Professional Documents
Culture Documents
HRM 370 S2 Group B
HRM 370 S2 Group B
Alchemy Training
Firm
Submitted to
Tajuddin Ahmed
Lecturer, Department of Management
Executive summary
topics for corporate training. All the sales representatives were recruited trained
and managed by Ye himself. Yes’s criteria for selecting a sales representative were
pretty simple: candidates needed a Bachelor of Arts degree, an outgoing
personality and motivation. The training market was segmented, by and large, into
two parts: public training and corporate training. Public training referred to the
training seminars and workshops run for the general public. For a company like
Alchemy, the difficult part of running a corporate training program for a company
was the relatively quick shifting of hot topics and the shorter life cycle of topics: a
client seldom did the same topic of training twice. That forced many local
consulting firms with limited offerings of topics to keep looking for new clients.
He thought it would be more cost-effective to buy a mailing list from China
Federation of Logistics and Supply Chain Management and sell the program
online. Finally, they all agreed to price the new programs in the middle and kept
online sales of the programs as a backup option.
Table of content
Contents
Background 4
Dates and Data 8
Needs Assessment 13
Main issue 14
Internal/ External Need Assessment 15
Existing Arrangement 19
Training and Development Plan 23
Realization 28
Background
Alchemy was competing primarily with powerful international firms. But unlike
those big name firms Alchemy was more willing to provide tailor-made sales
management training programs customized for customers in both depth and
breadth; the programs were customized to suit the particular needs of different
industries products and the size and business nature of the company.
As the business grew Alchemy contracted with two external trainers both
successful sales practitioners. These external trainers were brought in to run
courses when demand was high but they were not permanent employees. There
were three divisions in the company: research and development (R&D) sales and
operations.
The R&D division headed by Ganwas nick-named the “brain division” of the
company. Relatively new and small, the department was charged with the
responsibility of developing new, “hot” topics for corporate training. Their
responsibilities included market surveys, customer satisfaction surveys, feedback
and evaluation, lecturer development, and relationship development and research
on skills sets and knowledge areas for practitioners.
The sales division, nick-named the “muscle division,” was the largest with six
fulltime sales representatives, four in Shanghai and two in Beijing. There was no
sales manager at Alchemy; all sales representatives reported directly to Ye, the
managing director. Li, the vice-president of operations, was charged with three
aliens of responsibilities: customer service, financial/accounting and information
technology/automation. All the sales representatives were recruited trained and
managed by Ye himself. Yes’ criteria for selecting a sales representative were
pretty simple: candidates needed a Bachelor of Arts degree, an outgoing
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personality and motivation. The sales reps were paid a straight salary plus bonus.
While the entry level salary was more or less the same from person to person, the
year-end bonus varied a lot. In the best cases, the bonus could be twice the annual
salary, and in worst cases, only half the salary. The bonus was calculated on the
basis of the revenue generated from accounts, rather than on the number of
accounts opened. Back in the early 1990s, corporate training was still a novelty in
China. Most local Chinese companies did not have professional training programs
provided to their staff. The only customers were foreign companies and the
Chinese sales and marketing arms of multinational companies. Professional
training programs were mostly provided by the local Chinese offices of
international training firms. There were no more than 30 professional training
service providers in Shanghai at that time. The training market was segmented, by
and large, into two parts: public training and corporate training. Public training
referred to the training seminars and workshops run for the general public. The
training providers advertised their training topic through the media: newspapers,
magazines, Web sites, e-mail, broadcasting, etc. in order to entice the candidates
with similar interests in a certain topic area to attend seminars or workshops. The
training market was segmented, by and large, into two parts: public training and
corporate training. Public training referred to the training seminars and workshops
run for the general public. The training providers advertised their training topic
through the media: newspapers, magazines, Web sites, e-mail, broadcasting, etc. in
order to entice the candidates with similar interests in a certain topic area to attend
seminars. For a company like Alchemy, the difficult part of running a corporate
training program for a company was the relatively quick shifting of hot topics and
the shorter life cycle of topics: a client seldom did the same topic of training twice.
