FINAL PROJECT

Impact Of Training Intervention On Job Performance With

Mediating Role Of Capacity Building

BBS -4

SUBMITTED BY: Urooj Bint-e-Waqar (027)

Naima Mazhar (011)

Rabbia Sajid (016)

Nayyab Arzoo (012)

Sidra Fazil (021)

SUBMITTED TO: Ms. Aleena Mukarram

COURSE: Organizational Change And Development

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 07 April 2020

FATIMA JINNAH WOMEN UNIVERSITY

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IMPACT OF TRAINING INTERVENTIONS ON JOB PERFORMANCE WITH

MEDIATING ROLE OF CAPACITY BUILDING

INTRODUCTION

With the advent of information technology revolution and modern management

techniques, public sector organizations in Pakistan faced a demoralizing challenge of staying

ahead of their competitors in the corporate sector. Lack of knowledge of new technology and

contemporary management practices have been the major obstacles in implementing

organization development (OD) efforts in Pakistan’s public sector.

Our personal experiences suggest that organizations in Pakistan, especially the ones in

public sector, are not receptive to change. In this regard, this study shows how the

commitment of the leadership can make possible a long-term change in a public sector

organization. Also, not much research has been done on OD within the context of Pakistan’s

public sector. This paper aims to contribute to the limited research that is available on

Pakistan’s public sector. Through this paper, the authors plan to share OD experiences of

Pakistan Post with the rest of the public sector organizations in Pakistan.

This paper shows relationship between training and job performance This paper has

several purposes. First, it aims to highlight the OD efforts in the public sector of Pakistan.

The paper focuses on OD efforts that took place in the Pakistan Post. Second, the paper

addresses consequences of the OD process in the Pakistan Post. Third, the paper discusses

how factors such as leadership, competition, and technology can trigger the OD process in a

public sector organization. And it discusses how training is helpful for employees of Pakistan

Post.

Pakistan Post, a government organization, is one of the oldest and largest public

sector organizations of the country. Pakistan Post Office is one of the oldest government
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departments in the Sub-Continent. In 1947, it began functioning as the Department of Post &

Telegraph. In 1962 it was separated from the Telegraph & Telephone and started working as

an independent attached department. Pakistan Post is providing postal services in every nook

and corner of the country through a network of around 13,000 post offices. Pakistan Post is

providing delivery services to about 20 million households and businesses as community

service without any cost considerations. In addition to its traditional role, the Pakistan Post

also performs agency functions on behalf of Federal and Provincial governments, which

inter-alias include Savings Bank, Postal Life Insurance, Collection of Taxes, Collection of

Electricity, Water, Sui Gas and Telephone bills.

The Pakistani culture is defined as “an amalgam of religion, Indian origins, British

colonialism and American influences” (Khilji, 2002; p 238). It is characterized by a high

power distance, “the degree of inequality among people which the population of a country

considers normal”, low individualism “the degree to which people in a country have learned

to act as individuals rather that as members of cohesive groups”, and high uncertainty

avoidance “the degree to which people in a country prefer structured over unstructured

situations” (Islam, 2004).

High power distance has contributed to a culture where the existence of taller and

centralized organizations is normal and decision making is concentrated at higher levels,

which collectively result in sycophancy (Islam, 2004). Low individualism is evident in

instances where responsibility for extended family is considered legitimate and where there

exists an intermixing of personal and professional aspects of one’s life. This leads to a

phenomenon called sifarish (meaning unfair recommendation in Urdu) culture. High

uncertainty avoidance contributes to a culture where rules are appreciation of rules which

then adds to resistance to change (Islam, 2004).

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An interesting aspect of the organizational culture of government organizations which

differentiates the former from private sector organizations are the deep roots of government

organizations in British colonialism which resulted in tall structures, strict adherence to

hierarchy, and a high power distance and uncertainty avoidance. Islam (2004) suggested that

a distinct feature found in government organizations is their “tall structures constituted by

many levels of hierarchy”.

The objectives of study is to develop importance of training among employees and

how capacity building is important in building employee performance better. Developing a

training intervention program involves assessing the need, designing materials, developing

training presentations and exercises, implementing the program and evaluating the success of

the program. Training is really about the communication of ideas. If a trainer is

communicating with their participants–by structuring and delivering content in a logical

sequence–learning will occur. Capacity building is fundamentally about improving

effectiveness, at the micro and macro organizational levels. Capacity building focuses on

furthering an organization’s ability to do new things and improve what they currently do.

Most simply, capacity building improves the organization’s performance and enhances its

ability to function and continue to stay relevant within a rapidly changing environment.

