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Studying the impact of challenges training system on effectiveness of human

resources management practices (case study: Iran’s petrochemical industry)

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420 Int. J. Services and Operations Management, Vol. 21, No. 4, 2015

Studying the impact of challenges training system on

effectiveness of human resources management
practices (case study: Iran’s petrochemical industry)

Hadi Teimouri
Management Department,
University of Isfahan,
Isfahan, Iran
Email: Hadi_Teimouri@mang.ui.ac.ir

Mansour Moazami
Management Department,
Tehran Oil Industry University,
Tehran, Iran
Email: moazami@put.ac.ir

Kouroush Jenab*
Society of Reliability Engineering-Ottawa Chapter,
812-761 Bay Street, Toronto, ON, M5G 2R2, Canada
Fax: +213-283-0898
Email: jenab@ieee.org
*Corresponding author

Abstract: The main objective of the present survey is to study the impact of
challenges in the training system and the effectiveness of human resources
management practices in Iran’s petrochemical industry. According to results of
the present survey, there is a significant difference among identified challenges
in training system in the decentralised and centralised maintenance sections of
Iran’s petrochemical industry. Results demonstrate that effectiveness of human
resources management practices in training system in the centralised
maintenance section is higher than the average level and in the decentralised
maintenance section, the effectiveness is lower than the average level. Also
there exists a significant difference between the effectiveness level of human
resources management practices in training system in the decentralised and
centralised maintenance sections. Finally, there exists a significant and reversed
relation among the existing challenges in training system and effectiveness of
human resources management practices in this regard.

Keywords: human resources management challenges; training system;

organisational effectiveness; maintenance.

Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Teimouri, H., Moazami, M.

and Jenab, K. (2015) ‘Studying the impact of challenges training system on
effectiveness of human resources management practices (case study: Iran’s
petrochemical industry)’, Int. J. Services and Operations Management, Vol. 21,
No. 4, pp.420–434.

Copyright © 2015 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

 Studying the impact of challenges training system 421

Biographical notes: Hadi Teimouri is an Assistant Professor of Management

Department at Faculty of Administrative Sciences and Economics in the
University of Isfahan, Iran. He graduated in BSc, MSc and PhD levels in
University of Isfahan with the best degree. His fields of interest are human
resource management, organisational behaviour and strategic management. He
has published several books and research article in local and international
journals.

Mansour Moazami is an Assistant Professor of Management Department at

Petroleum University of Technology in Tehran, Iran. His fields of interest are
human resource management, and strategic management. He has published
several books and research article in local and international journals.

Kouroush Jenab received his BSc from the IE Department at the Isfahan
University of Technology in 1989, MSc from the IE Department at Tehran
Polytechnic in 1992, and PhD from the Department of Mechanical Engineering
at the University of Ottawa in 2005. He served as a Senior Engineer/Manager
in auto, and high-tech industries for 20 years. He joined National Research
Council Canada as a Research Officer. Currently, he is the Education Chair of
SRE-Ottawa Chapter, and the VP of Journal and Conference Affairs – IAJC.
He has published over 100 papers in international journals and conferences
based on his experiences in industries.

1 Introduction

Human resources management is the most important managerial challenge for modern
organisations under the modern global conditions and the intensive competition in the
national and international environment. These have been recognised as the most
significant factor of growth, development and sustainable competitive advantage.
Nowadays human resources are identified as a means to achieve competitive advantage
by organisations (Mayo, 2001; DTI, 2003; Verma and Dewe, 2008). Proposing of
concepts such as organisational learning, learning organisations, knowledge management,
etc in the contemporary management literature emphasises the importance and creative
role of human resources and responsibilities of human resources management against
them.
Human resources management has nowadays found newer dimensions in
coordination with theoretical changes and as a result what is expected from human
resources management is totally different from its previous challenges. Human resources
management should be able to direct the change process in the organisation from the
context of effective management of human capitals through playing new roles and helps
the organisation achieve competitive advantage by relying on human resources
capabilities (Noe et al., 2006). Evidently, effectiveness of human resources management
in any organisation depends on various factors that are different in various environmental
and organisational conditions (Yeganeh and Su, 2008; Okpara and Wynn, 2008; Antwi
and Analoui, 2008; Gilbert and Boxall, 2009).
Researches show that human resources management system in Iran is focused on
traditional tasks of selection, employment, performance assessment, reward and
punishment, etc as before and does not have the essential effectiveness in doing these
tasks (Yeganeh and Su, 2008). Perhaps the most important reason for ineffectiveness is
422 H. Teimouri et al.

