METHODS OF TRAINING

There are seven bases on which the training methods are classified:

1. Location based
2. Presence training
3. Management level training
4. Person based training
5. Knowledge - Based Training
6. Function – based Training
7. Organizational structure – based Training

1. Location Based Training

 In – Company
 Off – Company

2. Presence Training
 On – the Job Training Methods
 Off – the Job Training Methods

3. Management Level Training

 Top level
 Middle level
 Low level

4. Person Based Training

 Workers
 Supervisors
 Management

5. Knowledge - Based Training

 Technical
 Non – Technical

6. Function – based Training

 Production
 Marketing
 Finance
 Personnel
 And the like………….

7. Organizational structure – based Training

 Managerial
 Non – Managerial
On The Job Training
1. Coaching
2. Job Rotation
3. Job Instruction
4. Observation
5. Lateral Positioning
6. Attachments
7. Junior Boards and Committees

1. Coaching
The trainee is placed under a particular supervisor, who functions as coach;
often the trainee shares some of the functions of the coach. The supervisor
provides has to watch the work of the trainee, offer him suggestions and
feedback for improvement.

2. Job Instruction:
This method is also known as training through steps. The trainer explains the
way of doing the things in steps to the trainee and allows him to do the job. The
trainer appraises the performance of the trainee, provides feedback and corrects
the trainee.
This method involves four steps:

1. Prepare the employee for instruction

2. Present the job with each step separately
3. Have him to do the job in each step
4. Follow through till he becomes familiar.

3. Job Rotation
This type of training involve is the movement of the trainee from one job to
another. The jobs vary in content. This method gives the trainee an opportunity
to understand problems of employee on other jobs and how he could transform
himself to the situation to solve the other employees or peers.

Job Rotation: Merits

 The trainee can maintain a certain generality of approach and avoid
becoming merely a specialist.
 Awareness of what is happening elsewhere and familiarity with other
task-centers helps a balanced and informed attitude to enterprise goal and
activities.
 New contacts are established and the horizon of enterprise governance
becomes effective.
 A competitive environment prevails giving way to inclination from other
employees.
 Each leader's abilities and talents are best tested in a variety of jobs
leading to all- round development.
Job Rotation - Demerits
• Change in employee cause dislocation and disruption in normal work.
• Interpersonal relationships may take time adjustment.
• A trainee may take time to settle down and he is prone to erroring due to
hasty in learning.
• An employee trained in another job may indulge in costly
experimentations in his original job.
• More supervision and guidance from the senior level is required on the
roving employee or trainee

4. Observation
A variant of rotation methods is the observation methods, in which the trainee is
expected to observe the work process in a centre. The trainee spends a few
sitting in the room of a manager going through the instruction files, letters, and
correspondence. He asks the manager as to how the works are completed.

Observation - Merits
• It does not disturb the established tenor of work.
• The trainee is able to get a detached and comprehensive look at the task
the systems and procedures.
• The training is quick and flexible.

Observation - Demerits
• This method is suitable for passive observes.
• It leads to superficial learning.
• Since the trainer has no responsibility, his interest in training may not
exist.

5. Lateral Positioning
In this method, the trainee is permanently posted to take up the jobs in other
departments. He has to take full responsibility of the assignment and he will not
be know when he will be shifted again.

Lateral Positioning - Merits

• It enhances inter- functional understanding and team work.
• In case of inter - personal and group conflicts, this methods not only
averts the conflicts but also injects an element of positive attitude in a
trainee.
• It helps the organization to have a flexibility with units employee
inventory

Lateral Positioning - Demerits

• An employee asked to hold charge of an unfamiliar job will take to settle
down.
• The junior second - line employees may resent it as it makes their
chances of promotion uncertain.
 • The relationship, with the employees and discipline within the, group
may an unsettling effect.
• Normally, it is taken as a punishment rather than reward resulting in
stymied personal career advancement.

6. Attachment
• In this method, the junior is attached to a senior by rotation in different
functions. The senior routes much of the departmental work through the
junior and he is taken as an integral part of the trainer.

Attachment - Merits
• The junior i.e.; trainee, is not overburdened with work and responsibility
and he secure full participation in the functioning process resulting in the
acquisition of insight on the job content.
• The chances of costly mistakes or upsetting relationship within the
group are eliminated.

Attachment - Demerits
• Since the trainee has no direct responsibility for the success of the job, he
often becomes a mere observer of the whole process.
• The trainee may lose the loss of independence in analyzing and deciding
the appropriateness of a function, if the trainer being senior has complex
and exclusiveness

7. Junior Boards and Committees

The trainee is asked to participate in the deliberations of junior boards and
decision making committees. Here, the real - life actual problems are discussed,
different views are debated and decisions are taken. The trainee is mute observe
but having a flair for listening, which helps the trainee in the process of
understanding, comprehension, analysis and decision making.

