CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background of the Study

The history of training in business organizations is as long as the entire history of business organizations (Miller, 1996:3). This is because the knowledge base or skills of the normal employees in the labour market is not sufficient for the specialized tasks within the organizations. However, the academic study of various forms of training did not start until about a century ago, when researchers started a branch of research under the name of “vocational training” (Salas and Cannon Bowers, 2001). The beginning of the twentieth century and especially after World War II saw the widespread of training programs among organizations, involving more and more employees and also expanding in content (Luo, 2000). In the 1910s, only a few large companies such as Westinghouse, General Electric, and International Harvester had factory schools that focused on training technical skills for entrylevel workers. By the end of 1990, forty percent of the Fortune 500 firms in America had a corporate university or learning center (Meister, 1997).

Training in Nigeria could be traced back to 1960 when it was discovered that most of the top government and business positions were occupied by expatriates (Olalere and Adesoji, 2013). The departure of the whites after independence gave rise to a big vacuum of capable indigenous human capital. This prompted the Federal Government of Nigeria to set up a Manpower Board in 1962 following the Ashby Commissions Recommendations (Olalere and Adesoji, 2013:83). Consequently, the Federal Government of Nigeria established complimentary institutions like the Centre for Management Development (CMD), Administrative Staff College of Nigeria, Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and Federal Training Centre to train and retrain employees as well as give orientation to fresh graduates of formal academic institutions (Olalere and Adesoji, 2013).

Today, we are witnessing an overwhelming number of research studies from both descriptive and prescriptive traditions, focusing on several characteristics of training programs as well as their costs and benefits for business organizations (Becker and Gerhart, 1996). At the same time, organizations have come to better understand the significance of training for their survival in knowledge-intensive and volatile markets of this era, and thus have increasingly acknowledged the profitability of developing their human resources through various forms of training (Berge, 2001; Salas and Cannon-Bowers, 2001). Human resource capital of any organization plays an important role, thus training and retraining helps in fortifying employees (Khan, Khan and Khan, 2011).

Despite the obvious significance of training, the enormous expansion in the content of training programs over time has largely been taken for granted. Some Human Resources Departments rarely question the necessity and appropriateness of training a particular employee at a particular time. Often times, there are ulterior motives why employees are sent on training. Mourdoukoutas (2012) found out that some of those organizations that neglect employee training do so because of the huge cost of training and the fear of losing those employees after training them.

To show the importance attached to employee training, Nigerian Bottling Company has a training school and 7UP Bottling Company conducts on-the-job and off-the-job training for employees from time to time. This notwithstanding HR Departments in these organizations still face challenges in the selection of employees for training. To assist in the possible improvement of employee training in Soft Drinks Bottling Companies in particular and manufacturing companies in general, the research was embarked upon to investigate the impact of employee training on organizational performance vis-à-vis the processes of employee training and the challenges faced by the Human Resource Department in the selection of employees for training with reference to the employees of Nigerian Bottling Company

1.2       Statement of the Problem

The      perception       of         employees       on        training           has       a          greater impact on        the            success            of         any

organization. If the employees are satisfied with the training policies of the organization, this will have a positive impact on the organization”s productivity. The perception or attitude of employees is transformed into positive or negative behaviour. How do the employees see employee training policies of the organization? How seriously does the Management take the Training Policy of its organization? Some see training and development as a waste of time and resources that would have been employed in the production of goods and services that will yield profit to the organization. Sometimes, the fear that an employee could leave the organization after training affects the employees training and sometimes makes it unplanned and unsystematic.

The procedure and process usually adopted by some Human Resource Departments in the identification of those employees that require training are worrisome. Employees sometimes go for training for personal reasons which include enriching themselves; preparing themselves for other positions in other organizations; power play/politics; because he/she knows the person in-charge of training and not necessarily because there is an identified skill gap which needs to be filled through training. Often times, the HR Department does not conduct training needs assessment. Employees” training selection criteria ought to be systematic and free from bias. It must follow a lay down procedure to ensure that the right candidates are sent for training for positive impact on organizational performance.

