Training

 

How to Help China Enterprises Retain Attraction to Western Enterprises? ---Is Training a Panacea for a China’s JV Enterprise’s Development?

Abstract: Along the economy and industries increasingly shift toward knowledge-intensive dimension, accordingly, the demand for high skilled and rivalrous labour increases. The abo aboilil pra practi ctical cal lab labour our com compet petitio ition n has sti stimu mulat lated ed Chi Chines nese e res resear earch chers ers to explore training as a crucial driving for China’s enterprises to retain attraction to western enterprises. ABC as a representative China’s Joint Venture hi-tech enterprise is filled into a new training model - PDCA Brae Ball model raised by the author. Based on this case study, this paper contributes that training’s importance to enterprises, employees and employers. It defines some obstacles for ABC implementing training, based on the PDCA model analysis and case investgiation. Furthermore, it displays a picture of tra traini ining ng in Chi China’ na’s s JV ent enterp erprise rises. s. Eve Eventu ntuall ally, y, thi this s pap paper er rec recom omme mends nds fiv five e interesting issues relate to management and appraisal key for other enterprises’ consideration.

1.0 Introduction 1.1 Training’s definition Training, as it defined by Anne and Barrington (1999), is ‘from an individual level, a planne pla nned d pro proces cess s to sh shape ape pe peopl ople e wit with h app approp ropria riate te att attitu itude, de, kn knowl owledg edge e or skill skill behaviour beha viour through being given educati education on oppor opportunit tunity y or learn learning ing expe experienc rience e to improve their performance during working or doing any activities, and therefore to expand to a firm level, it is to improve people’s abilities to satisfy the demand of the development from the organisation and also market from now on‘. Under a market-oriented economy, the competitiveness of a firm relies on its stock of no nott on only ly ph phys ysic ical al also also hu huma man n ca capi pita tall (H (HC) C),, as we well ll as th the e un uniq ique uene ness ss of  management practices that could lead the firm’s capacity into full play (Xiao, 01). In response, training has been realised and employed by many firms as a strategy to accumula accu mulate te their HC. Parti Particular cularly, ly, in the workplace workplace,, while upgrad upgrading ing job skills of  employees, training develops shared values and corporate culture to enhance a firm’s unique competitiveness in the technology driven economic transition period. From a firm perspective, providing training is a proxy measure of a firm’s capacity and normative management practices.sectors, Firms fight fordifferentiation surviving in high competitive business services, such as financial which of products or 

 

services servic es is ver very y nec necess essari arily ly im impor portan tant. t. In thi this s con contex text, t, rel relati ative vely ly sop sophis histic ticate ated d models of HRM, high igh qualit lity of employ loyees with advanced skills and comprehensive capabilities, etc. have been taken into account for firms in longterm development perspectives (Boxall, 2003). In the contemporary context, it is meaningful to reveal the obstacles and challenges for China’s firms on how to accumulate more capacities to improve its HC quality. Based Base d on an indi indivi vidu dual al pe pers rspe pect ctiv ive, e, it co coul uld d be su summ mmar aris ised ed th that at th the e fo form rmal al educa edu cation tion pro provid vides es the firs firstt pla platfo tform rm of per person sonal al dev develo elopme pment, nt, whi which ch bui build ld up fundamental competence at school. Continually; after landing to the workplace, training could help people to re-establish themselves another type of competence as the second platform of self-development. As a result, this paper keeps the standpoint that in a fast changing economic context, training programmes related to jobs jobs ar are e a me mean ans s to read readju just st to the the ch chan angi ging ng wo work rkpl plac ace e an and d im impr prov ove e productivity.

1.2 Reasons of employees participating training Xiao et al. (2005) identified the reasons of employees participating training from individual psychological attributes, skill improvement, qualification enhancement,  job mobility, and personal satisfaction as follows: (1) em emplo ployee yees s who act active ively ly pur pursu sued ed fur furthe therr tra traini ining ng wer were e tho those se who had an awareness of the societal and institutional changes that has an impact on the workplace and the increasing demanding skill requirements that came with such changes; (2) in addition to societal changes, structural changes also occurred within the enterprises; (3) ch chang ange e in own owners ership hip,, ada adapta ptatio tion n to the mar market ket eco econom nomy, y, reo reorie rienta ntatio tion n of  strategies, and organizational restructuring have caused the enterprise to be a different kind of employer; to the employees, there appeared to be a new set structural requirements for them to satisfy; (4) instead of political rectitude, loyalty, compliance, and honesty, the enterprise has begun to value professional competence, initiative, positive work attitude, and efficiency (Xiao, 2005). Firm executives believed that employees of this kind were more eager to learn better of themselves and that their education and training should afford them greater adaptability and stronger ability to learn continuously, because in the eyes of executives, an employee’s potential could be judged by the kind of training he or  she had achieved (Xiao, 2005). For those employees who were looking for mobility and advancement, further education and training not only served the practical purpos pur pose e of sk skills ills dev develo elopm pment ent bu butt als also o fun functi ctione oned d as a pos possib sible le ind indica icatio tion n of  interest in mobility and advancement (Xiao, 2005).