that the common approach and systems of human resources management in Iran are not
able to respond to the current challenges in each specialised scope. Since effectiveness of
human resources management system depends on effective methods of dealing with
challenges which affect various aspects of this system playing new roles effectively by
managers requires accurate recognition of such challenges and their impact on
effectiveness of human resources management system. In order to be able to design a
suitable system to improve and develop organisational level through recognising its
dimensions precisely it is necessary to identify the challenges at this level. The current
study was formed to respond to this major question and its purpose was to identify the
existing challenges in the training systems which affect the effectiveness of human
resources management system in two centralised and decentralised sections of Iran’s
petrochemical industry.

2 Training system

About 50% of the investments in training and development result in organisational or

individual improvements in American companies (Jodlbauer et al., 2011) and companies
all over the world spend billions of dollars on training its employees. Training enables
employees to gain skills and knowledge but there is no guarantee that training results in
improved performance. This is especially true if knowledge gained through employee
training is not applied, shared and documented for organisational use. Considerable
amount of money is invested by companies in training the employees and failure to reap
the full potential from the trained employees is still being reported by the practitioners
(Abd Rahman and Bennett, 2009). There are companies that are still facing a dilemma
whether to invest in training as the outcome is usually underestimated (Tzafrir, 2005). It
is logical to assume that investment in training produces some negative effects especially
if the employer does not have a reciprocal commitment from the employee. In addition,
Tzafrir (2005) also argues that there will be a risk in investing in the training if the
employee decides to leave the organisation.
Hitt et al. (2001) have found that training investment initially generates a negative
effect on results and the organisation will not enjoy positive effects until the knowledge is
transferred. Training alone is not sufficient to enhance organisational effectiveness to a
greater level because not all the knowledge obtained from the training is properly
transferred and applied to the organisation. In other words, transfer of knowledge
(productive use of acquired knowledge and skills) acquired during the training must take
place effectively to realise the full benefits (Dirani, 2012). According to Gegenfurtner
(2011), one of the important elements of transfer of knowledge is motivation to transfer
and scores of papers have been written to address this element.
Training system is one of the sub-systems of human resources management systems
which have a special importance in all organisations. It can be stated that training is a
systematic process in changing of employees’ behaviour towards purposes intended by
the organisation. It is related to the current abilities and skills of employees and helps
them achieve special skills and capabilities that are led to their success as well as that of
the organisation (Longnecker and Fink, 2005). Individuals rely on training to improve
their current skills and learn new skills (Mathieu et al., 1992). Organisations rely on
training to enhance the productivity and performance of their employees (Hornsby and
Williams, 1990; Tobias, 1991). Training has been a major area of research in human
 Studying the impact of challenges training system 423

resource management and organisational psychology for many years. Unfortunately,

most of the studies assess effectiveness at an individual level and there are a very few
studies assessing effectiveness at the organisational level (Tharenou et al., 2007).
According to Swieringa and Wierdsma (1992), training is said to be one of the most
important interventions to nurture the learning process. For a company to cope with the
rapid changing environment, it is necessary to invest in retraining, upgrading, updating
and converting the skills of the existing workforce. Ward et al. (1994) and Agnew et al.
(1997) have suggested that to promote organisational performance and industry
competitiveness, workforce training and development is an important adjunct. Training
needs are important to a company to maintain its employees’ skills and competence to
meet the future challenges as well as achieve a better performance.

3 Organisational effectiveness

Various models have already been presented to measure organisational effectiveness. For
instance, organisational effectiveness based on purpose-based model (Bluedorn, 1980) is
the realisation percent of organisational purposes. Based on resources dependency model
(Seashore and Yuchtman, 1967; Pfeffer and Salancik, 1978) it is percent of the resources
provided required by the organisation. Effective organisations based on internal processes
model (Nadler and Tushman, 1980) are active permanently without any cessation. On the
basis of beneficiaries’ interests model, organisational effectiveness is the percent of
supplying satisfaction and interests of different beneficiary groups. It is a combination of
the above models based on the model of competing values framework (Cameron and
Whetten, 1966).

