Question

Training and Development at Dorintos Ghana Dorintos Ghana is a subsidiary of a large confectionery company in South Africa. Dorintos has preserved its longstanding goodwill as a firm that is committed to fostering learning and developing all employees All Dorintos subsidiaries are performing well since the introduction of their new production equipment worldwide. The headquarters is however discontent with levels of productivity and employee performance in the Ghanaian subsidiary. Mr Ampah, the training and development manager has been tasked to investigate why the subsidiary is not performing according to expectations. The Dorintos headquarters has authorized Mr Ampah to ensure that Dorintos Ghana staff adapts to the new technological innovation and responds appropraitely to changes in the market.   
Mr Ampah is accusing the packing department staff of scheming to sabotage production as machines are constantly out of order. Workers on the assembly lines believe management do not care about their safety and health. Recently, there has been a series of work accidents on the assembly lines although Dorintos organizes health and safety training sessions annually. At such training events employees are updated on the business strategy and past performance. For most workers these annual training events are an annoying routine and a waste of time. Workers have complained that the external training consultants have little or no knowledge of the company culture and work processes to offer the appropriate trainings. Workers walked out of the last training session describing it as outdated and of no learning value. Moreover, they do not agree with management and Mr Ampah that the performance of the subsidiary has dwindled. Tensions are high and if the subsidiary doesn’t revamp soon it will be shut down.

Questions
1. Briefly discuss what you will do to ascertain if the Dorintos Ghana staff actually need re- training. Why is it important to ascertain the need for training? (5marks) 2. Identify and quote pertinent information and evidence from the case study to justify whether employees need training or not. (5marks) 3. State and explain the pros and cons of any 2 training methods you can use in this case (5marks) 4. Suggest and explain 2 suitable final evaluation methods that suit the training methods you have chosen above(5marks)

Answer 1

1. It appears that the staff in Ghana subsidiary fail to do as expected in comparison with other regions. The management is not satisfied with their performance. Therefore the training is arranged for the staff.

2. The present problem shows that employees are not responsible for the low performance of the company. The main problem lies in the packaging division. There is sabotage in the staff of the packing division. They willingly keep the machine out of work.

3. The two training methods taken here are:

Job rotation training method: Here the employees of the of one unit should be changed to other units. Then they exchange the skill. They come to know the condition of the work in a new environment.

But it hampers the work flow. There may be lack of coordination among the employees.

Lecture training method: In this training method the staff are reminded the company policies and the skills. This training method is easy to the staff. The staff are made aware of the present trend and what they should do.

The training method remains confined in the theoretical field. The staff's skill does not develop.

4. Job rotation training: It is very useful as it helps to know how the staff of a profitable unit work together. The staff can employ the same method returning to his own unit.

Case study: The staff should be imparted training on the basis of the problem. In such case the problem is solved rapidly and there is rapid result in the staff.