It is found that previous researchers have concentrated on the importance and benefits of training and no study has been carried out on the challenges faced by the HR departments of Soft Drink Bottling Companies in the selection of employees for training. In order to fill this gap, the researcher is compelled to conduct a study on the impact of employee training on organizational performance with focus on processes and procedures of identifying skill gaps, training design and delivery style and employee perception towards training in Soft Drinks Bottling Companies in Rivers State.

1.3       Objectives of the Study

The main objective of the study is to investigate the impact of employee training on organizational performance with focus on the processes and procedures of selection employees for training. However, specific objectives of the study are as follows:

1.         To ascertain the extent to which selection procedure of employee for training affects

organizational productivity;

2.         To determine the extent of impact of training design on employee productivity;

3.         To ascertain the extent to which training delivery style affects employee productivity;

4.         To        find      out       the       relationship     between          employee        perceptions     of            training           and

organizational productivity; and

5.         To        determine       the       extent  to         which   employee        training           affects            organizational

performance.

1.4       Research Questions

The research questions were drawn in line with the objectives as follows:

1.         To what extent does selection procedure of employee for training affect organizational

productivity?

2.         To what extent does training design affect organizational performance?

3.         To what extent does training delivery style affect organizational performance?

4.         What is the relationship between employee perception of training and organizational

productivity?

5.         To what extent does employee training affects organizational performance?

1.5       Hypotheses

To achieve the objectives of this study, the following five hypotheses were formulated for

testing.

Ho: 1    Selection         procedure       of         employee        for       training           does     not       have    a            high     impact on

organizational productivity.

Ho: 2    The      extent  to         which   training           design  affects organizational productivity     is          not

significant.

Ho: 3    The extent to which training delivery style affects organizational productivity is not

significant.

Ho: 4    There is no substantial relationship between employee perception of training and organizational productivity.

Ho: 5    The extent to   which employee training affects organizational productivity is not

significant.

1.6       Significance of the Study

The significance of this study cannot be over-emphasized and can be viewed from the

following perspectives.

1.         The study will help the top management in taking strategic decision that affect training and development for the overall growth of the industry;

2.         Members of Staff of the two manufacturing industries to be used as case study will have adequate knowledge as to the importance of training and why it is necessary that they are trained from time to time;

3.         The      study    will      help     the       Human Resource         Department    in         proper planning            and

execution of training and development programmes;

4.         Future researchers will also find this work very useful as reference materials for

further studies;

5.         The study will be useful to the researcher as it will help her in actualizing her dream and lead her to the completion of M.Sc. program in Management.

1.7       Scope of the Study

The study focused on the investigation of the impact of employees training on organizational performance. The study was delimited to training and development programmes, employee training design and delivery style, post-training performance evaluation of training on organizational performance.

The geographical scope of the work is Rivers State in the South-east of Nigeria. The only two soft drinks manufacturing companies located in Rivers State were chosen for the study. They are: Nigerian Bottling Company Plc and 7UP Bottling Company Plc.

The field work for this research was conducted between August and September, 2012.

1.8       Limitations of the Study

The following constraints were encountered in the course of this work.

1.         Lack of reliable data: The Respondents” unwillingness to give out available and reliable data was major constrain in the course of the study.

2.         Dearth of Research materials: The researcher was constrained in the search of research materials. Most current books and journals on the related area are not free, and so the researchers was limited to those materials she could afford.

3.         Measure used to collect data: Secondary data would have been more appropriate for the post-evaluation analysis, but because it was difficult to separate and link percentage (%) increase in turnover to employee training, primary data was used.

4.         Self-reported data: Self reported data was a major limitation of the study, because it rarely can be independently verified. The researcher had to take what the respondents said at face value.

Nonetheless, with available data and judicious use of the limited resources, reasonable analysis was carried out to ensure that research findings add up to the body of knowledge.

1.9       Operational Definition of Terms

Delivery style  -           This is  a set of a systematic processes designed       to         meet learning

objectives related to trainees” current or future