TRAINING MANPOWER DEVELOPMENT AND EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE IN AN ORGANIZATION

ABSTRACT

The training of Manpower Development and Employee Performance in an Organization was studied with The Ministry of Finance in Akwa Ibom State as a reference point. Staffs of the Ministry were used as subject for the study. Three research questions were raised and tested. A sample of 200 staff form the Ministry of Finance in Akwa Ibom State was used. Instrument used in gathering data was questionnaire on identifying and determining manpower needs in an organization, Manpower needs in manufacturing and marketing organizations and their influence or problems on the training of Manpower Development and Employee Performance. Analysis of data was carried out using simple percentage. The result shows that identifying and determining Manpower needs, training Manpower Development and Planning as well as services oriented influenced employer performance in an organization. This is to say that training of Manpower Development and Employee Performance has a significant influence on the input and output of an Organization

TABLE OF CONTENT

CHAPTER ONE

1.0   INTRODUCTION 

1.1        Background of the study

1.2        Statement of problem

1.3        Objective of the study

1.4        Research Hypotheses

1.5        Significance of the study

1.6        Scope and limitation of the study

1.7       Definition of terms

1.8       Organization of the study

CHAPETR TWO

2.0   LITERATURE REVIEW

CHAPETR THREE

3.0        Research methodology

3.1        sources of data collection

3.3        Population of the study

3.4        Sampling and sampling distribution

3.5        Validation of research instrument

3.6        Method of data analysis

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

4.1 Introductions

4.2 Data analysis

CHAPTER FIVE

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Summary

5.3 Conclusion

5.4 Recommendation

Appendix

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the study

The current global market as it today businesses are faced with stiff competitions; it has become important that organisation uses their employees’ performances as a strategy to gain a competitive edge. Manpower development increases employee productivity in order to make it possible for a business to derive the higher value of organisations performance. The achievement of business goals requires the investment on human capitals in order to guarantee that workers have the need skills, and capabilities needed to operate efficiently in a competitive and complex environment. Employee training and manpower development is very vital to job productivity and organization performance since the formal educational system does not adequately provide specific job skills for a position in a particular organization. While, few individuals may have the requisite skills, knowledge, abilities and competencies needed to fit into a specific job function, some others may require extensive training to acquire the necessary skills to be able to fit in a specific job function and also make significant contribution to the organization’s performance.

Manpower can be said as the total knowledge, skill, creative abilities, talents and attitude of an organization to work force as well as the values, attitude and benefits of the individuals involved in it. The needs for Manpower in an Organization include: 

1. To maximize utilization of human resources. To reduce excessive labour turnover and high absenteeism. 

2. To meet the challenges of new and changing technology and also new techniques of production

Organizations are agents or organs of policy implementation, and within the context of their delivery of service or production, they are also empowered to make certain policies.  Policy making is an integral feature of every establishment which has been designed for specific goals.

However, policy making is not considered as the common prerogative of all staff members.  Effective policy making is thus a function of experience, competence and functional training.

While the government defines its policy objectives and fashions out policy statements in practically all spheres of national life, establishments are expected to operate within the confines of laid down policies. 

Training and development are means by which employees’ productivity is enhanced (Collins, 2001 164).  At the same time, top officials’ sensitivity and ability to formulate and respond to policies may receive impetus from training and development as Balogun (1997:74) rightly points out the irony of how training and development are handled in Nigeria lies in the poor commitment to such programmes.  In an age when corruption appears to have occupied a large proportion of government business, money allocated for training and development is either diverted or those who in fact should have been given the opportunity for training are never considered.  The fact that policies are prone to public criticism suggests that those who formulate policies and those who implement them should be expose to regular training and development programmes as Daily’s work (2004:35) concludes.

Because of the whims and caprices exhibited by human beings, and in an Attempt to avoid domination by the mighty, policy making is inevitable as this ensures that people conduct themselves within a civilized frame of behavior.  On the other hand, the process of training is ultimately aimed at coursing a significant increase and change in the ability of employees to contribute to the effectiveness of an establishment and laid down policies.

(Makinde,2005:17)  Training is considered as pervasive management activity occurring within an organizational context. It is generally believed that the government ought to promote public Interest and justify its actions as being in the public interest.  In most cases, people’s appreciation of government is restricted to making and enforcement of laws.  They simply have not given any prominent weight to government’s role in formulating and implementing public policies (Jeffery, 2002:19). Perhaps only the enlightened and concerned members of the academic and social critics have done this, and will continue to do so.

In many cases, however, every training activity is aimed at accomplishing the dual function of utilizing and improving existing skills and techniques of operating.  However, to achieve success, training activities or practices must fulfill certain important conditions.

Employees must also fully understand and appreciate the reason for undergoing a certain training activity.