 

1.3 Training development in China Since the start of economic reform, China’s government introduced a series of  legislation to help the development of training. In 1979, some compulsory training courses for all potential managers have been provided by a national network of  Cadre Management Training Institutes (Warner, 1992). In 1981, the State Council of China regulated that enterprises need to spend at least of 1.5% of the total wages on employees’ education and training (Lu, 1987). Few years later, in 1990, The Ministry of Labour enacted another statutory writ titled ‘The Regulations for  Worke Wo rker’s r’s Tec Techni hnical cal Gra Grade de Exa Examin minatio ation’, n’, whi which ch cov covers ers con conten tents ts lik like e wor worke kers’ rs’ attitude, performance and levels of skills. The regulations set up a formal system with combining the relevant issues of training, such as: testing, implementation and HR management (Cooke, 2004). Five years after, the ‘Temporary Regulations on Education for Professional and Technical Personnel in China’ was raised by the gove go vern rnme ment nt,, wh whic ich h is a prof profou ound nd im impr prov ovem emen entt on pa payi ying ng at atte tent ntion ion of th the e continuing training from a national level, especially a remarkable development for  hi high gh skill skilled ed em empl ploy oyee ees s (Co (Cook oke, e, 20 2004 04). ). On an anot othe herr ha hand nd,, th thes ese e ne neww-ra rais ised ed regulations promoted a major momentum to workplace training for state-owned fields; but in an entire picture, training provisions still walked with the former pace of step, and also are disparity in cross-sectors (Cooke, 2004). The com compet petitiv itive e bus busine iness ss env enviro ironme nment nt is an anoth other er dri drivin ving g for force ce for the tra trainin ining g provis pro vision ion.. Coo Cooke ke (20 (2004) 04) sug sugge geste sted, d, for exa examp mple, le, due to bus busine iness ss boo boomin ming g in China, the enterprises need to converge with international practice, which has led to an incr increa ease se in tr trai aini ning ng prov provis isio ion n to fu fulf lfil il th the e in inte tern rnat atio iona nall ac accr cred edita itati tion on requirements, however the training is far from sufficient. Despite the absence of detailed training statistics to capture precise picture of  workplace training in China, the training landscapes so far displays a number of  characteristics and problems (Liu, 2000). It concluded: (1) low level of training provisions across-sectors; (2) the significant inter-sector difference between the secondary industrial and the third industrial sectors, with the former pay more attention in training than the latter; (3) considerable variations of training provisions among am ongst st dif differ ferent ent own owners ership hip of ent enterp erpris rises; es; (4) reg region ional al dif differ ferenc ence e in tra traini ining ng provisions, with the enterprise in wealthier areas, such as the east and southeast, faring better in general than those in the north and west; (5) two-tier system of  management and professional training and development versus mass workplace training, with the former being given a far high priority than the latter; (6) training is used as the substitute for workplace downsizing (Cooke, 2005b). Björkman and Lu (1997) stated in general, training is rather extensive in the hi-tech appl ap plic icat atio ion n an and d ge gene nera rall ma mana nage geme ment nt as aspe pect cts s in co comp mple lete te fo fore reig ignn-ow owne ned d enterprises to state-owned ones. Regarding to joint ventures (JV), both technical and general management training are still remained with the previous style (Ng and Siu, 2004). Under this context, in order to explore the practical existing style of  training in China’s enterprises, this paper contributes a training model for them. Furthermore, based on a hi-tech JV enterprise as a case study, it is to illustrate a picture of training in China’s JV enterprises from a different angle.

 

2.0 Training Model Some managers argue that training concept in some China’s enterprises is only empty talk, and it is neither effected practically by labour demand from market, nor  connected with personal development needs. How to manage training and ensure it its s qu qual ality ity to en ente terp rpri rise ses s be beco come me a prof profou ound nd th thin inki king ng.. Th The e fa famo mous us qu qual alit ity y management concept concept derived from Deming in 1950, it is titled PDCA model.

2.1 PDCA Model The PDCA cycle is a dynamic model designed to drive continuous improvement to the th e qu qual ality ity of a syst system em or a pro proce cess ss by De Demi ming ng.. An Anot othe herr re rese sear arch cher er Ka Kaor oru u Ishikawa (1985) has expanded Deming's four steps into six as follows (see Graph 1): 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6)

Det Determ ermine ine g goal oals s an and d tar target gets. s. Deter Determine mine metho methods ds o off rea reaching ching goals goals.. Eng Engage age iin n edu educat cation ion a and nd tra traini ining. ng. Im Imple pleme ment nt wo work rk.. Chec Check k th the ee effects ffects of iimple mplement mentation ation.. Tak Take ea appr ppropr opriat iate ea acti ction. on.

Graph 1: Kaoru Ishikawa’s 6 steps of PDCA

Source: Ishikawa. K., (Lu. D. J. trans.), 1985, What is Total Quality Control?

