1. 2
Chapter
Strategic Training

2. Objectives After reading this chapter, you should be able to:
Discuss how business strategy influences the type and amount of training in a company.
Explain how the role of training has changed.
Describe how changes in work roles influence training.
Discuss how a company’s staffing and human resource planning strategies influence training.

3. Objectives (continued)
Explain the training needs created by concentration, internal growth, external growth, and disinvestment business strategies.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of organizing the training function according to the faculty, customer, matrix, and corporate university models.
Discuss the characteristics of the virtual training organization and how it can contribute to the company’s business strategy.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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?

7. 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.

8. 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
The importance placed on training compared to other human resource management practices such as selection and compensation.

9. Encouraging Continuous Learning
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.

10. Coordinating Activities
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.

11. Creating and Maintaining Trust
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.

12. Organizational Characteristics That Influence Training
Integration of Business Units
Global Presence
Business Conditions

13. 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

14. 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)

15. 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:
increased responsibilities in their current job,
promotions, lateral moves, transfers, and
downward job opportunities that are predicted by the human resource plan.

16. The Broadening of Training’s Role
Focus on Teaching Skills and Knowledge
Link Training to Business Needs
Use Training to Create and Share Knowledge

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

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

19. Models of Organizing the Training Department
Faculty Model
Customer Model
Matrix Model
Corporate University Model
Virtual Model

20. Training Specialty Areas
The Faculty Model
Training Specialty Areas

21. The Customer Model
Business Functions

22. Production and Operations
The Matrix Model
Training Specialty Areas
Production and Operations
Marketing
Business Functions

23. The Corporate University Model
Historical Training Problems
Excess Costs
Poor Delivery and Focus
Inconsistent Use of Common Training Practices
Best Training Practices Not Shared
Training Not Integrated or Coordinated
Leadership Development Programs
Training Advantages
Dissemination of Best Practices
Align Training with Business Needs
Integrate Training Initiatives
Effectively Utilize New Training Methods and Technology
Product Development
Sales and Marketing
Human Resources
Operations
New Employee Programs

24. 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.

25. 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