Capacity building typically involves training, mentoring and financial and/or other resource

support to individuals and organizations from external sources. Capacity building does not

happen overnight. It is a process that may take several years, and often involves experts from

many fields. Typically capacity building will result in the adoption of new skills and

knowledge as well as systems to sustain and expand these improvements over time.

Problem statement:

Is training intervention helpful for capacity building in any organization and effects job

performance?
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LITERATURE REVIEW

The Link between Human Resource Capacity Building and Job Performance

Emmanuel Erastus Yamoah, PhD (Can.) Senior Lecturer, School of Business, Valley

View University, Accra, Ghana

In this paper, the primary objective was to discuss the link between human resource

capacity building and job performance by reviewing current literature on the subject. The

review considered the aspects of capacity building that deals with the training and

empowerment of individual employees in order to improve their job performance. Finding

from the review indicated a strong link between human resource capacity building and

employee job performance. It is hoped that this indication from the review will provide

additional logical motivations for the continuing training and empowerment of employees

The greatest assets of any organization are its human resource and organizations spend

considerable resources in building the capacities of their employees. Human resources

capacity building equips employees to achieve organizational goals. This paper sought to

examine the link between human resource capacity building and job performance. The

aspects of human resource capacity building considered were employee training and

employee empowerment. The link between human resource capacity building and job

performance was strongly established from the review of literature.

The impact of employees’ use of HR practices on employee performance: the

moderating role of perceived organizational support and the employees’ perspective to

HR effectiveness

Imke Boonen

The effects of Human Resource (HR) practices on employee performance have been

extensively studied however, the effects of employees’ perceptions regarding the

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effectiveness of HR practices have been under researched. This study examines to what

extent the use of HR practices (i.e. employee development, career opportunities, performance

management, job design, communication and information sharing, participation, work-life

balance, job security and rewards) influences employee performance and to what extent this

relationship is mediated by the perceived HR effectiveness and moderated by the perceived

organizational support. Building on AMO-theory, it was expected that HR practices would

enhance the development of knowledge, skills and the opportunity employees receive to

perform. According to the COR-theory, organizational support could strengthen the positive

relationship between the use of HR practices and their effectiveness ratings for employee

performance. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 464 employees from different

Dutch organizations in various sectors. Results support the positive relationship between use

of HR practices and HR effectiveness ratings. Furthermore, the results support the positive

relationship between use of HR practices and employee performance except for the HR

practices employee development and rewards. Despite of what was expected, no positive

relationship was found between the effectiveness ratings of HR practices and employee

performance for the HR practices; employee development, career opportunities, performance

management, job design, work-life balance, job security and rewards. Finally, results showed

that perceived organizational support did strengthen the positive relationship for the HR

practices; employee development, career opportunity, performance management, job design,

participation, work-life balance and rewards.

The Impact Of Human Resource Management Practices On Job Performance

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of human resource management

practices on job performance total of 90 employees from public and private universities

comprising of both academicians and supporting staff responded to the survey. The survey

questionnaire had 49 items covering selected HRM practices and universities performance.
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The findings suggested that management might be able to increase the level of the

commitment in the organization by improving satisfaction with compensation, policies, and

work conditions. Companies should involve their employees as they are viewed as an

indispensable source of competitive advantage.

A growing body of empirical research has examined the effect of certain human

resource management practices on the job performance. Although there is a long list of

human resource practices that can affect independently or collectively on the

organizational performance. We had taken some important human resource practices which

affect the organizational performance. There is increasing interest in the notion that

complementary bundles of human resource practices enhance organizational performance.

Firstly, in this study, we used a small size sample to analyze the impact of human resource

management practices on job performance.

Impact Of Training On Employee Performance:

Training effects employee's job performance positively. Training is a motivational

factor which enhances the knowledge of the employee towards the job by which employees

become proficient in their jobs and they become able to give better results. In addition,

training is seen as a useful means of coping with changes fostered by technological

innovation; market competition, organizational structuring and most importantly it plays a

key role to enhance employee performance. This paper analyses the relationship between

training and its impact on employee performance in banks. Several measures of performance

are analyzed including compensation, performance appraisal, and organizational

commitment.
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This study is intended to measure the level of performance in terms of imparting

training. It also evaluates the impact of training on employee performance on their jobs.

Keeping these objectives in view, we presume that training is positively related to job

performance of employee. The study was conducted on 108 bank employees The study model

includes one independent variable viz., training and one dependent variable employee

performance. Descriptive statistics were used to measure the level the perception across all

the understudy variables.