The merits are –

• It inculcates a sense of responsibility and participation

• Widens the trainee's perspective and team ship with senior and peers
from other disciplines.

The demerits are –

• It does not permit any specific attention to the training needs

• The debates and discussions often tend to be lacking purposiveness,
authority and decision commitment.

Off – The Job Training Methods

Objectives

• Emerging complex managerial process.

 • Emphasis on behavioural outcomes
• Development of new techniques of management
• New findings of behavioural science
• Multi disciplinary approach to management
• The changing profile of trainees from mute observation to active
involvement in the learning process
• The presence of complex of socio-cultural dimensions in learning.
Hence, an in - depth understanding of these methods is made under the
heads

The types of training under Off – The Job Training method:

• Lecture
• Correspondence
• Role Playing
• In basket Method
• Case study method
• Business games
• Conference
• Sensitivity training (T – Group)
• Seminars
• Workshops
• Symposiums
• Programmed instructions
• Field work (Application project)
• Syndicate work

LECTURE METHOD

A discourse read or delivered before an audience or a class upon a given subject

especially for instruction. " In olden times, the Guru used to lecture and
the pupils used to listen and there was a peripheral or minimal questioning
session. In recent times, the lecture of the speaker is followed by a high
intensity of observation, discussion and questioning leading to a realistic
understanding of the talk delivered.

The lecture method in recent times has been ably supported the use of –
• Charts
• Graphs
• Slides
• Flip charts
• Models
• Films
• Other audio - visual aids.

Lecture Method – Merits

• It is simple and efficient backed up with study materials

 • It reduces anxiety about upcoming training programmes by explaining
their basic purpose
• The basic material provides a common background for subsequent
activitie
• It helps in introducing a subject and presenting an overview of scope.
• It helps in illustrating the application of rules and principles;
reviewing,clarifying and summarizing.

Lecture Method – Demerits

• The learners are passive instead of active participants. It violates the
principle of learning by doing and it is normally a one-way
communication.
• The presentation requires a great deal of preparation, which requires a
high level of time devotion and public speaking skills.
• There is tendency of drifting. The effectiveness of lecture depends upon
content command and audience knowledge level. Most of the times,
anyone of them is certainly lacking and this results ineffective lectures.
• The presentation of material should be geared to a common level of
knowledge. It tends to emphasize the accumulation and memorization of
facts and figures and does not lay stress on the application of
knowledge.
• Even though the speaker can adjust to the specific audience group, the
individual differences of' the audience/will mitigate the effectiveness.
• It is normally characterized by halo effect, status barrier, complexes and
emotional excesses. .

CORRESPONDENCE METHOD

In this methods, the instructional activity is through correspondence and the

speaker's found in lecture method is occupied by the study material sent
through post to the learners interested in specific area bf training. This
method pre-supposes the scattered locations of the trainees, who are
constrained to attend the physical locations of learning.

Correspondence Method – Procedure

The training should be clear about the instructional objectives to be achieved

based on the requirement of the clientele or trainees as well as the
magnitude of the trainees.

The trainers should analyze the information content and sequence of the study
material contents, which are to be dispatched to the trainees either
wholesale or sequentially. The study material should be more self -
instructional style than of traditional textbook form, optimally loaded with
reference materials and additional suggested readings to motivate trainees
to acquire an increased knowledge horizon on his own endeavor.
An ingredient of study material is the inclusion of exercise manual along with
response sheets for assignment completion and the trainers should see that
the trainees respond to them in time. The trainees should get the feedback
after assignment completion. The trainers should be prepared to clarify the
doubts as and when they come up and a network of study centers are to he
set by the training institution to provide the feeling of venue- training as
far as possible.

Arrangement of personal contact programmes (PCPs) is a sine qua non to

remove the doubts of the participants, if any. Whatever could not be
communicated clearly through the written lessons should be transmitted
through their visits and discussions. At the end of PCP, the response to
reaction sheet from trainees should be carefully studied by the trainers to
improve the contents and standards of the course there by rejuvenating
course material

Correspondence Method – Merits

Training is possible without asking trainees to attend training. They could be at

their places' of work and learn at the same time.

A small group of trainers can train a fairly large number of participants

simultaneously.

It provides an opportunity to study at their own places and at the time

convenient to them. In this way, the heterogeneity of the trainee group is
taken care of.

The repeated reading of brief text and elaborate exercises is feasible, unlike the
lecture method in which they listen to it only once.