2.2 PDCA cycle and recycle model As a developing country model, China is on the way of catching up to advanced countries, which means during the transition period, China’s enterprises are still exploring the appropriate and effective way of development. Stimulated by this train of thought, this paper selected another PDCA apply model based on China’s status quo, which improved by scholar Wang Yu Fang. It is called cycle and recyc rec ycle le mo model del (se (see e Gra Graph ph 2), whi which ch con contrib tribute utes s to ho how w to ma manag nage e dif differ ferent ent projects at the same time or observe one project in different steps of progress.

 

Based on her theory, this "PDCA" management cycle characteristics could be summarised as follows: 1) sets sets small cycle cycle could could promote promote each other. other. On a "PDCA" "PDCA" cycle cycle is the next level based on the PDCA cycle, the next level "PDCA" cycle is on an "PDCA" cycle of implementation and concrete. 2) continuous spiral. spiral. Four stages of the cycle to turn, the first of the new campaign is to increase the content and objectives of the cycle to solve the problem and improve the level of quality. 3) promote "PDCA" cycle, the key is summed up (A) stage. By summing up experience, affirming the achievements and defining insufficience to rectify the errors, which are "PDCA" cycle of continuous advance key. Graph 2: PDCA cycle and recycle model

Source: Wang Yu Fang, "PDCA" cycle, and the promotion of recycling model

2.3 PDCA Brae Ball Model “Haier Group” is the largest consumer appliance maker in China, regarded as the "GE of China." It was a small factory on the berge of bankruptcy in 1984, but today, Haier has become an international powerhouse that is well on its way to building a global brand (Jeannie, 2003). Mr. Ruimin Zhang, the CEO of Haier Gourp thinks up novel and origional concepts on management, which are popularly quoted and employed by many scholars and enterepreneurs in China. The training implementation model below (see Grpah 3) is revised by the author, and is combined a “Brae Ball” management concept by Ruimin Zhang with the quality improvement PDCA concept from Wang Yu Fang mentioned above. Graph 3: PDCA Brae Ball model

 

C   o r    p  a t   e   o r   s t   r   a t   e   g   y  

Traction power –  Motivation - D Thrust power –  Improvement - A  D

 P

PDCA:

A

 C 

Planning Do Check  Act

Resisting power  – Appraisal -C

Fundamentall power - P: Fundamenta Training Planning - PDCA (Planning, Do, Check, Act)

Source: Ruimin Zhang and Wang Yu Fang, and then amended by the auth Source: author, or, 2008

2.4 The Four types power in the “Brae Ball” Concept 1) Fundamental power (P) - Planning The so The so-c -cal alle led d fu fund ndam amen enta tall po powe werr is th the e ba basi sis s of tr trai aini ning ng de deli live very ry wit withi hin n an enterp ent erpris rise, e, whi which ch is con consis sistt of tra trainin ining g bud budge, ge, mec mechan hanism ism and pro proces cess. s. As a foundation in the whole cycle, it implys a small cycle of PDCA, which denotes Planni Pla nning ng (fe (feque quency ncy of tra traini ining) ng),, Do (tra (traine iner/t r/trai rainee nee/fa /facil cilitie ities/t s/type ypes s of tra traini ining) ng),, Check (apprisal) and Act (improvement). All this foundation is diven by training strategies. 2) Traction power (D) – Motivation Based Base d on th the e “Bra “Brae e Ba Ball” ll” co conc ncep ept, t, a go good od fo fore regr grou ound nd of co corp rpor orat atio ions ns is th the e premis pre mise, e, and also the there re sho should uld be sti stillll som some e pot potent ential ial for sta staff ff fro from m div divers erse e backgound to promote themselves. In this stage, motivation from senior, junior to noramll worke noram workers rs displays a crucial role. More specif specifically ically,, the corpo corporation ration cultu culture re could be the macro perspective of traction power; it covers the company’s values, the sense of mission, risks consciousness, innovation consciousness and etc.. Moreover, Moreo ver, it coul could d cove coverr indiv individual idual’s ’s self-v self-value, alue, the sens sense e of self-d self-devel evelopme opment, nt, ability of innovation adaption, etc. from a micro perspective.

 

3) Resisting power (C) – Appraisal The key constraints of delivering training is lacking of effective appraisal, which possibly covers research analysis shortage, low quality of the internal trainers, poor  facilities and other factors. Chinese saying that :”No rules, no circumference”. As a result, resu lt, appro appropriate priate appraisa appraisall coul could d supe supervise rvise the proce process ss of traini training’s ng’s delivery, which reminds trainer and trainee to obey the disciplines. 4) Thrust Thrust power (A) – Imp Improvement rovement It says that “people only do what you inspect, not what you expect”. In fact, a number of corporate training modules did not match HR’s modules; hence it results in lacking of amalgamation. The function of checking is to make sure everything is on the right track, to correct and improve the implementation of training at once, if  not.

