma lasting 6 months)
for officers. There are a number of officers with advanced diplomas and degrees but have
not yet been promoted, besides the statement in ENCOM that seems to support promotion
on merit, education achievement being one of the criteria. It is for this reason that the
researcher wants to study the influence of employee training on service delivery at The
Kenya Forest Service.
Purpose of the study
To investigate the influence of on the job training on service delivery, a case study of
Kenya Forest Service, Meru Zone.
Objectives of the Study
The objectives of the study were:
i. To investigate the effect of on job training policies on service delivery in Kenya Forest
Service Meru Station.
ii. To examine the effect of length of training on service delivery in Kenya Forest
Service Meru Station
iii. To find out the effect of level of training on service delivery in Kenya Forest Service
Meru Station
iv. To establish the effect of curriculum on service delivery in Kenya Forest Service Meru
Station.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
A total of 115 employees responded successfully to in the following percentages; 43%
disciplined forces, 4% technical services and 53% support services employees. The male
respondents account for 70% of the total number of respondents and females account for
30 % of the total respondents who participated in the survey. This means that there are
more males than females in Kenya Forest Service. Data obtained shows that 43% of the
employees at KFS have a college diploma, 35% possess secondary education and 22%
have a university degree as their highest level of education, and that 48% of the
respondents are married, 39% are single and 13% are divorced. More data indicates that
4.6, 34% of the respondents have worked for 8-10 years in KFS, 26% have worked for
11-15 years, 17% have worked for 5-7 years, 13% have worked for over 15 years and 9%
have worked for less than 5 years. This means that majority of the respondents have had a
fairly long tenure f service at KFS.
Results show that 48% of the respondents strongly agree that training policies affect
service delivery, with 44% indicating that they agree that training policies affects service
delivery, with 4% citing disagreement and strongly disagree respectively about training
policies affecting service delivery. This means that majority of the respondents felt that
training policies affects service delivery in a way. In total 53% agree that job training
affects service delivery to a very great extent with 35% agreeing that job training affects
service delivery to a high extent. 9% cited low extent and 3% cited very extent of job
training affecting service delivery. Majority of the respondents, at 88%, therefore were in
agreement that job training affects service delivery (Hill, 1985; Mullins, 2005; Braton et
al, 2007; McKenna, 2006).
.
Data indicates that 52% of the respondents agree that the length of training affects service
delivery whereas 48% strongly agrees that the length of training affects service delivery
of employees at Kenya Forest Service. This implies that the employees agree to the fact
that the more time you spend while being trained, the more you grasp the content and
methods of doing your work effectively and efficiently. Out of the total, 61% of the
respondents stated that the length of training affects service delivery to a high extent
whereas 39% stated that the length of training affects service delivery to a very high
extent. This implies that service delivery is to a large extent influenced by the length of
training (Bently (1991).
From the study findings 39% of the respondents agree that the level of training affects
service delivery whereas 35% strongly agrees that the level of training affects service
delivery of employees at Kenya Forest Service. The employees who do not agree that the
level of training affects service delivery are 17% and those that strongly disagree are 9%.
This implies that employees generally agree that the level of training does affect service
delivery at Kenya Forest Service. The study further shows that 61% of the respondents
stated that the level of training affects service delivery to a high extent whereas 39%
stated that the level of training affects service delivery to a very high extent. This implies
that service delivery is to a large extent influenced by the level of training (Bently (1991).
The data obtained indicates that 35% of the respondents agree that curriculum affects
service delivery whereas 65% strongly agrees that curriculum affects service delivery of
employees at Kenya Forest Service (Jackson & Schuler, 2000). This implies that the
employees agree to the fact that the content one is exposed to has a significant effect on
what one does, i.e., service delivery. More data indicates that 57% of the respondents
stated that curriculum affects service delivery to a high extent whereas 43% stated that
curriculum affects service delivery to a very high extent. This implies that service
delivery is to a large extent influenced by the length of training (Dessler, 2008).
Conclusion and Recommendations
Conclusion
Service delivery at Kenya Forest Service is affected in varying degrees by training
policies, length of training, level of training and curriculum implemented. 92% indicate
that job training affects service delivery, with 100% accepting that length of training
affects service delivery, 74% agreed that the level of training affects service delivery and
100% stated that curriculum affects service delivery.
The study shows that Kenya Forest Service has invested in crafting suitable training
policies for the employees in their areas of expertise to improve efficiency, effectiveness
and service delivery as exemplified by 92% who agreed with the idea. On the length of
training, 100% of the employees agreed that training is necessary in enhancing service
delivery. A 74% agreement was reported on the level of training affecting service delivery
from the Kenya Forest Service employees. They explained that the level of training
ensures proper grasp of the content, skills and attitudes necessary for handling job
challenges. The curriculum that is implemented gets 100% support from Kenya Forest
Service employees who said that curriculum determines the soft and hard skills necessary
to ensure one’s expertise and capabilities are enhanced.
Recommendations
The job training policies should be crafted in collaboration with all employees so that
their training needs, need for retention and employee morale are catered for and enhanced
in the policies. This would translate into crafting policies that support and enhance
service delivery in the organisation.
On the length of training, the employees stated that each type of training has its own
objectives and the length of training should depend on the objectives of the type of
training to be undertaken. They in addition said that the level of training and curriculum
should also determine the length of training as well as the pace in which the learners
grasp the content and practice it. Intensive training thus enhances service delivery.
Concerning the level of training, the employees suggested that each individual needs
should be considered as well as the certificates and tenure of service so that training
objectives are met. While crafting the training content and programme, one’s previous
experiences and capabilities should be considered so that the content is not
underwhelming or overwhelming to the point of putting off the participants. The level of
training enables employees to pinpoint at the actual level in which one is capable of
handling issues and thus determines service delivery.
An updated, current and relevant curriculum one is taught determines service delivery to
a large extent for the world