Types of training and development

OFF THE JOB TRAINING: -is given outside the actual work place.

Lectures/Conferences:- This approach is well adapted to convey specific information, rules, procedures or methods. This method is useful, where the information is to be shared among a large number of trainees. The cost per trainee is low in this method.

Films: - can provide information & explicitly demonstrate skills that are not easily presented by other techniques. Motion pictures are often used in conjunction with Conference, discussions to clarify & amplify those points that the film emphasized.

Simulation Exercise: - Any training activity that explicitly places the trainee in an artificial environment that closely mirrors actual working conditions can be considered a Simulation. Simulation activities include case experiences, experiential exercises, vestibule training, management games & role-play.

Cases: - present an in depth description of a particular problem an employee might encounter on the job. The employee attempts to find and analyze the problem, evaluate alternative courses of action & decide what course of action would be most satisfactory.

Experiential Exercises: - are usually short, structured learning experiences where individuals learn by doing. For instance, rather than talking about inter-personal conflicts & how to deal with them, an experiential exercise could be used to create a conflict situation where employees have to experience a conflict personally & work out its solutions.

Vestibule Training: - Employees learn their jobs on the equipment they will be using, but the training is conducted away from the actual work floor. While expensive, Vestibule training allows employees to get a full feel for doing task without real world pressures. Additionally, it minimizes the problem of transferring learning to the job.

Role Play: - Its just like acting out a given role as in a stage play. In this method of training, the trainees are required to enact defined roles on the basis of oral or written description of a particular situation.

Management Games: - The game is devised on a model of a business situation. The trainees are divided into groups who represent the management of competing companies. They make decisions just like these are made in real-life situations. Decisions made by the groups are evaluated & the likely implications of the decisions are fed back to the groups. The game goes on in several rounds to take the time dimension into account.

In-Basket Exercise: - Also known as In-tray method of training. The trainee is presented with a pack of papers & files in a tray containing administrative problems & is asked to take decisions on these problems & are asked to take decisions on these within a stipulated time. The decisions taken by the trainees are compared with one another. The trainees are provided feedback on their performance.