3. Methodology This paper er enc encirc ircles les thi this s tra trainin ining g imp implem lement entati ation on mo model del as a fra frame mewor work, k, the then n This pap selects one representative case study to fill in, so that it attemps to examine whethe whe therr it co could uld be emp employ loyed ed in Chi China’ na’s s ent enterp erpris rises es to imp improv rove e the their ir tra traini ining ng implementation.

3.1 Research methods Due to the absence of detailed training statistics in China’s enterprises, case study could be an ideal attempt when some answers are collected and analysed from ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions, additionally, when the event is designed under the author’s control, and focused on a practical phenomenon (Yin, 1994). Even if case study lacks of generalizability, an anonymous hi-tech JV company (called company ABC in this paper paper)) is foc focuse used d as an obv obviou ious s rep repres resent entati ative ve cas case e on Chi China’ na’s s training issue; luckily the author’s friend Ke has get involved with the process of  delivery interviews in China. The hi-tech JV company ABC is founded in 1993, and its core products include TFT-LCD TFT -LCD Disp Display, lay, Mobil Mobile e displ display ay syst systems, ems, Precision electronic compon components ents & materials, and etc.. These products enjoy the leading position in the domestic and in inte tern rnat atio iona nall mar arke ket. t. Th The e co comp mpan any y ha has s ty typi pica call di dive vers rse e wo work rk di divi visi sion on (3 (31 1 deparments) and employees (over 3000) from minxed background, the detailed data is following. Work division Number Proportion

Technology Profession Marketing R&D al skills personnel 288 1035 196 2.92% 10.51% 1.99%

Educational background

Doctor&

Master

Management personnel 770 7.82%

Bachelor

Financial personnel 159 1.35%

Production personnel 133 72.60%

Junior College VoSchool cational Graduate

Others

Others 277 2.81%

 

Number Proportion

Post-Doctor 31 0.31%

261 2.65%

1235 12.54%

Graduate 1401 14.23%

4349 44.16%

2571 26.11%

Source: ABC. Annual Report, 2006

Another concern is that ABC company committed to employee-oriented human resour res ource ces s pol polici icies, es, and is ful fully ly hig highli hlight ghted ed tra traini ining ng an and d dev develo elopm pment ent of eac each h employee. The objective of training and development programmes provision is to sati sa tisf sfy y the the cu curr rren entt ne need ed as we well ll as ca cate terr the the fu futu ture re ex expe pect ctat ation ion.. In ABC, ABC, al alll employees need to take a short period job entry training course when they first enter to the company. Concequently, this research selects ABC as a representative case study to look at its existing training situation, and then put it into the PDCA Brae Ball model to explor exp lore e a pic pictur ture e of its tra traini ining. ng. Per Perha haps ps it co could uld rec recom omme mend nd som some e pra practi ctica call outcomes for other companies to good use in the future. Through interview, the author can collect more explored answers according to their  backgr bac kgroun ound, d, wor work k exp experie erience nce,, and the rea reason sons s for em emplo ployee yees s sat satisf isfyin ying g or  dissatisfying training from diverse respondents. During the investigation, the author  interviews 16 staffs including 14 employees and two department leaders from different departments.

3.2 Key interview questions The basic four primary interview questions are designed based on the four powers of Brae Ball model and four elements of PDCA as follows: 1) What kinds of and how frequency of the training you received? - P 2) Wh Whet ethe herr yo you u are are fu fully lly mo motiv tivat ated ed to towa ward rds s tr trai ainin ning g (e (e.g .g.. pr prom omot otio ion, n, sa sala lary ry increasing)? - D 3) Whether you satisfy the training? If so, in which way (e.g.contents, support from managers)? - C 4) What could be improved on training activity? - A

4. Research Findings and Discussions In this part, detailed research findings explore the factors influenced training within the four powers and the four parts (PDCA), namely, the Fundamental powertraini tra ining ng pla planni nning, ng, Tra Tracti ction on pow powerer-tra traini ining ng mo motiv tivati ation, on, Res Resist isting ing pow powerer-tra traini ining ng appraisal and Thrust power-training improvement.

4.1 Fundamental power (P) – Planning As its human resources policy mentioned ‘employee-oriented’, ABC fully realized the importance of training and provide different levels of training activity for their 

 

employees to improve their skill and knowledge. Firstly, all the employees received training, but the length of training is different, according to their working time. The employee, who worked in the company for four years received training for two months, and another one who worked only one and half years, was provided training for several days (see table1). Secondly, the company provided different length of training for the employees from different departments. The employees in charge of product planning received training for three months, the staffs worked in the international international trade only receive received d traini training ng from several hours to seve several ral weeks (see table2). As it mentioned before, the fundemental power could be decomposed another  cycle of PDCA, namely Planning (fequency of training), Do (trainer/trainee/facilities/types of training), Check (apprisal) and Act (improvement). Table 1. Training time with working time - Planning Working Time 4 years 3 years 2 years 1 years