That forced many local consulting firms with limited offerings of topics to keep
looking for new clients. In the past two years, the market price for a corporate
training program had been plummeting due to competition while the salaries of
good trainers kept growing. In the early and mid-1990s, the competitors were large
multinational training firms the trainers working for these firms in China were
mostly from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, and the most popular topics
included sales management, communication and human resources training.
Trainers came into China for the course, and then returned to their country. By
2001, the need for new topics grew, and this diversification posed challenges to the
local training providers due to the nature and structure of the organizations. Under
these circumstances, many local training firms had to resort to contacting external
resources, namely practitioners and/or academics, for a growing supply of good
trainers. Good trainer easily takes 50 per cent of the revenue for a corporate
training program sold by a training firm. They are as scarce as pandas.” According
to Ye, a good trainer was usually the No. 1 critical element that ensured the success
of the training program. In 2002, when China joined the World Trade Organization
and strong foreign direct investment in China for manufacturing and production
followed, China became a global workshop. Multinational companies were under
greater pressure and incentive to increase the effectiveness of their supply chain
management activities (purchasing, quality, production and logistics, etc.) in
China. In September 2003, Alchemy started selling these programs. Sales reps
were internally trained on the new product by the instructor, Chen, and were
promised an additional 20 per cent premium over the normal bonus base for
revenue generated by the new supply chain programs. Ye estimated that the 2003
price for a generic training program plummeted to roughly one-quarter of what it
was in 1997. In most cases, these contract trainers had a stable income from an
educational institute or a company. They made training an additional revenue
stream in their spare time by contracting with training firms.
2. The meeting was held at 6 p.m. where Wong still preparing for tomorrows
weekly meeting where he has to say something.
5. The company was owned by the three founding partners: Ye Pei, Li Min and
Gan Junyi.
7. Ye had been the sales manager for King-Watt, a U.S. based, and leading
international company in the power industry.
10. Alchemy is one of the first local Chinese companies to move into this
market.
13. Li’s father was an influential official in the emerging biotech industry in the
region.
14. Alchemy contracted with two external trainers, both successful sales
practitioners when they grew up.
16. In organization there were three divisions in the company: research and
development, sales and operations.
17. The R&D division headed by Gan. They named it “Brain Division”.
19. It was the largest with six fulltime sales representatives, four in Shanghai
and two in Beijing.
21. Li was charged with three aliens of responsibilities which are customer
service, financial/accounting and information technology/automation.
22. All the sales representatives were recruited, trained and managed by Ye
himself.
23. In the best cases, the bonus could be twice the annual salary, and in worst
cases, only half the salary.
25. There are four representative in the Shanghai office, three were in charge of
the greater Shanghai area, and one had responsibility for the neighboring
provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
27. There were two ways to generate sales leads at Alchemy: networking and
cold calls.
30. The human resource staff was often flooded with various kinds of training
information coming from different sources.
31. Corporate training was still a novelty in China back in the early 1990s.
32. The only customers were foreign companies and the Chinese sales and
marketing arms of multinational companies.
34. The training market was segmented, by and large, into two parts: public
training and corporate training.
35. Public training referred to the training seminars and workshops run for the
general public.
36. The training providers advertised their training topic through the media:
newspapers, magazines, web sites, e-mail, broadcasting, etc.
37. The training firm would normally rent the meeting space, either in the
function rooms of a hotel or in a conference room of an organization.
39. The trainers delivered the training program at the corporate site so the
trainees would enjoy the maximum flexibility.
40. The market for corporate training had been growing rapidly, not only the
large companies spent more on training, but smaller companies began to
spend here as well.
41. The budget for training for most Chinese companies kept increasing in the
period from 1998 to 2003.
42. There was a one tendency for large companies was to establish their own
training arm.
43. Such as Motorola, which opened its Motorola University in China to train its
own staff.
44. In the early and mid-1990s, the competitors were large multinational training
firms.
45. Ye estimated that the 2003 price for a generic training program plummeted
to roughly one-quarter of what it was in 1997.