The variables examined in this study are:

1. Independent Variable: Training

2. Dependent Variable: Employee Performance

The present study examined the influence of training on performance. It further presents that

organizational performance is significantly determined by training imparted to the employees

or in other words training is an important aspect of performance. Performance of an

organization relies on the employee commitment.

Role Of Human Resource Practices In Employee Performance And Job Satisfaction

With Mediating Effect Of Employee Engagement.

Tehmina Sattar, Khalil Ahmad And Syeda Mahnaz Hassan

This study attempts to examine the impact of human resource (HR) practices on

employee’s satisfaction and performance through mediating role of employee’s engagement.

The study collects data from 181 employees of three leading banks of Multan city (Pakistan)

namely: Habib Bank, Faysal Bank, and Allied Bank. The findings of the present study reveal
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that training and empowerment of the workers contributes more in employee’s work

performance and their job satisfaction than that of rewards/incentives.

However, rewards/incentives are significantly (P<0.01) related with the employee’s

engagement in organizational activities. Overall, HR practices (training, rewards and

empowerment) are significantly (P<0.01) related with employees engagement and confirm

the assumptions of Baron and Kenny (1986) for mediation analysis. The results of the study

are gleaned by using the direct path way and multiple regression to investigate the impact of

HR practices on mediating variable (employee engagement) and mediating variable on both

dependent variables (employee’s satisfaction and employee’s performance). The results of

the study confirm that proposed hypothesis are statistically significant (P<0.01) and indicate

that employee’s engagement partially mediates the relationship between HR practices and

both employee’s satisfaction and employee’s performance outcomes.

Coping with information overload in email communication: Evaluation of a training

intervention 2010

Roman Soucek, Klaus Moser

The present paper introduces three facets of information overload in email

communication: A large amount of incoming information, inefficient workflow, and deficient

communication quality. In order to cope with these facets of information overload, a training

intervention was developed and evaluated. Data were collected from 90 employees on several

evaluation levels within a longitudinal evaluation design (one pretest double posttest design).

The results reveal that the training contributed to an increase in knowledge and media

competencies. We also found evidence for a transfer of training contents to the workplace.

Finally, strain diminished on several dimensions. In particular, problems with media usage

and work impairment decline significantly, an effect that was stronger for those participants
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who face a large amount of email at their workplaces. Any training intervention should be

discussed with respect to the sustainability (vs. relapse) of the training effects in general, and

the transfer to the work environment in particular. Therefore, we collected data both at the

end of the training sessions and three weeks after the training.

Impact of HRM Practices on Employee’s Performance 2016

Saira Hassan

This study was conducted to determine the impact of HRM practices on employee’s

performance in the Textile industry of Pakistan. Random sampling technique was used to

collect data for this research study. A questionnaire based on 34 items was distributed among

68 employees of textile industry for data collection. To check the association between HRM

practices and employee’s performance, Pearson correlation statistical technique and

regression analysis was applied on the data. The results indicate that HRM practices

Compensation, Career Planning, Performance Appraisal, Training, and Employee

Involvement have a positive impact on employee’s performance. Hence, it is proved that

independent variables contribute positively towards change in the dependent variable.

The research conducted by Singh (2004)indicates a positive relationship between

HRM Practices and employee’s performance (Qureshi,2006). The study showed human

resource (HRM) practices and activities have a significant impact on the employee’s

performance (Tabiu and Nura, 2013). It is concluded that HRM practices can enhance the

employee’s level of performance which influence the perception of employees about

performance (Khalid, 2014).

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The Effect Of Human Resource Management On Performance In Hospitals In Sub-

Saharan Africa

Philipos Petros Gile

Hospitals in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) face major workforce challenges while having

to deal with extraordinary high burdens of disease. The effectiveness of human resource

management (HRM) is therefore of particular interest for these SSA hospitals. While, in

general, the relationship between HRM and hospital performance is extensively investigated,

most of the underlying empirical evidence is from western countries and may have limited

validity in SSA. Evidence on this relationship for SSA hospitals is scarce and scattered. We

present a systematic review of empirical studies investigating the relationship between HRM

and performance in SSA hospitals. In view of the high burden of disease, our review

identified remarkable little evidence on the relationship between HRM and patient outcomes.

Moreover, the presented evidence often fails to provide contextual characteristics which are

likely to induce variety in the performance effects of HRM interventions. Coordinated

research efforts to advance the evidence base are called for.

The literature shows that HRM affects four different categories of performance

outcomes: (individual)employee, team, organization (as a whole), and patient outcomes.