Training Time 2-3 months 1 month 2 weeks to 6 weeks Several days

Table 2. Training time allocated in different departments Department

Training Time

Technology

1 month-3 months

Manufacturing

2 weeks – 1month

IT

2 weeks for normal training and 6 weeks for speciality training

Sales

4 days

International Trade

1 hour per day

Research and Development

1 month -3 month

Varieties of training provided to different departments, in terms of characteristics of  their duties defined by ABC. Technology department focus on the professional technical training, such as TET-LCD knowledge; Manufacturing department mainly provid pro vide e TFT kno knowle wledge dge,, saf safety ety kn knowl owledg edge; e; Sal Sales es de depar partme tment nt pro provid vide e ma marke rkett orientation and sale skill training. More details please see table 3. Table 3: Types of training provided to different departments - Do Department Technology Department Manufacturing De Department Sales

Types of Training technical, such as TET-LCD knowledge, ISO, SPC control, Office SW TFT kn knowledge, s sa afety kn knowledge market orientation, sales skills, management

 

IT Research an and De Development Internationall Trade Internationa

focus on technical training, know the whole process of machine manufacture, management overseas ttrraining, ma mangaement Product knowledge training, work skill, foreign language, magement

Training appraisal – Check, and improvement - Act are merged into the two power: Resisting power and Thrust power, which are interpreted as follows.

4.2 Traction Traction power (D) – Motivation According to expectancy theory, employees should be more willing to work hard to towa ward rd trai traini ning ng ob obje ject ctiv ives es,, if they they feel feel they they will will be re rewa ward rded ed,, wi will ll re rece ceiv ive e appropriate incentives, for doing well on the programme-which includes putting into ef effe fect ct wh what at they they ha have ve lear learnt nt ba back ck on the the jo job b (L (Law awle lerr et al 19 1990 90). ). Be Bein ing g appropriately rewarded-through the provision of intrinsic and extrinsic incentives-for  doing well, should also cause employees to think highly of the training programme ‘responsible’ for the rewards being available to them in the first place, and if  employees regard training highly, it is ‘easier’ for them to justify receiving any rega regard rds s th they ey do do;; it als also o prov provid ides es th them em wi with th an in indi dire rect ct wa way y of ‘t ‘tha hank nkin ing’ g’ th the e organization for giving them these rewards, in the first place (Noe 1986; Deci 1975). As evidence in the research, most respondents do not think the training can help them to get a better earnings and the promotion. In other words, employees are not fully motivated towards training. One respondent said: said : ‘Objectively, getting better  salary sal ary depen depends ds on wha whatt tra traini ining ng con conten tents ts you took and how dee deeply ply you got  through the training. About the promotion, training will be taken after you get the  promotion.’’ It suggested that not all the provided training leads to higher pay, may  promotion. be only ‘professional training’ can do. Santos and Stu Santos Stuart art (20 (2003: 03:37) 37) arg argue ued d em emplo ployee yees’ s’ mot motiva ivatio tion n and com commit mitme ment nt towards their own personnel development was found to be significantly associated wi with th th the e pe perc rceiv eived ed im impa pact ct of th the e tra traini ining ng on no nonn-mo mone neta tary ry re rewa ward rds. s. In th this is research, employees who associated training with better promotion prospects and personal career exploration were more satisfied with the training and their own job, and far more eagerly to engage them in proactive behaviour towards personal development such as continuous work performance improvement. As an employee said: ‘Tra ‘Traini ining ng def definit initely ely can lea lead d me to ex explo plore re my per person sonal al dev develo elopme pment, nt, it  makes mak es me be mor more e coura courage geous ous and more un unite ited. d. It mo motiv tivate ates s me to do gre great  at   performance, and I think the long and effective encourage should be carried out by  training and other ways.’ 

4.3 Resisting power (C) – Appraisal The trainees’ trainees’ satis satisfactio faction n could be the best meas measurem urement ent of the training. During appraisal, some problems has been discovered. Firstly, it showed the response of  employees to the training tended to be more satisfied with the extension of the training. The employee whose training time is short seems to be unsatisfied the

 