46. A trainer was usually paid in the range of RMB 3000 to RMB 20000
depending on their reputation and the currency and attractiveness of the
topic.
48. Sales reps were internally trained on the new product by the instructor. Chen
were promised an additional 20 per cent premium over the normal bonus
base for revenue.
50. In 2002, Andy Wong received the largest bonus of all the sales reps.
Needs Assessment
1. Alchemy external trainers were brought in to run courses when demand was
high, they were not permanent employees.
3. The market price for a corporate training program had been plummeting due
to competition while the salaries of good trainers kept growing. “With these
two tendencies, a lot of companies, particularly those without their own
trainers, are almost stripped to the bone,” Ye complained.
5. Most of the trainer were outsourced by Alchemy and the trainers were just
making additional revenue out of this. Which means they were not much
committed to this particular job. Yen was resentful of this practice but yet he
had no choice.
6. Wong was struggling with best to convince Guan to accept the two existing
seminars.
7. The sales entry level salary was more or less the same from person to
person, the year-end bonus varied a lot. In the best cases, the bonus could be
twice the annual salary, and in worst cases, only half the salary.
Main issue
In the emerging market of Training firm, where trainers were hired from different
countries and costed higher than the locals, how can Ye, Li and Gan keep up their
revenue while maintaining their premium identification?
1. The market price for a corporate training program had been plummeting due
to competition while the salaries of good trainers kept growing. “With these
two tendencies, a lot of companies, particularly those without their own
trainers, are almost stripped to the bone,” Ye complained.
Yes
Yes, because without good trainer company will suffer and lose quality.
Yes, they can train their own employees or recruit people and train them.
2. The sales representative entry level salary was more or less the same from
person to person, the year-end bonus varied a lot. In the best cases, the bonus
could be twice the annual salary, and in worst cases, only half the salary.
Yes
3. Most of the trainer were outsourced by Alchemy and the trainers were just
making additional revenue out of this. Which means they were not much
committed to this particular job. Yen was resentful of this practice but yet he
had no choice.
Yes
Yes, they can train their own employees or recruit people and train them.
Yes
5. Alchemy external trainers were brought in to run courses when demand was
high, they were not permanent employees.
Yes
Yes, because not enough workers were that time when the demand was high.
Yes
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Client is important for a company, also they should focus on local consulted
firm.
Yes, firstly they can train the employees then increase their client then that
will be cost effective.
Existing Arrangement
1. Back in the early 1990s, corporate training was still a novelty in China. Most
local Chinese companies did not have professional training programs
provided to their staff. The only customers were foreign companies and the
Chinese sales and marketing arms of multinational companies. Professional
training programs were mostly provided by the local Chinese offices of
international training firms.
Cons: This system ignored the local training program. But a local training
program is day by day dominate china.
2. There were two ways to generate sales leads at Alchemy: networking and
cold calls. By networking, a sales rep would normally get, through their
connections and referrals, a contact name in human resources (HR) or
training department of a target client. Then the rep would call to make an
appointment for a face-to-face discussion if the client had a need or plan for
a training program. In a cold call, a sales rep would pick up the phone and
ask the switchboard to transfer him to the HR or training department. A sales
rep must impress the receiver, no matter who they were, in probably 10 to 15
seconds in order to secure a face-to-face meeting.
3. The training market was segmented, by and large, into two parts: public
training and corporate training. The training providers advertised their
training topic through the media: newspapers, magazines, Web sites, e-mail,
broadcasting, etc. For a public training program, the reputation of the trainer,
the cost and the coverage of the marketing campaign were important to get
people to “pack the room.” The strength of the public training seminars lay
in the possibility of attracting more attendees. Corporate training referred to
the training programs provided exclusively to the internal employees of a
certain organization. The trainers delivered the training program at the
corporate site so the trainees would enjoy the maximum flexibility
Pros: public training program it is the reputation of the trainer this training
process is a cost reduction process. The training quality is good. Many
people trained with one person it is attracting more attendance. Corporate
training is a process when its employee organization provides internal
training. Organization secret remains in this process.