Employee outcomes and organizational outcomes are frequently researched, whereas team

outcomes and patient outcomes are significantly less researched. Evidence of the effect of

HRM on patient outcomes, probably mediated via HRM outcomes, for now primarily builds

on practices, which is believed to lead to superior outcomes in any setting.

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Capacity Building Boost Employees Performance 2015 Tahir Ahmad, Faiza Farrukh

and Sana Nazir

The purpose of this paper is to conduct to investigate the factors that enhance

employee’s performance at workplace. To observe intrinsic feature capacity building and

extrinsic features such as supervisory support and organizational support for career

development (OSCD) role in employee’s productivity. Quantitative research approach was

used; middle level employees of banking industry were selected for analyzing this concept.

Reliability and validly of 45 items were ensured and SPSS version 20 was used for model

testing by multiple regression analysis technique. Research outcomes depict that supervisory

support and OSCD development does not impact significantly on employees performance of

banking sector, whereas capacity building of an individual employee leads to enhance his/her

performance. Capacity building of employee’s leads to enhance performance as justified by

this research, however, cannot be achieved without providing support for career development

to their employees. Therefore, impact of organizational support on capacity building of

employee’s may be interest corner for researchers. Observed capacity building has positive

impact on employee’s performance along with the external factors with statistically

significant measures.

Research outcomes depict that supervisory support and OSCD does not impact

significantly on employees performance of banking sector of Pakistan. Lack of awareness

and deficiency is observed in banks about contributions in career development support. This

indicates disinterest of banking top management in creating and providing career growth

opportunities in their organization. Capacity Building of employee’s leads to enhance

performance as justified by this research, however, cannot be achieved without providing

support for career development to their employees.

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Impact of Capacity Building and Managerial Support on Employees’ Performance: The

Moderating Role of Employees’ Retention 2019

Muhammad Wassem , Sajjad Ahmad Baig , Muhammad Abrar, Muhammad Hashim ,

Muhammad Zia-Ur-Rehman , Usman Awan , Fiza Amjad , and Yasir Nawab

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of capacity building and

managers’ support on employee performance in the textile industry. Moreover, this article

also investigates the moderating effect exerted by employee retention on the effects of

capacity building and managers’ support on employee performance. Data were collected

through a convenience sampling technique. A self-administered questionnaire survey was

conducted for data collection. Two hundred copies of questionnaires were distributed, and

data were collected from the lower to middle-level employees who are working in the textile

sector of Pakistan. SPSS 23 and SmartPLS-3 software were used for analysis. The results

indicate that capacity building has a positive and significant impact on employee

performance. In contrast, managerial support has an insignificant impact on employees’

performance. However, the impact of capacity building and managerial support on employee

performance is positive and significantly moderated by employee retention. The results of

this study will motivate owners/policymakers to invest in capacity building to enhance their

organizational performance/productivity. This study used cross-sectional data for the

interpretation of the results in this study, but longitudinal data will give a clearer picture of

the model.
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ANALYSIS

In this study, data were collected in various different ways. In-person and phone

interviews were conducted. Telephonic interviews help us to collect data Besides, we

reviewed relevant literature. While interviewees represented the employees of Pakistan Post.

The following research questions guided the data collection process.

 Are you satisfied with the job?

I'm somehow satisfied with the job. As this a public sector organization we are not

allowed to propose our ideas related any issue and situation prevailing in

organization. We have to work according to the terms described by the government

 Training sessions are conducted?

The institute in Islamabad serves as a premier training institute for postal executives.

As there is less number of employees here so employees are not being sent there so

far for training sessions.

 Which HR Practices are not being practiced?

Recruitment and selection is not being practiced and therefore there is less number of

employees

 How much you are in favor of change in your organization?

The employees are in favor of change but as it is public sector organization the

change cannot be implemented until government does not allow us

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 Are you facilitated in case of any emergency?

No, we are not facilitated in good manner in case of any emergency. For example, if

we want holiday due to emergency we face problem.

 What are some factors that hindered OD efforts in Pakistan Post?

The government terms and conditions hinders the OD efforts in any public sector

including Pakistan Post

 Are you guided about your JD?

The duties and responsibilities are assigned accordingly. Some employees have some

knowledge about their JD

 As a result of implementing OD efforts, what are the key challenges for Pakistan

Post?

The government permissions and a long procedure is to be adopted for implementing

any kind of change intervention in public sector economy

 Is the organization making its facilities better like other private companies like

DHL TCS etc?

Many measures are taken to improve the facilities for customers and fast delivery of

the parcels but training is required in this context too.

 Who were the key individuals influencing the OD efforts in Pakistan Post?