training. It’s very obviously time is the biggest factor. One staff   staff   said: ‘Though it   provides training by daily, the training is too short which only lasts half to one hour. During the training time, I can not fully take part in the training.’  Another staff said: ‘I do not satisfy the training for its i ts limited contents because of its time limit.’ Second one is that the managerial training and personal development has not integrated into the daily training activity. Some interviewees found it difficult to transfer the training to the real job. ‘During ‘ During the training course, everything makes sense. But after training, you go back to the office and realise that it is difficult to apply what you trained to the real job.’  One employee said. In generally, for most interviewees, training increased their confidence and self-efficacy, and it helped to improve their competencies, skill and work performance. In gen genera eral, l, em emplo ploye yees es are mo more re sat satisf isfied ied wit with h the tec techni hnical cal trai trainin ning g tha than n the managerial training, because the company pays more attention to the front one. Training ultimately serves for the need of the enterprise. In ABC, it increased emphasis on high quality products and services to face the rapid changes in the business environment, it is acquiring more and more employees with the relevant skills and high competence. Hence, it allocates lots of training resources to the technical training, including basic knowledge and upgrading skills. From the investigation, most interviewees responded: ‘it ‘ it seems the training content  lacks of the personal development, and, in fact, only the technical skill training can not meet our needs. We do need personal development.’ development. ’ Employees themselves are increasingly demanding that their employers provide them with all the training they need to perform not only their current jobs, but also any related ones they may hold subsequently within the organization and outside, sometimes even as part of  the informal informal contra contract ct of employm employment ent (Orpen 199 1998:35) 8:35).. Howe However, ver, it is difficult to design the personal development programme for individual employees. In the research, the satisfactory of provided training in technology department is higher than in other departments. It’s partly because the line manager of the technology department directly guide the employees’ daily work and responsible for on-th on-the-job e-job training training.. An interv interview iew respo responded: nded: ‘‘The The leader of my department  supports training. He directly guide the technical training, at the same time, he will  adjust training content according the change of the skills. During the weekend, he attends atten ds the perso personal nal developm development ent training as well. It motiv motivates ates me to take part in the training actively, even I need pay money for the training by myself. ’ Besides, the line line ma manag nager’ er’s s per person sonal al inv involv olvem ement ent in tra trainin ining g de decis cision ions, s, and in forma formall training events, and their own self-development practices, offers an example to ambitious subordinates. Moreover, Santos and Stuart (2003) argued, accordingly, where line managers were highly involved in discussing training needs, setting goals and reviewing progress and providing coaching and guidance, training was more likely to have a favourable impact on employees’ motivation, job satisfaction and personal growth. Surprisedly, it was found that in ABC some line managers perceive the training as extra burden. ‘More urgent work have to be given priority’ and ‘general pressure’

 

are the usual reasons for managers not involving in training. As one leader of the department puts it: I have to face and deal with a heavy load of work everyday. I need to control of  the operation of the task, maximized the productivity and profit level, and improved  the product and service quality, now I found myself responsible for motivating and  developing my staff. All the tasks need to devote lots of my energy and time. While the standard of appraisal and reward is the achievement of the productivity in the limited time, not including the training employees.

4.4 Thrust Thrust power (A) – Improvement After some problems being explored in the parts above, some improvement could be made in ABC. In ABC, different departments are responsible for different types of training. HR department is responsible for the overall training; Quality Control department is in charge of quality management training, in additional, technology department more focuses on the related technology training. Along with the strategy made by the HR department, each department could define their training needs through collecting and summaris summarising ing em emplo ployee yees’ s’ nee needs ds firs first, t, an and d the then n foc focuse use on the on the job training, and also arrange training time flexibly. In another word, training contents could be contributed by trainees, for instance, IT staff could be provided training on personal development training to help them revalue themselve, as long as they are willing to do it. Meanwhile, following up training is so necessary that the trainees could transfer the knowledge delivered via training into work, even if they are unable to transfer, the following up training session could push or pull them to grasp the training application. In ABC, according to the levels of the training, the enterprise could allocate the training time reasonably, which combine the on-the-job training and off-the-job training together. Some of the training is arranged in the working time, such as solving the problem which may arise in the daily work, positions skill training; some training is taken after work time, which more focus on the personal development and knowledge. Due to the poor linkage between the training and motivation, employees are not sati sa tisf sfie ied d wi with th th the e pro provi vide ded d tra train inin ing. g. A resp respon onde dent nt fro from m IT te tech chno nolog logy y sa said id:: ‘Monetary rewards, such as better pay and promotion is not the only motivator to engaging me into the training activity, but it’s the most direct way to make me realize the value that training brings.’  Employees are less likely to see training as leadin lea ding g to hig high h pay pay,, bet better ter pro promot motion ion pro prospe spects cts.. Em Emplo ployee yees’ s’ mo motiv tivati ation on an and d commitment towards their own personal development was found to be significantly associated with the perceived impact of training on non-monetary rewards, the perceived impact of training on job satisfaction, motivation, personal growth and   job job per perfor forma mance nce was sig signif nifica icantly ntly rel relate ated d to the ind indivi ividua dual’s l’s co comm mmitm itment ent to personal development (Santos and Stuart 2003:37).

 