A regular feedback based on evaluated assignments results in an indepth

understanding of issues or subjects.

The PCP provides an interactive forum for heterogeneous intellectual groups,

which put their intellectual mite for an exploding knowledge

It is less expensive for the participants as well as for the training institutions
since a large number of participants can be trained simultaneously by a
small team of trainers.

It helps the physically handicapped learners significantly.

Correspondence Method – Demerits

The PCP between the trainers and trainees is not the extent it is desired.
The interaction for clarification by a trainee is done through the trainer, but
through the study material, which inanimate and hence the learning
process is hampered, interrupted or postponed leading to the possible low
knowledge level.
Correspondence Method - Demerits
Getting adequate and relevant additional reference material may that the
learning pursuit.
There is general delay, in the timely availability of study material.
There is a dearth of sound coordination to manage the whole show.

ROLE PLAYING

Role playing is a training technique in which participants assume an identity

other than their own, to cope with real or hypothetical problems in human
relations and other areas.

Aim of Role Play

 Places a problem in a life like setting.

 The problem involves ongoing processes.
 The problem typically involves the participants themselves.
 Emotional and attitudinal aspects are dealt with in a similar frame
of reference.
 Emphasizes the importance of feelings.
 Participants are psychologically “inside” the problem situation.
 Make for emotional involvement.
 Provides practice in interpersonal skills.
 Provides for testing ideas and hypotheses.
 Trains in emotional control.
 Provides for execution of action or solution.
 Allows continuous feedback.

Advantages

 Role playing provides an opportunity for developing insight into

what is happening when it is happening.

 Role playing emphasizes the importance that feelings and emotions

play in many problems, especially problems associated with
human relations

 Role playing enables the manager or supervisor to see a situation

from a perspective different to his own.
  Role playing, successfully handled, develops the interest of the
learner, thereby providing a dynamic situation during the course of
which attitudes can be modified and new attitudes developed.

How is it conducted?
1) Trainers start by briefing all the participants
• He outlines the situation.
• Gives a concise description of the characters involved.
• Players are given time to fix their characters in their minds and
audience are oriented to what they are to watch.
• The audience can be divided into
 Listening or watching
 Or a special observer for later panel discussions.
Tape recorders or CC TV may be employed.
2) The group acts out.
3) The actors and the audience discuss the proceedings
 What was enacted?
 The motivation of the people involved.
 Why the scene developed as it did.
Variants

 Role reversal.
 Multiple role reversal during the scene.
 Repetition of the scene itself with role reversals.

Types of role play

1) Structured role playing

 Leader sets both the situation and the roles.
 Specifies the goals of the activity.
 Elaborate written material describing the role and situation may be
provided.
 Or alternatively the trainer might assume the role of the leader in
the role playing. He orally assigns the other roles.
Ex : To study different leadership pattern.
 Or Role playing planned in advance by members of the group
itself.
 Simulated situation is presented to group first.
 Next the enactment.
 The planning group determines the degree of the spontaneity and
the amount of advance information to the players.

2) Spontaneous role playing

 No advance planning by the leader of the group.
 Problem situation arises from the group discussion.
  Enactment itself serves as the briefing.
 Learning through Doing, Imitation, Observation and feedback,
Analysis.

3) Multiple roles playing

Divide the entire participants group in to role-playing sub- groups,

Everyone role playing simultaneously. Following multiple role playing there is
a discussion on the mutual experiences.

Drawbacks of Role Play

1) Effectiveness depends on the skill of the leader.

2) Time consuming.
3) Restrict the number and complexities of the problems to be dealt with at
one time.
4) Some feel it is too artificial. May result in very little transfer of behaviour
change to real situations.
5) Real life transfer may be improved by having individuals who are involved
in real life conflict situation undertaking for role playing together, playing
each other’s role.
6) If the problems lack sufficient conflicts or variety participants may find it
boring.
7) Spontaneity in the culture of the community or group is very essential.
5) Group should be accustomed to informal, game like atmosphere.

IN-BASKET

Definition:
Developed originally as a possible measure of aptitude for the administrative
components of the managerial role, the In-Basket is a simulation of a manager’s
workload on a typical day. The name is derived from the wire baskets that
formerly were seen on almost every manger’s desk, marked "in" and "out" for
mail and memoranda.

Major Aims:
1. As a diagnostic tool, the exercise provides information on how a
participant handles a sequence of problems in a given situation, under
some pressure and thus some measure of his potential or his competency.
2. As a training device, it can be used to help the trainee identify areas in
planning, organizing and administrative behaviour in which his skills
need to be improved, as well as an opportunity to practice those 8kils in a
situation in which he can obtain feedback on his performance.