Cons: public trainer is advertising cost is high. One trainer trained many
employees so most of the employees don’t well trained. A corporate trainer
is a costly process.
4. There were three divisions in the company: research and development (R&D
sales and operations. Their responsibilities included market surveys,
customer satisfaction surveys, feedback and evaluation, lecturer
development, and relationship development and research on skills sets and
knowledge areas for practitioners.
The sales division, nick-named the “muscle division,” was the largest with
six fulltime sales representatives, four in Shanghai and two in Beijing. There
was no sales manager at Alchemy; all sales representatives reported directly
to Ye, the managing director.
5. In the early and mid-1990s, the competitors were large multinational training
firms. The trainers working for these firms in China were mostly from Hong
Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, and the most popular topics included sales
management, communication and human resources training. Trainers came
into China for the course, then returned to their country. During the mid to
late 19905s, many small local Chinese training firms emerged. Unlike the
multinational training firms, the local companies were usually set up by one
or two founding partners who had some expertise in certain functional areas.
Pros: in 1990 the local training program is not good. So trainer working for
Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. Trainer gathering knowledge from sales
management, communication and human resources training. Trainer moves
to another country so that they gather knowledge from different cultural
activities.
Cons: they dominating their country training program. So day by day their
training program-dependent other countries. As a result before 1990 china
doesn’t a good training program.
6. For a corporate training program, there were two ways of pricing: a flat rate
and a variable rate. A flat rate meant that the same fee was charged,
regardless of the number of participants. With a variable rate, the fee for
training increased for each incremental trainee. Ye estimated that the 2003
price for a generic training program plummeted to roughly one-quarter of
what it was in 1997.A trainer was usually paid in the range of RMB3,000 to
RMB20,000 depending on their reputation and the currency and
attractiveness of the topic.
Pros: flat rate good for this is the attendance number of employee
participants. Variable training is very effective training it is encouraging all
of the employees. Variable-rate good reputation gather.
Cons: The employee charged fee is low so this appointment is so tough. The
variable rate cost is very high.
2. Cultural Training: In 2002, when China joined the World Trade
Organization and strong foreign direct investment in China for
manufacturing and production followed, China became a global workshop.
Multinational companies were under greater pressure and incentive to
increase the effectiveness of their supply chain management activities
(purchasing, quality, production and logistics, etc.) in China. This is why
there might be a chance when Alchemy Training firm might be in
multinational business. So that’s why they need to train their sales
representatives about different cultures so that when they are transferred to
another country they can easily adapt their business culture.
● Environment: Consider weather, facility, power and elements that can occur
unexpectedly.
● Time and Calendar: Time zones, daylight saving time, and local holidays
can confuse even seasoned global facilitators. TimeAndDate.com is a
helpful resource.
The employees are out there negotiating for the organization on a daily basis. We
understand that you need your employees to be equipped with the best negotiation
and persuasion skills to, not only increase profits and lower expenses, but to build
life-long relationships with your clients and customers.
The negotiation and persuasion training program will be specifically designed for
any business professional that is responsible for successfully negotiating outcomes
for their organization. The goal of this program is to provide participants with the
skills and tools to maximize their negotiated outcomes and build life-long
relationships where both counterparts feel their needs and goals have been met.
6. Succession Planning: In the early and mid-1990s, the competitors were
large multinational training firms the trainers working for these firms in
China were mostly from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, and the most
popular topics included sales management, communication and human
resources training. Trainers came into China for the course, and then
returned to their country. By 2001, the need for new topics grew, and this
diversification posed challenges to the local training providers due to the
nature and structure of the organizations. Under these circumstances, many
local training firms had to resort to contacting external resources, namely
practitioners and/or academics, for a growing supply of good trainers. In
most cases, these contract trainers had a stable income from an educational
institute or a company. They made training an additional revenue stream in
their spare time by contracting with training firms. Ye were resentful of this
practice, but he could see no options. Alchemy needed external contracted
trainers in order to grow.
