Training and development brings significant advantages to both employers and employees. Organisations must invest in employee training and development”. Critically assess the practicability of this statement in the context of current business and employme

Training and Development of Personnel : Attaining a Balance

Between the Interests of the Organisation and Those of Employees

It is widely accepted , almost as an axiom , by many in the fields of career and human development that enhancing individual performance in work will increase organisational value . In fact , it is obvious that a strong link exists between employee fulfilment and organisational value creation . As the employee 's performance directly relates to his /her professional knowledge and skills , managers realise that the long-term success of any organisation is tied closely to employee training

and development . To be prepared for rapidly changing conditions and normal attrition , each organisation faces the need to provide training for its employees (Donaldson Scannel 2000 . Scholars emphasise that this decade will continue to witness major changes in organizations . The latter will continue to get flatter , and power will be more dispersed among employees who are knowledge workers and have the technology to make decisions previously reserved for management . The globalisation of world markets , new ways of organising work , changes in workforce demographics , new technology , and literacy problems are forces that are making new demands on organisations for improving competitiveness . The jobs of today often require complex cognitive skills to deal with more highly technical and sophisticated manufacturing and customer service systems as well as the interpersonal skills necessary to function effectively in work teams (Sims 1998

However , those charged with making pragmatic business decisions must allocate scarce resources where they can be most effective . Allocation of such resources for individual development and training means understanding the potential economic impact . But it is complex and difficult to quantify the cause-and-effect relationships between individual development of employee through training and organisational value creation . The purpose of this study is to reveal whether the notion , that investment in employee development and training is advantageous for both employers and employees , is true . Toward this end we should examine what are the economic benefits to an organisation of investing in the individual development through training as well as what are the disadvantages of such investment , consider both , and make the conclusion

Our task provides a perspective on a question posed by employers "Why should we invest in employee development and training , won 't employees just leave our organisation " The answer is not univocal , although when the organisation provides options and choices people self-select into the organisation rather than out . Elsdon (2003 ) empirically proved it on the example of Sun Microsystems Corporation having scrutinized the impact of corporate training on employees ' job satisfaction . He emphasised that in the late 1990s , while the high-tech industry was believed to have experienced annual employee turnover of 15 and higher Sun Microsystems maintained single-digit voluntary turnover , in spite of the workforce growing by 20 worldwide each year . Corporation conducted the study to realise what attracts employees to an organisation and what will retain them . Among the top contributors to attraction and retention was opportunity for training and development to promote performance and career . Basing on these data...