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Strategic Training

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able to:
1. Discuss how business strategy influences the
type and amount of training in a company.
2. Explain how the role of training has changed.
3. Describe how changes in work roles
influence training.
4. Discuss how a company’s staffing and
human resource planning strategies influence
training.
Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Objectives (continued)
5. Explain the training needs created by
concentration, internal growth, external growth,
and disinvestment business strategies.
6. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of
organizing the training function according to the
faculty, customer, matrix, and corporate
university models.
7. Discuss the characteristics of the virtual training
organization and how it can contribute to the
company’s business strategy.
Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Introduction
 Tires Plus’s business strategy affects the time and
money invested in training.
 Training helps employees learn job skills and

helps the company retain and motivate employees.

 Training is strategic for:

 Business goals related to human resources, and

 Productivity, customer service, and innovation

 Employees are aware that training is essential to

their future marketability.
Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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What is a Business Strategy?

 A plan that integrates the company’s goals,
policies, and actions.
 The strategy influences how the company uses:

 physical capital (plants, technology, and equipment)

 financial capital (assets and cash reserves)

 human capital (employees)

 The business strategy helps direct the company’s

activities to reach specific goals.

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Decisions a Company Must Make about

How to Compete to Reach Its Goals
 Where to compete?
 In what markets will we compete?
 How to compete?
 On what outcome or differentiating characteristic will
we compete?
 Cost? Quality? Reliability? Delivery? Innovativeness?

 With what will we compete?

 What resources will allow us to beat the competition?
 How will we acquire, develop, and deploy those

resources to compete?
Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Strategy impacts training with a strong

influence on determining:
 The amount of training devoted to current or
future job skills.
 The extent to which training is customized for

the particular needs of an employee or

developed based on the needs of a team, unit,
or division.
 Whether training is restricted to specific groups

of employees or open to all employees.

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Strategy impact on training (continued)

 Whether training is:
 planned and systematically administered, or
 provided only when problems occur, or

 spontaneously as a reaction to what competitors

are doing
 Theimportance placed on training compared to
other human resource management practices
such as selection and compensation.

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

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The Roles and Duties of Managers in Companies

That Use High-Performance Work Practices
 Managing Alignment
 Clarify team goals and company goals.
 Help employees manage their objectives.

 Scan organization environment for useful information

for the team.

 Encouraging Continuous Learning
 Help team identify training needs.
 Help team become effective at on-the-job training.

 Create environment that encourages learning.

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

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The Roles and Duties of Managers in Companies

That Use High-Performance Work Practices (con’td)
 Coordinating Activities
 Ensure that team is meeting internal and external
customer needs.
 Ensure that team meets its quantity and quality
objectives.
 Help team resolve problems with other teams.
 Ensure uniformity in interpretation of policies and
procedures.
 Facilitating Decision-Making Process
 Facilitate
team decision making.
 Help team use effective decision-making processes.

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

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The Roles and Duties of Managers in Companies

That Use High-Performance Work Practices (con’td)
 Creating and Maintaining Trust
 Ensure that each team member is responsible for his or
her work load and customers.
 Treat all team members with respect.

 Listen and respond honestly to team ideas.

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Organizational Characteristics That

Influence Training

Integration of Business Units

Global Presence

Business Conditions

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

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The Importance of Training Compared to Other

HRM Practices
 The type of training and resources devoted
to training are influenced by the strategy
adopted for two HRM practices:
 Staffing

 Human Resource Planning

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Staffing Strategy Influence on Training

 Two aspects of a company’s staffing
strategy influence training:
 The criteria used to make promotion and
assignment decisions (assignment flow)
 The places where the company prefers to

obtain human resources to fill open positions

(supply flow)

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

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HR Planning Influence on Training

 HR planning allows the company to anticipate the
movement of human resources in the company.
 HR plans can help identify where employees with

certain types of skills are needed in the company.

 Training can be used to prepare employees for:
 increasedresponsibilities in their current job,
 promotions, lateral moves, transfers, and

 downward job opportunities that are predicted by the

human resource plan.

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

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The Broadening of Training’s Role

Focus on Teaching Skills and

Knowledge

Link Training to Business

Needs

Use Training to Create and

Share Knowledge

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Implications of Business Strategy for Training

Strategy Emphasis How Achieved Key Issues Training Implications
Concentration Increase market Improve quality Skill currency Team building
share Improve Development of Cross-training
Reduce operating productivity existing work Specialized programs
costs Customize products force Interpersonal skill
Create market niche training
On-the-job training
Internal Growth Market Add distribution Create new jobs Support high-quality
development channels Create new product value
Product Expand global tasks Cultural training
development markets Innovation Conflict negotiation skills
Innovation Create new Manager training in
Joint ventures products feedback and
Joint ownership communication
Technical competence
in jobs

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Implications of Business Strategy for Training

(continued)
Strategy Emphasis How Achieved Key Issues Training Implications
External Horizontal Acquire firms for Integration Determining capabilities
Growth integration new market access Redundancy of acquired employees
(Acquisition) Vertical integration Acquire firms to Restructuring Integrating training
Concentric supply or buy systems
diversification products Team building
Acquire any firm
Disinvestment Retrenchment Reduce costs Efficiency Motivation
Turnaround Reduce assets Goal setting
Divestiture Generate revenue Stress management
Liquidation Redefine goals Time management
Sell off all assets Leadership training
Outplacement
assistance
Job-search skills
training

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Models of Organizing the Training Department

Faculty Model
Customer Model

Matrix Model

Corporate University
Model
Virtual Model

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The Faculty Model

D ir e c t o r o f T r a in in g

S a fe ty Q u a lit y T e c h n o lo g y L e a d e r s h ip S a le s
T r a in in g T r a in in g and D e v e lo p m e n t T r a in in g
C o m p u te r
S y s te m s

Training Specialty Areas

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The Customer Model

D ir e c t o r o f T r a in in g

I n fo r m a t io n M a r k e t in g P r o d u c t io n F in a n c e
S y s te m s and
O p e r a t io n s

Business Functions

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

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The Matrix Model

D ir e c t o r o f T r a in in g

Training S a le s Q u a lit y T e c h n o lo g y S a fe ty
Specialty T r a in in g T r a in in g and T r a in in g
C o m p u te r
Areas
S y s te m s

Production
Marketing
and
Operations

Business Functions

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The Corporate University Model

Historical Training Leadership Development Programs Training
Problems Advantages
Excess Costs Dissemination of
Best Practices
Poor Delivery and
Focus Product Operations Sales and Human
Development Marketing Resources

Inconsistent Use of Align Training with

Common Training Business Needs
Practices
Integrate Training
Best Training Initiatives
Practices Not
Effectively Utilize
Shared
New Training
Training Not Methods and
Integrated or Technology
Coordinated New Employee Programs
Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Virtual Training Organizations

 Virtual training organizations operate according to
three principles:
 Employees (not the company) have primary
responsibility for learning
 The most effective learning takes place on the job,

not in the classroom

 For training to translate into improved job

performance, the manager-employee relationship

(not employee-trainer relationship) is critical.

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Virtual Training Organizations (continued)

 A virtual training organization is customer focused
 Takes more responsibility for learning and

evaluating training effectiveness

 Provides customized training solutions based on

customer needs
 Determines when and how to deliver training

based on customer needs

 Leverages resources from many areas

 Involves line managers in direction and content

Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.