3.1 Effectiveness standards of human resources management practices

According to theoretical principles, human resources management practices can enhance
organisational performance through different methods. In Huselid’s (1995) viewpoint the
most important methods are as below:
• increasing of knowledge, skill and capabilities of employees
• creating motivation in employees in order to utilise their knowledge, skill and
capabilities towards interests of the organisation
• empowerment of employees to perform organisational tasks and activities.
A high level of knowledge, skill and capabilities in employees is necessary to perform
organisational tasks effectively. Of course this high level of knowledge, skill and
capabilities will not guarantee performing of activities beyond the approved job
descriptions of people unless the required motivation is created in employees. For this
reason a high portion of attempts and researches of human resources management has
been focused on creating motivation in employees in order to employ their knowledge
towards organisational interests. Finally, the implemented organisational structure and
job design must not prevent employees’ attempts and thus skilled, knowledgeable and
motivated employees can utilise their time and talent towards organisational benefits.
Therefore, all practices of human resources management should be focused on
elimination of the obstacles and increasing of productivity (Liu et al., 2007).
424 H. Teimouri et al.

4 Methodology

The present study was conducted using descriptive-field method in which historical study
(including scientific books and journals) was used to collect the information related to
research literature and field study (such as semi-structured interview and questionnaire)
was applied to respond to research questions and confirm or reject the hypotheses.
Schuler and Jackson’s standard questionnaire was used to identify human resources
management challenges. This questionnaire was designed based on seven-point Likert
scale and each variable was considered in two opposite states. Status of variables was
determined based on average opinions of respondents in the industry under study. Then
researcher self-made questionnaire was used to measure degree of effectiveness of human
resources management in the selection and employment system. This questionnaire was
designed based on five-point Likert scale which had acceptable validity (KMO
coefficient = 0.95) and reliability (Cronbach’s alpha coefficient equal to 0.83). Finally,
impact of the current challenges in the selection and employment scope on effectiveness
of human resources management was examined by means of structural equations testing
method.
The statistical population included all experts and managers employed at various
levels in the centralised and decentralised maintenance sections of Iran’s petrochemical
industry. Cluster-stratified sampling method was used in the study. Clusters were two
decentralised maintenance and 16 centralised maintenance in petrochemical companies in
time period 2011–2012 among which one decentralised and four centralised maintenance
petrochemical companies were selected randomly. Centralised maintenance companies
were classified into big, moderate and small classes based on some criteria such as
volume of production and number of the personnel. From each class one company was at
least selected. Then all classes including experts and managers at various levels were
considered in each one and some people were selected randomly from each class. The
estimated sample size was equal to 406 persons in the centralised maintenance section
and 98 persons in the decentralised maintenance section. Having distributed the
questionnaires, 339 questionnaires were collected in the centralised maintenance section
and 90 questionnaires were collected in the decentralised maintenance section.

5 Data analysis

5.1 Studying the current challenges in training system in Iran’s petrochemical

industry
The current challenges in the training system in the centralised and decentralised
maintenance sections in Iran’s petrochemical industry will be studied as below.

5.1.1 Studying the current challenges in training system in the centralised

maintenance section of Iran’s petrochemical industry
The current challenges in training system in the centralised maintenance section of Iran’s
petrochemical industry are examined in this section.
 Studying the impact of challenges training system 425

Table 1 Current challenges in training system in the centralised maintenance section of Iran’s
petrochemical industry

Items Mean
Job description transparency and job specification against lack of job description 4.61
transparency and job specification
Training courses proportional with the organisation’s need against monotonous training 3.95
courses
Accurate training planning against inaccurate training planning 3.64
Managers’ long-term attitude towards training against managers’ short-term attitude 3.70
towards training
Training need assessment against lack of training need assessment 4.08
Proportionality of training methods against disproportionality of training methods 3.99
Assessment of training effectiveness against lack of assessment of training effectiveness 3.92

According to results of Table 1 and given that seven-option Likert scale was used to
identify current challenges in the training system, the most important challenges in this
scope in the centralised section of Iran’s petrochemical industry include inaccurate
training planning with mean equal to 3.64, managers’ short-term attitude towards training
with mean equal to 3.70, lack of assessment of training effectiveness with mean equal to
3.92, monotonous training courses with mean equal to 3.95 and disproportionality of
training methods with mean equal to 3.99.

