Name

Training and Development in Small Businesses

February 1, 2011

Abstract

State the problem, your method of finding the answer (literature review), what you found, and your conclusions.  This is written after the paper so it is in the past tense.  No more than 250 words.

Training and Development in Small Business

Revelations hair salon is a salon with 20 employees.  They have been going through a lot of changes, business has been slow and the owner is concerned that they may have to close the salon. The owner reached out to me to come in and try to see where I can help to get business back on track. He believes that the employees may need some training even though they have the KSA's (knowledge, skills, and attitude) to do their jobs.

Analyze Key Elements of Training and Development Geared Toward Improving the Performance of the Specific Small Business for Which you are Consulting

Adequately mention the items from the text required for this question:  motivation; knowledge, skills, abilities; and the environment 

Predict Three to Five (3-5) Potential Challenges That the Managers or Owners of the Business Could Face in Addressing Organizational Performance

Discuss adequately the items from the text required for this question:  demographics, competition, knowledge workers, or customer's demands for quality products and services

Justify the Effects of Detecting Organizational Gaps in Small Business, Providing Examples to Explain the Rationale

Mention adequately the items from the text required for this question:  Actual performance versus expected performance; to train or not to train; motivation, knowledge, and the environment; organizational goals, labor, organizational climate, efficiency, changing systems, or changing management, or MBO.

A gap analysis discloses what is keeping a business from meeting its full potential, is performed for a company as a whole or focused on one department or business area (Berman).  In either case, it alerts management to departmental areas of underperformance, whether the issues related to external challenges or internal inefficiencies.  Allowing developing a strategy to eliminate the gap and maximize company profits small businesses conduct a gap analysis in an attempt to link the disconnect between the current state of the business and the company's vision, for now and in long-term planning.  Comparisons can come against stated goals, accepted industry standards, and any regulation requirements.  The company's first step would be to analyze their current state.  Get current operational data, and if necessary, interview a representative sample of employees.  It is necessary for companies to mark efficiencies by both internal benchmarks and industry standards.  Some businesses hire an outside group to conduct a gap analysis in an effort to keep bias from influencing the results (Berman, 2015, p. 215).

After identifying the gaps, they must identify the potential causes for them.  A few of these gaps may end up being from internal inefficiencies.  A company may have a strategic objective of being the quickest business to market a product.  To find that projects are continually suffering delays by failing to complete tasks as quickly as they should (Zomorodi, 2012, p. 123).  A company may find that their employees do not have the proper competitive skills needed to compete against better-trained rivals, or that the communication between departments is inadequate.  These are all issues that can be addressed by changing the company's internal operations (Zomorodi, 2012, p. 134).  The other gaps may be from the results of an inadequate response to the external environment.  There might be a difference in the company's product range.  An example of this would be something that keeps the company from serving a segment of the market.  They could find that they are not selling to the correct markets, or that their visions of international success are not being reflected on the balance sheet.

These are issues not necessarily associated with the business process, but rather indications that it is not serving marketplace demands adequately.  The company must now turn to the task of figuring out how to correct the gap to reach optimal levels.  Addressing systemic factors responsible for the suboptimal state is necessary.  Although, some of these fixes might be relatively straightforward, such as getting employees the appropriate training and skills needed to bridge the gap, internal repairs may be required, such as rearranging their sales territories to reflect market realities or to integrate work processes to lower cost structure.  Another approach may require looking outside the organization, possibly by forming an alliance with another business to market a gap product, instead of spending the unnecessary resources to develop one itself.

Propose a Competitive Training Strategy That Will Improve the Position of the Business in the Market.  The Strategy Should Include, at a Minimum, an Agenda of Training Activities, Rationale for Instructional Strategies Used, and the Return on Investment (ROI) That Will be Gained From the Strategy you Have Developed

Adequately answer the question as directed, training strategy proposed, agenda was created, so rationale for what was on the agenda was created, or there was mention or evidence of ROI present.