Design and Methodology:

The underlying idea of the In-Basket technique is that a person is required to
assume the role of a fictitious executive or supervisor in a hypothetical
situation.

1. Getting familiar with the situation:-The participant is presented with

numerous background materials so that he may become familiar with the
organizational situation. They may include such items as –
 Financial statements
 Organizational charts
 Job descriptions
 Formal position papers
 Informal items such as descriptions of the personalities and performance
of other characters in the test situation.
Though they may vary in nature and content, they all share the common
purpose of increasing the reality of the hypothetical situation for the participants
by placing the tasks which they are to perform in context.

2. Take actions: - Once a player is familiar with the situation, the exercise
itself is begun. Each player is presented with a group of letters, reports, notes
and related items which have presumably accumulated in the' In-Basket of the
hypothetical manager. He is then asked to take any actions he deem appropriate
with the In-Basket items within a limited time period.

3. Write all his notes: - Unlike some other types of exercise in which a
participant merely tells what he would do, as an executive, the In-Basket p1ayer
must actually do it.
They must actually write –
 All his notes and memoranda
 Write out his conversations with others
 Put down the contents of his telephone calls on paper.
Thus, at the end of the exercise, there will be a written record of every action
which each participant has taken

4. Attend a crucial meeting or conference: - An important dimension of the

In-Basket experience is time pressure. The situation into which each participant
is placed contains a time period during which all available work must be
accomplished. At the end of that time period, for example, the participant may
be scheduled as part of the exercise to attend a crucial meeting or conference at
which at least some of the items in his In-Basket will be discussed. In order to
be prepared for this conference, the participant is literally forced to scan many
different items calling for different actions and deal with them
By -
 Setting priorities
 Delegating certain items to his subordinates for handling.

5. Explaining their actions:-The In-Basket game also includes a procedure

which allows players to explain their actions. The player's actions are either-
  Scored in some manner
 Reviewed with him by an interviewer or instructor, or by a group of his
fellow players, or both.

Advantages of in-basket exercise:-

The key to the In-Basket's effectiveness as a training device is the fact that
it is rooted in real-life situations - If the selected situation is similar to one in
which the participant actually has or expects he will function and if, in addition,
it is constructed so as to call adequately for use of the participant's decision-
making and problem-solving abilities, his behaviour in the game may be more
natural than in some other types of training techniques.

It can be designed either to focus on the activities that are part of all
executive positions or to emphasize certain specific aspects of performance
- For instance, if the objective is to develop or improve human relations skills,
the In-Basket material can be weighed heavily with interpersonal conflicts,
other responsibilities being held to a minimum.

The In-Basket can also be adapted to the level of the position for which
training is required – If first-line supervisors are participating, the problem-
can be constructed to emphasize such factors as providing staff services,
supervising work, and technical aspects of production. If it 1s desired to train
higher level executives the problem may be related to activities such as long
range planning, diversification and decentralization.

Disadvantages:
Like any other training technique, this In-Basket method has certain
shortcomings.
 It is handicapped by the fact that is difficult to score or measure its
effects.
 Further since the In-Basket is a form of role-playing, it may become
unrealistic no matter how "realistic" the situational setting is made. This
may step from the fact that the In-Basket is essentially an individual and
non-inter-active device. Although each participant plays the "game", he
plays it by himself, and with his own materials. Except for the post game
review period, there is little opportunity for interaction between
participants.
 Decisions are made during the In-Basket exercise without the
advantage of consultation. The trainee who participates in the In-Basket
exercise is not constrained "by other people's behaviour in a dynamic
fashion. The In-Basket exercise thus provides little training for team
management responsibilities.

CASE STUDY METHOD

This form of case study will provide an authentic management problem. It will
present reports, facts, and even, opinions but will not evaluate. it will have been
gleaned for the most part from research in the field and will have been put
together in a conscious effort to ensure accuracy and reality.

 PRIME PURPOSE:

1. One of the foremost tasks of any effective management education

is to improve the ability of managers and embryo managers to take
wise decisions and make plans for their successful
implementations. This is what the case study method aims to do.
2. To develop skills in discovering and defining the vital questions
that need to be answered and then to learn how to set about finding
the answer.
3. To develop habits of logical thinking.
4. To train in analysis and decision making.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF CASES:

1. Long cases or Classic Cases

2. Short Cases
3. Incident process

1. LONG CASES: Also called as classic case or Harvard cases. This approach
uses detailed case reports. Sometimes run to 40 – 50 pages of text with
supporting charts and documents. It is usually in the form of a running narrative
that includes –
 History of the company
 Biographies of key persons
 Information about finances
 Marketing information
 Production information

Drawbacks of the Long case method: Needlessly long, Too much trouble
deciding just what is important

2. SHORT CASES: these may be only a page or two. All extraneous

information is removed, leaving only information that is pertinent to one
problem.