So succession planning is necessary. So that after getting training, they can be the
future trainer of the Alchemy. The firm can -
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Realization
Realization 1
Most importantly, a sales representative must impress the receiver, no matter who
they were, in probably 10 to 15 seconds in order to secure a face-to-face meeting.
Alchemy training firm sends their employee for selling their training to the buyers.
So it is important for every sales representative to have proper communication skill
to present them and sell the training program. Effective communication is the
foundation of positive working relationships. Successful communication requires
thinking about message, delivery, timing, and audience.
Secondly, resources are allocated in priority based order until they are exhausted.
As we know the Alchemy training firm is private organization they do not have
that much resources. So, they should make a list of an employee who need the
training first. They can give these training the employees who are not that much
good or who have least employee. So, it will help the company to understand
whether their training is useful or not. Also if they do not get the exact feedback
they want they can change their strategy.
Thirdly, the surviving programs have to be well integrated into proper working
plan. Basically it is up to the employees. If they do have good understanding and
catching power they can easily relate their work with the training and development
they got from the company.
Realization 2
When China joined the World Trade Organization and strong foreign direct
investment in China for manufacturing and production followed. Multinational
companies were under greater pressure and incentive to increase the effectiveness
of their supply chain management activities (purchasing, quality, production and
logistics, etc.) in China. This is why there might be a chance when Alchemy
Training firm might be in multinational business. So that’s why they need to train
their sales representatives about different cultures so that when they are transferred
to another country they can easily adapt their business culture.
Firstly the employee development needs are prioritized to develop how to accept
and give total respects to the people of other cultures. Because it is very important
to every employee to keep a warm relationship and it is more important for the
company also. So, if the Alchemy training firm thinking of expanding they have to
send someone or some people to overlook the work of the company of that
country. That’s why the company employees needs to learn the culture of that
country. For this reason they can hire someone of that particular country to teach
the employee how to do what and what to do.
Secondly, resources are allocated in priority order until they are exhausted. As the
Alchemy training firm has not unlimited resources and they are not going to send
every employee of the organization to that country, one thing they should do is
making the list of the people who are going there and train them for the culture of
that country.
Thirdly, the surviving programs have to be well integrated into proper working
plan. It can only done by the people who has more adopting power than the other
in every area. Because by a training an employee cannot learn a culture properly.
So, he/she should have the adopting power to learn the new things.
Realization 3
Alchemy’s sales representatives have to go to the buyers’ office and set a price for
their program. Because different program needs different types of pricing and the
buyers demand different type of pricing scale. So proper negotiation skill is must
for the employees of the Alchemy training firm.
Secondly, resources are allocated in priority order until they are exhausted. In a
company all the employees are not involve in negotiation. Mainly the HR of the
company or the higher authority do this. So, the company can make training based
on these people who are going to negotiate with other parties.
Thirdly, the surviving programs have to be well integrated into proper working
plan. It is totally based on the skill of that people who is going to negotiate with
other parties. Because during the negotiation there will be many kind of situation
which can arise. So it is impossible to teach that through training.
Realization 4
In 1990’s the use of internet and in 2000’s different types of software use was
emerged. The Alchemy can train their employees in technology so that they can be
up to date. It is very important to know these things for any employee.
Firstly employee development needs are prioritized based on the people who has
more IT related work. So, the company should make a plan who need to learn
what. If the work of the employee is based on internet the company should give
him training on using computer and internet instead of communication or
negotiation training. As it is not available everywhere so it is the duty of the
company to teach these things the employees.
Secondly, resources are allocated in priority order until they are exhausted. As the
resources are limited the company should give the training to the employees who
are related with IT works. Not the employees of negotiation.
Thirdly, the surviving programs have to be well integrated into proper working
plan. IT related works are new to any employee. So, the company can get some
review from the employees who joined the training. Also, it is the responsibility of
the employees who get the training to remember the IT related works. Also they
should keep practicing what they learn from the training. By doing these things can
well integrate into the proper work plan.