Training Needs Assessment (TNA); A Solution for Effective Hotel Employee Training Outcomes in Kenya
Abstract
Employee training needs assessment has increasingly become a vital component that defines effectiveness of training outcomes. Despite comprehension of the importance of training needs analysis, hotel managers incessantly rely on action oriented training plans. Such are ad hoc plans which are neither systematic nor grounded on holistic
incorporation of suitable training needs indicators, training plans and robust evaluation processes. Furthermore, managers are distracted by busy schedules biased to planning and realizing sales targets, which hardly give precedence to training needs assessment for quality service delivery. As a result, training needs assessment is often founded on varied reactions to internal and external environment forces which often are not best practices for achieving effective training outcomes in hotel management,
production and operation. Using semi-structured questionnaires, survey data was collected from 161 respondents in selected rated hotels within Nairobi Central Business District. The objective of the study was to identify the training needs assessment gap affecting achievement of effective training outcomes. Descriptive and factor analyses were performed on the data collected. The results revealed that hotel management training teams are typically action oriented and highly influenced by the nature of service of the hotel industry. Despite manager’s supportive culture to training needs assessment processes, their industrious schedule undermines the critical process, since previous reports are rarely considered to inform future trends or training needs. Organizational goals and not employees perceptions are used thus employees are de- motivated to commit to the process. Lastly, post evaluation is not keenly monitored to ensure transfer of skills gained in the work place. The study concludes that the assessment process should be holistic, flexible and systematic and fit within feasible
and budgeted limits. Training needs assessment would be a solution for the future of the industry’s growth, consistent efficiency and productiveness especially in the long-term
References
Akama, J. S. (2002). The role of government in the development of tourism in Kenya. International Journal of Tourism Research, 4(1), 1–13.
Al-Khayyat, R., & Elgamal, M. A. (1997). A macro model of training and development: Validation. Journal of European Industrial Training, 22(3), 87–101.
Anderson, G. (1994). A proactive model for training needs analysis. Journal of European Industrial Training, 18(3), 23–28.
Armstrong, M. (2001). Human Resource Management. Bath Publishers, London.
Barbazette, J. (2006). Training Needs Assessment: Methods, Tools and Techniques. Pfeiffer, San Francisco.
Bartlett, K. R. (2001). The relationship between training and organizational commitment: A study in the health care field. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 12(4), 335–361.
Bhatta, G. (2002). It’s the identification, stupid: Profiling senior public service managers for training and development. International Journal of Training and Development, 6(2), 99–111.
Blair, E., & Soe, D. (2007). Safety training: Making the connection to high performance. Professional Safety, 52(10), 42–48.
Brown, J. (2002). Training needs assessment: A must for developing an effective training program. Public Personnel Management, 31(4), 596–578.
Budhwar, P. S., Al-Yahmad, S., & Debrah, Y. (2002). Human resource development in the Sultanate of Oman. International Journal of Training and Development, 6(3), 198.
Burton, J., & Merrill, P. (1988). Needs assessment: Goal, needs, and priorities. In Briggs, L. J., Gustafson, K. L., & Tillman, M. H. (Eds.), Instructional Design: Principles and Applications. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications.
Camuffo, A. (2002). The changing nature of internal labour markets. Journal of Management and Governance, 6(4), 281–294.
Caudron, S. (2001). The myth of job happiness. Workforce, 80(4), 32–36.
Cekada, T. L. (2011). Need training? Conducting an effective needs assessment. Program Development.
Chew, Y. T., & Takeuchi, N. (2006). The importance of training on employees’ organisational citizenship behaviours. Annual Conference of the Association of Japanese Business Studies (AJBS) and Academy of International Business (AIB), June 22–26, 2006, Beijing, China.
Cooper, D., & Scindler, P. (2008). Business Research Methods (11th ed.). McGraw-Hill, India.
Dessler, G. (2008). Human Resource Management (11th ed.). Prentice Hall, New Jersey.
Drucker, P. F. (1973). Management: Task, Responsibilities, Practices. Harper & Row, New York.
Erasmus, B., Schenk, H., Swanepoel, B., & Van Dyk, W. (2000). South African Human Resource Management Theory and Practice (2nd ed.). Juta, Cape Town.
Gordon, S. (1994). Systematic Training Program Design: Maximizing Effectiveness and Minimizing Liability. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Graham, K., & Mihal, W. (1986). Can your management development needs surveys be trusted? Training & Development Journal, 40(3), 38–42.
Kaufman, R., Rojas, A. M., & Mayer, H. (1993). Needs Assessment: A User’s Guide. Educational Technology, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Kenneth, L. (2001). Management Development Techniques. Kogan Page, London.
Leong, S. M., Randall, D. M., & Cote, J. A. (1994). Exploring the organizational commitment-performance linkage in marketing: A study of life insurance salespeople. Journal of Business Research, 29, 57–63.
Mathieu, J. E., Tannenbaum, S. I., & Salas, E. (1992). Influences of individual and situational characteristics on measures of training effectiveness. Academy of Management Journal, 35, 828–847.
McArdle, G. E. H. (1996). Conducting a needs assessment for your work group. Supervisory Management, 41(3), 6–7.
McConnell, J. H. (2003). How to Identify Your Organization’s Training Needs: A Practical Guide to Needs Analysis. AMACOM, New York.
Molenda, M. J., Pershing, J. A., & Reigeluth, C. M. (1996). Designing instructional systems. In Craig, R. L. (Ed.), The ASTD Training and Development Handbook (4th ed., pp. 266–293). McGraw-Hill, New York.
Noe, R. A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. M. (2000). Human Resource Management: Gaining a Competitive Advantage (3rd ed.). Irwin McGraw-Hill, Chicago, IL.
Nowack, K. M. (1991). A true training need analysis. Training & Development Journal, 45(4), 69–74.
Ostroff, C., & Ford, J. K. (1989). Assessing training needs: Critical levels of analysis. In Goldstein, I. L. (Ed.), Training and Development in Organizations. Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco.
Reich, R. (1991). The Work of Nations: Preparing Ourselves for 21st Century Capitalism. Vintage, New York.
Reynolds, J. (2004). Helping People Learn: Strategies for Moving from Training to Learning. CIPD, London.
Rossett, A. (1987). Training Needs Assessment. Educational Technology Publications, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Rummler, G. A., & Brache, A. P. (1990). Improving Performance: How to Manage the White Space on the Organization Chart. Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco.
Scholl, R. W. (1981). Differentiating organizational commitment from expectancy as a motivating force. Academy of Management Review, 4, 589–599.
Scott, W. R., & Meyer, J. W. (1991). The rise of training programs in firms and agencies: An institutional perspective. Research in Organizational Behaviour, 13, 297–326.
Sorenson, S. (2002). Training for the long run. Engineered Systems, 19(6), 32.
Sunita, D., & Ajeya, J. (2010). Training need assessment: A critical study. Advances in Management, 3, 11.
Tessmer, M., & Wedman, J. F. (1995). Context-sensitive instructional design models: A response to design research and criticism. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 8(3), 37–53.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2013 African Journal of Tourism and Hospitality
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