Drawbacks of the short case method: Limits the depth to which the trainees
can probe. The information needed to dig beyond the obvious symptoms of
trouble, diagnose and solve the problem is absent

4. INCIDENT METHOD:

The Incident Process:-

 1. Fact – Finding – stage: Only a bare incident is reported to the group. It
may involve merely a statement. Other information relevant to the
incident is known only to the discussion leader. The group gets the
information only by asking for it specifically.

2. After the Fact – Finding – stage the group attempts to determine the
major issue to be resolved and whether or not minor issues must also be
considered.

3. Each member writes his own solution, and then joins in a short period of
general discussion of all the proposed solutions.

4. Those with similar solutions meet to iron out the differences and select a
spokesman to argue the merits of their approach in debate with other
viewpoints.

5. The leader finally reports the real life situation.

Drawbacks of the Incident case method: Time consuming, Lengthy and

tedious process, Time of the knowledgeable managers who supply the facts also
needed

Objectives of the Case study method:-

1. It distributes knowledge and facts.

2. It improves participants’ skills in –
 Problem Analysis
 Communication
 Decision making
3. It affects attitude formation and particularly brings home to the participants
that nothing is absolutely “right” or “wrong” in the field of human behaviour.

Advantages of case Study method:-

1. A Case study presents a sample of business life in slow motion, so that it

may be studied in detail. The objective diagnosis of causes and
alternative broadens participants understanding and provides an
improved guide to action.

2. Case study analysis helps participants to realize that there are several
ways of looking at, thinking about and acting in a particular business
situation.

3. The method develops a systematic way of thinking about business issues

and managerial decisions.
 4. In the course of studying and making decisions on a number of cases,
participants will discover some of the underlying principles of
management.

5. Using case studies is a convenient means of exposing participants to a

diversity of business situations and problems during a training course.

QUESTIONS YOU MUST ANSWER TO SLOVE THE CASE

 What is going on here?
 Is there a problem at all?
 What precisely is the problem?
 What has caused it?
 Are we looking at causes or symptoms?
 What are the main issues?
 Why are these issues important?
 Whose problem is it?
 What precisely are its objectives?
 What should he try to do now?
 What possible courses of action are open?
 How realistic is each of the actions/solutions proposed?
 What are their possible effects?

SYNDICATE METHOD

An advocate, a judge or a delegate was called a syndic in ancient Greek

syndicate is a body of syndics.

Syndicate – it represents a body of individuals having the ability to tackle a case

or a problem with a profound analysis and their role being conceived to be
judges giving decisions.

The purpose of syndicate method is to expose a participant to a milieu in

which he is persuaded into reflecting upon his experiences as an executive,
updating his knowledge, improving his executive skills and developing insight
into human behaviour.

Any method of working which a small group may use to achieve a particular
purpose might fairly be described as a syndicate method. The essence of the
syndicate method is that men should learn from each other and should
contribute their own experience to the fullest. The main task of the tutorial staff
is to organize the work so that this mixture of the experience takes place to the
maximum extent possible within the duration of the course.

FIELD STUDY
Field studies normally appear among the set of teaching methods currently in
used with management schools all over the world. And yet, looking at the
situation more closely, it is in most cases a very unstructured activity and stands
just for “going into the field”.

In the following pages we want to present a more structured version of the

method, which was introduced at the Centre d’Etudes Industrialize (CEI) a
couple of years ago and enjoys an over-all acceptance among both teacher and
student body.

The two versions of field studies

1. The industry study trip
2. Management system study.

INDUSTRY STUDY TRIP

Criteria

We understand by the “Industry Study Trip” a teaching method that fulfils the
following set of criteria :

- the visit of a well-choosen company ;

- a well-prepared examination of company’s annual reports, the
environment in which the company operates ; a preparation of the
expected problems should precede the trip ;
- the participants must meet the policy-making level of the company ;
- the participants have to report on their studies in the field ;
- this report should not only record the situation in the company but should
show the author’s opinions about the problems and the way of tackling
them practically.

Let us examine the various criteria in more detail.