5.1.2 Studying the current challenges in training system in the decentralised

maintenance section of Iran’s petrochemical industry
The current challenges in training system in the decentralised maintenance section of
Iran’s petrochemical industry are examined in this section.
Table 2 Current challenges in training system in the decentralised maintenance section of
Iran’s petrochemical industry

Items Mean
Job description transparency and job specification against lack of job description 2.93
transparency and job specification
Training courses proportional with organisation’s need against monotonous training 1.65
courses
Accurate training planning against inaccurate training planning 1.38
Managers’ long-term attitude towards training against managers’ short-term attitude 2.01
towards training
Training need assessment against lack of training need assessment 1.83
Proportionality of training methods against disproportionality of training methods 2.07
Assessment of training effectiveness against lack of assessment of training effectiveness 1.68

According to results of Table 2 and given that seven-option Likert scale was used to
identify current challenges in the training system, the most important challenges in this
scope in the decentralised section of Iran’s petrochemical industry include inaccurate
training planning with mean equal to 1.38, monotonous training courses with mean equal
to 1.65, lack of assessment of training effectiveness with mean equal to 1.68, lack of
426 H. Teimouri et al.

training need assessment with mean equal to 1.83, managers’ short-term attitude towards
training with mean equal to 2.01, disproportionality of training methods with mean equal
to 2.07 and lack of job description transparency and job specification with mean equal to
2.93.

5.1.3 Studying significance of difference between two decentralised and

centralised maintenance sections of Iran’s petrochemical industry about
the current challenges in training system
Significance of difference between mean scores of two decentralised and centralised
sections of Iran’s petrochemical industry about the current challenges in training system
will be studied in this section. The statistical hypothesis is as below:
⎧ H 0 : μ1 − μ2 = 0
⎨
⎩ H1 : μ1 − μ2 ≠ 0
In this formula μ1 is the mean of scores of centralised section and μ2 is mean of scores of
the decentralised section. According to H1, there is a significant difference between two
decentralised and centralised sections of Iran’s petrochemical industry about the current
challenges in training system, while according to H0, there is no significant difference
between two decentralised and centralised maintenance sections of Iran’s petrochemical
industry about the current challenges in training system. The results obtained from
studying significance of difference between two decentralised and centralised sections of
Iran’s petrochemical industry about the current challenges in training system are
mentioned below.
Table 3 Significance of difference between the decentralised and centralised maintenance
sections of Iran’s petrochemical industry about the current challenges in training
system

Items T Sig.
Job description transparency and job specification against lack of job 7.923 0.000
description transparency and job specification
Training courses proportional with organisation’s need against monotonous 15.381 0.000
training courses
Accurate training planning against inaccurate training planning 18.923 0.000
Managers’ long-term attitude towards training against managers’ short-term 8.397 0.000
attitude towards training
Training need assessment against lack of training need assessment 10.988 0.000
Proportionality of training methods against disproportionality of training 10.880 0.000
methods
Assessment of training effectiveness against lack of assessment of training 13.456 0.000
effectiveness

According to results of Table 3, since the calculated test statistic is significant at

significance level less than 1% for all variables under study it can be concluded that there
is a significant difference between two decentralised and centralised maintenance
sections of Iran’s petrochemical industry about the current challenges in training system.
 Studying the impact of challenges training system 427

5.1.4 Studying significance of difference between managers and experts’

opinions about the current challenges in training system in Iran
petrochemical industry
Significance of difference between managers and experts’ opinions about the current
challenges in training system in Iran’s petrochemical industry will be studied in this
section given to data obtained from sampling. The statistical hypothesis is as below:

⎧ H 0 : μ1 − μ2 = 0
⎨
⎩ H1 : μ1 − μ2 ≠ 0

In this formula μ1 is mean of experts’ scores and μ2 is mean of managers’ scores.

According to H1, there is a significant difference between experts and managers’
opinions about the current challenges in training system in Iran’s petrochemical industry,
while according to H0, there is no significant difference between experts and managers’
opinions about the current challenges in training system in Iran’s petrochemical industry.
The results obtained from studying significance of difference between experts and
managers’ opinions about the current challenges in training system in Iran’s
petrochemical industry are mentioned below.
Table 4 Significance of difference between experts and managers’ opinions about the current
challenges in training system in Iran’s petrochemical industry

Items t sig
Job description transparency and job specification against lack of job –3.809 0.000
description transparency and job specification
Training courses proportional with the organisation need against monotonous –1.613 0.000
training courses
Accurate training planning against inaccurate training planning –1.730 0.000
Managers’ long-term attitude towards training against managers’ short-term –2.798 0.000
attitude towards training
Training need assessment against lack of training need assessment –3.260 0.000
Proportionality of training methods against disproportionality of training –2.542 0.000
methods
Assessment of training effectiveness against lack of assessment of training –2.047 0.000
effectiveness

According to results of Table 4, since the calculated test statistic is significant at

significance level less than 1% for all variables under study except monotonous training
courses and inaccurate training planning it can be concluded that there is a significant
difference among managers and experts’ opinions regarding the current challenges in
training system of Iran’s petrochemical industry except the above exceptional cases. In
other words, given that the calculated test static is negative it can be concluded that other
variables except the above-mentioned exceptional cases were regarded as current
challenges in the training system in experts’ viewpoint. This is while these variables are
not regarded among the current challenges in managers’ viewpoint.
428 H. Teimouri et al.

