THE IMPACT OF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT ON EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE IN THE BANKING SECTOR IN BUEA MUNICIPALITY

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Training programs are created for the maintenance and improvement of job performance of employees mean while development programs seek to give an added advantage and develop skills for future jobs.

In the present business world one of the most faced problems is acquiring and developing new knowledge in employees. This continuous to be the main challenge faced by business since human resources are one of the most important factors of any organization. As such management must be willing and able to give employees the best training they required to carry out their activities effectively so as to improve on their performance as well as the performance of the entire organization.

Having this in mind for economic operations to be complete and accomplished their ventures in the business world the need to employ skillful personnel to coordinate and manage the unskillful employees of the organization. It is from this notion that we are going to discover weather employee growth and performance has an impact on the organizational performance.

The banking sector in Cameroon for example is faced with poor training and development of skills leading to the closure of many banks t their initial stage and equally leading to liquidation. As a result of the closure of banks in Cameroon even before they get to their apex, microfinance organization are create to fill the void. Knowing that training is the back born of all organizations and this microfinance organization in Cameron lacking this training as a result of low capital and other factors which maybe be faced by the organization  make it difficult to compete with foreign organizations. Training has the distinct role in the achievement of an organizational goal by incorporating the interests of organization and the workforce (Stone R J. Human Resource Management, 2002). Now a days training is the most important factor in the business world because training increases the efficiency and the effectiveness of both employees and the organization. The employee performance depends on various factors. But the most important factor of employee performance is training. Training is important to enhance the capabilities of employees. The employees who have more on the job experience have better performance because there is an increase in the both skills &competencies because of more on the job experience. (Fakhar Ul Afaq, Anwar Khan). Training also has impact on the return on investment (Richard Chang Associates, INC.).  So to improve the organizational performance and the employees performance training is given to the employees of the organization. Thus the purpose of the study is to know the impact of training and development on employee’s performance in an organization.

Training and development increase the employees performance like the researcher said in his research that training and development is an important activity to increase the performance of health sector organization (Iftikhar Ahmad and Siraj-ud-din, 2009).

As training of employee turns to be one of the most important aspect of growing and organization  it is advised for all organization to take this serious if they want to attain their preset goals. Taking for example in Africa training of employee is under looked by managers and many other organizational heads. Managers fail to play their part in educate employees and give them the training they need to enhance their development and skills take the case of the backing sector in Cameroon (Buea NFC Bank) the lack of efficient training of employee and lack of adequate experience turns to limit employee performance, depending on a number of factors like: job satisfaction, knowledge and management which all go along way to improve employee efficiency. This shows that employee’s performance is important for the performance of the organization and the training and development is beneficial for the employee to improve in their performance and achieve organizational objectives effectively and efficiency. The main objective of our study is how training increases the employee’s performance researchers said training increases or develops the managerial skills (Robert T.Rosti Jr, Frank shipper, 1998). Despite focusing on efficiency, effectiveness and cost control, spending on training should increase because organization get more efficiency , effectiveness out of the training (workforce special report,2006) .This shows that training increase the efficiency and the effectiveness of the organization. “I think people are talking more about performance, results and consequences. They are not necessarily doing more about, (Roger Kaufman Florida State University). From this it is clear that training and development is the important factor that enables the organization to achieve its objectives and growth. So the significance of our study is that the training employees receive or get while on the job or off the job improves employee and organizational performance. Training then is very important for employee development as it goes a long way to encourage self-fulfilling skills and abilities of employees, and decreased operational costs, limits organizational liabilities and changing goals and objectives. (Donald Nickels, M.A, 2009).