1. The company must be an “interesting case”. At the same time, the

company must be assessed according to its openness and willingness to
respond to questions. By “interesting case” we mean the company
should have a striking strategy event in the recent corporate records.
This can either be a take-over of a competitor, a development of a
diversified product range or even simply an outstanding rate of growth,
which makes it interesting to know more about it.
2. The Participants want to know more about the company when meeting
the management. Hence, they have to study the company’s situation
before they visit it. Assessing a company’s situation means studying and
analyzing the latest annual reports, the competitive situation and the
whole environmental sector in which it operates. Only then can the right
questions be brought up, which may lead to a deeper understanding of the
present situation. At CEI a series of sessions on the environment sectors
 given by a guest lecturer – if necessary – premise the actual trip. At the
same time, small study groups analyse different aspects of the company
and present them in class so that enough background material on the
company is available. For example, at one stage a Swiss aluminum
company was selected which had the highest rate of growth among the
competition. The participants were analyzing the annual reports, the
competitor balance sheets and annual reports, etc. Moreover, guest
lecturers gave a series of sessions on the situation of the industry as well
as on the environmental sectors of the companies. This preparation
enabled the students to talk very competently with the managers they
met.
3. It is absolutely necessary that the participants meet the top management
people in the field. The most interesting issues normally have a strategic
character. However, strategy is not formulated at middle management
but at the top. If the participants only meet functional department
managers, the discussion necessarily focuses on administrative and
operational matters and just deals with strategic issues to a minor extent
due to the position of the managers in the company.

Effectiveness

Looking at the industry study trip from a time dimension, we can distinguish
certain phases of the trip as a teaching device :

- preparatory phase (gathering of information on the company, the

competitive situation and environment)
- the actual visit to the company ;
- preparation of a report on the company that has been visited ;
- preparation and discussion of the reports.

It is, of course an interesting question which phase contributes most to learning

given taxonomy of teaching objectives representing the different learning
domains. It is hypothesized that the method on the whole has a comparative
strength over other methods at the outset of the problem-solving cycle while the
different phases might enhance knowledge, attitudes and skills unequally.

MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS STUDY

The second version of field study is a trip lasting several weeks to selected
companies in different cultural, political and economical settings. The main
features that distinguish the management systems study from the industry study
trip are :

- The limited range of topics (mostly one these);

- The number of companies, preferably operating in different
environments ;
 - Duration.

1. The pre-selection of a topic known to both the students and the company
people well in advance guarantees a certain depth in the discussion
between them. If one does not confine the topic when visiting a
company, the discussion will stay normally very much on the surface,
due to the number of areas which are of general interest. The chosen
topics are generally very attractive. The following list representing the
topics chosen in the last years documents the areas of interest at the
particular point of time :

- factors contributing to company growth ;

- control of international operations ;
- the effect of internationalization, including foreign trade, on
the organization of the enterprise ;
- technical innovation ;
- motivation of man ;
- training of managers and other personnel within the
enterprise ;
- practices and techniques in market research, sales promotion
and distribution.

2. The management systems study as a teaching method is especially

powerful in international business education. It is very intriguing to see,
for example, how diversification strategies are pursued in different
countries or how innovation is organizationally structured in different
economic systems. This method is particularly rewarding for a student
who has to deal with international issues. It gives him a certain outlook
and a feeling that there is not one panacea to tackle and handle business
matters. It prevents getting locked in with a certain type of thinking by
being confronted with various approaches that are often equally
successful. It stimulates the readiness for becoming more creative and
innovative, characteristics which are required in a business world that
changes constantly.

3. Use of this method must necessarily take longer. Seeing two or three
companies has only minor impact. In our opinion, It is a certain
threshold of exposure which leads to learning. It is, however, a fairly
expensive way of learning. Although there are no effectiveness studies
on the method, it is well accepted in industry.

SEMINAR

A seminar is a meeting for discussion based on the presentation of the views

and empirical evidences on theme and arriving at certain conclusions on the
issue. Normally, a seminar is conducted under the guidance of a chairman, who
is called a trainer for the purpose of study here. It is significantly different from
a lecture method. A lecture is dominated by speech and a seminar is identified
with domination of discussion. In a lecture, the rate of participation is lower
than that in a seminar. Seminar is for a small group of highly intellectual
participants and a lecture is targeted towards the novice in the field. The trainer
is a principal presenter of information in a lecture, but he is an expert a
facilitator, an initiator and a guide in a seminar. From the viewpoint of
instructional objective, seminars attempt to develop higher cognitive attributes
through discussions, whereas lectures aim at information content and
comprehension.