5.1.5 Studying effectiveness of human resources management practices in

training system in the centralised maintenance section of Iran’s
petrochemical industry
Effectiveness of human resources management practices in training system in the
centralised section of Iran’s petrochemical industry is studied in this section separately.
Table 5 Effectiveness of human resources management practices in training system in the
centralised maintenance section of Iran’s petrochemical industry

Standard Test
Items Mean
deviation statistic
Effectiveness of human resources management practices in 3.78 0.837 17.33
training system on employees’ knowledge, skill and capabilities
Effectiveness of human resources management practices in 3.63 0.832 13.94
training system on employees’ motivation in using their
knowledge, skill and capabilities
Effectiveness of human resources management practices in 3.67 0.825 15.22
training system on employees’ empowerment to perform their
activities
Total 3.69 0.761 16.82

According to results of Table 5 and given to the applied five-option Likert scale to
measure effectiveness of human resources management practices and significance of the
calculated test statistic it can be concluded that effectiveness of human resources
management practices in training system in the centralised section of Iran’s
petrochemical industry is higher than the average level.

5.1.6 Studying effectiveness of human resources management practices in

training system in the decentralised maintenance section of Iran’s
petrochemical industry
Effectiveness of human resources management practices in training system in the
decentralised section of Iran’s petrochemical industry is studied in this section separately.
Table 6 Effectiveness of human resources management practices in training system in the
decentralised maintenance section of Iran’s petrochemical industry

Standard Test
Items Mean
deviation statistic
Effectiveness of human resources management practices in 1.85 0.942 –11.61
training system on employees’ knowledge, skill and capabilities
Effectiveness of human resources management acts in training 1.60 0.836 –15.90
system on employees’ motivation in using their knowledge, skill
and capabilities
Effectiveness of human resources management acts in training 2.83 1.530 –1.05
system on employees’ empowerment to perform their activities
Total 2.09 0.647 –13.38

According to results of Table 6 and given to the applied five-option Likert scale to
measure effectiveness of human resources management practices and the negative test
 Studying the impact of challenges training system 429

statistic it can be concluded that effectiveness of human resources management practices

in training system in the decentralised section of Iran’s petrochemical industry is lower
than the average level.

5.1.7 Studying significance of difference between effectiveness of human

resources management practices in training system in the centralised and
decentralised maintenance sections of Iran’s petrochemical industry
Significance of difference between effectiveness of human resources management
practices in training system in two centralised and decentralised sections of Iran’s
petrochemical industry will be studied in this section. The statistical hypothesis is as
below:

⎧ H 0 : μ1 − μ2 = 0
⎨
⎩ H1 : μ1 − μ2 ≠ 0

In this formula μ1 is mean of scores of effectiveness of human resources management

practices in training system in the centralised section of Iran’s petrochemical industry and
μ2 is mean of scores of effectiveness of human resources management practices in
training system in the decentralised section of Iran’s petrochemical industry. According
to H1, there is a significant difference between effectiveness of human resources
management practices in training system in two centralised and decentralised sections of
Iran’s petrochemical industry, while according to H0, there is no significant difference
between effectiveness of human resources management practices in training system in
two centralised and decentralised sections of Iran’s petrochemical industry. It is
noteworthy that the positive calculated test statistic illustrates human resources
management practices are more effective in the centralised section than the decentralised
section of Iran’s petrochemical industry and negative sign of the calculated test statistic
illustrates human resources management practices are more effective in the decentralised
section than the centralised section of Iran’s petrochemical industry.
The results obtained from significance of difference about effectiveness of human
resources management practices in training system in two centralised and decentralised
sections of Iran’s petrochemical industry are examined as below.

Table 7 Significance of difference between the decentralised and centralised maintenance

sections of Iran’s petrochemical industry in terms of effectiveness of human resources
management practices in training system

Items t Sig.
Significance of difference between two decentralised and centralised sections 18.261 0.000
of Iran’s petrochemical industry in terms of effectiveness of human resources
management practices in training system

According to results of Table 7, since the calculated test statistic is significant at

significance level less than 1% it can be concluded that there is a significant difference
between two decentralised and centralised sections of Iran’s petrochemical industry in
terms of effectiveness of human resources management practices in training system.
430 H. Teimouri et al.