5.0 Conclusion and Recommendations Summing up this case study, ABC does have a commitment to training, and it concludes the employees’ response as the following five points: (1) time is an import imp ortant ant fac factor tor to infl influen uence ce the emp employ loyees ees’’ sat satisf isfact action ion to the tra traini ining, ng, the employee who receives the longer time training seems more satisfied than the employee with short training time; (2) employee from different departments show different differ ent lev levels els of sat satisf isfact actory ory;; (3) em emplo ployee yees s are not full fully y mo motiv tivate ated d to tak taking ing actively part in training, because the better pay and promotion poorly linked to the training;(4) employees are less satisfied with the managerial training and personal development; (5) although the provided training is not as perfect as the employee expected, most interviewees responded the training does increase their confidence and self-efficacy to some extent, and it helpful to promote their skills, competencies and work performance. Although ABC widely recognizes the importance of the training, not only for the employee-improve the skill, increase the self-esteem, realize their own potential, bus also for the employer, the enterprise-productivity, profit, prosper the business, in reality, there are more or less obstacles to implementing training. It is just a single case study, thus it can not illuminate the overall training in China, but it can represent the training operation in some JV enterprises in China.  China.  In conculsion, the barriers explored from ABC are connceted to the main clues based base d on the PDCA Brae Ball mode model, l, nam namely ely the Thrus Thrustt powe powerr – Improvem Improvement ent,, which indicates training is not managed effectively on the right track; and another  one on e the the Re Resi sist stin ing g po powe werr - tr trai aini ning ng ap appr prai aisa sal, l, wh whic ich h de deno note ted d th that at it la lack cks s th the e perf pe rfor orma manc nce e ap appr prai aisa sall to me meas asur ure e th the e ou outc tcom ome e of th the e tr train ainin ing. g. Ev Even en if th the e operation of training in some JV enterprises in China is still problematic, in reality, it still has space to improv improve e the training. There ar are e five interesting issue issues s relatively to management and appraisal being recommonded as follows. Perhaps these issues could recommend some practical outcomes for other JV enterprises to good use in the future.

5.1 Training investment and risk management Yu (2005) suggested firms are willing to share the cost of off-the-job training; moreover, more over, although spec specific ific hum human an capi capital tal increa increase se techn technical ical effic efficiency iency within fir firms, ms, gen genera erall hum human an ca capit pital al and bas basic ic res resear earch ch inc increa rease se the pro profit fitabi ability lity of  innovation and therefore benefit the society at the macro level, at the same time, the value of off-the-job training is not limited to its transferable elements. To judge whether the training investment is worthy, it is firstly better to recognise potential risks. It’s difficult to guarantee the gain from the training, so cheaper  alternative to training might be to poach instead. According to Moen and Rosen (2004), (200 4), there exis exists ts two types of firms firms;; training firm firms s which have a comp comparativ arative e adva ad vant ntag age e in pr prov ovid idin ing g ge gene nera rall tr train ainin ing, g, an and d po poac achi hing ng fi firm rms s wh whic ich h ha have ve a compar com parati ative ve adv advant antag age e in uti utiliz lizing ing gen genera erall hum human an ca capita pital. l. It mea means ns poa poach ching ing normally happen in the company which provide general training.

 

However, there’re some firms provide general training. Milgrom and Roberts (1992) offered the following explanation for such behavior: Suppose there is an opportunity to invest in general (non-specific) human capi ca pita tal, l, bu butt that that em empl ploy oyee ees s ca cann nnot ot affo afford rd to ab abso sorb rb th the e co cost sts s of tr trai aini ning  ng  them th emse selv lves es.. An ob obvi viou ous s so solu luti tion on wo woul uld d be fo forr th the e em empl ploy oyer er to fin finan ance ce it its s employees’ marginal product for some period of time. The problem is that another  firm might be willing and able to make an attractive job offer that destroys the agreement. A financial penalty of just the right magnitude would discourage the employee from leaving just to capture the value of training, but would still permit  the employee to leave if he or she really were more valuable to the other employer. Thus, for example, some firms that undertake their employees’ study for graduate degrees degr ees formally lend them the tuition tuition.. The comp company any then forgives the debt if the worker stays with the firm for a predetermined period after graduation. The loan may, however, become payable in full if the employees quits before the requisite  period has expired. Anotherr ex Anothe expla planat nation ion is, at lea least st to som some e ext extent ent,, the mo most st ge gener neral al tra traini ining ng is inseparable from firm-specific training (Araki 2001). In term of this explanation, the provided training can help to improve firm-specific skills and general skills at the same time. Accordingly, if the firm offers the sufficient high salary to the employees, it can help to retain the trainees. And the firm can obtain some profits (Araki 2001). In reality, as long as the firm is able to resolve internal efficiency, the risk-‘poach’ at least can be dec decrea rease sed, d, oth otherw erwise ise,, it wil willl lea lead d to un under derinv invest estme ment nt in tra traini ining, ng, suc such h as excessive turnover, which reduce the return of individual and organization from training. (Araki 2001).

5.2 Teamwork training Taking the teamwork training as an example, it usually provides teamwork training after working time, thus, employees found difficult to transfer the teamwork skills to the wor workpl kplac ace. e. In ABC ABC,, it’s impor importan tantt to sha share re and exc exchan hange ge the tec techno hnolog logy y information, especiallythe in employees the technology department. Teamwork can thus increase the cooperation between under different technology work, improve their th eir wo work rk invo involv lvem emen ent. t. It ob obse serv rved ed th that at em empl ploy oyee ees s wo work rkin ing g wit withi hin n te team am participatory work, have more responsibility and autonomy and feel themselves to be more skilled as a result of the broader experience and the training undergone to full the wider range range of duties (Bacon and Bly Blyton ton 2003 2003:13). :13). In additi additional, onal, ther there’re e’re evidence found that workers in more participatory work systems are more likely to receive both formal and informal training than their counterparts in organizations wi with th mo more re tra tradi diti tion onal al wo work rk syst system em (App (Appel elba baum um 20 2000 00:2 :208 08). ). It sugg sugges ests ts th that at teamwork motivates the staff to receive the training in order to promote their work involvement and commitment. commitment.