The modus operandi of seminar method is presented below. A theme is

identified by the trainer or a group of experts well in advance of the seminar
scheduled. The scope of the theme is briefly explained in a brochure, which is a
given to the trainees seeking the writing and presentation of the papers. After
the receipt of the papers, they are subject to evaluation from the viewpoint of
justification parameters by the trainee or the seminar committee and the papers
are selected for presentation on the scheduled date or dates. The participants
are the trainer, paper writers and the other participants. Normally, the copies of
the papers are sent in advance to all participants for their perusal and oncoming
discussion. The paper presentation is very formal and lasts for a short time on
each papers based on the abstract of the paper, which is normally not more than
a page. Major time is devoted for discussion. After the presentation and
discussions, the major fact-studied observations are recorded and distributed to
the participants. Normally, the multimedia approach is adopted depending
upon the presentation strategy of the paper writers. Involvement of the
participants is passive during presentation and it becomes active, sometimes
turbulent, at the time of discussion.

The merits are

1. Meticulous advance preparation of the contents by the paper readers and

of the discussion points by the participants ;
2. Learning of participative techniques leading to confidence formation
3. Participants speaking out their observations, comments, doubts and
disagreements without inhibitions.
4. Development of higher cognitive attributes, creativity and team spirit and
5. Recognition of undercurrents of a phenomenon leading to new
theorization and adoption of the same to real problem situations.

The demerits are

1. Tendency of building up of participant numbers precipitating the

usefulness and outcomes.
2. Sidetracking to unnecessary and irrelevant exchanges among members
thereby wasting much of the time.
3. Presence of participants as mute observers thereby nullifying the very
objective of training.
4. Time constant leading to shallow discussions ;
 5. Emergency of acrimonious relationship because of philosophical and
cultural differences (Remember that truth is not sweeter, but bitter) and
6. The tendency of perceiving training as a corporate dole-out.

To conclude, the seminar method of training requires presentation of views and

issues in a capsule form and an in-depth discussion to arrive at startling
conclusions and innovative concepts to be further examined leading to
cognitive abilities of the participants. However, the danger lies in perceiving it
to be situation of work-free and holidaying-in.

SYMPOSIUM METHOD

The origin of this method goes back to a situation when a group was discussing
over an issue in a free and half-drunken mood and at the same time, going deep
into the issue in discussing it threadbare. The method is similar to seminar
method but with a few marked differences. Basically, the symposium method
is one where discussion is predominant and the entire procedure is full of deep
involvement in discussion. There are three components in any symposium viz,
trainer, group of experts and participants.

The trainer has to start with the selection of the topic or theme or issue. The
trainer briefs experts and the participants about the theme. The session starts
with the discussion on the issue or topic by the experts. The discussion is
indepth in nature. The participant and the audience (if any) will ask questions
relating to the issue. Then a summary view is presented to all the audience
including experts and participants.

The merits are

1. The discussion held is not superficial or a routine performance but an

indepth one, which helps the participants in deeper understanding.
2. There is a chance for participants to take up the role of experts.

The demerits are

1. If the discussion is sub-standard, the method flops. Hence the expert

group should be of high caliber.
2. There may be a passive involvement from participants.
3. Participants acting as experts may level to solution in involvement.

To conclude, the symposium method involves a high degree of involvement by

the specialists. Hence, the method is adopted at a higher levels of management,
where the employees are the specialists with homogeneity attitude and
aptitudes.

CONFERENCE METHOD
This method is called so, because the delegates or participants ‘confer’ to
discuss the issues. This method is some what similar to seminar, syndicate and
symposium excepting the procedure involved. Generally, a conference is
characterized by large number of participants unlike a seminar. A conference is
conducted according to an agenda prepared in advance by the trainer. The
agenda includes a plenary session. Presentation session, a discussion session
and an observation session. The trainer occupies the chairman’s role. In the
plenary session, the chairman highlights the purpose or the objective of the
papers to be presented and the discussions to be held are explained. The
plenary session is followed by the presentation the delegates. Each delegate’s
name is announced and he is requested to make the presentation. As the
number of presentations is larger, discussion is postpone for the next session.
The discussion session focuses on analyzing the issues or ideas presented by the
delegates. The observation session is meant for summing up the issues and
drawing up a list of conclusions after discussions.

The advantages are

1. It takes care of a large number of delegates for presentation and

discussion.
2. It provides the knowledge of objective oriented activities to the
participants.
3. It helps to develop the ability to make presentations before a learned
group.
4. It helps develop higher cognitive abilities.

The disadvantages are

1. It may be difficult to arrange everything systematically for large number

of delegates.
2. The progress is slow because all those desiring to speak on a point are
generally allowed to do so.
3. There is always an improper time management, because the discussion
on first presented papers take away much of the time resulting in top
sided discussions.
4. This method requires a high level of organizational competence to make
it successful.