5.1.8 Current challenges in training system affect the effectiveness of human

resources management practices in the training system of Iran’s
petrochemical industry
Structural model regarding the effect of current challenges in training system on
effectiveness of human resources management practices in training system of Iran’s
petrochemical industry is shown in Figure 1.
The major proposed question in this section is that whether this model is suitable or
not. In order to respond this question X2/df statistic and other standards of goodness
suitability should be examined. Considering the results obtained from data analysis, X2/df
is equal to 1.83. Low amount of X2/df (less than 3.59) shows suitable goodness of the
model. On the other hand, given that value of the calculated p is equal to 0.11 [more than
the standard significance level (α–5%) and the calculated RMSEA equal to 0.02 (less
than 0.05)] the proposed model is suitable.

Figure 1 Structural model of the effect of current challenges in training system on effectiveness
of human resources management practices in training system of Iran’s petrochemical
industry (see online version for colours)

Variables A1 to A7 in the above model are the current challenges in the training system
and variables A8 to A10 are indexes of effectiveness of human resources management
practices. Effectiveness of the training system in Iran’s petrochemical industry from each
current challenge in this system is equal to 0.71, 0.94, 0.50, 0.74, 0.76, 0.94 and 0.67
respectively and effectiveness of human resources management practices in this system
from each index is equal to 0.62, 0.81 and 0.85 respectively. Also according to the above
model.
• Structural equation
Effec = −0.42* CI1, Error var . = 0.15, R 2 = 0.85
 Studying the impact of challenges training system 431

Based on the above structural equation, current challenges in the training system of Iran’s
petrochemical industry have a negative effect on effectiveness of human resources
management practices in this system. In other words, effectiveness of human resources
management practices in this system is decreased equal to 0.42 if current challenges in
the training system are increased one unit.
• Evaluation of significance of relations
T-statistic was used to show significance of each parameter of the model. This statistic is
obtained through ratio of coefficient of each parameter to the standard deviation of that
parameter. If value of this statistic is more than 2.58, the existing relations among the
parameters shown in the model are significant statistically. The results obtained from
evaluation of the significant relation among current challenges in training system and
effectiveness of human resources management practices in training system of Iran’s
petrochemical industry are shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2 Structural model regarding evaluation of significance of the effect of current challenges
in training system on effectiveness of human resources management practices in
training system of Iran’s petrochemical industry (see online version for colours)

According to Figure 2, value of the calculated test statistic about relations among all
parameters illustrated in the model is significant.

6 Conclusions

On the basis of the results obtained from data analysis in this study the most important
challenges in training system in the centralised maintenance section of Iran’s
petrochemical industry include inaccurate training planning, managers’ short-term
attitude towards training, lack of assessment of training effectiveness, monotonous
432 H. Teimouri et al.

training courses and disproportionality of training methods. The most important

challenges in training system in the decentralised maintenance section of Iran’s
petrochemical industry include inaccurate training planning, monotonous training
courses, lack of assessment of training effectiveness, lack of training need assessment,
managers’ short-term attitude towards training, disproportionality of training methods
and lack of job description transparency job specification. Interviews with human
resource experts and managers of the industry under study indicate accuracy of results
and the current realities in this industry. Meanwhile the results demonstrate that the
current challenges in this scope are not similar in experts and managers’ viewpoint in the
centralised and decentralised maintenance sections of Iran’s petrochemical industry.
Effectiveness of human resources management practices in training system in two
centralised and decentralised sections were examined in this study before studying the
effect of current challenges in training system on effectiveness of human resources
management practices. The obtained results indicate that effectiveness of human
resources management practices in training system in the centralised section is higher
than the average level and it is lower than the average level in the decentralised section.
Moreover, there is a significant difference between effectiveness of human resources
management practices in training system in two centralised and decentralised sections of
Iran’s petrochemical industry. The results obtained from studying the effect of current
challenges in training system on effectiveness of human resources management practices
in this scope demonstrate that there is a significant and reversed relation among current
challenges in training system and effectiveness of human resources management
practices in this scope. It means that effectiveness of human resources management
practices is decreased if current challenges in training system are increased.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express their sincere appreciation to anonymous referees for
their valuable comments that enhanced the quality of this paper.

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