Armstrong, (2001) defines training as the formal and systematic modification of behavior through learning, which occurs as a result of education, instructions and development and planned experience. Training is the process of equipping the workforce with the necessary knowledge, skills and attitude to tackle the job responsibilities. Staff development on the other hand is improvement of the employees‘ competences for future environmental demands and adaptability. Beard well and Hidden (1994) consider training and development as a planned process to modify attitude, knowledge or skill behavior through learning experiences to achieve effective performance in an activity or range of activities. Corporations are offering a variety of training programs to meet their organizational needs. These include content on IT and systems, processes, procedures and business practices, industry-specific trainings, managerial or supervisory training, interpersonal skills, compliance, sales, executive development, basic skills, new employee orientation, customer service and quality. As Reynolds (2004) points out, training has a complementary role to play in accelerating learning. It should be reserved for situations that justify amore directed expected approach rather than viewing it as a comprehensive and all-pervasive people development solution. He also commented that the conventional training model has a tendency to emphasize subject –specific knowledge rather than trying to build core learning abilities.

Development is a long term education process utilizing a systematic and organized procedure by which managerial personnel learn conceptual and theoretical knowledge for general purpose. According to Campbell (1971) development implies an individual 3 growths and self-realization in a brand base. Cole (1990) suggests a broader view of knowledge and skills acquisition training. He suggests that he is more concerned with employee potential than immediate skills and views employees as adaptable resource aiming at personal growth and realization of potential of an employee. Armstrong (2001) indicates individual development is the progression by individuals in their career with guidance encouragement and help from the manager. Training and Development improves the workforce competence in order to create a competitive advantage and contribute to organizational success. Training and development is also a means for employers to address the employees ‘needs. By offering the training and development opportunities employers help employees develop their own competitive advantage and ensure long term employability, Jackson (2008). Development implies it is an ongoing process and that progress is made over time and this fits also with the emphasis on long life learning. Holton (1995) defines performances a multi-dimensional construct, the measurement of which varies depending on variety of factors. Armstrong (2000) on the other hand indicates performance as both behavior and results and emphasizes that both behavior (input) and results (output) need to be considered when managing performance. Performance of an organization is the outcome of acrostic of individuals and units of the organization. Except for the external influences on individual behavior and personal traits, organizations can either influence or control all factors affecting performance of individuals and units through formal and informal means. Greater influence of individuals can be exercised formally through communication; work culture and management style Kasturi (2006). Employee performance involves all aspects which directly or indirectly affect and relate to the work of the employees. Performance means both behavior and results. Behavior emanates from the performer and transforms performance from abstraction to action. Not just the instruments for results, behaviors are also outcomes in their own right-the product of mental and physical effort applied to tasks-and can be judged apart from results Brumbranch (1998). Within high performance work systems, training will be aligned and integrated with actual work. Employees need training in group dynamics and interpersonal relations, and in systems thinking to understand better how all parts of their organization fit together and affect each other. Trainers play a key role in providing feedback on employees’ performance and financial performance of their organization Steed (2000).

Training and development is generally more advanced in developed countries of the world with strict governance and regulations and professional bodies promoting the empowerment of employee when compared to developing countries  particularly in Africa case study (CAMEROON BUEA) were the dominance of small and medium sized enterprise (SMEs) has generally been associated with limited scope of employee training and development. However, increasing evidence suggest that greater recognition of the importance of training and development is now being seen in developing countries like Africa. In Cameroon for instance most local organizations are still characterized by high labor turnover with little organizational commitments to employee training and development. This is because most organizations operate at small scale that they also0 lack the capital to adequately or constantly take training programs for employees. In larger public or parastatals organization in Cameroon such as the Cameroon Development Cooperation (CDC), employed training and development tend to be more evident than in some small private SMEs. This study will be undertaken to review the situation of employee training and development in Cameroon using the case study of NFC Bank one of the largest banks in Cameroon.

1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Here the researcher is trying to bring out the reason for research. It seeks to answer the following questions.

MAIN RESEARCH QUESTION

• Does training and development of employee have an impact on their performance in a business or organization?

SPECIFIC RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. What is the influence of job training as a tool on employee performance in NFC BANK Buea?

2. What is the effect of training design as a tool on employee performance in NFC BANK Buea?