To conclude the conference method is the most generally preferred method

because of its usefulness. However, care should be taken to allow for free
expression without fear and to control the distraction.
WORKSHOP METHOD

The word, ‘workshop’ is borrowed from the area of industry. Literally, it

means the place or venue where some manual work (skilled, semiskilled and
unskilled) is done. When it is borrowed and use din training, its operational
definition changes to work done with full involvement in problem solving and
designing activities which need not be manual but also intellectual in nature.
The important components of this method are trainer, co-trainers, participants
and venue. The trainer conducts the proceedings of this method. The co-
trainers assist the trainer in conducting this method. The participants are the
target trainees assigned for training purpose. The theme, visualized as the
objective of training, provides scope of participants to work out something
substantially and through practical involvement. Venue is the arrangement of
physical facilities to do the work or exercise.

The process of conducting the workshop is given below. The trainer has to
select a theme, the problems of which need a package of solutions. The
background materials are sent in advance to the participants for acquainting
them with problems and pondering over the issues. The session starts with a
lecturette (normally a briefing) by the trainer or the expert dignitary. After this
the participants are divided into small groups, the number of which depending
upon grouping or clustering of issues. For each group, there is a chairman
selected by each group and it is assisted by a co-trainer in conducting the
deliberations. The session of each group comes to an end with the development
of package of solutions or contents. These packages are further deliberated
when all the sub groups assemble again as a group to deliberate on the
packages. Here, the deficiencies are corrected and sequencing of parts or
packages in terms of inter and intra packages is done. The result is virtually a
compendium of ideas or contents put in a sequence. True to its name, the
workshop manufactures or produces something useful for participants
themselves or for others. Eventhough it is very similar to syndicate method.

The merits are

1. It makes the participants work with full involvement.

2. It produces something which is really useful.
3. It develops higher cognitive attributes affect attributes.
4. Its uniqueness lies in turning out something tangible.
5. It helps in developing work experience.
6. The active group is participant and the passive group is trainers.
7. The trainers knowledge increases.
8. It requires minimum physical facilities.

The demerits are

1. Its application gets restricted to top and middle management.

2. The session in workshop may get disrupted because of conflicting views.
3. Long sessions may decrease the quality of output.

PROGRAMMED LEARNING

Programmed learning is one of the training methods developed in recent years

from extensive research. It is a teaching method which places the emphasis on
communication - if the student or trainee fails to learn then it may well be the
fault of the teacher rather than his own

Programmed learning is a method whereby the trainee teaches himself by

working through a series of steps all leading to carefully defined goals or
objectives. He cannot go on to the next step until he has mastered the preceding
one and so on to the end. -, To endure that he is really learning the information
in each step, he must answer questions correctly. He has immediate knowledge
of results at each step so that he can check to see how well he is doing.

 The information to be taught is presented in a form known as

PROGRAMME
 The person who writes the programme is known as PROGRAMME
WRITER or PROGRAMMER.
 The person for whom the programme is written is called the TARGET
GROUP.

Programmed Learning is a self – instructional method of training stressing

MOTIVATION to learn. It places the emphasis on 'COMMUNICATION with
the trainee - if he fails - to learn then it is probably the programmer (the
instructor) who is at fault. He may not have explained properly, or in a
vocabulary which the trainee understands, or may not, have given him enough
information. It is therefore up to the programmer to make sure that his trainee is
learning.

1. Trainee works at his own pace.

2. Through a series of logical steps
3. All leading to predefined goals and objectives
4. By actively responding
5. And by mastering each step
6. He receives feedback information
7. Which motivates him to continue.
8. The programme is thoroughly tested before it is printed

SENSITIVITY TRAINING OR T – GROUP TRAINING OR

LABORATORY TRAINING

The National Training Laboratories (NTL) in US pioneered “Laboratory

training associated with T – Group or Sensitivity Training for executives’
middle managers and people from non – business organizations and many
executives have been exposed to these types of programme. It is capable of
releasing some important forces which can enhance man’s ability to control
more effectively and creatively his human environment. In fact, sensitivity
training means different things to different people.

On a very general basis, this can be taken as a development technique that

attempts to improve or increase the human sensitivity and awareness of his own
feelings and the feelings of others is a vital necessity for the adoption of the
individual to the organization. A manager who is sensitive to the impact of his
behaviour on others is the cause of resentment, withheld effort and ultimately
reduced organizational effectiveness.

T – Group training is often called laboratory training because T – groups are in

effective laboratories in which people experiment on their own discussions. T –
Groups are really small discussion groups with no set leader. The groups are
totally unstructured, they have no set task or agenda and the trainer merely
raises questions and provides occasional comments. T – Groups are expected to
learn more about themselves, especially emotions. These are the three stages of
the T- group training:
1. Unfreezing
2. Change
3. Refreezing