Training and Learning Development Is An Essential Part in the Successful

Organization, ASDA?

This research project is based on ASDA, one of the famous retailers in the UK. This
project proposal prepares a human resource development plan focus on the learning and
delivering the training to the staff within the ASDA community.

ASDA, Britain’s best value retailer, became part of the Wal-Mart family in June
1999. ASDA was formed by a group of farmers from Yorkshire and now has 270 stores
and 19 depots across the UK.

ASDA offer Britain’s best value weekly shop with prices that are independently
shown to be lower than our main competitors with an excellent mix of fresh food,
grocery, clothing, home, leisure an entertainment goods.

ASDA has 150,000 employees and they have a well-deserved reputation for being the
best and the friendliest in the industry. The stores are all Stores of the Community as they
play a positive part in all aspects of life in their local community from establishing a new
local supplier to working with the emergency services in the area.

For the third year running ASDA have been voted a top 10 UK employer (Sunday
Times Top 100 Best Employers Survey) and awarded the Nestle’ Social Commitment
Award in 2002 by their peers in the food factory.

Involved and motivated employees are one of the key drivers of ASDA to be “The
Most Enjoyable Place To Work”. It can be only achieved that people are enjoy their work
and feel they are respected and valued, it coming straight from the heart, “service with
personality.”

ASDA’s learning and development activities focused on fostering skills and competencies in line with ASDA’s
business requirements such as of a new e-learning suite of courses for the promotion, deployment and increased
take-up rate.

External training including foreign language skills, leadership, job evaluations, risk management, presentation
delivery, focus group methodology, qualitative research techniques, coaching, contract procurement, electronic
writing, copyright, change management, internal auditing, project management and outsourcing.
o Drug Control Officers reaccredited in two workshops
o Thirty-three percent of staff attending ASDA-funded
o Three staff members undertaking six-month assignments with foreign anti-doping agencies or other
Commonwealth agencies to broaden their skills and expertise.

The integration of e-learning and other learning methodologies remains a challenge for the future.

Researched Aims/Objectives

The aims and objectives of this project are:

 Analyze the functions of Human resource management development in ASDA

 Identify the systematic training programme make a key ingredient for company
success
 Evaluate the training and learning activities of ASDA

To become a successful business, it needs several important functions. Human

resource management is one of several important functions in most companies and also
other functions include accounting and finance, production and operations, research and
development and marketing. Above all of them, human resource management practices
(such as training) can help companies gain a competitive advantage.
This research project will identify whether the training is necessary parts of the
human resource management in a business achievement.
This project is also examine the training and learning activities of ASDA and
evaluates the important of developing the people and providing a stimulating, challenging
and fulfilling workplace environment.
SO this project will also hope to assist to get the professional and loyal employees by
attracting, training, retaining in a happy working environment.
LITERATURE REVIEW

Human resource management refers to the policies, practices and systems that
influence employees’ behavior, attitudes and performance. Human recourse practices
play a key role in attracting, motivating, rewarding and retaining employees.
Frank and Margerison (1978) emphasize that as trainers we are moving towards
providing training interventions which place emphasis on solving organizational
problems as well as on developing individual skills.
By drawing on the definitions offered by Beckhard (1969) and by French and Bell
(1984) organization development can be vied as a long-range, planned, and organization-
wide effort to improve an organization’s health, problem-solving and renewal processes.
Chess (1986) describes the concept and application of cascade training in marketing.
This involves training a group at one level in the organization.
Training, one of the most important potential motivators, is a bout developing people
as individuals and helping them to become more confident and competent in their lives
and in their jobs. The learning process is at the core of training.
Benefits of training for the organization include improved employee work
performance and productivity; shorter learning time which could lead to less costly
training and employees being ‘on line’ more quickly; decrease in wastage; fewer
accidents; less absenteeism; lower labour turnover and greater customer or client
satisfaction.
Lynch refers to the importance of people as a vital and expensive resource for
sustainable competitive advantage.
Sir Brian Wolfson, Chairman of Investors in People UK said that “ Skills shortages
are often the result of short-termism and little or no analysis of present or future training
needs…Keeping skilled workers is one of the first business goals.”
Methodology:

The aim is to have a Research Proposal completed by the 26th November 2009. The
Final Project Report will be written and submitted by May 10th.
This project will use two main techniques to carry out research and collect data.
1. Questionnaires placed within the staff in ASDA, Wigan outlet, to complete and
return;
2. Interviews with the Manager, Training Coordinator and some staffs of ASDA,
Wigan outlet

Primary research will be used to gather evidence direct from people via the
questionnaire and interview process. Primary data are gathered specially for and
commissioned by an organization for a particular propose (e.g. a research survey to find
out about the activities of an organisation). Secondary data that are already exist and have
been gathered by someone else for some other reason. Secondary research will also be
used from published sources, including Training development books, magazines,
Journals, newspaper features, websites.
Primary marketing research is collected for the first time. It is original and collected
for a specific purpose, or to solve a specific problem. It is expensive and time consuming
but is more focused than secondary research. There are essentially two types of research
qualitative and quantitative.
Qualitative Research is an unstructured and disorganized approach with a small
number of carefully selective individual to produce non-quantifiable insights into
behaviour, motivation and attitudes. The purpose is to understand person
behaviour/perceptions rather than measure them. Methods of this research include group
discussions, in depth interviews, focus group.
Quantitative Research is a structured and organised approach with a sample of the
population to produce quantifiable insights into behaviour, motivations and attitudes. The
aim is to classify features, count them, and construct statistical models in an attempt to
explain what is observed. In this method uses questionnaires or equipment to collect
numerical data. All aspects of the study are carefully designed before data is collected..

Questionnaires

50 sample questionnaires to the staff to gather data about jobs and tasks and their
attitudes towards various aspects of work. Asking about how they view the levels of
difficulty and importance of the tasks they carry out and how frequently they perform
them.
Questions focus on areas of like or dislike and seek information relating to experience,
training and motivation of job holders. The outcome results of the before and after
training and learning activities.
In this questionnaires using both open-ended and closed-ended questions. The
questionnaire consist various kinds of question, which will help to assess the training and
learning activities are essential for both employers and employees.
There are advantages of doing the questionnaires,
 Accurate information
 Can be used with large numbers for collating data is available
 Can provide basis for an interview
 Data is collected in standardized format

On the other hand, can get the disadvantages of using questionnaires

 Response rate to questionnaires is not high

  The questions cover all aspects of the job being investigated
 Questions may be ambiguous or misunderstood by respondent
 Answers to open questions are difficult to quantify

Interviews

A face-to-face conversation will be talked with Manager, Training Coordinator. The

interview will take only few minutes and investigate about the job performance and
gather information about the activities of staff development.
Then take a few discuss with some staff about the job satisfaction, motivation and
some dislike and complaints of work.

Code of Ethics

The ethics of carrying out a research project should be considered. As the

questionnaires may contain confidential information, under the Data Protection
Legislation, and also need to get the permission of the people that interviewed. Respect of
personal information will be maintained at all times.

Resources:

Information for this project will be gathered from a number of sources, including

Wigan & Leigh College Library

Wigan & Leigh Resource Centre
Desktop Computer
Laptop Computer
Laserjet Printer
Internet
Wigan & Leigh College Tutor
ASDA Mart Colleagues

Bibliography:

Beckhard R, (1969). Organization Development: Strategies and models, Addison

Wesley, California

Buckley R & Caple J, (2003), The Theory And Practice Of Training, 4 th edition, Kogan
Page Limited

Chess J, (1986). Cascading the training, Programmed Learning and Educational

Technology

Frank E, and Marherison C, (1978). Training methods and organization development,

Journal of European Industrial Training

French W.L and Bell H, (1984). Organization Development: Behavioural science

interventions for organization improvement (3rd edition), Prentice-Hall

Lynch R, (2000), Corporate Strategy, (2nd edition), Financial Times, Prentice-Hall

Mullins L.J, (2002), Management and Organisational Behaviour, 6th edition, Prentice Hall

Noe R.A, (2002), Employee Training & Development, 2nd edition, McGraw-Hill Book
Company

Pont T,(1996), Developing Effective Training Skills,2nd edition, McGraw-Hill Book

Company

Wolfson, Sir Brian, (1998), Train, retain and motivate staff, Management Today
www.asda.com
http://www.asada.gov.au/resources/reports/current/ar06/human_resources.htm
http://www.trainingreference.co.uk/news/bp040219.htm