5.3 Strategy motivation Keep (2005) suggested in two circumstances, it is so hard to adjust training to st stra rate tegy gy th that at stra strate tegy gy is a rapi rapidl dly y mo movi ving ng ta targ rget et:: (1 (1)) many many or orga gani niza zati tion ons, s,

 

particularly SMEs, appear to lack of strategies which could be defined in details, and stably relevant to elements during planning, and in some cases, even in large firms, a detailed, explicit business strategy may be lacking, with the business being managed through portfolio techniques, whereby the corporate centre establishes profit targets for its business units (Purcell, 1989), thus there is no central blueprint, merely the incentive that those that do well may receive investment, while those that do not are liable to be sold; (2) where strategies exist, they may be so unstable as to render meaningful planning of HRM and training issues impossible, the continuing tendency for organization to walk on the currently existing “right” track with applying the unstably changed programmes run by senior manager, more emphases on adjustment of the latest management fashion (Bach and Sisson 2000).

5.4 Managerial constraint As Keep and Rainbird (2000:184-5) argued, leaders from different departments are still in the role transition, from the traditional roles (controller, giver of orders, arbitr arb itrato atorr bet betwee ween n com compet peting ing cla claims ims)) to the dif differ ferent ent rol role e of me mento ntor, r, coa coach, ch, learning facilitator. In ABC, the employee training and their personal development is not linked to the department leader’s appraisal and reward, thus, leaders are tend to take the training issue out of their working agenda, due to their work performance is measured by the profit and productivity of the goods. Orpen (1999: 41) suggests that managers who directly responsible for training should provide the necessary time, money, equipment, facilities, and opportunities for the training, and take deliberate steps to ensure that the employees concerned believe the resources provided are enough, or at least adequate. In this respect, if  training can not be properly resourced, it seems that firms may be better not to offer training at all, at least in the eyes of the trainees themselves (Knowles 1994). Furthermore Orpen (1999:41) found that employees are unlikely to be motivated for training or to believe training is of high quality if they feel, that the organization has not made enough time available, or believe that too little money has been provid pro vided. ed. He sug sugges gests ts ma manag nagers ers who res respon ponsib sible le for tra traini ining ng mu must st not onl only y provide training outcomes that employee values, but must make them contingent on employees making the effort necessary for them to really benefit from the training.

5.5 Performance appraisal Improvement Keep (2005) suggests that training activity should be the outcome of a high degree of integration with the organization’s strategy planning, performance management and appraisal mechanisms. Performance appraisal could benefit an organization and employee in a number of ways such as an increase in staff self-esteem and staff motivation to perform effectively; management could gain new insight into staff sta ff and su super pervis visors ors;; job fun functi ctions ons and res respo ponsi nsibil bilitie ities s are cle clearl arly y def define ined; d; perfor per forma mance nce app apprai raisal sal als also o cou could ld dev develo elop p val valua uable ble com commu munic nicati ation on bet betwee ween n employees and managers; performance appraisal also could encourage increased self-understanding of performance standard among staff as well as insight into the kind kin d of dev develo elopm pment ent act activit ivities ies tha thatt are of va value lue;; per perfor forman mance ce app apprai raisal sal cou could ld distribute rewards on a fair and credible basis; the organizational goals can be

 

readily ily accepted, and finally performance appraisal could improv rove institutional/departmental manpower planning, test validation, and development of  training programs (Mohrman, Resnick-West and Lawler, 1989). Performance appraisal can also help to improve employees’ job performance by identifying strengths and weaknesses and determining how their strengths can be bestt uti bes utiliz lized ed with within in the org organi anizat zation ion an and d wea weakne kness sses es ove overco rcome me.. Per Perfor forma mance nce apprai app raisa sall als also o can pro provid vide e inf inform ormati ation on for Hum Human an res resour ource ce pla planni nning ng to ass assist ist succession planning and to determine the suitability of employees for promotion (Armstrong, 1998). For the employer or the trainer, they will get the information such as whether the trainee satisfy the training, whether the training content suitable to the employee, to the changed economy. If not, the employer or the trainer can adjust the training cont co nten entt to mee eett the the ch chan ange geab able le ne need eds. s. Ke Keep ep (2 (200 005) 5) ar argu gued ed in te term rms s of  performance and appraisal, the ideal is for the individual worker to have his or her  performance appraised, skill gaps and deficiencies identified, and then a personal develo dev elopm pment ent pla plan n for formu mulat lated ed (us (usual ually ly by the their ir line line man manage ager) r) to rem remedy edy the these se defi de fic cienc iencie ies s an and d to de deve velo lop p the the indi indivi vidu dual al to fi fitt th thei eirr ne next xt ro role le wi with thin in th the e organization.

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