1.2     STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Organizations are supposed to be the vehicles for bearing and implementing policies in order to realize latent objectives.  In the same process, they have the prerogative to make certain policies within their areas of operational jurisdiction.  Apart from the fact that most public establishments pay lip service to training, others invest in training and development but hardly obtain value-returns in terms of relevant expectations.  Some factors may be responsible. Perhaps the attitude of employees to training and development is not tuned right.  It may also be possible that employees fail to see any personal benefits from such training and development programmes.  Many establishments approach and meet training needs in an adhoc or haphazard way without a systematic objective expected in behavioural terms from employees at the end of such training and development terms from employees at the end of such training and development programmes.  This is where the need for evaluation arises.

To achieve the objectives of effective training and development, there has to be a proper articulation of staff development scheme for all levels of staff and a well-designed plan of deploying staff appropriately.  But such features appear lacking a Ministry of Finance in Akwa Ibom State.  Again, inadequate funding is another constraint to the successful implementation of training and development plans.  Employees may attend a training programme that has no direct bearing on the tasks they perform daily.  This cannot in any way sharpen their ability to contribute to the process of policy making nor implementation.  Where staff training and development are not carried out or they lack the quality that can improve the skills of employees, employees’ ability to improve the policy making process will be negatively affected.  Quality policy making is the product of sound training and development of staff, but much inadequacy is apparent in service establishments including Ministry of Finance in Akwa Ibom State.

1.3.    AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

In order to arrive at a logical conclusion and ensure that a research is not conducted in a disorderly manner, the purpose of study is imperative.

The study has been designed;

1. To examine the relationship between staff development and policy making.

2. To ascertain the extent to which staff development has any impact on policy making.

3. To find out ways and means of instituting standard staff training and development schemes that would make for improved performance in terms of policy making in a service establishment.

4. To make recommendations, where necessary, based on the findings from the study.

1.4 STATEMENT OF HYPOTHESES

The following hypotheses were tested in the study.

Hypothesis I

Ho:  Training and development of employees do not increase efficiency in policy making in service establishments.

H1:   Training and development of employees increase efficiency in policy making in service establishments.

Hypothesis II

Ho:  Non-challant attitude of management officials to employees’ training and development have not hindered employees’ training and development have hindered employees’ positive participation in policy making.

H1:     Non-challant attitudes of management officials to employees’ training and development have hindered employees’ positive participation in policy making.

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study is considered significant and a valuable addition to the store of existing knowledge in the area of training, development and policy making.  A considerable difference exists between the principles and practice of training.  However, only very few materials, if any, provide empirical evidence to back this assertion.  Again, materials that provide a detailed description of training and development in view of policy making in service establishments are scarce.  This gap is being therefore filled with this study.

If training activities do not achieve their objectives, a good starting point would be to discover if such activities conform to the principles under which they are practiced.  Therefore, this study would provide valuable insight as to reasons why training and development should sharpen officers’ ability to make and implement good policies.  The results of this study, it is expected, would have strong implication on organizational policies as regards training, development and policy making.

As such, administrators, policy analysts, critics, managers and top government functionaries among others are bound to benefit immensely from this study.  Its recommendations would also help in making effective policies at the establishment level.  Students within the fields of public administration, political science, human resources management and interested members of the public would serve as a detailed and systematic presentation of findings with supportive data.

1.6     SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The study was restricted only to training, development and policy making with reference to public establishments.  Specifically, the Ministry of Finance in Akwa Ibom State was incorporated as a case study reference.  The study therefore embraces the staff of the establishment as population of study from which the sample size was determined.  The study was only aimed at assessing the impact of training and development of staff on policy making.

Using the Ministry of Finance in Akwa Ibom State as representative of other service establishments in the service sector is a significant limitation because opinions differ among the various staff of service establishments.  Incorporating only the staff of Ministry of Finance in Akwa Ibom State is thus a limitation as this has reduced the coverage of the study and its sample size.

1.7     DEFINITION OF TERMS

The following terms as defined have been used accordingly in the body of this report.

Boost: In this study, any action taken by management to encourage staff morale is considered as relevant.

Objective: Every establishment has a reason for existing and goals to accomplish. The purpose of an establishment rightly therefore identifies its expected result.

Subvention: Most government establishment receives statutory financial allocations yearly from the government to enable them accomplish their objectives.

Policy: A guide to action or behavior is considered as a policy.  Establishments do not just act or perform tasks outside their constitutionally ascribed jurisdiction.  They must be guided by a set of rules and regulations.

Staff Development: Since employees are expected to remain stagnant, they grow through experience and exposure to new ways of doing things.  Hence all programmes designed for this purpose are considered as constituting staff development. 

1.8 Organization of the study

The study is divided into five chapters. Chapter one deals with the study’s introduction and gives a background to the study. Chapter two reviews related and relevant literatures. The chapter three gives the research methodology while the chapter four gives the study’s analysis and interpretation of data. The study concludes with chapter five which deals on the summary, conclusion and recommendation.