Challenges in the Era of Globalization - iaabd

Proceedings of the 12th Annual Conference © 2011 IAABD
Does Training and Development of staff in Financial Institutions in emerging economies make
any difference in their performances?
Abstract
James B. Abugre, jbabugre@ug.edu.gh
University of Ghana Business School, Ghana
Kester A. Adebola, debolakester@yahoo.com
University of Ghana Business School, Ghana
Competition and gaining competitive advantage in this rapidly changing world impose the need for training and
development on organizational workforce to remain relevant. This study looks at four Ghanaian Banks to see if
T&D of staff make a difference in their operations. A survey of 140 staff of the Banks using Spearman’s correlation
test showed that there is a significant relationship between T&D of staff and the performances of staff and
consequently performance of the Banks. Findings also showed that Banking staff become savvier in personal
initiatives and responsive to customer care leading to enhanced service delivery. The study proposes that T&D
should focus on the significant relationship between the outcomes and program objectives of the training and not
about the attendance and attitude of staff towards the training.
Introduction
Training and Development (T&D) have been a lingering and an important area of HR process to both
academic scholars and business practitioners due to the continuous development in the global economy
and pressures of competition. Debrah and Ofori (2005) reveal that the increasing globalization and
international competitiveness have made firms in developing countries to recognize the importance of
well-trained and professional staff in the quest for competitive advantage. There is therefore a growing
demand on managers to develop innovative skills and knowledge that would help them identify effective
strategies to meet these global challenges. According to Lundy and cowling (2004), there are pressures
facing organizations and the importance of skilled workforce in the drive for competitiveness. An
emphasis from a White Paper, ‘Helping business to win’, (1994) states that the world faces an increasing
change and global competition in which wealth is more dependent on knowledge, skills and motivation of
people. As a result, organizations are looking to improve economic performance, raise productivity and
adapt new skills patterns of work and products to new circumstances. However, Ziderman (2001) points
out that the availability of training funds and its sustainability constitute a serious problem to
organizations in many countries. Mann (1996) argues that with the huge cost on emerging training
strategies and programmes, the question is no longer whether organizations organize training for their
staff or not, but rather whether the training organized for staff is worthwhile and effective. Green (2001)
claims that T&D should focus on the significant relationship between the outcomes and programme
objectives of the training and not about the attendance and attitude of staff towards the training.
According to Abdalla et al. (1998), in the field of T&D of personnel in work organizations, most Arab
organizations are deficient in training practices because of the absence of systematic planning,
implementation and evaluations of the programmes. Al-Athari and Zairi (2002) affirm that most Banking
institutions in the Gulf States see training as an overhead and not investment and thus T&D programmes
are not conducted in a professional manner.
With the above assertions in mind, this study seeks to assess the extent to which current T&D practices
are relevant to organizational performance in the competitive Banking industry in Ghana. One major
reason for this is that there has been little attention given to the assessment of T & D programmes in
organizational studies. Many reasons have been attributed to this. For example, Blundell et al. (1999)
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