The authoritative authority senior employees and government terms. merit. Older

employees who were not ready for the change and had spent more than 25 years with

the department.
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We analyzed that the public sector organizations are reluctant to change and the

employees if willing cannot adopt change. Older employees are mostly not ready for change

as they are not willing to move to new work forum. And if trainings are provided the

trainings are not taken as much serious they should be taken. Trainings are necessary for

recruitment and selection process so that a number of employee can get job opportunities.

And also for focusing on customer's satisfaction. The higher authority is considered as barrier

in knowledge sharing.
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FINDINGS

The problems identified by asking questions is that the employees are not motivated

and they need training in many aspects. They should be trained in modern techniques as

adopted by the competitors so that they can compete in this developing world. The most

important challenge was to make the change part of the organizational culture. For this

purpose, every effort was made to hire new employees on merit. Older employees who were

not ready for the change and had spent more than 25 years with the department were either

given postings which required minimum usage of computers or the option of voluntary

retirement. It was emphasized that all training programs were linked to the adoption of finest

practices in the postal industry, as there were challenges posed to the Pakistan Post by high

usage of e-mail and cell phones.

The different levels of the organization, with few exceptions, viewed the OD efforts

as a positive step. Those who were not supportive of the OD efforts were of the view that the

policies were made and implemented in an autocratic way by the leadership which did not

actually understand the dynamics of a big public sector enterprise.

The literature review also proposed that HR practices motivates and encourages

employees and here we also get results that HRD should be developed in order to get

employee satisfaction and employee retention. Capacity building in the organization helps

every employee to get involved in the activities. Capacity Building of employee’s leads to

enhance performance as justified by this research, however, cannot be achieved without

providing support for career development to their employees. the findings highlight the

importance of the transfer of HR practices to the employee and on the other hand emphasize

the importance of the effect of work-related factors in order to enhance the perceived

effectiveness of HR practices.
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The top management of Pakistan Post headed by the Director General shared a vision

with employees, “to provide every household in Pakistan with the ability to communicate and

conduct business with each other and the world efficiently and economically.” The National

Organization of Postal Employees (NOPE) was a powerful union and was considered to be

the biggest obstacle. The then Director General was successful in banning NOPE with the

support of the military government. An autonomous and high powered Postal Services

Management Board was established through Pakistan Postal Services Management Board

Ordinance, 2002. This move installed an institutional and legal framework to introduce the

much needed changes in the organization.

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INTERVENTION AND INTERVENTION FEEDBACK

Training is a key feature of successful human resource management. Passive

management is one of the top 5 reasons why strategic planning initiatives fail. To implement

an effective training program, members of management must also develop a comprehensive

intervention program to ensure that all training objectives are met. There are several steps

that an organization can take to ensure that employees follow through on all training

objectives to which they are assigned. Define the goals of your training initiative. They must

be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely (SMART). You must have

specific training goals laid out for each employee. There must also be some way that you can

measure your employees’ progress. Finally, you must ensure that the goals are both attainable

and realistic and that they may be accomplished within a given period of time.

By implementing training intervention and OD efforts being proposed in Pakistan

Post the employees made frequent visits in training sessions conducted in Islamabad training

institute. High power distance leading in public organizations including Pakistan Post.

Training intervention helped employees in many aspects and they get motivated. They were

satisfied with the OD efforts and attended training sessions for knowledge purpose and then

they applied it in their daily routine work. It was somehow difficult to implement the

intervention but the feedback was positive.

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CONCLUSION

This study highlights that more research studies within public sector organizations are needed

to understand how HRD is conceptualized and practiced. It is recommended that more

research be conducted to explore how various leadership styles are related to OD efforts in

public sector organizations. A relationship between power distance and employee

involvement could also be explored. Lastly, it is recommended that OD in developing

countries’ public sector organizations should be addressed in greater detail and analyzed

within the context of national HRD policies. This in itself might enable the HRD community

to gain an understanding of the extent to which national HRD policies influence HRD

practices in public sector organizations.

In conclusion, it can be stated that HRD efforts, including OD efforts, need to be studied

from a broader perspective (Budhwani & McLean, 2005). Public sector in developing

countries can offer challenging opportunities for implementing and studying OD efforts.

Training intervention helped employees in many aspects amd they get motivated. They were

satisfied with the OD efforts and attented training sessions for knowledge purpose and then

they appplied it in their daily routine work. It was somehow difficult to implement the

intervention but the feedback was positive. This working paper outlines HRD in Pakistan

Post, a public sector organization, by highlighting how local knowledge and global support

can be used in implementing OD efforts using a top-down approach. The major objective is

to contribute to the limited HRD literature available on Pakistan Post.

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