|
|
 |
|
Viewing report
|
|
|
|
Making Training and Development Work - A Best Practice Guide
Oak Tree Press, Nov 2003, Pages: 545
In today’s tough business environment, the message is quite simple: if it cannot be measured, it is not worth doing. This sharper focus on performance calls for a new approach to training and development. Far too much expenditure on T&D fails to deliver results for organisations. This creates a serious credibility issue concerning the value of investing in T&D. It often results in the training budget being amongst the first to get cut when times are hard. It does not have to be that way. Making Training and Development Work: A Best Practice Guide explains how an organisation can design and deliver training and manage the T&D function to ensure that T&D is of continued relevance to competitiveness even in times of economic downturn.
I particularly like the fact the authors have chosen to call this important new book “A Best Practice Guide”. While there are those, both academics and practitioners, who may question the term “best practice” as it implies an ultimate state of perfection, I beg to differ. In the context of this publication the authors describe “best practice” as adhering to a core set of principles based on leading-edge research, theory and practice, and this is as it should be.
The book will be an invaluable guide for practitioners and students alike. It appears at exactly the right time, when the importance of knowledge as the basis of competitive advantage is becoming obvious.
This is the age of the learner and the training and development of people is essential for any organisation seeking to create and sustain competitive advantage. The challenge for trainers is to choose the most appropriate approach, as clearly the old notion of “one size fits all” no longer applies. Here is one of the great strengths of the book, in that it helps the reader to make those choices that are most appropriate to their particular organisational settings. It describes the emerging trends in e-learning, blended learning, action learning and accelerated learning processes in a clear and accessible way. It also highlights one of the most neglected and overlooked facts that so much learning takes place informally in organisations. The authors describe how to recognise this and maximise the learning outcomes for the benefit of the individual and the organisation.
The practical knowledge that the authors bring to their work is evident from their appreciation of the challenges facing those responsible for implementing training at organisational level. They clearly understand that training policy can be greatly influenced by such things as the strength of the organisation’s learning culture, the professionalism of the HR practices and the general level of support for training particularly at senior management levels. The book describes how to deal with these challenging issues, thus ensuring that it will occupy a prominent place on any serious trainer’s bookshelf.
I believe this is a unique book because it is aimed at the practicing trainer – or those training to be trainers – yet written by authors who are at the top of their game in terms of serious academic research. As such, it is destined to have a major impact on training and development at organisational levels in all sectors of the economy.
Michael McDonnell BBS MSc Chartered FCIPD
Director – CIPD Ireland
Key Question Answered
To be an effective trainer, you are continuously challenged to choose the most appropriate approach and set of practices - ones that will work given your circumstances and context.
Making Training & Development Work helps you in making five core decisions:
- Defining the best approach to take to training and development in your organisation, given its characteristics and strategies
- Selecting the most appropriate delivery strategy
- Selecting training methods that will achieve your learning objectives
- Selecting a style of delivery that best matches your skill level and personal characteristics
- Making effective decisions about how best to evaluate your activities and to calculate a return on your organisation?s investment in training.
About the Authors
Dr Thomas N. Garavan BBS MBS LLB DEd FIITD MIPM works with the Department of Personnel & Employment Relations, University of Limerick and is considered the leading academic and researcher in the field of training and development in Ireland. He is the author of over 60 academic articles, Editor of the Journal of European Industrial Training, Associate Editor of Human Resource Development International, and a member of the European Academy of Human Resource Development. He is co-author of Training and Development in Ireland: Context, Policy and Practice and author of the Irish Health & Safety Handbook.
Carole Hogan BA HDE DipT&D MEd ATSD is Managing Director of Carole Hogan Associates, a management consultancy firm with over 20 years’ experience specialising in Leadership, Management Development and Adult Learning, particularly within the electronic, pharmaceutical and financial sectors. She is a graduate of the National University of Ireland and Sheffield University. Carole’s research interests include Management Development Centres, Management Strategies and Training & Development initiatives. She is presently reading for a Doctorate in Human Resource Development with the University of Leicester.
Amanda Cahir-O’Donnell MEdMgt DipPersonnelMgt GradCIPD joined AIB Capital Markets as Head of Training & Development in March 2000. She has established a leading-edge T&D function through her commitment “to create and embed a culture of Continuous Learning.” In 1989, Amanda qualified as a Primary Teacher. Her career in management consultancy commenced in 1994, specialising in Organisational, Team and Individual Development. She has worked with many diverse organisations in Ireland and the US. Amanda holds a First Class Master’s Degree in Education Management from Trinity College, Dublin.
|
|
|
|
